Wang Dong'er

"Shrek is truly beautiful."

Huo Yuhao praised it from the bottom of his heart. Xu Zihuang had already parted ways with the Tang Sect group upon entering the academy, which truly let Huo Yuhao breathe a sigh of relief.

He had grown tired of Tang Ya and Bei Bei explaining the Tang Sect's history and Shrek along the way. After all, he had already read about those things in the original novel. But actually being in Shrek was entirely different.

Exquisite ancient-style buildings complemented beautiful gardens planned over ten thousand years. Dozens of strange green plants he had never seen before had been carefully trimmed into a beautiful tableau. Walking along the broad avenue and looking at Sea God Lake, which reflected the Golden Tree, there was not a single flaw to be found—

—well, aside from the statues.

More precisely, that person's statue. After all, no one else would pull those sorts of tricks on their own son-in-law. When he had read the original novel, he had only felt faintly displeased, but now that it had happened to him, it made his teeth ache. Yet Huo Yuhao had no way to distance himself from Wang Dong'er. With his current talent, and without Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux's help, he probably would not even reach the Soul Elder realm.

"The road ahead is difficult..."

Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly.

"Huh? Why is it that freaky old hag Zhou Yi? Doesn't she teach third-years? Why was she assigned to the freshmen?"

Tang Ya's voice drew Huo Yuhao's attention. A notice had been posted there. It read: Freshman Class One homeroom teacher, Zhou Yi. Freshman Class Two homeroom teacher...

"I heard Teacher Zhou was excessively harsh while teaching the third-year students, resulting in only one-tenth of her class advancing to the fourth year. The students reported her to the academy several times, so she was demoted to the freshman classes. Junior brother, you need to be careful. There may not be many monster students in Shrek Academy's outer court, but there are plenty of monster teachers, and Teacher Zhou is the worst of them." Bei Bei's smile carried a trace of bitterness. It seemed their junior brother, who bore the Tang Sect's hopes for Soul Tool development, was about to have a hard time.

I really can't do without Wang Dong!

In the original novel, Huo Yuhao had only avoided being expelled by Zhou Yi with Wang Dong's help. Huo Yuhao felt like crying, but he still forced himself to remain calm as he said,

"It's fine, Teacher Xiaoya, senior brother. As long as I work hard enough, the teacher won't be able to do anything to me."

Bei Bei smiled approvingly, though he still felt somewhat worried. After all, working hard alone was not enough to avoid being expelled by Zhou Yi. One also had to be outstanding.

If he really got expelled, then they would ask Old Ancestor Xuan to plead for him. The Tang Sect's Soul Tool development still needed their junior brother's efforts.

The two bid Huo Yuhao farewell and left to take their advancement assessments, while Huo Yuhao headed straight for the dormitory. Although his senior brother had given him a storage Soul Tool modeled after Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night when he joined the Tang Sect, he truly had very little luggage. All he had were a few changes of clothes; he did not even have bedding.

More than bedding, he worried about Wang Dong. In the original novel, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong could cultivate through fused Soul Power, greatly accelerating their cultivation. Naturally, Huo Yuhao did not want to miss that opportunity. But Wang Dong had enrolled disguised as a boy, which showed she was an arrogant young lady who feared nothing. Huo Yuhao did not mind taking care of the dormitory's cleanliness, since he liked things clean anyway. Even if Wang Dong later wanted to split the dorm chores with him, he would refuse. With Wang Dong's personality, she definitely would not clean properly...

But how was he supposed to persuade her to undergo Martial Soul Fusion with him? Wang Dong was rather awkward, stubborn, proud, and somewhat kindhearted...

Hm?

Looking at it that way, wasn't she just a tsundere young lady?

Maybe he could try the methods he had learned from dating sims...

Huo Yuhao had a headache. In his previous life, he had probably not spoken as much to girls his own age as he had spoken to Tang Ya over the past few days. Now he was suddenly expected to win over such a difficult young lady. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed impossible.

As for the process through which the two had opened their hearts to each other in the original novel, Huo Yuhao found it rather inexplicable. He had no confidence in replicating it. They had first fought the moment they met, then after Zhou Yi pulled the two of them together once, they had opened their hearts to each other?

There was still one day left, anyway. He could think it over slowly...

As Huo Yuhao pondered, he walked toward the dormitory. At its entrance sat an elderly man who looked very old. The old man wore gray cloth robes, his face gaunt and withered, his entire body steeped in the air of age. Drooping eyelids partly concealed his cloudy yellow eyes, giving him the appearance of a man in his twilight years. Sunlight between the buildings happened to fall across him, and the reclining chair beneath him looked quite comfortable.

Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo who had nearly suppressed an entire era, had now become like this.

Huo Yuhao stepped forward respectfully and handed the old man his dormitory key and badge for inspection. There was not the slightest abnormality on his face, as though he truly were nothing more than a polite ordinary child.

For a dignified Limit Douluo to fall to such a state... the death of a rabbit grieved the fox; creatures mourned their own kind. It could not help but evoke a trace of sorrow. Yet it only strengthened Huo Yuhao's resolve to pursue the Dao.

Since he had seen someone halt here, he could not repeat the same mistakes. He had to seek that supreme realm! The White Tiger Duke was a Titled Douluo with nine rings. How could he avenge his mother without reaching that realm?

That said, the daily necessities before him still troubled Huo Yuhao. Once he had cleaned the dormitory, he began calculating how he would live from now on. As the saying went, scholars grew poor while martial artists grew rich. If he wanted to cultivate faster, ordinary meals would not be enough for him. If he earned money by grilling fish as in the original novel, it would be nowhere near enough.

A single penny could stump a hero!

Just as Huo Yuhao was thinking, a series of footsteps sounded outside. It seemed the newcomer had stopped at the door. Before Huo Yuhao could react, he heard the doorknob turn.

Huo Yuhao's gaze followed the sound. A pink-blue figure peeked in at the doorway, then stepped back outside to check the room number.

Wang Dong? Why had she come so early?

Huo Yuhao inwardly cried out in alarm. He had yet to devise a plan. In the original novel, Wang Dong had marched in and imperiously ordered Huo Yuhao around. The two had immediately gotten into an argument and gone outside to fight. Wang Dong, a two-ring soul master with Twin Martial Souls, had actually failed to defeat one-ring Huo Yuhao. Though she had underestimated him, that was still far too weak!

Compared with the original Huo Yuhao's four soul skills, Imprint was better suited to combat. Huo Yuhao was confident he could defeat Wang Dong. He had even Imprinted Bei Bei's second soul skill, Thunderous Might. As long as he could get close and unleash it in a surprise burst, would defeating Wang Dong not be as easy as turning his hand over?

Things had come to this. Any strategy to win her over was no longer important—there had not been one, anyway. In the world of soul masters, strength reigned supreme. Martial Soul Fusion? He would talk about that after winning!

Things had reached the point where they could only be resolved through force, yet Huo Yuhao felt incomparably exhilarated!

A fierce tiger governed slaughter. Perhaps the bloodline of the White Tiger Duke's household was at work... If there was a battle, then battle! If he faltered, how would he advance? How would he avenge his mother?

Come!

Battle intent surged in Huo Yuhao's heart, but his expression remained unchanged as he looked curiously at Wang Dong.

It had to be said that Wang Dong looked genuinely handsome in male attire. Her features were delicate, her skin fair, and her large pink-blue eyes clear and lively. Her long hair of the same color was tied up, and the white martial uniform made her appear even more heroic. No wonder countless girls had fallen for her.

"Hello..."

Wang Dong's greeting completely threw Huo Yuhao off. Why was she not following the script? Could it be... she was also a transmigrator?

"I-I'm Wang Dong. We'll be roommates from now on."

Wang Dong'er's gaze darted away uneasily, and she seemed somewhat afraid of strangers.

"Please take care of me... Guh!"

Wang Dong'er let out a muffled whimper, as if she had bitten her tongue. In an instant, she flushed from her neck to the tips of her ears, seemingly giving off steam. Her fingers twisted the corner of her clothes, and she looked as though she wanted nothing more than to find somewhere to crouch and hide, imagining that the embarrassing scene just now had never happened.

Huo Yuhao's brain had already shut down. He stared blankly at Wang Dong'er, with only one thought left in his mind:

"So talking to girls your own age doesn't make three options appear..."