"Don't be so impatient. This is just the lead-in to the first matter. I'll report your head-on victory over the Hell White Tiger to my father."
Dai Yueheng spoke to Huo Yuhao, who shrugged. He already understood what Dai Yueheng meant and said with a smile,
"The struggle over who becomes the heir has always been like this. You've really struck gold this time. With this defeat on their record, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's value in your father's eyes will plummet."
Dai Yueheng nodded and told Huo Yuhao,
"That's to your credit, and it also proves we can take our cooperation further. Another thing—do you have any plans for the end of this semester? Don't return to the Duke's Mansion without good reason. Mother has been visiting her family quite often lately. It might spell trouble for you."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then asked Dai Yueheng,
"Is that all?"
Dai Yueheng shook his head and said,
"It's not quite that simple. There's one more thing I should tell you in advance. Although you took first place among the freshmen, and Zhou Yi would normally be one of Freshman Class One's homeroom teachers, there's been a change this year. She'll be going to the Soul Tool Department."
Huo Yuhao secretly exulted, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked,
"How did that happen? Did you pull some strings?"
Dai Yueheng smiled, then told Huo Yuhao,
"I can't take all the credit. The timing just worked out. There happened to be a problem with one of the Inner Court's teachers."
Huo Yuhao froze, then asked,
"What changed?"
Huo Yuhao truly hated developments outside the plot like this. They were completely beyond his control, and he had no way of predicting what would happen.
Dai Yueheng said,
"It wasn't really a major problem. One of the Inner Court's teachers somehow got it into his head to harass Ma Xiaotao after drinking a little horse piss and forgetting who he was. You don't know Ma Xiaotiao yet, do you? She's a female student in the Inner Court."
"Her cultivation is a little higher than yours. Her nickname is the Flame Maniac. There's something wrong with her martial soul, so she easily loses control."
Huo Yuhao interrupted Dai Yueheng,
"I've heard about that around Shrek City. We're probably talking about the same person."
Dai Yueheng nodded, then continued,
"That's her. Don't provoke her carelessly. For one thing, she's no cheap imitation like Dai Huabin's Hell White Tiger. She's a genuine Soul Emperor. Add her unstable mental state to that, and there's no telling what might make her strike to kill."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then said to Dai Yueheng,
"You have a point. She is a high-level Soul Emperor, after all. But that teacher harassed Ma Xiaotao, and they're just letting it go? They're even letting him keep teaching freshmen?"
Dai Yueheng said helplessly,
"What else can they do? He's worked here for over twenty years. Should they throw out someone with the potential to become a Titled Douluo over one mistake? All they can do is send him down to the lower grades to temper himself. Because of this, you'll have two heads and one deputy this year—two head homeroom teachers and one deputy homeroom teacher. He and Mu Jin will be the head homeroom teachers for your Freshman Class One, with Wang Yan assigned as the deputy. You should know him too. He supervised five of your matches."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then said,
"Interesting. But Mu Jin—I knocked his seeded team out in the quarterfinals. Won't he hold a grudge?"
Dai Yueheng smiled, then told Huo Yuhao,
"You can rest easy about that. Mu Jin was also my old homeroom teacher in the Outer Court. I've already spoken to him, and there won't be any problems. He'll even look after you as far as he can. Consider it a sign of my sincerity in working with you, and one of the resources I can offer."
Huo Yuhao gave Dai Yueheng a surprised look, then nodded and said,
"Then sorry for the trouble."
Afterward, Huo Yuhao talked with Dai Yueheng about a few other matters and did not return to his dormitory until late.
Fortunately, the Freshman Assessment had ended that day. The academy understood that some dormitories whose residents had done well would hold victory celebrations and the like, so it had made a special exception and lifted the curfew for the night. Those returning late simply had to register.
The next morning, the freshmen had gathered in Shrek Academy's plaza. Du Weilun stood on the platform and began his speech in high spirits.
"At this time every year, I cannot help being filled with emotion, because the new generation of the Douluo Continent standing before me has now officially entered Shrek Academy and become part of Shrek."
"At the same time, this means a new group of Soul Masters has begun to paint the scroll of their own lives. This may even be the opening chapter of the legendary journey of a future Titled Douluo, or even a Super Douluo. In short, I am deeply honored that, generation after generation, I can witness part of your journey and accompany you along part of the way..."
After his grand opening remarks, Du Weilun finally got to the point. Once he had announced the usual rewards for the Freshman Assessment champions, he announced the list of Core Disciples. This time, Huo Yuhao was naturally the undisputed first choice among the Martial Soul Department's Core Disciples, so none of the unnecessary scenes unfolded.
Dai Huabin merely stared bitterly at Huo Yuhao, as though Huo Yuhao, basking in glory, had stolen something from him.
Huo Yuhao paid him no mind. He had already formed an alliance with Dai Yueheng, making Dai Huabin a potential enemy. There was no need to put on a friendly face for him.
After that, Du Weilun called Huo Yuhao and his two teammates to his office to collect the champions' exclusive reward—the Leopard Soul Bone.
As before, Huo Yuhao naturally steered things so that Xiao Xiao took the soul bone. But as soon as they returned to their classroom, they met the new teacher Dai Yueheng had mentioned.
He was a tall man with two long scars on his face, giving his coarse appearance a vicious edge. The moment Wang Dong met his eyes, she lost badly in the clash of presence and could not help hiding behind Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao, however, was not intimidated at all. The man before him was indeed fierce—a high-level Soul Douluo, after all—but his use of his imposing presence was hardly skillful. It came entirely from the confidence his soul power level gave him.
In terms of presence alone, Dai Hao could crush him to dust in an instant. This man probably had not killed as many people in his entire life as Dai Hao had killed in a single day at his peak. Naturally, he could not frighten Huo Yuhao, who harbored a ferocious beast within him.
"Reporting in! We're this year's freshman champions. Director Du called us in for a talk, which delayed us a little."
Seeing that the man had still not reacted after a long while, Huo Yuhao slammed his fist against the classroom door again and shouted at him.
The man looked at Huo Yuhao and pressed his imposing presence down on him, seemingly trying to look down on him through the advantage of his status and soul power. Yet he discovered that he could not suppress the aura emanating from Huo Yuhao.
The teacher realized almost immediately that this boy, Huo Yuhao, had human blood on his hands—and more than one life's worth. He had probably killed more people than quite a few students in the Inner Court.
The teacher gave a cold snort and stopped matching himself against Huo Yuhao. He merely said indifferently,
"What are you standing there gawking for? Shrek students should show more initiative. Come in..."
Before you continue