Huo Yuhao did not argue with the new teacher. After shutting the door a little harder than necessary, he returned to his seat.
The new teacher glanced at Huo Yuhao, cleared his throat, and said,
"I hope you remember what I'm about to say. Don't get smug just because you've made a little name for yourselves in the Outer Court. You're still a long way from the Inner Court!"
Everyone in Freshman Class One frowned slightly at his words. This was not the Freshman Class One that Zhou Yi had already swept through with her expulsions. The current class could be said to boast mighty troops and sturdy horses.
It had gathered almost all the strongest students among the freshmen.
Dai Huabin bristled almost the instant the teacher finished speaking. He immediately raised his hand and said,
"Sir, I don't think that's fair! I'd like to know exactly where we fall short!"
The teacher sneered, then abruptly unleashed his soul power.
Dai Huabin choked. His indignant words were instantly crushed back down, and his entire body began to tremble.
Zhu Lu, who sat beside him, immediately stood and reached out to take his hand.
Strictly speaking, Zhu Lu should not have been in Freshman Class One, which catered to the control system and power attack system.
However, they had demonstrated their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. To make their cultivation more convenient, she had ultimately received special permission to join Freshman Class One.
Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong, sitting beside Huo Yuhao, watched Dai Huabin nervously as he found himself unable to back down gracefully.
Human emotions were rich and contradictory. Just a day earlier, Wang Dong would never have imagined that she would one day feel nervous on Dai Huabin's behalf.
Huo Yuhao merely watched from the sidelines. His years of training with Dai Hao had given him a basic degree of detachment, and Dai Huabin was not his friend to begin with.
"This is your second-best freshman. That tells me all I need to know about what a bunch of purebred trash you are."
The teacher suddenly increased his soul power, knocking Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu to the floor before delivering those words with contempt.
Wang Dong could no longer sit still after hearing that. She slammed a hand on her desk and said,
"Sir, isn't that going too far? Aren't you insulting your students?"
The teacher turned to look at Wang Dong. With a cold snort, he said to her,
"Now you're pretending to be some big bad wolf? Don't think I don't know how you won that freshman championship. Someone who's plainly a power attack system soul master insisted he belonged to the control system. What a shameless lot."
An embarrassed look immediately appeared on Wang Dong's face.
Huo Yuhao lightly tapped his fingers against the desk, then looked up at the teacher and said,
"Sir, are you here to teach, or to play the thug and give us an early demonstration of what it looks like when an elder in the Soul Master World has no dignity?"
To be fair, the teacher's words were not entirely without reason. Huo Yuhao simply had nothing to feel guilty about.
Even without any teammates, Huo Yuhao could have taken first place among the freshmen. He would merely have needed to use his soul skills and martial soul a little more frequently.
The only match that would have required even slightly careful execution was the final one against Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and their teammate.
Even that would only have taken a tiny bit of finesse. If Huo Yuhao did not want to face the Hell White Tiger, he could simply have used the Netherworld Arena to take one of them down alone first.
The teacher sneered, then said to Huo Yuhao,
"The real freshman champion has finally deigned to speak. Don't think that just because you gained a slight edge in our clash of presence earlier, you can look down on everyone."
Huo Yuhao sighed softly, then pointed at his temple and said to the teacher,
"From where I'm sitting, you're the one looking down on everyone, sir. Is there nobody in all of Shrek Academy's Outer Court who can keep you in line?"
Something stirred in the teacher's mind. He looked at Huo Yuhao and said,
"Interesting. You want to bring out your backer?"
Huo Yuhao gave a cold laugh, then said to the teacher,
"If you've got the guts, let me step outside."
The teacher pointed at the door and said,
"Suit yourself. I'd like to see who a freshman like you can call in."
Huo Yuhao nodded, then headed for Du Weilun's office.
After walking into Du Weilun's office, Huo Yuhao said just one simple sentence.
"Director Du, my homeroom teacher said I'm trash. I want to withdraw from the academy."
Du Weilun was utterly bewildered. "Have you gone mad, or did I hear you wrong?"
After getting Huo Yuhao to confirm it a second time, Du Weilun pointed at the genuine leather sofa in his office and said to him,
"Sit here for a while. I'll go find out exactly what happened." (And see which blind fool is courting death.)
Huo Yuhao did not concern himself with what happened afterward. He only knew that Freshman Class One was exceptionally lively that day.
On the soul fighting stage, Du Weilun also demonstrated that he had earned his position as an eight-ring director of studies not through underhanded tricks, but through genuine strength.
That teacher subsequently rested for almost half a month, and obediently slunk down to the position of deputy homeroom teacher. Wang Yan took over as the main homeroom teacher.
Neither Wang Yan nor Mu Jin was the sort to stir up trouble, and Freshman Class One smoothly became the class with the most comfortable classroom atmosphere out of the four freshman classes.
As the holiday approached, Wang Yan first explained the advancement assessment they would face upon returning.
Then, on the day before the holiday, Dai Yueheng asked Huo Yuhao to meet him outside again.
"You really know how to stir things up. That teacher had barely arrived on his first day, and you already got him into a fight with Director Du. Threatening Director Du with dropping out—aren't you afraid Dad will find out and whip you until you spin like a top?"
Huo Yuhao shrugged and said to Dai Yueheng with complete indifference,
"Doesn't that just prove my worth? Has old Zhou Yi expelled only a handful of students over the years? Du Weilun wasn't even willing to clash with her, but for me, he took on a Soul Douluo head-on."
Dai Yueheng nodded helplessly, then said to Huo Yuhao,
"You're a master at this. But be careful. That trick only works a few times. Use it too often, and you'll end up embarrassing yourself."
Huo Yuhao nodded and said to Dai Yueheng,
"It's not as if I haven't observed things. At least within the Outer Court, this trick works almost every time. Director Du has been stuck here for years without moving up, after all."
"Nobody would believe he has no ambition."
After Huo Yuhao finished speaking, Dai Yueheng nodded, then said to him,
"All right. Judge how far to take it yourself. Anyway, what are your plans for the holiday? Father wants you to visit the military camp."
Huo Yuhao yawned and said,
"Since Father specifically asked me to come over, there must be something important. I'm still stuck at rank forty-seven, so there's no rush to go soul hunting yet."
Dai Yueheng nodded, then said to Huo Yuhao,
"Come to think of it, ever since their fight with you, I feel like Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu haven't been quite as close..."
Before you continue