In the blink of an eye, the next morning arrived. Sunlight spilled through the gap in the curtains. Wang Dong opened his eyes, stretched, and rolled out of bed.
He glanced at the bed opposite his. Same as always, Dai Huabin had gotten up early and left, clearly unwilling to stay with him.
He had agreed to meet Huo Yuhao for breakfast at the cafeteria.
When he reached the cafeteria entrance, Huo Yuhao was already waiting there.
She wore a pale blue dress that day, her long hair tied in a ponytail. She looked fresh and neat, like a flower bearing the morning dew.
Wang Dong's eyes lit up, and he hurried over. "Have you been waiting long?"
Huo Yuhao shook her head. "No, I just got here."
"Come on, I'll treat you to something good today." Wang Dong led her into the cafeteria as he spoke.
He ordered a whole table of food: meat, vegetables, soup, and rice, filling it to the brim.
As the heir to the Clear Sky Sect, Wang Dong had not come to Shrek Academy to endure hardship. Naturally, he spent as he pleased.
The food at Shrek Academy was quite good, and it was not too expensive either, costing a few dozen Gold Soul Coins per meal.
Looking at the tableful of dishes, Huo Yuhao felt a little embarrassed. "Isn't this too much...?"
"Eat more. You're still growing." Wang Dong placed a piece of Soul Beast meat in her bowl.
"Raise your strength as quickly as possible. It'll make Martial Soul Fusion easier."
"Besides, this is for you... mine is over there."
Wang Dong pointed at a nearby table, where twenty deluxe set meals were piled just as densely.
Huo Yuhao was dumbfounded. She said this was the first time she had realized Wang Dong could eat so much.
Wang Dong could not help it either... the power of the Golden Dragon King Bloodline strengthened him, but it came at a price. He got hungry easily if he did not eat that much.
Still, eating that much could also speed up his cultivation.
Not a bad deal.
The two soon finished eating and got ready for class. As class monitor, Wang Dong sat in the front row, with Huo Yuhao beside him.
Once they were seated, Wang Dong naturally reached out and took Huo Yuhao's hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Cultivating. Don't be nervous... this is normal."
Huo Yuhao blushed slightly but did not pull away. She was already used to it. Wang Dong had said this was cultivation, and they needed to make full use of every moment to circulate Haodong Power and increase their cultivation speed.
Although she always felt something was odd about it, she could not put her finger on it.
Dai Huabin, sitting behind them, happened to witness the scene. His expression instantly darkened, and he clenched his teeth.
His relationship with Huo Yuhao was terrible. As an illegitimate child, Huo Yuhao had always been unwelcome in the Dai Family, and he had never shown her a pleasant face either.
He had originally planned to keep suppressing this illegitimate daughter at the academy. He had never expected her to fall in with Wang Dong.
Both were people he hated, yet now they were sitting in the front row holding hands as though no one else were there. The more Dai Huabin thought about it, the angrier he became. Finally, he could not help standing up, pointing at the pair in front, and calling out:
"Teacher Zhou! Look at them! Getting handsy during class-isn't that setting a bad example?"
The classroom instantly fell silent, and everyone turned their eyes toward the front row in unison. Startled, Huo Yuhao instinctively tried to pull her hand back, only for Wang Dong to hold it tighter.
Zhou Yi looked up from the lectern, glanced at Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao's joined hands, then looked at Dai Huabin, her brows drawing together slightly.
A wave of whispers immediately rose in the classroom.
"Wow, they're really holding hands?"
"The class monitor and Huo Yuhao... are they dating?"
"No way! School only started a few days ago!"
Sitting in the back row, Xiao Xiao's eyes went wide. Only now did she notice the two clasped hands in the front row. Just yesterday, she had joked about pursuing Wang Dong, only for him to be holding hands with Huo Yuhao today?
Meanwhile, quite a few girls in class had their hearts shattered all over the floor. Wang Dong was handsome, strong, and the class monitor-the very model of a perfect boyfriend.
They had still harbored a little fantasy, but now that fantasy had been utterly shattered.
Wang Dong stood up and calmly began explaining. "We're cultivating."
"Cultivating?" Dai Huabin sneered. "Holding hands during class counts as cultivating?"
"That's right." Wang Dong nodded, his tone composed. "Huo Yuhao and I have a one hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion compatibility. Holding hands like this lets us circulate Soul Power and increase our cultivation speed. I reported this to the teacher beforehand."
Zhou Yi nodded and took over. "That's correct. Wang Dong did report this to me. Their Martial Soul Fusion compatibility has reached one hundred percent, and physical contact can accelerate their Soul Power cultivation. This is a special case, and I approved it."
She paused and swept her gaze over the class. "If any of you can also find a partner with one hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion compatibility, you may do the same."
Although Zhou Yi was strict, she still gave outstanding students plenty of preferential treatment.
Besides, she always felt a little afraid when she saw Wang Dong.
The classroom instantly erupted.
"One hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion?! Isn't that way too outrageous?"
"Seriously? Doesn't that mean they're born partners?"
"I'm so jealous... I want a partner with one hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion compatibility too!"
"Keep dreaming. Shrek Academy might not produce even one case of one hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion in ten years!"
The way many people looked at Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao changed, carrying envy and even a trace of jealousy.
One hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion was an opportunity one could only encounter, never seek out. So many people would never come across it in their entire lives, yet these two new students had stumbled right into it.
Dai Huabin stood at his seat, his face livid and his teeth nearly cracking from how hard he clenched them. He had never imagined that the two people he hated most would actually possess one hundred percent Martial Soul Fusion compatibility!
What did that mean? It meant their cultivation speed would far surpass ordinary people's. It meant they would grow stronger and stronger. It meant suppressing Huo Yuhao would become even more impossible for him.
He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, and a vicious gleam flashed through his eyes. No, I absolutely can't let them truly develop. They've already given themselves cause to die!
Meanwhile, in the front row, Huo Yuhao's face had flushed all the way to her ears under the entire class's stares. She lowered her head, wishing she could bury her face in her desk.
Wang Dong, on the other hand, remained perfectly composed. He even smiled at her and whispered, "Don't be nervous. You'll get used to it."
Huo Yuhao felt both embarrassed and annoyed, yet she could not find anything to say in rebuttal. She could only blush and let Wang Dong hold her hand, feeling that warm current of Soul Power circulate between them.
She stole a glance at Wang Dong's profile, and an indescribable feeling suddenly welled up inside her. This person... always has a way of making me obediently listen.
Wang Dong chuckled.
Winning over little Miss Huo really is easy.
P.S. Guys, I've decided to pick up the pace. I'm worried a lot of you will say I'm dragging things out.
Actually, I wanted to write that kind of slow-paced fanfic, with gradual growth... just like the original, except with changes to Martial Souls and genders, and see what butterfly effects those would produce.
Things start becoming different from the moment Huo Yuhao obtains her Second Martial Soul...
From there on, it's one satisfying ride.
Before you continue