"Huh? Not right now?"
"What, can't wait anymore? Weren't you just clamoring that you didn't want to?"
"Teacher, I want to deal with the evil fire as soon as possible so I can cultivate! Where did your mind go?" Ma Xiaotao's cheeks flushed, both embarrassed and angry.
"..."
Yan Shaozhe fell silent for a while, then said earnestly, "Xiaotao, the truth is, I hope you and Gu Yunxiao can end up together."
"With Gu Yunxiao's talent, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will certainly become a Limit Douluo, unrivaled across the entire continent."
"A man that outstanding is bound to have plenty of women eyeing him."
"Now that he's at our Shrek Academy, you're in the perfect position to catch the moon from the waterside pavilion and seize the advantage by making the first move."
At those words, the corners of Ma Xiaotao's mouth twitched.
Yet she could not refute him. After all, every word was true.
Was Gu Yunxiao outstanding? Extremely so!
A boy like him would indeed attract plenty of girls vying for him.
"Xiaotao, this is also for the academy's sake."
"If you and Gu Yunxiao tie the knot, then after my generation passes away, the academy will still be strong with the two of you here."
"Moreover, with your talents, your children will undoubtedly be powerful too."
Yan Shaozhe knew full well the predicament Shrek Academy currently faced.
It had Titled Douluos and Super Douluos, and quite a few at that.
However, it would soon lack the all-important Limit Douluo. Mu En's health deteriorated by the day, and no one knew how much longer he could hold on.
With Gu Yunxiao's talent, reaching the Limit Douluo level would be no problem.
The moment Ma Xiaotao heard "for the academy's sake," her expression turned solemn. She nodded earnestly. "Teacher, I understand."
"Mm."
Yan Shaozhe smiled in relief. Just as he was about to turn and leave, something else occurred to him, and he cautioned her, "Xiaotao, don't approach Gu Yunxiao before the academy has made its arrangements."
"As for suppressing your evil fire, I'll take you to see Gu Yunxiao and discuss it properly with him."
He feared that Ma Xiaotao might act on impulse and run off to ask Gu Yunxiao to help suppress her evil fire.
Such behavior would be far too abrupt and would only displease him.
Gu Yunxiao had only just arrived at Shrek Academy. They had to give him at least a few days to settle in. Everything had to proceed gradually; they could not rush it.
After all, ultimate ice had appeared. That alone was hope.
"Teacher, I understand."
Ma Xiaotao answered, feeling a little glum.
Even her teacher felt the need to caution her over and over. Was she really that unreliable?
"Mm."
Yan Shaozhe nodded slightly, then turned and left.
Freshman Dormitory Building, Dormitory 108.
After Gu Yunxiao and Xiao Xiao finished eating together, they each returned to their dormitories to cultivate.
Classes would not officially begin until the day after tomorrow, so these two days served as a settling-in period for the freshmen.
"Young Master, the hotel room has been booked."
Inside the dormitory, Zi JI stood before Gu Yunxiao's bed and reported respectfully.
"Where's Bi Ji?"
Gu Yunxiao, who had been cultivating on his bed, opened his eyes. An icy-blue gleam flashed through his purple eyes before they quickly returned to normal.
"Bi Ji thought the hotel's bedding wasn't good enough and worried you wouldn't sleep comfortably, so she went out to buy new bedding." Zi JI smiled faintly.
"There's no need to go to so much trouble. I'll only be going to the hotel at night for a bath, and perhaps staying overnight occasionally."
Gu Yunxiao did not want to line up to bathe at night, so he had asked Bi Ji and Zi JI to book a hotel room.
Since he had the means, there was no reason to force himself to endure hardship.
What surprised him was how much care Bi Ji put into it, overlooking not even the smallest detail.
"It's no trouble." Zi JI shook her head and said earnestly, "These are our duties. It's what we should do."
Gu Yunxiao said no more on the subject and instead asked, "Did Mu En see through your identities?"
"No, Young Master."
"If Bi Ji and I hadn't deliberately revealed a trace of our auras, he would still be in the dark, unaware that we even existed."
Even now, with Zi JI inside Gu Yunxiao's dormitory, Mu En outside could not detect her.
For one thing, Mu En had indeed stopped probing Gu Yunxiao.
For another, the concealment of Zi JI's aura was extremely powerful. Even Gu Yunxiao could only detect her through the Silver Dragon Reverse Scale.
"Na'er's methods really are impressive." Gu Yunxiao smiled.
Zi JI pondered for a moment, but could not resist asking one more question. "Young Master, you and our lord..."
"Mm."
Gu Yunxiao nodded, giving Zi JI her answer.
Zi JI pressed her lips together, the hesitation in her eyes gradually turning to resolve. Just as she was about to speak, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.
"Young Master, I'll take my leave."
Zi JI bowed and vanished.
The very next second, the dormitory door was pushed open, and a thin, frail boy walked in, his coarse clothes covered in creases.
A trace of surprise flashed through Gu Yunxiao's eyes when he saw the newcomer.
The boy also froze upon seeing Gu Yunxiao.
"It's you!"
The boy's eyes widened. He instinctively checked the room number on the door, hoping he had come to the wrong room.
But there was no mistake. It was Dormitory 108.
"Mm."
Gu Yunxiao nodded slightly and said nothing further, returning to his cultivation.
Sharing a dormitory with Huo Yuhao surprised him a little, but it did not matter. He would not be staying in this dormitory for long anyway.
Standing at the door, Huo Yuhao looked at Gu Yunxiao and could not help feeling nervous.
Because of what had happened in the Star Dou Great Forest, he harbored a little hostility toward Gu Yunxiao.
A long silence followed.
Huo Yuhao walked over to his bed, intending to tidy it up, only to discover that the bed boards were spotless, without a speck of dust.
Clearly, someone had already cleaned them.
As for who had done it, the answer was self-evident.
For a moment, Huo Yuhao felt awkward whether he stood or sat.
After thinking it over for a long time, he finally looked at Gu Yunxiao, who was cultivating, and said, "Th... thank you. I'll do the cleaning tomorrow."
Gu Yunxiao opened his eyes and looked at Huo Yuhao.
Under Gu Yunxiao's gaze, Huo Yuhao lowered his head, his face tense with awkward nervousness.
"It's nothing."
Gu Yunxiao uttered those words softly, then continued cultivating.
Cleaning?
He had merely washed down the entire dormitory with ultimate water. The whole process had taken no effort whatsoever and less than a minute.
As for Huo Yuhao's bed... he had not known beforehand whose it was. He had simply cleaned it in passing for his yet-to-arrive "roommate."
It was just a coincidence.
Seeing that Gu Yunxiao had answered him, Huo Yuhao breathed a sigh of relief and instinctively asked another question. "Are you a new student at Shrek Academy this year too?"
"Mm."
Gu Yunxiao treated words like gold, offering only a single "Mm."
Seeing that Gu Yunxiao had no desire to talk, Huo Yuhao sensibly fell silent and quietly tidied his bed.
A moment later.
Another burst of hurried footsteps sounded outside the door. From the sound of it, there was more than one person.
The dormitory door happened to be half-open, and the person outside casually pushed it open.
"Yuhao, we're here to take you..."
Bei Bei stopped halfway through his sentence. Upon suddenly spotting Gu Yunxiao inside, his smile froze.
"Bei Bei, what's wrong?" Tang Ya, behind him, sounded puzzled. She instinctively poked her head around him and immediately caught sight of Gu Yunxiao.
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