You're a girl?

Academic Affairs Office.

Du Weilun glared angrily at the three standing before him.

Qi Xuan, Wang Dong, and Huo Yuhao.

Classes had not even officially started, yet students were already fighting. Fortunately, no one had been killed or seriously injured.

And none of these three youngsters was easy to handle.

Qi Xuan had stunned the teachers and students at the entrance assessment with his two purple soul rings;

Wang Dong was equally outrageous, with one yellow and one purple, and she came from the secluded Clear Sky Sect;

As for Huo Yuhao... all Du Weilun knew so far was that he was one of the very few freshmen with a ten-year soul ring.

Since Qi Xuan had brought the situation under control, the commotion had quickly died down.

A healing-type teacher had soon healed Huo Yuhao's injuries. Not only had they left no lasting damage, but he even felt his bottleneck beginning to loosen again.

"Every one of you has your eyes perched atop your head! Do you think Shrek's school rules don't apply to you? Forget being friendly to your fellow students-you went straight to fists and feet!" Du Weilun pointed at the three, exasperated that iron would not become steel.

Qi Xuan immediately protested his innocence. "Director Du, I didn't take part in the fight! I was just helping clean up afterward."

Du Weilun glared at him, then turned his gaze to the other two.

"Tell me, what happened?"

Wang Dong took a deep breath. "It was all my..."

Huo Yuhao cut her off, stepping forward and saying respectfully, "Director Du, we're roommates. We had a disagreement over a few small things."

Wang Dong's eyes flickered as she stared at Huo Yuhao's back in surprise.

From the sound of it, he wanted to split the blame equally. She might otherwise have ended up facing disciplinary action.

But Huo Yuhao straightened his back. "Director Du, I have a request. Wang Dong and I have different living habits, so could you move us to different dorm rooms?"

Behind him, Wang Dong rolled her eyes.

Hmph, who wants to live with you anyway?

Du Weilun pondered for a moment. "All the first-year dorm rooms are already assigned this year, so making changes would be difficult. Since you're roommates, try to be a little more accommodating toward each other. If you really can't get along, there should be rooms available when you reach your second year."

Huo Yuhao was somewhat disappointed, but he still nodded in agreement.

At the same time, he silently vowed that since they could not piss into the same pot, they could at least keep well water from meddling with river water and endure the year.

Du Weilun nodded. It seemed their disagreement had been resolved.

"That's not right, is it, Director Du?" Qi Xuan's voice rang out ominously.

"What is your objection?" Du Weilun had a bad feeling.

"Wang Dong, your martial soul is the Light Goddess Butterfly, isn't it?" Qi Xuan turned to Wang Dong.

"Yes." Wang Dong had no idea what he was getting at.

"As far as I know, everyone with the Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul is a female soul master."

Wang Dong's expression changed, while Huo Yuhao turned his head in shock.

"Y-you're a girl?"

He studied Wang Dong's delicate features, long legs, and fair skin again, an indescribably strange feeling rising within him.

Wang Dong was just as startled. She had thought her disguise as a boy was seamless, yet she had given herself away so quickly-and in a way she could not possibly conceal.

Du Weilun pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. He was now completely certain that Qi Xuan was the most troublesome of this bunch.

Although Shrek and the Clear Sky Sect were not particularly close, there was still some goodwill between them. Both sides had tacitly approved of Wang Dong enrolling disguised as a boy.

But now that Qi Xuan had exposed it outright, the matter would have to be brought out into the open.

Under Qi Xuan's piercing gaze, Wang Dong turned her face slightly away. She offered no rebuttal, tacitly admitting that he was right.

Du Weilun waved a hand, deciding to cut through the tangled knot with one swift stroke. "In that case, Wang Dong, move into the girls' dormitory and share a room with this student named Xiao Xiao. Huo Yuhao, you'll room with Qi Xuan. Any further objections?"

Huo Yuhao was overjoyed. "Thank you, Director Du!"

The three left the Academic Affairs Office, and Wang Dong suddenly spoke.

"Huo Yuhao."

"What is it?"

Under the gaze of Huo Yuhao's clear, bright Spirit Eyes, Wang Dong somehow felt her face growing a little warm.

"S-sorry." After hurriedly murmuring those words, she immediately raised her voice to cover them up. "Since you spoke up for me just now, here, take this."

She took a bottle from her Storage Soul Tool. Inside was a golden pill that faintly radiated the breath of life.

"Training seems pretty hard for you, too. This is a Spirit-Moistening Pill. It can improve your constitution, so consider it my apology."

Without waiting for Huo Yuhao to refuse, she summoned her Light Goddess Butterfly and flew away in a few swift bounds.

The setting sun cast its evening glow, and the butterfly's silhouette danced through the air.

Huo Yuhao rubbed his head with a silly grin, feeling that Wang Dong might not be so annoying after all.

"I don't think Wang Dong's a bad person. Maybe she just comes from a well-off family and isn't used to living with other people."

Watching helplessly as Huo Yuhao let his little head rule his big head, Qi Xuan could only lament in vain. "Try living with her for a year and see if you can stand it. Get close, and she grows insolent; keep your distance, and she resents you!"

"By the way, Brother Xuan," Huo Yuhao said, growing increasingly familiar with Qi Xuan, "that was the first time I'd seen your second soul skill. You were so fast."

"Of course." Qi Xuan nodded. "The later the soul ring, the greater its power and consumption become. So if you want a movement soul skill-something practical that you'll need to use frequently-it's best to get it within your first three rings."

"Putting it any later would cost you some offensive potential, and it would consume more power, too."

"That makes sense." Huo Yuhao nodded. Unfortunately, his martial soul was Spirit Eyes, so he probably would not have much chance of obtaining a movement soul skill.

"This move lets me pour the power of lightning into my body, greatly increasing my speed. After all, speed is one of the lightning element's defining traits."

"So I named it Three Thousand Thunderclaps."

"What an awesome name!" Huo Yuhao obligingly supplied the enthusiastic reaction.

Qi Xuan turned his head away, feeling a little guilty.

Once enrollment was complete, Shrek's new semester finally began.

The freshman class assignment lists had been posted. Since they were new students, they had no choice of specialization for the time being.

Since Qi Xuan and Huo Yuhao had registered relatively early, both were in Class One.

The two hurried into the White Freshman Teaching Building with the stream of students and found Class One's classroom.

The classroom was enormous, with tiered seating arranged in an arc. No matter where a student sat, they could see the teacher at the lectern at a glance.

Their teacher was a young man who looked very refined.

Having only just enrolled, many of the students were excited, and the classroom was filled with chattering voices.

Qi Xuan and Huo Yuhao chose seats near the front and did not join the discussions.

Once nearly everyone had arrived, the teacher gave a soft cough.

A ripple of soul power spread outward from him, gently sweeping over every student in the classroom and instantly drawing all their eyes to the unremarkable-looking teacher.

The classroom fell silent at once.

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to Freshman Class One. I'm your homeroom teacher, Wang Yan."