"You want this student?" Zhou Yi's expression was downright ugly now.
The first day of school should have been her familiar opportunity to establish her authority. As luck would have it, she had also heard about a certain Huo Yuhao in her class, who had actually chosen to stay at a hotel in Shrek City to avoid a conflict with his roommate.
What a perfect target for establishing her authority. All she had to do was punish Huo Yuhao harshly and let the other students see him utterly exhausted, meekly bowing his head in submission to her. After that, not a single one of them would dare object to her orders.
This was her usual trick: killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, intimidating the students in her class until they developed a slavish mentality.
Even if she hurt them afterward, or expelled them from Shrek Academy at the drop of a hat, they would believe it was only right.
In modern medicine, this was called Stockholm syndrome.
What she had not expected, however, was that the target she had chosen was the most obstinate troublemaker of them all.
Huo Yuhao had neither resisted her oppression with violence nor gone to the academic affairs office to argue his case. Instead, he had used this seemingly ridiculous method to turn her into a laughingstock among the other teachers.
"That's right, Zhou Yi. Don't forget, we're both homeroom teachers for freshman classes. You have the authority to expel your students from the academy, and I have just as much authority to admit him to my class!" Mu Jin said with a cold laugh.
Zhou Yi's expression stiffened. She shifted her gaze to Huo Yuhao's face, a threat showing in her eyes. Clearly, if Huo Yuhao really chose to join Mu Jin's Freshman Class Nine, she would still find ways to trip him up.
What she did not know, however, was that Huo Yuhao had already met Qian Duoduo when he enrolled.
If she tried to use her connections, or even those of her husband, Fan Yu, to drive Huo Yuhao out of Shrek Academy, Qian Duoduo would certainly not let her off lightly.
Seeing the vicious, savage look Zhou Yi shot him, Huo Yuhao shrank back behind Mu Jin like a frightened kitten.
"Hello, Teacher Mu Jin. Today is my first day attending classes, but Teacher Zhou wants to expel me from the academy because I don't want to fight my classmates. I don't understand why."
Although Mu Jin was not as much of a gossip as Zhou Yi, he had heard about Huo Yuhao moving into a hotel in Shrek City.
He had originally looked down somewhat on Huo Yuhao's seemingly weak behavior, but the sight of Zhou Yi's twitching old face filled his heart with delight.
That was also why he had chosen to accept Huo Yuhao. There was no other reason-he simply wanted to make Zhou Yi sick.
But upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Mu Jin instinctively asked, "Oh? You don't want to fight your classmates? Why is that?"
A mist of tears had already gathered at the corners of Huo Yuhao's eyes. His face flushed red and his body trembled slightly, as though he were desperately holding back his sobs.
In a voice filled with mournful resentment and inferiority, he slowly said, "Teacher, you know I'm an orphan. My father died when I was young, and my mother passed away from illness a little while ago. Before she died, she taught me not to stir up trouble without cause. That's why I didn't want to get into a conflict with Wang Dong and chose to live off campus instead."
"Does honoring my mother's dying teachings make me a coward? Does throwing a punch at my future classmates, my future companions, make me a brave warrior?"
"The Shrek Academy of my dreams is an academy that trains powerful Soul Masters who uphold justice, cut down the strong, and support the weak. But why does Teacher Zhou want me to viciously attack my own classmates? Could it be that she wants to raise a pack of bandits and robbers?"
Perfect expression! Perfect delivery! Perfect movements! Let us award this year's Shrek golden statuette to student Huo Yuhao of Freshman Class O... Freshman Class Nine!
The ten-billion-year Soul Skill, Moral Blackmail, activated, instantly leaving both Zhou Yi and Mu Jin dumbfounded. Even the teachers and students from other classes who had come out to watch the spectacle fell silent, thoughtful expressions appearing on their faces.
A trace of panic finally appeared in Zhou Yi's eyes. Under Huo Yuhao's flawless acting, the situation had spiraled out of control to a dangerously precarious point.
"Huo Yuhao, you're spitting blood to slander your teacher! You..." Zhou Yi faced him with a fierce expression and a harsh voice, intending to salvage the increasingly unfavorable situation with an angry reprimand.
But Huo Yuhao wiped away nonexistent tears with his sleeve and said between quiet sobs, "I'm sorry, Teacher Zhou. I understand now. Someone like me doesn't deserve to stay at Shrek Academy. I'll go complete the withdrawal paperwork right away."
Mu Jin immediately grew anxious at those words. He hurriedly grabbed Huo Yuhao's arm and said, his eyes reddening, "No, Yuhao, you can't leave! You're right. Someone who obeys his mother's teachings isn't a coward! Come on, let's go back to Freshman Class Nine!"
"Mu Jin, don't you dare..." Zhou Yi grew anxious as well and stepped forward to grab Huo Yuhao's shoulder again. Just then, however, another teacher suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
The teacher was around fifty, tall and broad, with a dark, beardless face and a stern expression. Both Zhou Yi and Mu Jin immediately stopped moving when they saw him, not daring to do anything further.
"Hello, Huo Yuhao. I'm Du Weilun, dean of the Outer Academy's Martial Soul Department. I heard everything you just said. You did nothing wrong, and you don't need to withdraw from Shrek. You can return to Freshman Class Nine with Teacher Mu Jin now. Teacher Mu Jin will handle your transfer paperwork with me after class."
After finishing, Du Weilun turned his gaze to Zhou Yi, and another layer of frost settled over his already stern expression.
"Zhou Yi, come to the academic affairs office after class. I have something to discuss with you!"
Zhou Yi's face had gone somewhat pale. She knew that if Du Weilun faithfully reported what had happened today, she would face consequences she could not stomach.
Mu Jin gazed with immense satisfaction at Zhou Yi's ashen face, then patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder and had him follow him back to Freshman Class Nine.
As Huo Yuhao left, he glanced back at Zhou Yi. To her surprise, however, there was no trace of weakness or fear in his eyes now, only an icy indifference.
If you know what's good for you, today's affair ends here. If you really try to come after me in the future, don't blame me for being ruthless, Huo Yuhao thought coolly.
Freshman Class Nine's classroom was much like Class One's, likewise packed with students.
But compared with Class One's overly tense, solemn atmosphere, Class Nine's approach to teaching was relatively relaxed. When Huo Yuhao entered, quite a few students pointed at him, chatting and laughing about something.
"Quiet down!"
Mu Jin's voice was not loud, but his soul power instantly carried it throughout the classroom. At his words, the somewhat noisy class immediately fell silent.
"This is a new student joining our Freshman Class Nine. His name is Huo Yuhao. Yuhao, come introduce yourself to your classmates."
Huo Yuhao nodded and walked up to the platform. As his gaze swept briefly across the room, he noticed two female students sitting right at the front out of the corner of his eye.
The girl sitting on the left was tall, even slightly taller than Huo Yuhao. Her short blond hair looked neat and crisp, and her large, water-blue eyes had long lashes. A few charming little freckles dotted her cheeks.
The girl on the right had short, fiery red hair, and her eyes were an equally unusual red. At first glance, she seemed rather domineering. A closer look, however, revealed exquisitely delicate features and skin as fair as jade, though her gaze was cold.
After that brief glance, Huo Yuhao looked away and said with a smile, "Hello, everyone. My name is Huo Yuhao. I'm eleven years old, my soul power is rank eleven, and I'm from the Star Luo Empire. I've transferred from Freshman Class One to our Freshman Class Nine."
Upon hearing the words "rank eleven," the students all revealed doubtful looks. Wasn't the minimum requirement for admission to Shrek Academy rank fifteen? How had this person gotten into Shrek Academy?
"That's right. Huo Yuhao's soul power is only rank eleven. I know you're all curious about how he passed the academy's assessment to become a freshman," Mu Jin explained from beside him. "He's a specially invited student, so he wasn't required to pass an assessment upon entering the academy. But that's the only exception made for specially invited students. If he can't complete the coursework assigned by the academy, he'll still be eliminated. All right, Huo Yuhao, find a seat."
At Mu Jin's words, an unusual light flashed in the blond girl's eyes. The red-haired girl, however, revealed a trace of contempt and turned her gaze away from Huo Yuhao.
After thanking Mu Jin, Huo Yuhao picked an empty seat in a middle row and sat down. Mu Jin then walked up to the platform and wrote two large words on the blackboard.
Class monitor!
"Next, we'll elect the class monitor of our Freshman Class Nine. Anyone who wants to become class monitor should come up to the platform and demonstrate their abilities. Then we'll decide who gets the position by a vote. The new class monitor will nominate the deputy class monitor."
Compared with Zhou Yi's forcible appointments, Mu Jin's democratic approach was clearly more popular.
Most of the students in the class now looked eager to try. They were outstanding young Soul Masters from various factions across the continent, all proud and ambitious. Naturally, they were very interested in becoming class monitor.
Just then, a male student in the back row joked, "If you ask me, we might as well make Huo Yuhao the monitor of our Freshman Class Nine. During the freshman assessment, when students from other classes see that our Class Nine monitor only has one ring, they'll definitely underestimate us, and then... heh heh."
The others naturally burst into laughter at his words, but the red-haired girl sitting at the front gave a cold snort.
"Make him class monitor? Is he even worthy?!"
At those words, the noisy classroom instantly fell silent. But just as they thought Huo Yuhao would grow frightened and back down of his own accord, he spoke with a smile.
"My family cuts keys. How many do you think you're fit for?"