The dormitory building occupied an enormous area. Although it was a single building, it was divided into white, yellow, purple, and black sections, marking the residential areas for students of progressively higher years. It stood six stories tall.
Huo Yuhao headed straight for the entrance to the white dormitory section. Looking up, he spotted a very old-looking man seated there.
The old man wore gray cloth robes. Weathered wrinkles covered his face, his eyes were yellowed and dim, and his eyelids drooped. He looked like a candle guttering in the wind.
Sunlight fell through the gap between the buildings, landing directly on the old man. His reclining chair looked quite comfortable.
"Oh? Yuhao, this man's cultivation is no ordinary thing." Suddenly, Yao Lao's voice rang out in Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness.
Throughout their journey, Yao Lao had also used Huo Yuhao as an intermediary to ask the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm about the Douluo Continent's methods of using spiritual power-or rather, soul force.
He could now enter Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness and communicate with him mentally.
Huo Yuhao smiled faintly and said within his Sea of Consciousness, "If I'm not mistaken, this is Shrek Academy's strongest expert, the Level 99 Limit Douluo, Dragon God Douluo Mu En. Teacher, look. He's absorbing all the sunlight falling on him into his body. That means he commands the light attribute as effortlessly as an arm commands its fingers."
Of course, there was absolutely no chance he was mistaken. That was exactly how the original novel had written it.
"A Level 99 Limit Douluo? Hmm, interesting," Yao Lao said.
"Teacher, could he discover your presence?" Huo Yuhao asked worriedly.
As one of the most powerful individuals currently on the Douluo Continent, Mu En possessed strength beyond anything he could imagine.
If Mu En noticed that he carried a soul entity around with him, even the best outcome would be having his soul power crippled and being exiled as an Evil Soul Master.
"Don't worry. He still can't detect my presence," Yao Lao said with a chuckle. "However, if you want to learn how to refine medicine, you'd best avoid living inside this academy. This dormitory building is too close to him. Even if I conceal you with my soul force, he could easily pick up a stray thread or footprint."
"I understand." Huo Yuhao nodded knowingly, an idea immediately taking shape in his mind.
Putting on a flawlessly innocent expression, Huo Yuhao stepped forward and said respectfully, "Hello, Grandpa. I'm a new student here to move into the dormitory. Would you like to check my freshman badge?"
Without raising his head, Mu En extended his trembling right hand. His voice was low and slightly hoarse. "Let me see your badge and dormitory key."
Huo Yuhao handed over his freshman badge and dormitory key. Mu En glanced at them, then said, "Go on in. Room 108 is the third room on the left on the first floor. The girls' dormitories start on the fourth floor. You're not allowed up there. Anyone caught will be expelled."
Right, got it. If you want to get a room together, go off campus, Huo Yuhao silently snarked.
He bowed to Mu En again in thanks, then walked straight into the dormitory building. Mu En watched his retreating figure out of the corner of his eye, a faint smile appearing on his face.
"An interesting child. But casually probing others with spiritual power isn't a good habit. Since you were so polite, I'll forgive you this once."
Following Mu En's directions, Huo Yuhao soon found Room 108.
He could also tell that the dormitory's interior was rather run-down. Who knew how many years it had been in use? There was a communal restroom at either end of the corridor, exactly like the dormitories of ordinary middle and high schools on Blue Star in his previous life.
He could only marvel at that esteemed person's ability to dream up such an outrageous dormitory arrangement. Had all the money Shrek Academy collected over the years gone straight into its higher-ups' pockets?
There was another, more important question. Although Wang Dong was disguised as a boy, she ought to be missing certain essential hardware, right? With communal restrooms in the dormitory, how did she use the toilet normally?
Even if she went when no one was around, she would have to check first, wouldn't she? If she walked in and happened to catch some guy opening the floodgates, wouldn't that...
Well, that warranted a fine of at least three hundred.
The door to Room 108 was open. Huo Yuhao walked straight in and discovered that a "boy" was already inside.
The "boy" had delicate features and fair skin, with a striking pair of large eyes that were a pale pinkish blue. Her neat, short hair was the same color, and she looked about the same height and age as Huo Yuhao. This was God King Tang's beloved daughter... 's hero fragment, Wang Dong'er.
Of course, she should still be called Wang Dong for now.
"Who are you?" Wang Dong asked haughtily when she saw Huo Yuhao enter the dormitory. "Oh, you're the one sharing my room? Very well. You have one hour to clean the dormitory. Then I'll allow you to stay with me for the time being."
"But there are a few rules you need to remember. First, don't bring people back to the dormitory without permission. Second, don't annoy me by walking around naked in here. Third, no snoring at night. Fourth, don't disturb me. Fifth, you'll be responsible for cleaning the dormitory from now on, but don't touch my bed. Is that clear?"
Huo Yuhao surveyed the dormitory. No one had lived in this room for at least a month, and a thick layer of dust covered everything.
Meanwhile, Wang Dong's luggage sat on the only reasonably clean table in the room. It appeared that this little princess, pampered since childhood, had no idea how to do any housework.
If Huo Yuhao hadn't come, would she have ended up sleeping on that table tonight?
"Why should I listen to you?" Huo Yuhao asked with a slight smile.
Wang Dong snorted. "If you don't listen, I'll beat you out of here. Try me if you don't believe it."
"No, there's no need to try." Huo Yuhao smiled again and shook his head. "Take good advice, and you'll never go hungry. My greatest strength is knowing how to take advice. Since you won't let me live in this dormitory, I'll just leave."
Shrugging, Huo Yuhao headed straight out of the dormitory building. Wang Dong stared after him in complete bewilderment, then hesitated for a moment before chasing him.
Returning to the dormitory entrance, Huo Yuhao stopped in front of Mu En. Mu En looked at him with a very peculiar expression, caught somewhere between surprise and not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Sure enough, he could sense everything that just happened. Now certain, Huo Yuhao smiled and asked Mu En, "Grandpa, are students at our academy allowed to rent a place in Shrek City?"
Mu En paused. Even he hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to ask such a question.
"In principle, that isn't allowed, but..."
"But my roommate seems strongly opposed to sharing a room with me, so I'm homeless now. If you won't agree, I'll have no choice but to live with you, Grandpa," Huo Yuhao said rather shamelessly.
"Heh, you slippery little rascal. You really are..." Mu En smiled helplessly, an unusual gleam appearing in his eyes.
"All right. Go back to the registration office and return your dormitory key. After that, you can rent a place in Shrek City yourself. But think it through. Living in Shrek City is very expensive."
Huo Yuhao nodded with a cheerful smile and headed straight toward the registration office. Wang Dong had also chased him out of the dormitory by then. Looking at his retreating figure, she gave a disdainful smile.
"You don't even have the courage to fight? How does a coward like you expect to make a place for himself at Shrek Academy?"
Hearing Wang Dong's words, Huo Yuhao turned around with a faint smile. He found a head-sized piece of broken rock nearby and casually tossed it into the air.
Then he shifted his feet, angled his body, and drove his elbow backward with explosive force, striking the rock squarely.
"Eight Extremes Collapse!"
Boom!
White stone dust filled the air. In an instant, the rock shattered into countless peanut-sized pieces.
A thoughtful look immediately appeared in Mu En's eyes, while Wang Dong merely sneered at Huo Yuhao's actions.
"Is he trying to intimidate me? He doesn't dare actually fight me, so he takes his anger out on a lousy rock instead. How ridiculous."
Yet Mu En watched Huo Yuhao stride away, chuckling and shaking his head. "If you really fought, you might not be his match."
"Why?!" Wang Dong demanded loudly, unconvinced. "I'm obviously much stronger than him. If I wanted to deal with him, he wouldn't even be able to touch me. How could he possibly beat me?"
Mu En pointed at Huo Yuhao's elbow, which was already bright red and occasionally showed as he walked.
"His ability to endure far exceeds yours. If you truly fought to the death, there would be no fear in his heart. You, however, are different. Not everyone can face death as though returning home."
Wang Dong froze briefly at his words. She said nothing, merely bowing to Mu En before heading straight back to the dormitory.
Once Wang Dong left, Mu En's gaze grew deep. He extended his aged, withered hand and tried to imitate Huo Yuhao's earlier movement, but never seemed to grasp its essence.
"A Self-Created Soul Skill? But that power... Indeed, quite a few Little Monsters have joined the academy this year..."
Although Shrek Academy did not, in principle, permit students to live off campus, the teacher at the registration office immediately completed all the paperwork for Huo Yuhao upon hearing that the order had come personally from the man lying like a corpse outside the freshman teaching building.
Few students knew it, but all the teachers at Shrek Academy understood that he was the current Sea God Pavilion Master, the academy's highest decision-maker. Since even he had agreed, there was no need to bother with rules.
Prices in Shrek City were indeed steep. Huo Yuhao found a hotel in the city and settled on a monthly accommodation fee of three hundred Gold Soul Coins.
However, the hotel provided lodging but not meals. Every day, Huo Yuhao would have to eat at Shrek Academy's cafeteria before returning to the hotel for the night.
It was a little inconvenient, but all of it was worth it. After all, he didn't want to cultivate things outside this world's system right under someone else's nose. That would inevitably invite suspicion.
Classes would begin in three days. Lying on the hotel's large bed, Huo Yuhao recalled the notice he had seen on the class assignment bulletin board.
Huo Yuhao, Freshman Class One. Homeroom teacher: Zhou Yi!
Before you continue