"The moment you revealed your soul rings, that dean's entire expression changed," Qian Renxue could not help reminding him.
Xiao Zi answered with a question of his own. "Not angry anymore?"
Qian Renxue replied haughtily, "I'm just worried you'll get into trouble and drag me down with you~"
Without exposing her pretense, Xiao Zi explained patiently, "For someone of Du Weilun's standing as dean to single out a freshman like me was already unusual. From what we overheard just now, Zhou Yi, Class One's homeroom teacher, is the one stirring things up behind the scenes."
"Zhou Yi?" After exchanging memories, Qian Renxue had heard plenty about Shrek's expulsion Immortal; her reputation thundered in her ears. "You only just entered Shrek. You don't even know her!"
"Perhaps it has something to do with Dai Huabin."
After leaving the dean's office, Xiao Zi headed toward the dormitory building to find his new roommate, thinking as he walked.
The Shrek Outer Court had originally been established to gild the credentials of imperial and noble children. Even if its former glory had faded, its essence remained unchanged. It offered almost no tangible benefits, and students could graduate and leave at rank forty.
If they happened to encounter Zhou Yi, that expulsion Immortal, their studies could be declared complete the moment they enrolled-without a diploma, of course.
Recommendation letters, harsh assessments, and good luck on top of everything else-with all those requirements piled together, practically no commoner children could enter the Inner Court. At least, Xiao Zi had never seen anyone like that.
Take Ling Luochеn from earlier, for example. She came from a secluded sect, possessed the top-tier ice element martial soul, and had reached Soul King at a young age. Only then had she qualified for admission to the Inner Court.
Originally, Xiao Zi had planned to graduate once he reached rank forty. Yet judging by Du Weilun's expression, he did not think leaving would be easy. After all, even severely weakened, the Golden Horned Beast still counted as a super martial soul in the Douluo World. Add two purple soul rings, and no Soul Master Academy could remain indifferent, much less Shrek.
He told Qian Renxue in his Sea of Consciousness, "I originally planned to graduate from Shrek as quickly as possible, but after seeing Du Weilun's attitude, I had a new idea. Staying here might not be so bad~"
It was the start of the school year, and a sea of people crowded beneath the dormitory building. Students carried bags of every size inside, blocking the entrance so tightly that not even water could seep through.
Watching the stream of people coming and going, Xiao Zi felt a rare trace of bewilderment. "Before I left with Ling Luochеn, I don't think I asked where Dai Huabin lived?"
It was neither a huge mistake nor an insignificant one. At the very least, right then and there, it made him seem completely out of place among the crowd.
His resurrection and the boost from two purple soul rings had sent Xiao Zi's height shooting up to 1.7 meters. Standing right in the most crowded part of the entrance, he stuck out like a wooden post.
"Hey, you!"
A clear, soft voice with a touch of lively grace sounded behind him. Xiao Zi turned and saw a pink-and-blue-haired "man" walking toward him.
Even Shrek's shit-green uniform could not conceal that peerless, city-toppling beauty. Those large, watery, mascara-ad eyes seemed poised to speak, yet held back. Such an androgynous face was enough to make men and women alike feel ashamed of their own looks.
Xiao Zi was a man through and through. Though his features were handsome and cleanly defined, he lacked some of this person's delicate beauty and fell slightly short by comparison.
The face was both unfamiliar and familiar. Xiao Zi stared at her without blinking. From anyone else's perspective, his eyes were practically glued to her... he was dumbstruck.
His burning gaze was impossible to ignore. The pink-and-blue-haired youth stopped and looked him over strangely. "You're really weird. Why are you standing here like a rock instead of going back to your dorm?"
An intuition stirred within him. Xiao Zi had to figure out who this person was. She might be of great use to his future.
He put on a melancholy expression. "I can't find my dorm. I don't know where I'm supposed to go."
She found that even stranger. "What's so hard about that? Just ask your roommate!"
Xiao Zi looked even more sorrowful. "My roommate is Dai Huabin."
Everyone knew Dai Huabin was an out-and-out spoiled noble brat. If he had not driven away ten study companions, he had driven away eight. This person had probably offended him and been deliberately left hanging here.
Understanding dawned on her. Her gaze filled with sympathy as she gave Xiao Zi an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "So that's it. I misjudged you. Dai Huabin's room is 208. Hurry upstairs and apologize. Try to get him to forgive you."
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Xiao Zi instinctively moved to leave. "Thank you."
He was just about to turn when she said, "Since this is our first meeting, I'm Wang Dong. What's your name?"
The small measure of goodwill he had just developed vanished like smoke upon hearing that name.
Xiao Zi stiffened. His gaze went from calm to icy, with a trace of madness.
Wang Dong... Tang Wutong... Tang San's daughter!
In that instant, he remembered everything from the past. His memories of the Divine Realm flashed by like a revolving lantern.
After Tang Wutong's birth, Tang San had instructed his wife, Xiao Wu, to approach the Goddess of Life and win her trust, then use that relationship to keep the God of Destruction in check.
It was precisely for Tang Wutong's sake that the Goddess of Life had repeatedly sided with Tang San during the Divine Realm Conference, contradicting Xiao Zi, her own husband. That was why the proposal to expand the Divine Realm had remained stalled.
Yet however many faults his wife had, Tang San's scheming had come first. The innocent Goddess of Life could never have imagined that hidden layer. Even Xiao Zi had failed to realize that Tang San would use his own daughter!
Yesterday's causes, today's consequences-there were no words for it...
Whenever he thought of his wife in the Divine Realm, pain pierced Xiao Zi's heart. He wished he could kill Tang San and be done with him!
"Xiao Zi! Xiao Zi!" Qian Renxue called repeatedly from his Sea of Consciousness, her voice filled with worry.
Xiao Zi took a deep breath. When he raised his head again, he had regained his composure. "My name is Li Lezi. I enrolled this year as a transfer student in Year Two, Class Two. It's nice to meet you."
Wang Dong had intended to shake his hand, but seeing that he had no such intention, she could only awkwardly withdraw hers. "Dai Huabin has a bad temper. If you run into trouble, just come find me in Class One. I'll stand up for you!"
Only after calming down did Xiao Zi notice something wrong with Wang Dong's condition. Her soul seemed to be missing a piece, and another part had been sealed by some kind of power.
Now he understood. It seemed Tang San wanted to play the same old trick again. Before, he had used his daughter to extract information on his peers. Now, he was using her as bait to hook a Golden Turtle Son-in-Law.
At that thought, Xiao Zi found it utterly absurd. When he looked at Wang Dong again, his gaze held not only wariness, but also a barely perceptible trace of sympathy.
It was not yet time to tear away all pretense. Perhaps he could make use of her to mislead Tang San in the Divine Realm and feed him false information.
With that thought, he put on a warm expression again. "All right. If anything happens, I'll be sure to find you."
Forced to accept reality, Xiao Zi was in a foul mood. To avoid exposing his true feelings, he turned and entered the building as soon as he finished speaking. He had achieved his goal anyway.
He feared that if he stayed even a second longer, he might mistake Wang Dong for Tang San and call down divine lightning to strike her dead.
Watching his retreating figure, Wang Dong grew even more puzzled. "Li Lezi... what a strange person!"
Without her realizing it, he had left a deep impression on her heart.