The dispute between Mu Jin and Zhou Yi was fiercer than ever. It was hard to believe there were no personal grudges involved.
For the next few days, their homeroom teacher was nowhere to be seen. Xiao Zi was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet, leaving everything to Dai Huabin.
Speaking of core disciples, during the freshman assessment a year earlier, Dai Huabin had lost to Huo Yuhao but had displayed the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger. He had been granted core disciple status alongside Zhu Lu, Ning Tian, and the others.
Xiao Zi had basked in his reflected glory. Coupled with his astonishing configuration of two thousand-year soul rings as his first two rings, it had earned him a late addition to the ranks of core disciples. As for whether that broke the rules, never mind that. If anyone asked, it was academy policy-geniuses naturally received special treatment.
But given his circumstances, it did seem reasonable.
A twelve-year-old, rank twenty-six Soul Grandmaster with two purple soul rings and the supreme beast martial soul, Golden Horned Beast-he fell short of the best but surpassed the rest. He counted among the leading geniuses. Perhaps he could even become a member of the Sea God Pavilion?
His core disciple designation also carried the prefix "Martial Soul Department." With the Douluo Three Kingdoms placing no importance whatsoever on soul tools, the Soul Tool Department could practically be disregarded.
Although Xiao Zi disliked Shrek's neglect of the Soul Tool Department, he knew how little power he had. Trying to change things alone would be like an ant trying to shake a tree. Besides, he was destined to stand against Shrek in the future. Why strengthen his enemy and make trouble for himself?
If an opportunity arose, he could consider the Sun Moon Empire. Setting their specific goals aside, both sides followed the same anti-Shrek path.
"With core disciple status, our plans will be much easier to carry out," Qian Renxue reminded him.
Xiao Zi nodded in agreement. Core disciples stood at the very top of the Outer Court. Zhou Yi, for instance, could not expel one on a whim. Even if she refused to keep them in her class, they would be assigned to another class to continue their studies. Dai Huabin was the perfect example.
As the second school year began and Huo Yuhao returned to drive the plot forward, Xiao Zi would have plenty to do. Having this status as cover would undoubtedly make things much easier.
After making a circuit, he was about to enter the classroom when he ran into Huo Yuhao and the others. He greeted them politely, his gaze inadvertently drifting toward Wang Dong. She was looking at him too, with an emotion he could neither name nor explain.
After two transmigrations and a rebirth, Xiao Zi feared neither heaven nor earth. Yet his heart skipped a beat at that moment. With Qian Renxue urging him on, he lowered his head and hurried into the classroom.
I only meant to seize some power of destiny and build a good relationship along the way. Why does this feel like it's going a little beyond what I expected?
The cafeteria.
Since the start of term, he had been busy traveling between two worlds and had barely experienced the academy's people and surroundings. Now that it was mealtime, Xiao Zi followed behind Dai Huabin as usual, attracting no attention.
But reality proved that nothing at Shrek was worth looking forward to. Such a huge cafeteria, and there were no seats! Everyone had to eat standing up!
Its only redeeming feature was that core disciples received free, top-quality meals, which were more nutritious than vegetables and steamed buns.
A new little tip for dropping out every day. If Shrek Academy had not been without an alternative on the entire continent, and the Sun Moon Empire had not been so far away, he would have fled long ago.
Unwilling to pass up any opportunity to fleece Shrek, Xiao Zi turned his grief and indignation into appetite and dug in right where he stood!
Perhaps because he had absorbed some of Huo Yuhao's destiny, his presence was no longer inconsequential. People occasionally approached him to strike up conversations, hoping to establish a closer relationship.
His handsome appearance and cold, indifferent air looked simply cool to the young girls. Combined with his reasonably good talent, they made Xiao Zi a hot commodity. Quite a few female students cast coy glances his way, hinting that they wanted to date him.
Being Dai Huabin's follower was no drawback. On the contrary, it earned him extra points. It meant gaining a connection to the White Tiger Duke and getting a genius thrown in for free-a win-win!
In his previous life, he had been a lofty champion of pure love, devoted only to the Goddess of Life. This was Xiao Zi's first experience of being surrounded by beautiful girls. It actually felt rather nice?
As though some special trait had awakened in him, Xiao Zi treated every girl who approached him with great warmth, regardless of whether any romance would develop. The contrast felt like an iceberg melting, setting the young girls' hearts fluttering like startled deer. It also earned him a dangerous look from Qian Renxue.
"Li Lezi, could we talk to you?"
A pair of beautiful twin girls with similar features approached and asked timidly.
The first thing Xiao Zi noticed was not their faces, but the waterfall-like blue hair cascading down their backs. With his knowledge of the original story, he recognized them as the sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo. Their martial soul was hair, and they possessed the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Heavenly Net.
During the freshman assessment a year earlier, that skill had placed them just below Huo Yuhao, Dai Huabin, and the others, making them students Shrek paid considerable attention to.
Strictly speaking, the sisters possessed body martial souls. Unfortunately, the body part involved was not particularly important. They might have achieved something in the Body Sect, but they were rather underwhelming amid Shrek's fierce competition.
Although he did not quite understand why the sisters had sought him out, Xiao Zi wanted to build good relationships, so he asked gently, "Is there something you need?"
At his response, both Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo brightened. They seemed utterly guileless, and it did not look like an act. Just like that, they fell into an animated private conversation.
Before long, an incident made the already noisy cafeteria even livelier.
With Xiao Zi off chatting with beautiful girls, Dai Huabin was bored out of his mind. He waited to one side with his fiancée Zhu Lu and his teammate Cui Yajie, only to run straight into Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao. Sparks flew.
The grudges between them went back a long way. No preamble was even needed before they began arguing in the cafeteria, and the situation gradually escalated.
With his homeroom teacher Zhou Yi firmly backing him, and permission to study in both the Martial Soul and Soul Tool Departments, Huo Yuhao was riding an unrivaled wave of attention. He had become one of the academy's most talked-about figures.
Mu En's attitude alone made that clear. Every day, he lay along the route Huo Yuhao had to take to his dormitory, occasionally revealing his identity as a hidden master to offer pointers and win the boy's goodwill.
Before meeting Xiao Zi, Dai Huabin had spent plenty of time at home hurling vicious curses at Huo Yuhao. Every day, he thought about how to turn defeat into victory, trample Huo Yuhao underfoot, and make him sing "Conquest." Naturally, he had nothing pleasant to say.
"Huo Yuhao, do you dare make a bet with me?"
The wager had arrived late, but it had arrived all the same. Unfortunately, since it had not been issued by a certain God King, its effectiveness was greatly diminished. Barring any surprises, Dai Huabin would lose, then kneel and kowtow, thoroughly humiliating himself.
As a soul slave, his humiliation would also be a slap in his master's face. Yet Xiao Zi did not stop him immediately. He even deliberately delayed, letting the situation deteriorate in the hope that the storm would rage still harder.
The two sides soon reached the stakes: the Left Leg Bone Xiao Xiao had absorbed during the freshman assessment. The losers would also have to kneel and kowtow to the winners.
Dai Huabin's malice was so blatant that the other side naturally would not sit still and await their doom. Even if the odds were ten thousand to one, there was still that one possibility. What if they lost? Surely they would not really have to chop off a leg to retrieve the bone?
Just as Huo Yuhao was about to object and propose different stakes, someone entered the fray, his tall figure impossible for anyone to ignore...
"I have an idea."