Meeting New Shrek Academy Students Again

"Finally!" Seeing Huo Yuhao walk into the private room with the grilled fish, Strawberry immediately stood up and rubbed her hands excitedly.

"You have no idea how long I've been craving this grilled fish!"

"Could you act normal? Strawberry, there are other people here," Zhang Lexuan said somewhat helplessly.

Only then, upon hearing this as he brought in the grilled fish, did Huo Yuhao notice the other people in the private room.

Besides Zhang Lexuan and Strawberry, there were four other people in the room, all girls. One was the owner of the sword martial soul who had helped make his mother's coffin back then.

The girl who had saved him together with Zhang Lexuan and Strawberry was named Le Xin. When Huo Yuhao had met her, she had already been a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, just like Zhang Lexuan.

As for the remaining three, they were younger than Zhang Lexuan and the others. Judging by their bearing, they were probably around fourteen or fifteen.

One was utterly ordinary in both looks and figure, with short hair. Sitting there, she drew no attention at all. If not for Zhang Lexuan's words prompting Huo Yuhao to take a deliberate look, he would not even have noticed her. She sat in the corner without a word.

Compared with her, the next girl was very beautiful and aloof, like a princess of ice and snow, cold and proud as a plum blossom. With her pure white skin and long white hair, just one glance at her made Huo Yuhao feel as though the surrounding temperature had dropped several degrees.

As for the last girl, if the previous one was a princess of ice and snow, Huo Yuhao was willing to call this one a queen of flames.

She was tall, with the best figure of the six girls present. She was not the oldest, but her figure was definitely the best. Dressed in a fiery red gown, with long fiery red hair, she looked youthful, beautiful, and blazing beneath the lights as she sat there, brimming with vitality. For some reason, Huo Yuhao even felt she was a little too hot.

Meeting those pale reddish-pink eyes easily gave him a very peculiar feeling. Huo Yuhao did not yet know what that feeling was, but if another man had been asked to describe it, the answer would have been soul-stealing.

But Huo Yuhao was still young and had no such thoughts at all. He merely took a moment to commit the others present to memory.

Besides, although she said nothing, the trace of pride in her expression actually made Huo Yuhao uncomfortable deep down.

The ordinary-looking girl paid him no attention-or rather, she paid no attention to his glance, or even to his presence. It was as though he were someone of no consequence, not worth wasting another glance on. She simply ignored him.

There was even less to say about the girl with the icy bearing. The cold pride in her eyes was apparent from her air the moment they met.

That included the red-haired girl. Although she wore a smile, Huo Yuhao could sense her pride when their eyes met. It felt as though she were looking at someone beneath her, with an arrogance carried in her very bones.

Perhaps because he was used to being friendly with others, suddenly sensing this attitude made Huo Yuhao deeply uncomfortable.

Although he did not know where that discomfort came from and could not figure it out, under the circumstances, he chose to suppress it.

He exchanged nods with Le Xin, the only one he knew. Since he knew her, he also understood that she was rather reserved. She usually cultivated at Shrek Academy, and in his half year in Shrek City, Huo Yuhao had only seen her two or three times.

Those visits had all been when Zhang Lexuan and Strawberry brought her over for a meal. Since they knew each other, he understood that a nod counted as a greeting, and she also liked returning one in the same way-simple, direct, and trouble-free.

"Sister Lexuan, listen to you. Apart from this little boy who just came in, we're all sisters here. There aren't any outsiders," the red-haired girl said with a smile.

"Exactly. Why put on such an act? We're all sisters here, and Yuhao is my sworn little brother. Family shouldn't talk like strangers. Oh, Yuhao, sit down and eat with us," Strawberry said, helping Huo Yuhao move the grilled fish onto the table.

"There's no need, is there? Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to join you?" Huo Yuhao looked at the six girls present, with himself the only boy. Although he was a child, this was clearly a social gathering, and joining them did not seem right.

"It's fine. Sit down, Yuhao. Oh, I haven't introduced them yet. These three are also Shrek students: Ma Xiaotao, Xixi, and Ling Luochеn! They're all older than you, so just call them big sister, as you do us. If you get into Shrek Academy in the future, they'll all be your seniors," Zhang Lexuan said. Her standing among the six was clearly very high. With a single remark from her, anyone present who had shown a momentary inclination to object fell silent.

"Hello, big sisters." Huo Yuhao obediently greeted the three. Before he could say anything more, Strawberry pulled him straight to the table.

"All right, why stand on so much ceremony? Didn't Sister Lexuan say it? Once you get into the academy, we'll all be your seniors. With your talent, getting in is only a matter of time. Just consider this an early greeting to your seniors." As she spoke, Strawberry pressed Huo Yuhao into a seat.

"Say, Sister Strawberry, are you that sure he'll get in someday?" Hearing this, the long-haired redhead could not help looking curious. According to Zhang Lexuan's introduction just now, her name was Ma Xiaotao.

"Of course. My little brother is only six, and it's been less than half a year since he awakened his martial soul, but his cultivation has already reached rank fifteen. He's already met our academy's minimum application requirement. What rank do you think he'll reach in another few years?" Strawberry sounded very proud as she spoke.

Rank fifteen was the result Strawberry had obtained when she later came back and tested Huo Yuhao out of curiosity. After all, Huo Yuhao had held back his rank. After awakening his martial soul with innate full soul power, he had not immediately obtained a soul ring, but had instead cultivated for over half a year.

Moreover, after he obtained his first soul ring, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual origin had also upgraded Huo Yuhao's martial soul. Part of his rank fifteen cultivation had come from that martial soul upgrade.

As for awakening the power of destiny within him with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's help, that had not raised Huo Yuhao's cultivation. Even his martial soul itself had not changed; it had merely gained an extremely powerful form. His cultivation was still rank fifteen.

"Rank fifteen? You're not joking?" Hearing this, even Le Xin, who knew Huo Yuhao relatively well, looked surprised.

Even a genius with innate full soul power probably could not reach that level in half a year. If he had gained five ranks in six months, then at that pace, he would reach rank twenty next year.

She knew when Huo Yuhao had awakened his martial soul.

"Of course. You can test him if you don't believe me. Sister Lexuan can vouch for it, too."

The other four girls present all looked at Zhang Lexuan, who gave a light nod.

Strawberry might joke around and fool them, but they knew very well that Zhang Lexuan absolutely would not. That meant Huo Yuhao really had reached rank fifteen in less than half a year after awakening his martial soul.

Rank fifteen might indeed be rather low compared with them, but taking Huo Yuhao's age into account, he was definitely a genius. He might even be stronger than them in cultivation. At least, when they had been Huo Yuhao's age, they had not reached rank fifteen-not a single one of them.

At that moment, the way they looked at Huo Yuhao changed. Le Xin was not too bad, but Xixi, whose gaze had originally been calm and unruffled like an ordinary person's, no longer ignored him. Before, he might not have cared about Huo Yuhao, merely treating him as an apprentice at the hotel. Now, Huo Yuhao could sense that she seemed to actually see him.

Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochеn looked the same as before, but Huo Yuhao distinctly felt that much of their arrogance seemed to have disappeared.

It was as though they no longer regarded him as beneath them, but had placed him on the same level.

But because of that earlier discomfort, even though the arrogance he had sensed from Ma Xiaotao and the others had disappeared, he still did not want to say anything. He sat in his seat, merely listening to the six chat, occasionally picking up a mouthful of food with his chopsticks as he ate. Only when someone asked him something did he offer a few casual words in response.

The fish Uncle Cao and the others had found for Huo Yuhao to grill were large. Especially since Strawberry had said she was treating her schoolmates today, they had prepared even bigger ones, knowing that Soul Masters ate a lot.

Each weighed three or four jin, and they had prepared five such fish. That was not even counting the other food on the table, a whole array of dishes such as sweet-and-sour pork tenderloin, braised duck, and candied sweet potatoes.

Although Huo Yuhao had grilled all five fish, he had made them in different flavors. By pouring different secret sauces over the grilled fish, he could make them hot and numbing, savory and fragrant, or lychee-flavored. There were five different flavors of grilled fish in total, making for an extremely rich variety.

Once he had eaten enough, Huo Yuhao chose not to stay any longer. This was the first time he had ever felt that he did not want to stay with Strawberry, Zhang Lexuan, and the others.

Over the past half year, whenever the two came to the hotel, Huo Yuhao would seek them out without even needing to be called, because he loved listening to them explain things about Soul Masters and tell stories of their experiences at Shrek Academy.

That was a world he had never encountered. Moreover, in his mind, Shrek Academy had always been the continent's number one academy. Hearing stories about studying at an academy like that filled him with longing.

Perhaps some things were only suited to being admired from afar. Once one drew close, many filters would shatter with a crash. A white moonlight was best left forever as white moonlight.

"What's wrong, Yuhao? Why are you so unhappy? Who upset you?" On the way back, Huo Yun's voice sounded beside Huo Yuhao's ear.

"I just remembered some things from the past." Huo Yuhao never hid anything from Huo Yun and told her what was on his mind.

As he sat eating at the table and had time to think, Huo Yuhao had gradually recalled that feeling. In truth, it was not unfamiliar to him. He had seen that same arrogance in many people's eyes back at the Duke's Mansion.

It was as though he were inherently a rank beneath them, the sort who practically wished they could point their nostrils at him when speaking.

Although Huo Yuhao was the duke's son, his life at the Duke's Mansion had actually been no different from that of a servant's son. In fact, it had been worse. With the duchess targeting them, even the servants had dared bully him and his mother.

He had not felt that attitude for over half a year, and suddenly sensing it again made Huo Yuhao extremely uncomfortable.

"Because they carry an inherent arrogance in their bones, thinking they're students of Shrek Academy while you're merely an apprentice helping out at a restaurant. That reminded you of how people used to order you around and look down on you, so it made you uncomfortable, right?" Huo Yun knew why Huo Yuhao had thought of the past. Perhaps it could be said that she had done this deliberately; she had not stopped Huo Yuhao from going to that private room precisely so he could see that scene.

Because he was so sensitive to those attitudes, seeing those looks had subconsciously reminded him of the way those young masters at the Duke's Mansion had looked at servants, and the way those people had once looked at him and his mother.

"Yes." Huo Yuhao nodded.

"You can't understand why they looked at you that way? Why they looked down on you? How you'd offended them? What you'd done to displease them?" Huo Yun continued asking.

"Mm." Huo Yuhao nodded again. He simply could not understand. He had done nothing, only delivered some grilled fish, so why had he been treated that way?

"Then let Mommy tell you. None of those are the reason. The reason is very simple: at first, they merely mistook you for an apprentice helping in this restaurant's kitchen." This time, Huo Yun did not keep him guessing and told Huo Yuhao the answer directly.

"Just because I was an apprentice?" Huo Yuhao stopped walking. For the first time, he truly had not expected it to be for such a reason. Without saying anything or learning anything about him, they could look at him like that simply because of what they thought.

Huo Yuhao had felt the arrogance in Ma Xiaotao's eyes disappear midway through.

The same had been true of the other two, and of those feelings that made him uncomfortable.

But if they clearly did not have to be like that, why had they acted that way at first? To protect themselves? Hadn't Strawberry said there were no outsiders in that room? Why still act like that? Or did he, who had entered later, count as an outsider?

"They pride themselves on being outstanding students of Shrek Academy, future top experts. Ma Xiaotao's teacher is even the current dean of Shrek Academy's Outer Court Martial Soul Department. That gives them an inner arrogance. Unless you have the potential or strength to speak with them as equals, or some connection to their friends, that's how they'll look at anyone at first glance.

"Of course, you're particularly sensitive to that attitude. Someone else who isn't sensitive to it might not even notice," Huo Yun continued explaining. After all, theirs was something etched into their bones, not something they displayed outwardly.

It was only because Huo Yuhao had suffered trauma in the past that he was so sensitive to this. He had not yet truly and completely emerged from the shadow the Duke's Mansion had left on him.

"Because they're geniuses and think highly of themselves, they feel a cut above ordinary people when they look at them. That's normal..." Huo Yuhao wanted to say a few more words, but they lodged firmly in his throat.

"But it really rubs you the wrong way, doesn't it?" Huo Yun voiced the words Huo Yuhao had been unable to get past his throat.

"Exactly."

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