Chapter Eleven: Huo Yuhao Is...

"Pfft... cough, cough!"

Wang Dong stared at the dust-covered room, his face dark, his back teeth nearly grinding to dust. "Shrek!"

They had collected a staggering tuition fee of ten gold soul coins, yet before the freshmen even arrived, there wasn't a single soul tasked with cleaning. They expected the students to handle it themselves upon moving in. Anyone who knew the truth would call this a school; anyone who didn't would think it was forced labor.

The only redeeming feature was the soul-guide lamp on the headboard. At least that didn't cost extra, provided the students were willing to drain their own soul power to charge it.

Inhaling the thick, stale air in the room, Huo Yuhao felt his head throb even more. "Let's open the windows for some ventilation... Did you bring a towel? I'll go fetch some water, and we can clean up the room together."

"Huh?"

Wang Dong’s expression twisted slightly. He looked at the dust-laden dormitory, unable to bring himself to start. When had he ever done such menial labor? He just couldn't get past it mentally.

"How about you rest for a bit... I'll spend some soul coins to hire someone else to clean it up..."

"It's better to save a little! Money shouldn't be spent that way." Huo Yuhao shook his head. "It's fine if you find it dirty; I'll wipe it down myself. You can just help by changing the water."

Since they were sharing the dorm, he felt guilty letting the other person pay for everything alone.

"Fine..."

After struggling at the threshold for a long time, Wang Dong finally relented. In the end, he leaned against the door, watching Huo Yuhao work and rest, the ordeal dragging on for nearly two hours.

Naturally, Young Master Wang footed the bill for the subsequent meal.

"...No takeout?"

Wang Dong’s face turned black as he stared at the bulletin board.

"Of course not~ The food in the Shrek canteen is no simple matter; every meal features ingredients rarely seen in the outside world." The cook tapped his ladle. "If there weren't such a restriction, the food here would have been resold outside the academy long ago."

"Can't you make an exception?"

"What do you think?"

The cook lifted his eyelids to glance at him, six soul rings manifesting behind his back. If you didn't have the strength to back it up, did you really think you could survive at Shrek?

It was a miserable first day.

Especially when Huo Yuhao, who had been stiff as a corpse on his bed, was forcibly resurrected by Wang Dong and dragged to the canteen. Seeing him in such a half-dead state, the cook’s hand even trembled, serving him an extra two pieces of meat out of fear that the boy might drop dead right there in the canteen.

...

Five o'clock in the morning. Wang Dong opened his eyes, dazed. He turned over to catch a bit more sleep.

Huo Yuhao was meditating.

Eight o'clock. Wang Dong was woken up, got out of bed to wash up with great reluctance, and the two of them caught the last few minutes to have breakfast. One ate vegetables with rice with great relish, while the other picked at a feast of delicacies.

They meditated together.

Lunch.

One o'clock in the afternoon. Wang Dong took his scheduled nap.

Huo Yuhao was meditating.

Two o'clock in the afternoon. Wang Dong planned to head out for a stroll around the campus and invited Huo Yuhao to join him, but was refused, so he had to go alone.

Huo Yuhao was meditating.

Dinner.

They meditated together.

In the dead of night, feeling the rhythmic, rising-and-falling aura of his roommate, Wang Dong suffered a rare bout of insomnia.

One o'clock.

Two o'clock.

Huo Yuhao was! Meditating!

Wang Dong suddenly felt a wave of panic, threw off his blanket, and sat bolt upright. "Do you ever sleep?"

"Ah? Sorry, did I disturb you?" Huo Yuhao looked apologetic. "Should I go outside to meditate so you can sleep peacefully?"

"No... I mean, you spend even your sleeping time on meditation? Don't you ever feel tired?" Wang Dong looked at him as if he were something non-human.

"You get used to it."

Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment before giving this answer. "It was indeed tiring at the beginning; I would accidentally fall asleep mid-meditation. But after sticking with it for a few years, it got much better. I only need two or three naps a week now."

*Sticking with it for a few years!*

Wang Dong’s eyes widened. "Since when have you been doing this?"

"Six years old, the day after I awakened my martial soul."

Huo Yuhao replied calmly.

That first day, after awakening his martial soul and testing his soul power, he had seen with his own eyes the things hidden in his mother's eyes shatter. She had wept with immense guilt, holding him tightly. "Child... Mommy has failed you..."

She had cried until the dead of night, lamenting until the dawn.

"You've been training so hard for so many years? And you're still just a one-ring—"

Wang Dong couldn't help but exclaim, but his expression changed instantly, and he hurriedly explained, "Sorry! I didn't mean that!"

"I know."

Huo Yuhao waved his hand with a smile. "It's precisely because my talent is so far behind someone like you that I have to strive harder. I'm not asking to surpass anyone; I'll be satisfied if I can just keep up with the pace."

"..."

Wang Dong opened his mouth silently, then sat cross-legged, upright. "I'll meditate with you!"

"Okay."

Wang Dong slept against the wall in a cross-legged position until dawn. He caught a cold and woke up with a stiff neck, feeling miserable for the entire morning.

Huo Yuhao was meditating.

"Hiss~ Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I saw that you were sleeping quite soundly."

"And you didn't notice that my posture was uncomfortable? Weren't you afraid I'd get injured or sick?"

"Ah? That's how I usually sleep, I didn't think there was a problem?"

...

A few days later.

*Ding-a-ling—*

With the completion of admissions, the first bell rang inside the academy.

Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, busy with their cultivation, stepped into the classroom just in time. The massive hundred-person classroom was already nearly full, and they could only squeeze into the remaining empty seats.

"Hmph."

Just as Huo Yuhao sat down, the young girl next to him let out a disgruntled snort and turned her head away.

"?"

Huo Yuhao was silent for a few seconds, wondering if he had unintentionally done something wrong.

However, a moment later, he noticed the girl’s gaze drifting toward Wang Dong from time to time.

Huo Yuhao felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

*So she just thinks I'm not good-looking,* he thought. *I was worried I'd offended a classmate right after school started.*

"Whoosh..."

Suddenly, an extremely intense mental pressure surged from outside the door, instantly filling the entire classroom. All the noisy, bickering students fell silent at once, turning their eyes toward the old woman standing at the door.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, she walked to the podium. Her gaze, overflowing with mental pressure, swept across the room, causing every troublemaker who dared to meet her eyes to feel a chill and sheepishly look away.

It was an effective way to intimidate students.

But it hit a snag with Huo Yuhao.

The old woman narrowed her eyes, projecting even more mental power, only to be stunned to find that she couldn't crush him. The seemingly frail boy not only continued to meet her gaze, but the light in his eyes seemed to grow even brighter.

Silently noting Huo Yuhao’s name, the old woman spoke in a raspy voice:

"My name is Zhou Yi, and I am your homeroom teacher. While I am not sure how many of you will be able to stay with me for the full year, I want to tell you this—"

"In my class, no trash will ever pass the assessment!"

"I am here to cultivate monsters, not idiots!"