After hearing Bei Bei's introduction to Teacher Zhou, Huo Yuhao was also astonished. "Eldest senior brother, if this teacher does these sort of things, why doesn't the school seem to care?"
Bei Bei spoke in a low voice, "Although Teacher Zhou Yi is a strict teacher, she's honestly a very good one. Of all the students promoted from her class, none of them have actually said that she was a bad teacher. Teacher Zhou's strictness is mainly reflected in the high requirements that she sets for her students, as well as in her harsh teaching methods. However, almost a fourth of the students who've been taught by Teacher Zhou, and passed, have entered the inner courtyard. This statistic is one of the best within the entire academy. Teacher Zhou was only demoted to teaching freshmen because the commotion was too big this time. However, as long as you work hard enough, and are outstanding enough, Teacher Zhou's teaching will only have benefits for you."
Huo Yuhao relaxed and replied, "So it's like that. Teacher Xiao Ya, eldest senior brother, you guys must have plenty of other things to do. I'll return to my room first."
Bei Bei smiled and said, "That's fine, Teacher Xiao Ya and I want to go and take our promotion test. If we can pass this test, we'll be promoted to fourth-years. I live in Room 316, so you can go there if you need anything."
Bei Bei and Tang Ya were truly busy. The reason why Tang Ya had been in such a rush to obtain her third soul ring was so that she could smoothly pass the fourth-year promotion test. Furthermore, there would be even more issues waiting for them after they were promoted. Huo Yuhao had gone to the Great Star Dou Forest alone, and had obtained his soul ring there, so his self-protection abilities were quite strong. Thus, they didn't worry much about him.
After passing through the white school building for first-years, and the yellow school building for second and third-year students, Huo Yuhao saw the dormitory. The dormitory occupied an extremely large area, and although it was only a single building, the same four colours—white, yellow, purple, and black—were still present on it. The building's colours clearly represented the different living areas of the students from their respective years, and had a total of six floors.
Huo Yuhao arrived at the entrance to the white building, and was met with the sight of a man who looked quite old. The old man had a set of grey clothes on, and the the number of flies that his wrinkles could crush to death had reached the double digits. His eyes were yellow and muddle-headed, while his eyelids were droopy. His appearance was as if he had one foot in the grave. The sunlight between the buildings spilled perfectly over his body. His body, which was half-lying in a chair, actually gave off a very comfortable feeling.
Huo Yuhao walked forward and spoke respectfully, "Hello, Grandpa. I'm a new student who's come to live in the dormitory. Would you like to check my freshman badge?"
The old man didn't even raise his head as he stretched his trembling right hand out. Then, a slightly deep yet hoarse voice echoed out, "Take your badge and dormitory key out for me to see."
Huo Yuhao hurriedly passed the two items over.
The old man waved them in front of his eyes before returning them to Huo Yuhao. "Go on. Room 108 is the third room from my left on the first floor. The women's dorms start from the fourth floor, so you can't go upstairs at all. If we discover you up there, you'll be expelled."
"Thank you." After bowing and greeting the old man again, Huo Yuhao walked into the dormitory building.
The old man didn't move from his original position as he muttered nostalgically to himself, "It's rare to see a kid with manners."
As he muttered to himself, a few new students walked past the area. However, they clearly hadn't taken note of the old man beside the building, and directly went inside. The old man didn't stop them either. He simply sat there drowsily.
After following the old man's instructions, Huo Yuhao quickly found his dorm room. The dormitory had a standard hallway layout, with both sides of the long hallway having dorm rooms with numbers etched into their doors. The passage of time was clearly visible in the dorm rooms, and it could be seen that they had been in use for an extremely long amount time. The two ends of the corridor had shared bathrooms.
After using his key to open the door, a gust of slightly musty air surged out of the room. Huo Yuhao hurriedly turned to the side, waited a while, then held his breath as he charging into the room and opened the window. The room had been uninhabited for over a month, at the very minimum. A layer of dust covered the entire room.
By relying on the window's ventilation, Huo Yuhao was able to clearly see the dorm room's layout. The dorm room was very small, its area only about ten square metres or so. The two beds took up a large portion of the room's floor space, but there was also a table, two metal wardrobes, as well as a lamp on the ceiling. There were also a few metal protrusions on one of the walls. Bei Bei had told him that lamps were basic soul tools that needed soulforce in order to light up. The metal protrusions were places that one could pour soulforce into.
After some ventilation, the musty air within the dorm room had finally cleared up. As Huo Yuhao looked around the small room, a hard-to-describe excitement appeared in his heart. From today onwards, this would be the dorm room that he'd live in for a year. From the looks of it, he'd even have a dorm-mate. I'll clean up a bit first.
The saying 'poor children can manage a house earlier on in life' was true. Although he'd been born in the Duke's Mansion, Huo Yuhao's life hadn't even been as good as a commoner's. He used a little bit of his saved money to buy a basin from the student convenience store located outside the dorms, and after requesting a used cleaning rag from the shop, he immediately started to clean the dorm room.
After only an hour had passed, not even a speck of dust was left under the meticulous scrutiny of Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes. Although everything in the dorm room was still in-place, there was now a sort of fresh smell to it. Huo Yuhao didn't plan on buying any sort of bedding for himself, since the wooden bed was already enough for someone like him, who devoted all of his hard work to cultivating.
He felt a bit hungry, so he enquired about the dining hall's location. After buying the cheapest lunchbox from the student convenience store, he went to the dining hall.
Each year-group had a dining hall that belonged to them, which were located behind the dormitory. When Huo Yuhao walked into the freshman dining hall, he was astonished. At that moment, there weren't many people in the dining hall, making it appear extremely spacious. There wasn't even a single table; it was an entirely empty place. There was only a washbasin used to wash one's hands and tableware. The inner parts of the dining hall had windows that one could buy food from, with price tags outside them. There were a total of eight windows that increased in price from right to left, and all served different dishes.
There were actually no seating areas in the dining hall? The dining hall's entrance even had the words 'No food is allowed to be taken from the dining hall. No exceptions.' written on it.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Huo Yuhao walked towards the right-most window to buy the cheapest available food, which was stir-fried vegetables and white rice. However, he still devoured the food despite its quality. For him, having something to eat was already extremely good. Furthermore, the food's price was extremely cheap; it was only two copper coins. With his monthly income of one gold coin, he could eat for the entire month as long as he was frugal with his money.
Whilst eating, Huo Yuhao observed the dining hall. He discovered that the most expensive window's food was actually priced in gold spirit coins. That was something that he didn't even dare to imagine.
After quickly finishing his mealy, Huo Yuhao returned directly to his dorm. Like the saying goes, the clumsy bird needs to fly into the forest earlier. He understood the difference between himself and the other students, so he naturally couldn't waste any time.
After sitting in a cross-legged position on the sturdy wooden bed, Huo Yuhao quickly entered a meditative state, and started cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique.
Although his cultivation speed was far slower than Bei Bei's or Tang Ya's, he'd already improved quite a bit compared to the past. After changing his cultivation technique to the Mysterious Heaven Technique, he could now at least feel a slight improvement in his cultivation as he cultivated, which was much better than his previous state. Furthermore, after the few days of cultivation that he'd done during their journey back, his originally chaotic and impure soulforce had already completely turned into that of the Mysterious Heaven Technique. There was one effect of the Mysterious Heaven Technique's soulforce that was extremely useful for him—the Mysterious Heaven Technique would nourish his passageways when he circulated it. Although he couldn't see much improvement currently, Bei Bei had told him that it would definitely improve his physique in the long run.
Huo Yuhao had already planned his time out well. Every day, he'd cultivate the Purple Demon Eyes in the morning, then spend two hours practicing the Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, and the Mysterious Jade Hands, as well as some grappling techniques. As for the rest of his time, other than the time he spent eating, he'd use all of it to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique.
Soulforce was the foundation of a soul master. Currently, he had to use as much of his as he could to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique.
"Oh, this technique isn't bad at all. It's indeed quite suitable for your current state. You humans are really skilled!" When Huo Yuhao had just entered his cultivation state, everything he saw suddenly turned white. The voice of the Skydream Iceworm also echoed out; he'd been brought back to his spiritual sea.
Huo Yuhao was slightly surprised as he called out, "Brother Skydream?"
The Skydream Iceworm's lazy voice echoed out, "Your body's condition has changed a lot during the past few days. You've finally gotten a good start. Your body's endurance has also been gradually increasing. Not bad, not bad. The abilities that you're cultivating are suitable for you, especially this meditation technique, and that eye training technique. The four soul skills I've given you have indeed received benefits from them. You must practice using these soul skills constantly, especially the last one. It should be very effective when combined with your eye training technique. You've obtained a basic soul-attack skill. All in all, your condition, as of now, is slightly better than I had predicted."
"Brother Skydream, I'll definitely put a lot of effort into cultivating." After hearing the Skydream Iceworm's voice, Huo Yuhao reaffirmed that he'd truly merged with a million-year soul beast, and that he hadn't been dreaming.
The Skydream Iceworm then said, "I'm tired, thus I need to rest for a period of time. You should just follow your current cultivation method. When you break through, and you need a second soul ring, I'll naturally wake up. At that time, the ice-type martial soul that I bestowed you with should be able to become a full-fledged martial soul. It'll cause your strength to have a qualitative leap."
Huo Yuhao replied, "How can I find you if I need to?"
The Skydream Iceworm said, "If you encounter any danger that you're unable to escape, I'll naturally help you out. Don't worry, I can only live while you're still alive! Alright, I'm going to sleep…"
The white light vanished, and Huo Yuhao woke up from his meditation. To his astonishment, he found that the sky outside had already turned completely dark. He'd actually cultivated for six hours… at the very least. The Mysterious Heaven Technique in his body also seemed to have had a slight improvement.
It's already become night time, but I'm a bit hungry. However, looking at the time, the dining halls should've already closed. Fortunately, there were still a few more dry rations within his cloth sack. Thus, after drinking some water and allaying his hunger, Huo Yuhao continued to cultivate.
After absorbing some of the mystical energy from the eastern purple qi at dawn, Huo Yuhao returned to his room to start cultivating a few of the Tang Sect's techniques. His attainments in these techniques could be said to only be superficial. Furthermore, he didn't dedicate most of his energy to this; he was just doing some light cultivation.
By the time he'd finished his training session, the sky outside had already turned bright. After cleaning himself up, Huo Yuhao walked over to the dining hall for some food. Once he reached the dining hall, he was somewhat concerned. Ever since he'd started cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique, his appetite had been rising constantly. Strengthening one's physique required sufficient nutrients, yet he had no money. His school fees had already been paid for by his eldest senior brother, how could he ask Bei Bei for more?
Fortunately, there weren't many varieties of food available for breakfast. Furthermore, breakfast was also cheap. Huo Yuhao bought a few eggs and a bowl of porridge, causing him to reluctantly spend three copper coins. He'd finally replenished his body's nutrients. Yesterday, he'd even had the thought that the food here was cheap. However, he suddenly discovered that the price of food within Shrek Academy was actually more expensive than the food outside.
"Junior brother, you can't be stingy while eating; you can't lack nutrients. The school has some jobs that are within your abilities to do. You can do these jobs for your livelihood income." Unbeknownst to him, Bei Bei had arrived at Huo Yuhao's side.
"Eldest senior brother!" Huo Yuhao let out a cry of surprise. Up till now, the only people that he was able to recognise within Shrek Academy were Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
Bei Bei was slightly apologetic as he said, "The reason why I haven't given you any money directly is because I hope that you can learn to rely on yourself. Combat strength is only a part of one's strength; a person's composite strength is determined by many different abilities. Of them, the most important ability is their ability to live under any circumstances. Do you understand?"
"Eldest senior brother, you've already given me a lot of help. I understand. I still have a few silver coins as of right now, so I'll go take up some jobs after school opens."
Bei Bei rubbed his head. "I'll go first. You must remember this: money can be earned, but you can't be stingy with your food. You must have your nutrition."
Huo Yuhao followed Bei Bei as they walked out of the dining hall together. He decided to listen to his eldest senior brother's advice; he'd treat himself to a meal today.
When he returned to his dorm room, Huo Yuhao was surprised to discover that the door to his room was open. He felt astonished at first, before realizing the fact that his roommate might have arrived.
At that moment, a youth walked out of the room. After seeing Huo Yuhao, he was also stunned.
The youth had a delicate appearance, as well as fair skin. His large eyes were very unusual; they were actually a faint pinkish-blue. His settled short hair was also the same colour. His appearance seemed to be even more handsome than Bei Bei's. This was truly the most handsome person that Huo Yuhao had ever seen. His height and age didn't seem to be that different from Huo Yuhao's either.
"You are?" Huo Yuhao asked subconsciously.
The youth was somewhat haughty as he stared at him. "Step aside."
"Oh." Huo Yuhao hurriedly stepped to the side. The youth walked past him, then stopped after taking a few steps out of the room. He turned around to look at Huo Yuhao as he said, "You also live in this dorm room, I assume. Since you've cleaned this room up so well, I'll allow you to live with me for now. I have a few rules that you must remember: One, you're not allowed to randomly bring other people back to this room. Two, you're not allowed to bare your disgusting naked body in this room. Three, you're not allowed to snore at night. Four, you're not allowed to bother me. Five, you're in charge of the cleanliness of this room in the future, but you can't touch my bed. Do you understand clearly?"
When he saw the youth's arrogant appearance, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but let his anger hit the roof. "Why must I listen to you?"
The youth snorted coldly. "If you don't listen to me, I'll simply throw you out. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to try."
Huo Yuhao had been bullied by people from the Duke's Mansion since he was young, so the people that he hated the most were these types of arrogant people. He coldly said, "If you want fight, then let's fight. Let's go outside."
As he looked at Huo Yuhao's unsubmissive appearance, the youth actually laughed. His smile was very good-looking, but the disdain and contempt in it ignited the anger in Huo Yuhao's heart even more.
"I still don't know your name." The youth said with disdain.
Huo Yuhao spoke in a low tone, "Before asking someone elses name, shouldn't you tell me your name first?"
The youth indifferently said, "I'm Wang Dong."
"I'm Huo Yuhao."
Wang Dong smiled as he suddenly approached Huo Yuhao. "Very good. I think that your name shall quickly disappear from Shrek Academy. Let's go, idiot." As he said this, he took the initiative to turn around and walk out of the room.
Huo Yuhao's fists were tightly clenched as he followed Wang Dong with large strides. Even though he knew that his combat strength wasn't that high, he would never allow anyone to bully him again. Furthermore, this person would even be his roommate for at least a year.