--- Chapter 65 ---
"I'm your friendly neighborhood classmate, Huo Yuhao."
Dai Huabin frowned when listening to Huo Yuhao's casual remarks and seemed to have heard that name once somewhere. He looked down at the wooden stick that stopped his punch and added more force, wanting to blow this clown away.
"You're not listening, huh?" Huo Yuhao commented while pushing the wooden stick slightly.
BAM!
Cough!
"Huabin!!" The two girls shouted in worry.
The second young master of the White Tiger Clan was sent out of the alley, flying to the nearest tree and coughed blood. Huo Yuhao imbued 0.01% of his Haoshoku Haki into the wooden stick and shrugged because that was apparently too much for this guy.
"My bad, you're weaker than I expected." Huo Yuhao waved the wooden stick casually. He turned to Wang Dong and asked the cross-dressing girl, "Oh yeah, are you okay?"
Wang Dong was shocked inside because this mysterious masked guy appeared out of nowhere and started blasting the annoying blonde guy. "E-Eh? Uh, yes! I'm fine." He replied with a stutter.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Huo Yuhao returned casually.
Dai Huabin tried his best to raise his body, but no matter how much strength he used, the effect of Huo Yuhao's Haoshoku Haki was too potent for him. "B-Bastard..." His legs constantly trembled, remembering the feeling of the impact.
"What happened here?" A serious-looking man arrived at the alley. He has mid-length brown hair and green eyes shielded by clean glasses, wearing a white robe with black straps around his waist.
Huo Yuhao didn't recognize this guy for some reason but acted normal because he hadn't done anything wrong. After all, Dai Huabin received a backlash because he couldn't handle his Haoshoku Haki.
"Sir, let me explain." Wang Dong walked forward and explained to the serious-looking man what had occurred here. And since any story has two sides, the man asked Du Huabin's side too.
"That's why... My name is Du Weilun. The director of the outer courtyard's Martial Soul Department." The man sighed while shaking his head. "I'm disappointed in all of you for fighting over misunderstandings."
Wang Dong lowered his head and mumbled quietly, "But I'm not wrong... That guy overreacted just because I tripped and crashed on his girlfriend."
"I also have apologized."
Dai Huabin slowly was supported by the two girls and stared at Huo Yuhao with a hateful gaze. He doesn't care about Wang Dong anymore, but this unknown masked guy has gotten on his nerves.
"I'll punish you later with community service." Du Weilun said while moving his gaze to Huo Yuhao.
"Hmm, who are you?"
Huo Yuhao smiled behind his mask and replied, "I'm the new exchange student from the Dragon Nest Academy, Sir. I was walking around to enjoy the scenery and found this ruckus by chance."
Everyone beside Wang Dong was stunned like a statue when hearing Huo Yuhao's answer. Especially Du Weilun, who just gained a warning from Dean Yan to be aware and treat the Dragon Nest Academy's exchange students well.
"If you see a masked student with blue hair, never get on his bad side." Yan Shaozhe warned Du Weilun last night.
Huo Yuhao pulled out a gold badge with Shrek Academy's symbol and said, "In case you don't believe me, here is the badge Shrek Academy provided to us."
Du Weilun stared at the badge and cursed because this wasn't how he was supposed to meet the exchange student. He was about to reach Housing Dorm No.14 to fetch the 1st Grade Students but to think he would meet one here was a bad sign already.
"Ehem, I thought we agreed to meet at the housing dorm." Du Weilun cleared his throat and acted professionally.
Huo Yuhao shrugged and replied, "I'm bored."
"..." Dai Huabin.
"..." Wang Dong.
"..." Du Weilun.
...
...
After clearing out the misunderstanding and sending Dai Huabin to the clinic, Huo Yuhao, Du Weilun, and Wang Dong walked to Housing Dorm No.14.
"Um, Yuhao. What's Dragon Nest Academy? I've never heard it before." Wang Dong suddenly asked with an unsure tone, which left Du Weilun speechless. How could this boy not know about the Academy of the mysterious organization, Dragon Nest?
Huo Yuhao opened his mouth and explained, "Dragon Nest Academy is a learning place funded by the Dragon Nest. It's a place where young people learn how to train themselves and become stronger up the Dragon Nest's standard."
"After the recent auction event that Dragon Nest held on Java Island, the leader agreed to start a Student Exchange Program with every faction on the Douluo Continent."
"I was chosen to attend Shrek Academy, hoping to learn something new here."
"Well, I'm not that impressed so far." He continued while observing the scenery.
Wang Dong digested the information and returned, "I see... Then, how strong is Dragon Nest Academy compared to the Shrek Academy?"
Du Weilun's ears perked after listening to Wang Dong's question because Huo Yuhao's answer would be a great source of information about the Dragon Nest Academy's base level.
"We are too far ahead of you guys." Huo Yuhao chuckled while glancing at Du Weilun. "I'm not being arrogant here. And to prove that you can guess my age and cultivation."
"If you get it right, I'll give Shrek Academy 10 Black Rune Stones."
"This is ridiculous!" Du Weilun's eyes widened. "Are you saying 10 Black Rune Stones are nothing to you?!"
Huo Yuhao picked a random spatial ring in his Inventory and lazily activated the tool. Rocks with black marks started to pour down like water, stacking on the ground. There are at least 20 Rune Stones on the paved-stone floor.
"Oh my GOD!! It's the rumored Rune Stones." The director of the outer courtyard's Martial Soul Department couldn't believe his eyes for a moment.
Huo Yuhao "honestly." was amused by Du Weilun and returned his gaze to Wang Dong. "You can start guessing~." He said playfully.
"18." Wang Dong stared at Huo Yuhao.
"Wrong."
"20?"
"Damn, Am I that old??"
"Uh, 17!"
"Cold."
"15!"
"A little warmer."
"13? No way..."
"Warmer, but not boiling."
"10?!" Wang Dong gained a chuckle from Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao facepalmed himself and started to laugh, "Pfft~! HAHAHA~!"
"He's twelve." Scathach and the Shrek Academy Students approached them. She has been watching her beloved student having fun and wanted to join.
Wang Dong blinked a few times and stared at Huo Yuhao with a taken aback expression, "What?! YOU'RE TWELVE? NO FUCKING WAY!"
"Now, guess my cultivation." An evil smirk appeared behind the White Ogre Mask.
...
...
Fifteen minutes later, a group of four walked to the study building on the other side of Sea God Lake.
"Poor things, you broke his mind," Scathach amusingly said while walking beside Huo Yuhao. On the other hand, Wang Dong had an existential crisis after knowing Huo Yuhao was a Spirit King and the same age as him.
Qianye Ying'er giggled softly and continued, "To be fair, Douluo Continent's standard is outdated compared to the Dragon Nest, so we can't blame the poor girl- Oops, I mean boy."
Qianye Ying'er and Scathach can observe one's character with a simple gaze, so Wang Dong's gender is no secret. However, since it was fun, they decided to play along with the cross-dressing girl's delusional plays.
Wang Dong was stunned by Huo Yuhao's heaven-defying achievement and didn't even catch Qianye Ying'er blunder a few seconds ago. So he hasn't realized the secret has been uncovered by the three.
They arrived at a billboard with the grade and class assigned to each student. Huo Yuhao scanned the vast board and noticed they got assigned to the 1st class taught by a teacher named Zhou Yi.
"That name sounds familiar." Huo Yuhao rubbed his chin.
"Ah, the Monster Teacher."
"Monster Teacher?" Qianye Ying'er tilted her head and moved her gaze to Scathach.
Scathach smiled at the blonde girl and asked, "Why are you staring at me, Ying'er?"
"N-Nothing."
Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection in the outer courtyard to find Zhou Yi's class. After discovering a woman with a skin mask that makes her a sterner and menacing-looking hag, he smiled and told everyone to follow him.
They entered the Freshman Study Building and walked in the corridor, drawing students' attention left and right because of their mysterious appearances. Huo Yuhao stopped at the last class in the building, pulling the door open.
"Are they?"
"Yeah, they are the Students from the Dragon Nest Academy."
"Woah, that guy is so tall. Wait, why did he attend the 1st grade like us??"
"Don't tell me he's 12 years old too..."
Huo Yuhao ignored the mobs and took the front seat near the windows. Qianye Ying'er and Scathach sat beside and behind him, claiming territory over the classroom.
"Now, we wait." Huo Yuhao used Universal Breathing Technique to stimulate the Spirit Circuits, circulating Spirit Energy inside his body.
Wang Dong returned to reality and found himself sitting beside Scathach. "Huh, where am I?" He looked around, causing Scathach to chuckle.
"Hey, you. You're finally awake." Scathach responded while crossing her arms.
"What??" Wang Dong couldn't understand her.
BAM!
The classroom's door "abruptly." was opened by a stern-looking woman. She's 46 or 50 years old with dark silver hair neatly pulled into a bun and light copper eyes, wearing a gray turtleneck blouse with a red coat that covers her chest and a pale brown skirt. Even though Zhou Yi looks like a stern grandma everyone dislikes, that's only a facade because Huo Yuhao knows she wore a skin mask.
[Name: Zhou Yi]
[Age: 29]
[Race: Human]
[Cultivation: Spirit Sage/Level 77]
[Martial Soul: Silver Vajra Bear(Variant)]
[Description: A beautiful teacher in disguise]
She glared at everyone and said, "My name is Zhou Yi. I'll be your teacher until the third grade, and depending on your progression, that probably won't meet my standard. I'll kick you out of the Shrek Academy immediately."
"Since there is no question, Homeroom started now."
Unlike the original, no students were late to the classroom, and even Dai Huabin arrived with his side chicks five minutes before Huo Yuhao's group. Zhou Yi explained the curriculum to them straight and moved her gaze to Huo Yuhao.
"What do you think about Shrek Academy's curriculum, Student Yuhao?" She asked calmly.
Huo Yuhao stared at Zhou Yi and replied, "It's good. For Shrek Academy's level, that's it."
"Oh? Please elaborate." Zhou Yi returned while taking a seat and made Huo Yuhao the center of attention. She tricked him into being under pressure because she wanted to see what kind of mentality the Dragon Nest Academy's students had.
As everyone's gazes landed on Huo Yuhao, he smiled because Zhou Yi was clever with her approach. "To put simply, Shrek Academy's teaching was behind us. We valued hard work more than raw talent, making our standard higher because students pushed to break their limit one after another."
"You might think, "Oh, we also trained hard, and our Academy is known for 10.000 years throughout the history of the Douluo Continent." And expected your future to get guaranteed because of it. No, your standard is outdated."
"Shrek Academy's teaching is lacking compared to the basic teaching of the Dragon Nest Academy."
"And can you show that to us?" Zhou Yi maintained her calm voice because she had read Huo Yuhao's information. She was shocked, but the student must know the difference between Shrek Academy and Dragon Nest Academy. Yes, this was her motive all along.
Huo Yuhao read Zhou Yi's move and said, "Ying'er."
Qianye Ying'er nodded and called her Saint Battle Flag, releasing spiritual pressure that washed every student in disbelief. And what came next shocked them even further.
"I-Impossible..." A terrified whisper escaped one of the students.
Zhou Yi solemnly looked at Qianye Ying'er five spirit rings and spoke in wonder, "All black spirit rings."
And this doesn't just happen at the Shrek Academy because every faction that agreed to the Student Exchange Program witnessed the first change of the new Era on the Douluo Continent.
Dragon Nest's standard.