The next day, 7:30 AM—
Su Yunlin and Wang Dong got up early. There was still half an hour before class, so the two went together to the cafeteria for breakfast before heading to class.
Freshman Class One—
As soon as Su Yunlin and Wang Dong entered the classroom, they immediately drew countless gazes. Some students recognized them as the ones who had fought outside the dormitory a couple of days ago—mainly because they were both so handsome that they were impossible to miss.
The girls, in particular, stared at them without blinking. The two had entirely different styles of attractiveness.
After finding seats and sitting down, several girls quickly gathered around them, taking nearby spots.
Su Yunlin let out a soft sigh, then simply rested his head on the desk and went to sleep. Wang Dong ignored the girls as well; seeing Su Yunlin lie down, he followed suit and also went to sleep.
Ding-ling-ling—
The class bell rang. Soon after, an elderly woman entered through the classroom door. She had a wrinkled face and graying hair coiled atop her head, dressed in a white robe. Of average height, her most striking feature was her pair of bright, sharp black eyes that gleamed with intensity.
As the bell rang, Su Yunlin raised his head and glanced at Wang Dong—who hadn't moved at all. He reached out and tapped him.
"Who hit me?!"
Wang Dong's shout immediately drew the attention of the entire class—including the elderly woman.
Su Yunlin's mouth twitched. Seriously? You actually managed to fall asleep?
The old woman looked over, expressionless, sweeping her gaze across the classroom before speaking:
"My name is Zhou Yi. I am your homeroom teacher. (A long string of introductory nonsense omitted.) What I want to cultivate are monsters—not fools."
Here it comes—Zhou Yi was about to start. But Su Yunlin didn't care. With his level of strength, no matter how eccentric she was, she would treat him like a prized asset. A Level 36 Spirit Elder could easily dominate the freshman assessment and had a high chance of advancing to the inner courtyard. Only an idiot would throw away such a result.
Surely… she wasn't that kind of idiot, right?
"Those who have fought during the registration period—stand up!"
Upon hearing this, Su Yunlin stood immediately. Wang Dong followed suit. The two instantly became the focus of the entire class.
"Only two?"
Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow. "What a bunch of trash. Don't you know that those who don't dare to cause trouble in Shrek Academy are mediocrities? Everyone except these two—get out and run one hundred laps around Shrek Plaza. Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled."
The entire class erupted in an uproar. It was only the first day of school—they hadn't even had a proper lesson yet, and now they were being punished for not fighting? Who could accept that?
One student stood up directly. "Teacher, I refuse to accept this! Why should we be punished for not fighting?"
Zhou Yi replied calmly, "Because I said so. If you don't accept it, you can leave. As the homeroom teacher, I have the authority to expel any student.
"I'll give you one minute. If I don't see you running around Shrek Plaza within that time, all of you will be expelled."
As she spoke, Zhou Yi released her Spirit Rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black. Six rings—she was a Soul Emperor!
The students were instantly intimidated and hurried to their feet, rushing out to run.
"Let me remind you—you have one hour. Anyone who fails to complete one hundred laps within that time will be considered unqualified. This is your first assessment upon entering the academy. Those who fail will be expelled."
Hearing this, the students sped up even more. No one wanted to be expelled on their very first day.
Zhou Yi then turned her gaze toward Su Yunlin and Wang Dong. "You two, come here."
The two stepped forward. Zhou Yi couldn't help but feel a bit surprised—Su Yunlin was remarkably tall, almost comparable to her husband. As for their looks, both were indeed top-tier.
She looked them over carefully. "Not bad. Finally, two with some backbone. Tell me—who did you fight?"
Su Yunlin spoke first. "We're roommates. There was a bit of conflict when we first met, but it's been resolved."
Wang Dong glanced at him, then nodded toward Zhou Yi.
Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, interest piqued. "Roommates? That's good. Fighting between roommates means competition—competition leads to improvement. Fighting is a good thing. But I don't like internal conflict. Next time, fight students from other classes.
"Shrek Academy's rules are quite lenient. Fighting is generally overlooked, though there are limits. Let me explain the rules."
What she meant was that Shrek Academy actually encouraged sparring. Higher-year students could not challenge lower-year ones, but lower-year students could challenge higher-year students. Typically, teachers would supervise and judge the outcome.
"That's the general idea. Alright, you two can go run as well."
Wang Dong, who had been listening, was stunned. "Huh? Teacher, didn't you just say we have backbone?"
Zhou Yi smiled faintly. "But I never said you didn't have to run. Fighting your roommate on the first day—quite impressive. Since you're so 'impressive,' your assessment difficulty should be higher than the others. Oh my, time's already passed a bit."
Wang Dong was about to protest, but Su Yunlin held him back. His gaze remained calm as he looked at Zhou Yi.
"Teacher, I don't think I need to run. It's too basic—it won't benefit me."
Zhou Yi raised a brow. "Oh? And why is that?"
Su Yunlin turned to Wang Dong. "Release your Spirit Rings."
Wang Dong nodded. The two released their Spirit Rings together—one with one yellow and two purple, the other with one yellow and one purple. These abnormal configurations appeared before Zhou Yi, leaving even her somewhat surprised.
"Well, well—two little monsters indeed. A thousand-year second Spirit Ring… impressive. Running really won't do much for you. What are your names?"
"Su Yunlin."
"Wang Dong."
Zhou Yi nodded, committing them to memory. "Very good. Two excellent little monsters. So, Su Yunlin, what do you plan to do?"
Su Yunlin shrugged. "Not to sound arrogant, but with my current cultivation, I could skip ahead to higher grades. Training at the same intensity as one-ring and two-ring students doesn't match my level."
Zhou Yi nodded. "That's true. Your cultivation could place you in the top five of the entire outer courtyard. There's not much I can teach a monster like you. Do as you wish—but I still recommend you run a bit. Otherwise, your classmates might have opinions."
Su Yunlin crossed his arms, his expression faintly disdainful. "They should focus on passing Shrek Academy's assessments first—on staying here at all. Jealousy won't increase their Spirit Power."
Wang Dong couldn't help but comment, "Yunlin, you're really arrogant."
Su Yunlin brushed his hair back lightly. "Arrogance requires ability—and I happen to have it."
For a moment, Wang Dong stared at him, slightly dazed, silently committing those words to memory.
Zhou Yi nodded in satisfaction. "Youthful arrogance isn't a bad thing—just don't lose yourself. From what I see, you're quite intelligent. You won't limit yourself to such minor achievements. So, what's your next move?"
Su Yunlin glanced at the clock—more than a quarter of an hour had already passed. Then he looked at Wang Dong beside him and grinned.
"Waiting is still waiting—might as well get some exercise."
With that, he headed outside, casually dragging Wang Dong along with him.
Watching their departing figures, Zhou Yi smiled faintly.
"Two high-quality little monsters… This year's freshman championship is as good as mine."