"Didn't expect you to be a work-study student too," Le Zhengyu said with a smirk.
Gu You gave him a sidelong glance. "What's with that greasy hair? What brand do you use?"
"What do you mean 'what's with it'?! This is top-grade ocean silk hair oil! Ten thousand credits a bottle!" Le Zhengyu snapped, clearly offended. He could take being teased about anything—except his so-called "glorious" hair.
"Alright, alright. We know each other now, no need to get mad. Isn't that right, Prince Charming?" Gu You teased.
"Obviously. How could someone of my status waste time arguing with a bumpkin like you?"
Nice.
Gu You threw up a sarcastic thumbs-up as he walked away, footsteps soft on the path. Le Zhengyu looked at his back and chuckled quietly.
Yuanen stopped walking and met Le Zhengyu's gaze with a frosty glare.
"Have you seen a girl with red hair? Or maybe there's one staying in your work-study dorm?" Le Zhengyu's voice grew sharp, his gaze intense, a subtle pressure radiating from his presence.
Before Gu You could even respond, Yuanen stepped forward.
"No. I haven't seen her. Don't know her either." His tone was cold, his stride even colder. As he moved past, he threw Le Zhengyu's pressure right back at him with equal force.
A flicker of surprise crossed Le Zhengyu's face. Though he was technically an outer court student, he hadn't spent much time there. If not for family obligations, he would've long since moved to Shrek's inner court.
Upon enrolling, he'd gone straight into secluded cultivation in the family's secret realm, only returning once his martial soul—Holy Angel—had fully awakened. Though assigned as a work-study student, he could easily decline the position. His admission into the inner court was a matter of time. In other words, he was practically a guaranteed inner court student. He could claim whatever title he wanted.
He had absolute confidence in his martial soul and strength. But today, the first person he clashed with was already on par with him. Shrek Academy really was full of monsters. Even someone as arrogant as him had to take the situation seriously.
He squared his shoulders and charged toward Yuanen, meeting the incoming impact head-on.
A deep thud echoed through the air.
Le Zhengyu flew backward, his body shuddering mid-air from the blow.
Then, with a flash of golden light, a pair of pristine white wings burst from his back, stabilizing his body. But his right shoulder visibly trembled.
"You!" he shouted, equal parts shocked and enraged.
"This is the work-study student area. Leave. You know what happens if the academy catches you fighting, don't you?" Yuanen said coldly.
Le Zhengyu's eyes narrowed. "It's true that fighting is forbidden. But sparring? That's encouraged. If you've got guts, meet me in the sparring ring. Besides, I'm technically half a work-study student myself."
"Pathetic." Yuanen tossed out the word with contempt and didn't even bother to look back.
"I'll find a way. That evil soul master won't stay hidden for long," Le Zhengyu muttered, his eyes full of meaning before he flew off.
Gu You had to admit, the whole exchange was underwhelming. Not much of a show.
Back at the dorm, Gu Yue and the others were nowhere to be found. With nothing else to do, Gu You sat down to cultivate. He was getting close—just a bit more, and his soul power would break past Rank 65.
The night passed quietly.
By morning, the expected unexpected happened.
Le Zhengyu had been officially approved as a work-study student. The dorm area was about to get a lot more lively.
Xie Xie hadn't been warm to Le Zhengyu ever since learning what he did. After all, who could forget such a weird, messed-up incident? The next meeting was bound to be awkward.
"Today, we'll be electing class officers." As always, Shen Yi led the lecture. Wu Zhangkong stood nearby, cold as ever, quietly observing the students. But today, something was different. His eyes were focused on a student in the back row.
Tang Wulin.
Sitting beside Gu You, Xie Xie nudged him with an elbow and motioned toward the back.
Gu You already knew Tang Wulin had arrived the moment he walked into class.
"At Shrek, strength is everything. Your character has already been judged, so the academy trusts that any one of you could be a good class officer. That's why you'll be competing among yourselves today. The winner will become class leader. Others who perform well will be chosen by Teacher Wu and me to fill the remaining positions."
"Overall, there will be one class leader and two vice leaders."
Seven positions in total!
Even representatives of secondary professions would each count as an officer.
"First of all, when it comes to the blacksmith representative, there's really only one candidate—Gu You."
Gu You stood up and gave a small bow.
The class was filled with boys and girls around thirteen or fourteen years old. As their gazes fell on him, their reactions varied. Most of the girls looked on with warmth—for obvious reasons.
One word: handsome.
But the boys? Not so friendly. After all, anyone who made it into Shrek was already a proud genius. There was bound to be a little edge in their personalities.
"Teacher!" a tall boy sitting near the back suddenly raised his hand.
"Speak," Shen Yi said calmly.
"Why does he get the blacksmith position without competition?" The boy stood up. Though he was under fifteen, his body told a different story. He was over 1.9 meters tall, towering over most adults. His voice was deep and resonant, and his physique was massive.
"Yang Nianxia, correct? The reason Gu You doesn't need to compete for this role is simple—no one here is better than him at forging," Shen Yi replied. "Let me tell you a harsh truth. If we were going solely by strength, Gu You could easily be class leader too. I know many of you don't accept that, but once you see him in real combat, you'll understand what true dominance looks like. Those of you who've looked him up online might already know—he was once a sensation."
The room erupted in whispers.
"It's really him?"
"He has a 100,000-year soul ring at his age!"
"I wasn't sure at first… His hair color's different. But now that she says it, I remember thinking he looked familiar."
Yang Nianxia sat back down, visibly annoyed. His objection had stemmed from his own skill in blacksmithing.
"Anyone else have doubts?" Shen Yi's gaze swept across the room.
Seeing no further objections, she smiled.
"Good. Then it's settled. All other officer positions will be filled through competition. We'll begin shortly with the class leader and vice leaders."
(End of Chapter)
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