23: Chapter 23: Still the Hellish Training! Zhou Yi… Dong’er, how am I supposed to face you?

"Everyone, warm up thoroughly and be careful not to get injured. Today's morning training will focus on recovery and adaptive training."

On the martial arts field in the early morning, Teacher Mujin's gentle voice was like a breeze, making the sixteen students of Class 5 feel much more relaxed.

"Stand up straight, all of you! Trash! A bunch of trash!"

In sharp contrast to this was a sharp, grating roar.

Huo Yuhao looked over when he heard the sound and saw that on the other side of the martial arts field, another group of new students was standing straight, silent as the grave.

At the front of the group, a thin, ugly old woman stood with her hands on her hips, lecturing the students in front of her with spittle flying.

"I'll emphasize this again! I don't care what amazing geniuses you were in your respective cities, or how many people held you in the palm of their hands!"

"Once you are here with me, Teacher Zhou Yi, you are all worthless trash! With me, there are only two words: obedience! Absolute obedience! If you can't do that, you can get out right now!"

Teacher Zhou Yi was the most famous and feared "devil teacher" in the outer court of Shrek Academy.

The students of Class 1, including Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, all looked solemn, not daring to even breathe loudly.

They had just been gloating yesterday about being assigned to a better class, but today they were completely stripped of their Spirit by Teacher Zhou Yi's show of force.

"Do you see that?" Wang Xiaoli whispered beside Huo Yuhao. "That's the head teacher of Class 1, Teacher Zhou Yi. I heard that more new students get expelled by her every year than all the other classes combined."

"Mm." Huo Yuhao replied, but his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the Class 1 team. There was an old acquaintance he knew there.

His gaze slowly swept across the crowd, searching. Suddenly, Huo Yuhao's gaze fixed.

His heart skipped a beat without warning, then began to beat violently, emitting a muffled "thump, thump, thump" sound.

Among that group of terrified new students, one figure stood out so remarkably.

She had long, flowing powder-blue hair that refracted dreamy luster under the morning light.

She had a slender, upright figure, and the Shrek Academy uniform she wore did not hide her peerless elegance; instead, it added a touch of heroism and dash.

Her skin was as fair as jade, and her features were as exquisite as the gods' most perfect masterpiece. Especially those large, powder-blue eyes, clear and bright, carrying a pride and determination that did not belong to this age.

At this moment, she was slightly tilting her head, seemingly whispering something to a petite girl beside her who possessed the Three-Life Soul Cauldron Spirit, a faint smile on her lips, confident and dazzling.

Wang Donger... It really is her.

Even separated by half the martial arts field, and even with hundreds of students standing around, in Huo Yuhao's eyes, only that blue figure remained.

Since his rebirth, he had maintained a composure and calmness beyond his years. Whether facing the temptation of Tianmeng Iceworm or the reliance of Gu Yuena, he had been able to remain unflustered, at least on the surface.

But at the moment he saw Wang Donger, that emotion he had forcibly suppressed deep within his soul erupted like a burst dam.

The love from his past life that went bone-deep, the regret of failing to protect her, the longing that not even ten thousand years of godhood could erase—it all surged into his heart at this moment.

Why... Why does my heart beat so fast just from the first glance at her? Donger...

Huo Yuhao's breathing became somewhat rapid. He subconsciously took half a step forward, his eyes revealing a trace of infatuation and tenderness he himself hadn't even noticed.

"..." Gu Yuena, beside him, sensed Huo Yuhao's abnormality immediately. She looked in the direction of Huo Yuhao's gaze, and her silver eyes clearly reflected that powder-blue haired figure.

She was expressionless, but deep within those silver eyes, which were originally just cold, a trace of extreme iciness flashed quietly. The hand holding Huo Yuhao's sleeve tightened unconsciously.

On the other side of the martial arts field.

"Donger, that boy from Class 5 seems to have been looking at you." Xiao Xiao, beside Wang Donger, nudged her gently with her elbow and whispered, "He's quite good-looking, and his temperament is very steady. Could it be... he's interested in you?"

"Hm?" Wang Donger followed Xiao Xiao's gaze and happened to meet Huo Yuhao's deep stare. Their eyes met.

Wang Donger was slightly stunned. It was a very strange feeling. The other party's eyes were very complex—there was astonishment, nostalgia, joy, and also a trace of deep... attachment?

Even though it was their first meeting, she didn't know why, but seeing his eyes, Wang Donger felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity in her heart, as if a long, long time ago, they had gazed at each other just like this.

She quickly regained her composure, tapped Xiao Xiao on the head, and pretended to be angry: "Don't talk nonsense! I think he's just observing the students of our Class 1. His eyes are very open and honest; he probably just wants to make friends."

She said this with her mouth, but her cheeks uncontrollably flushed with an imperceptible blush.

Just then, Teacher Zhou Yi's sharp voice sounded again: "Alright! Talk is cheap! Teacher Mujin, since both classes are doing morning training together today, why don't we let these little brats from our class have a friendly sparring match with the students from your class, so they can know what a gap is!"

Teacher Mujin smiled gently: "Sure, Teacher Zhou. Let's keep it light; it's a good opportunity for the children to get to know each other."

Following the order from the two teachers, the sparring exercise officially began. The rules were simple: students from the two classes would draw lots to be paired up for one-on-one sparring.

When Huo Yuhao saw the name of the opponent he drew, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. Sometimes, things like fate really cannot be avoided. His opponent was none other than Wang Donger.

In the center of the martial arts field, the two stood facing each other.

"Hello." Wang Donger spoke first, her voice crisp and melodious, carrying a young girl's cheerfulness. "Class 1, Wang Donger, Spirit Radiant Goddess Butterfly, level 25 attack system battle Spirit Master."

"Class 5, Huo Yuhao." Huo Yuhao's voice was still calm, but he could feel a trace of imperceptible trembling in his tone. "Spirit Spirit Eyes, level 27 control system battle Spirit Master."

"Spirit Eyes?" Wang Donger was somewhat surprised. Body Spirits were already rare, and eyes as a Spirit were unheard of.

Following Teacher Mujin's command of "Start," Wang Donger did not hesitate at all. "Hum." A brilliant blue-purple light bloomed from behind her, and a pair of huge, gorgeous butterfly wings instantly unfurled.

On the butterfly wings, golden patterns shone with holy radiance, and every flap brought up specks of golden light dust. Radiant Goddess Butterfly!

A gasp of surprise erupted throughout the martial arts field; such a beautiful Spirit was the dream of almost every female student.

Wang Donger's figure instantly became erratic. She flapped her wings and transformed into a blue-purple stream of light, rushing straight toward Huo Yuhao. Her right hand formed a hand blade, covered with a layer of faint golden light. Butterfly Goddess's Light!

Facing this rapid attack, Huo Yuhao just stood quietly in place. With his Spiritual Detection activated, every one of Wang Donger's movements and every flow of her Soul Power became incredibly clear in his eyes.

Even the trajectory of her next attack was perfectly predicted by his Spiritual Detection. Just as Wang Donger's palm blade was about to touch his clothes, Huo Yuhao moved.

His movement was not fast; he just shifted a small step to the left, but at an unimaginable angle, he just happened to dodge this sure-fire strike from Wang Donger.

"Eh?" A trace of surprise flashed in Wang Donger's eyes. She knew very well how fast her speed was. The opponent was clearly just a control system Spirit Master, yet he could dodge so easily?

She was not discouraged. Her figure turned nimbly in the air, and the gorgeous butterfly wings were like two heavenly blades, sweeping across with fierce gusts of wind.

However, no matter how swift her attacks were or how tricky the angles, Huo Yuhao could always react half a step in advance, dodging with the smallest range of motion, relaxed and at ease.

To outsiders, it looked like Wang Donger was dancing around Huo Yuhao, while Huo Yuhao was just strolling leisurely. Between the two's attacks and dodges, there was even a strange sense of harmonious beauty.

"This Huo Yuhao... so strong!" "Not strong, it's bizarre! It's like he can predict the future!" "That girl from Class 1 has such a powerful Spirit, but why can't she hit him?" The students of Class 1 whispered, and even on Teacher Zhou Yi's harsh face, a look of interest appeared.

The more Wang Donger fought, the more alarmed she became. She felt like a marionette, with all her movement trajectories firmly controlled by the opponent. This feeling made her feel very stifled.

"I don't believe this!" She gave a delicate shout, and the second spirit ring on her body suddenly lit up! Butterfly Goddess's Light! A brilliant golden light erupted from her body, forming a shockwave ring that instantly enveloped Huo Yuhao.

This was not just a physical impact; it also carried a mental deterrence effect. However, the moment this mental shock rushed into Huo Yuhao's mind, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace.

Just kidding. Compared to Tianmeng Iceworm's million-year Spirit origin, this bit of mental shock didn't even count as scratching an itch. Now! Purple light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. Soul Shock!

An invisible mental blade precisely stabbed into Wang Donger's mind. He controlled it exquisitely; the power was only equivalent to the full-strength blow of an ordinary Spirit Elder, just enough to make her briefly dazed without hurting her.

"Ugh!" Wang Donger only felt a stabbing pain like needles in her brain. Her body stiffened suddenly, and her movements paused for an instant.

When experts spar, a momentary flaw is enough to be fatal. Huo Yuhao's figure stepped forward like a ghost, appearing in front of her, extending his right index finger, and gently tapping it on her smooth forehead.

A cold touch came, making Wang Donger wake up instantly. She stared blankly at Huo Yuhao, who was close at hand, looking at those deep, starry eyes of his, forgetting to react for a moment.

The entire martial arts field was silent. No one expected this duel to end in this way. A control system Spirit Master from Class 5 had actually defeated a genius from Class 1 with a top-tier Spirit so casually.

"You lost." Huo Yuhao retracted his finger and said softly.

Wang Donger then came back to her senses. She puffed her cheeks somewhat unconvinced, but still frankly admitted: "I lost. Your Spirit Ability counters me too much. If there's a chance, we'll spar again properly!"

"Okay." Huo Yuhao nodded. A thousand words surged to his lips, but in the end, they only turned into this one word. Being able to touch her hand again, it's really good.

Gu Yuena, who had been standing silently not far behind Huo Yuhao, just watched quietly, with no emotional fluctuations in her silver eyes.

Returning to the Class 5 classroom, Huo Yuhao's mood was still somewhat agitated. The joy of reunion washed over his heart, making him somewhat absent-minded for the entire morning.

He sat in his seat, his mind constantly replaying Wang Donger's every smile and frown, his lips curling up slightly unconsciously. He didn't notice that Gu Yuena, beside him, had been watching him for a long time.

Finally, during the class break, when the surrounding students had all gone out to move around, only the two of them remained in the classroom. Gu Yuena turned her head and looked at him expressionlessly.

Her voice was as cold as ever, so flat that not a ripple could be heard, yet it made the temperature in the classroom seem to drop by a few degrees. "That blue-haired girl..." "Do you know her?"