"Okay."
Gu Yuena nodded slightly, her voice still cold, but she had accepted the invitation.
She didn't know that the silver-haired youth with the gentle smile beside her also hid a goal almost identical to hers deep within his heart—to become the master of the sea gods pavilion and take control of this number one academy on the continent.
At this moment, the threads of fate quietly pulled these two ambitious fellow travelers together, while they each thought the other was merely a potential pawn or aid in their future grand plans.
The two walked side by side toward the cafeteria, one with silver hair and golden eyes, possessing a steady temperament.
The other had silver hair and purple eyes, cold and noble like a goddess.
Walking together, they naturally formed an extremely eye-catching scenery, attracting the gazes of countless new and old students along the way.
Over the next few days, Caelus gradually adapted to the fulfilling yet slightly monotonous rhythm of Shrek Academy.
During the day, he attended classes as scheduled, absorbing Soul Master knowledge that might be basic, but held a different depth when explained by a powerhouse like Han Ruoruo.
At night, he immersed himself in meditation and Cultivation, increasing his Soul Power Rank and attempting to gain a deeper understanding of his Regent of Time Martial Soul.
Since that lunch together, Caelus had not taken the initiative to invite Gu Yuena again.
He keenly sensed that this silver-haired, purple-eyed vice class monitor had a bone-deep pride and coldness.
Although his Soul Power Rank was slightly higher than hers, it seemed difficult to truly enter her field of vision and gain her equal respect before truly subduing her with strength.
Their few simple exchanges were limited to class affairs, carrying a business-like detachment.
In contrast, Caelus, who had a gentler personality and a non-aggressive manner, was clearly much more popular in class six.
He could not only talk naturally with Ye Guyi but also discuss cultivation insights with geniuses of commoner origin, and even occasionally point out things to students with lower cultivation.
Gu Yuena, however, remained like a lone moon hanging in the sky—beautiful and powerful, but making most students only dare to watch from afar, their hearts filled with awe and finding it difficult to get close.
During these days, the most eye-catching among the freshmen was undoubtedly still new student class one.
They performed almost the same routine every day—under the strict supervision of their class teacher Zhou Yi, the entire class wore heavy iron vests and engaged in near-desperate weighted running on the vast Shrek Plaza.
Often, someone would collapse from exhaustion and need a healing teacher waiting nearby to step in for recovery; the cruelty of the training intensity made students from other classes watch with trepidation, and it also became a topic of conversation after meals.
Aside from the eccentric Class One, the teaching methods of other freshman classes were much more normal.
While Han Ruoruo solidified their theoretical foundation, she also encouraged the students of class six to go to the Soul Dueling Arena for practical combat drills, as that was the best place to test oneself and accumulate combat experience.
Occasionally, she would also organize some collective physical training sessions.
However, Caelus noticed that in these collective physical training sessions, the performance of students from Soul Master families or nobility was often quite average.
It wasn't that they didn't work hard, but rather because their respective families possessed long-standing, more efficient, and systematic secret methods for body tempering.
These secret methods combined Soul Power circulation, medicinal assistance, and even special exercise methods; their effects were far beyond what simple running or basic physical training could compare to.
However, every one of these secret methods was a core secret of the families and was never shared with outsiders.
This meant that in the academy, commoner geniuses and noble geniuses might stand on the same starting line, but in these deeper Legacies, the gap still existed.
Shrek Academy maintained an attitude of tacit consent toward this; it provided the platform and opportunities, but the height one could ultimately climb depended not only on talent and effort but also on the resources and Legacies behind them as an indispensable link.
Caelus saw all of this and understood it in his heart.
This was the reality of the Douluo Continent, where glamour and heritage coexisted, and fairness and disparity were present simultaneously.
He had no intention of changing these deep-rooted rules; what he needed to do was make good use of everything he possessed, including the support of the Star Luo Imperial Family, to walk a path to the heavens that belonged to him on this stage.
As night fell, the lights began to glow.
The area near the East City Gate of Shrek City welcomed its busiest time of the day.
As the gateway to Shrek Academy, a bustling night market would spontaneously form here every night.
Various vendors gathered here, selling all kinds of goods from specialty snacks to simple spirit tools, from rare Materials to exquisite accessories; it was a dazzling array, brightly lit.
Outer Court Disciples after class, and even some Inner Court Disciples with nothing to do, liked to come here to browse, relaxing from the day's cultivation fatigue and feeling the atmosphere of the mundane world.
Tonight, Caelus was also dragged here by the energetic Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, accompanied by Ye Guyi, whom they had also called along.
Unlike Caelus's preference for a quiet nature, this pair of twin sisters were practically social terrorists.
In the short time since enrollment, they had become familiar faces not only in their own class but even in the circles of girls from other classes.
They could talk at length about where was fun in Shrek Academy, what interesting campus legends there were, or senior year gossip, clearly having gathered plenty of information from those enthusiastic senior sisters.
Weaving through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd and feeling the noisy atmosphere around him, Caelus's gaze swept casually over the stalls.
Suddenly, his vision was drawn to a certain stall.
It was a small roasted fish stall with a simple sign that read "Little Huo's Roasted Fish."
What caught Caelus's attention was that a long queue had actually formed in front of this stall, and its popularity was exceptionally explosive.
And the one busy beyond belief behind the stall was none other than that child of destiny—Huo Yuhao.
'Huo Yuhao's roasted fish...'
Caelus's heart stirred.
In the original work, this roasted fish was described as almost miraculous, one of the important "props" Huo Yuhao used to attract connections in his early days.
Seeing this scene of a long dragon-like queue with his own eyes, he couldn't help but feel a hint of curiosity, wanting to taste this roasted fish that everyone raved about to see what was so unique about it.
His gaze lingered on the roasted fish stall for a moment longer, and it was immediately caught by the quirky Lan Susu.
The little girl's eyes darted around, a sly smile appearing on her face, and she pulled her sister Lan Luoluo toward the front of the queue:
"Brother Caelus, do you want to eat roasted fish? Wait here, we'll go buy it for you."
Before Caelus could react, he saw the sisters nimbly bypass the long queue and find a girl who was ranked relatively near the front.
The three of them whispered for a few moments, and Caelus keenly noticed that as the stranger girl listened to the Lan sisters, she stole a few glances toward him, her face quickly flushing with two patches of crimson; she nodded somewhat shyly and subconsciously straightened her hair.