Jing Shaoyu thought he would soon see Na'er again, but unexpectedly, a month passed without him encountering her.
It had been nearly thirty days since their first reunion, which also meant that Jing Shaoyu and the other first-year students had spent their first month at Shrek Academy. This month was enough for them to move past their freshman phase and fully familiarize themselves with and integrate into the academy.
That morning, Jing Shaoyu left the dormitory and ran into Mo Hentian, who was also preparing to leave. They exchanged polite greetings before going their separate ways. Although a month had passed, the relationship between Jing Shaoyu and Mo Hentian had not changed much; they were essentially acquaintances.
For them, as roommates, this was quite unusual, yet it was also normal. Mo Hentian was very reclusive, remaining silent even during class committee meetings. Jing Shaoyu, due to her unique nature, tried not to provoke her, resulting in minimal communication between them and, naturally, no change in their relationship.
To him, this was just fine.
"Good morning, Brother Yu!" Xu Xiaoyan called out energetically to Jing Shaoyu as he met up with her and Gu Yue downstairs in the dormitory.
Beside her, Gu Yue maintained a calm and dignified demeanor, her smile not very apparent, only showing when she faced Jing Shaoyu.
"Good morning," Jing Shaoyu replied with a smile. "Let's go eat."
The three of them moved in sync, a result of years of companionship. They arrived at the cafeteria, ordered breakfast, and sat down at an empty table to eat.
"Xiaoyan, how was your experience using the academy's training space?" Jing Shaoyu asked.
"It was pretty good! If I weren't concerned about the distribution of Contribution Points, I would want to use it every day," Xu Xiaoyan said. "Training in the vast starry sea has significantly improved my efficiency."
The training space was a special facility built by Shrek Academy based on the theory of simulated training. Students could choose a training environment that suited their Martial Soul characteristics. For instance, the vast starry sea mentioned by Xu Xiaoyan was a starry sky created through special means, where star-type and astrological-type Martial Souls could train, yielding remarkable results.
This training method was effective but costly. Ordinary training spaces, like the myriad of plants for plant-type and wood-element Martial Souls, required five hundred Contribution Points for an hour, while the vast starry sea used by Xu Xiaoyan cost one thousand Contribution Points per hour, mainly due to the higher construction costs of the starry environment.
"If you need it, I can support you with some Contribution Points," Jing Shaoyu offered.
"No need," Xu Xiaoyan decisively refused. "Brother Yu, I can handle the Contribution Points myself; I don't want to trouble you."
"Alright, but if you do need help, don't hide it from me," Jing Shaoyu said, not surprised by Xu Xiaoyan's refusal.
After all, Xu Xiaoyan was the eldest daughter of the Xu family. Although she had been hiding behind Jing Shaoyu for years, as they grew older and their cultivation improved, she wanted to become his right-hand support rather than always relying on him and being a mere ornament. With this mindset, she naturally wouldn't accept Jing Shaoyu's offer.
"Gu Yue, how's your Battle Armor design going? Have you encountered any difficulties?" Jing Shaoyu turned to Gu Yue and asked.
"None," Gu Yue replied. "I've already discussed it with Wu Siduo and Mo Hentian. In a while, we can start designing their Battle Armors."
"Good," Jing Shaoyu nodded. "Let me know when you're ready to design; I can help you out."
"Sure, I will," Gu Yue agreed without any modesty.
After finishing breakfast, the three of them went to the classroom, where most of the students had already arrived. After a month of adjustment, the atmosphere in the class was quite harmonious. Many students greeted them as they entered.
"Good morning, Class Leader!"
"Good morning, Sister Yan!"
"Good morning, Sister Yue!"
"Sister Yan" and "Sister Yue" were respectful titles the students used for Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue. Those who had challenged them for the position of vice-class leader had suffered greatly at their hands during the battles. Of course, they were not the type to abuse their power for personal gain.
By demonstrating absolute strength in challenges, they solidified their positions and earned respect, leading to the entire class adopting these titles for them.
While some challenged Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue for the vice-class leader position, others sought to challenge Jing Shaoyu for the class leader role. However, after Jing Shaoyu accepted the first challenge, all challengers quickly backed down and fell silent.
The first to step up was, unsurprisingly, Xu Yu Cheng. He was a very proud person, believing he lost to Jing Shaoyu's team rather than to Jing Shaoyu himself, so he directly challenged him.
The result was that Jing Shaoyu summoned Azure Moon Willow and the Demon Flower, two thousand-year soul beasts, which completely overwhelmed Xu Yu Cheng, leaving him with no chance to fight back. If it weren't for Jing Shaoyu considering their friendship, he would have left Xu Yu Cheng with deep psychological scars.
However, even though Jing Shaoyu had shown mercy, no one dared to challenge him again. Summoning two thousand-year soul beasts at once, few in the first year could claim they could defeat him, not even Wu Siduo, who felt inadequate.
Jing Shaoyu's team solidified their positions within a week, establishing their authority in the class.
"You all are late again," Wu Siduo said coldly.
"Hehe, isn't it just the right time to arrive?" Xu Xiaoyan replied cheerfully. "But Cat, you seem to come early every day. Don't you eat breakfast?"
"Don't call me Cat!" Wu Siduo shouted, slightly annoyed, her pretty face flushing, though it was unclear if it was from embarrassment or anger.
"Oh come on, you are a cat, don't be so uptight!" Xu Xiaoyan said, playfully patting Wu Siduo on the shoulder.
"..." Wu Siduo found it hard to refute Xu Xiaoyan's words, only managing to maintain a cold expression as she brushed Xu Xiaoyan's hand away and said, "How long does it take to eat breakfast? I think you all are just too relaxed."
"Actually, you don't need to be so hard on yourself; you're already excellent enough," Jing Shaoyu said gently. "In terms of personal strength, you're already among the top three in our class."
"Ha, isn't that just because you're holding me down?" Wu Siduo replied with a cold laugh, but then seemed to realize her words could be misinterpreted, her big eyes suddenly darting around.
"Why do you always compare yourself to me?" Jing Shaoyu sighed helplessly, saying, "I've said it before, I'm not the same as you."
"How are you not the same?" Wu Siduo muttered under her breath, "Arrogant!"
Jing Shaoyu smiled with the warmth of an elder caring for a younger one. After all, in terms of seniority, he and Wu Siduo's father were of the same generation. If one were to be precise, this girl should be calling him uncle.
"Are we having a meeting this afternoon?" Mo Hentian suddenly walked over from behind and asked blankly, "I have other things to do this afternoon."
"No need," the four of them turned their attention to Mo Hentian. Jing Shaoyu smiled at the somewhat gloomy-looking person and said, "If there's something, we'll let you know. You don't need to worry."
"Okay," Mo Hentian replied with a single word before turning back to his seat.
Watching his behavior, Xu Xiaoyan couldn't help but comment, "This guy is really a closed-off person. Why doesn't he like to talk?"
"Hehe," Jing Shaoyu chuckled and said, "Actually, it's fine this way. After all, people with overly lively and cheerful personalities can't compare to those with stable temperaments when it comes to forging."
"Class Leader, that's a bit biased, isn't it?" Xie Xie suddenly appeared out of nowhere and immediately countered Jing Shaoyu's statement. "Wu Lin is very lively and cheerful, yet his forging skills are among the best in our class!"
"He should be an exception, haha," Jing Shaoyu laughed.
With Xie Xie and Tang Wulin arriving, it indicated that class was about to start. These two, due to being work-study students, had to complete cleaning tasks every morning, so they always arrived just in time for class, establishing a regular rhythm in their lives.
Jing Shaoyu's relationship with them was still normal, akin to classmates who had moved from the same elementary school to the same middle school, but due to being in different classes, their relationship gradually became more distant. Th
ey could chat a few words when they met, but they no longer had a deep connection.