Opening Ceremony

The following morning, Nero awoke feeling somewhat groggy as the bed turned out to be much less comfortable than he had anticipated. Dismissing the shadow curtain, he noticed that Yuanen Yehui had already left the dormitory. A soft buzzing sound caught his attention, and he glanced at his soul watch. A message from Wu Zhangkong informed him that he was required to report to the administration area to complete his enlistment.

After doing his morning activities Nero made his way towards the administration area. There a scholarly administrator in his fifties issued Nero a dark-green school uniform after completing his enrollment. " Your first job is to clean Spirit Ice Plaza, Don't bring shame to the working students," hearing this Nero just smiled and left. The administrator smiled back thinking that Nero would be like his predecessors but poor guy even in his dreams would never anticipate the chaos that Nero was gonna create.

Currently, Nero was standing in the center of the enormous Spirit Ice Plaza. "Aria, If I am not wrong the opening ceremony would be held here, right? " Nero asked Aria as he observed the square. [ Yes ] hearing Aria's answer a big smile bloomed on Nero's face and he continued to ask " And, that old hag would also attend this, right? ". [ Yes ] Aria replied in a helpless tone, she could almost guess what Nero was going to do. " You should have already guessed what I'm gonna do, so prepare while I clean this place " Nero said as he summoned his clone. [ Sigh! ] Aria sighed and started doing what Nero was planning, she knew that it would be futile to try to convince him.

*after executing the plan*

Using a combination of teleportation and his clones, Nero efficiently cleaned the plaza before heading outside to find some place to eat as he really wasn't in the mood to eat the academy's food. As he scanned the different food places, his attention was caught by the sight of Yuanen Yehui working as a waiteress in a nearby restaurant. Nero approached her, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder. Startled, she turned around to see Nero standing there.

"Yo," Nero greeted with a wave. " What are you doing here ? " Yuanen Yehui asked in surprise and then continued in a playful tone " Are you stalking me? I never thought you were that type of person, Nero ". With an eye roll, Nero replied, "Very funny. Don't flatter yourself. I was just looking for a place to eat and happened to spot you ".

"Alright, sit here. I'll bring you some food," Yuanen Yehui said, her tone light. Nero's confusion was evident as he protested, "But I haven't even placed an order yet." Yuanen Yehui dismissed his concerns with confidence, "No need. I don't trust your food choices. Just wait here; I'll pick something out for you." With that, she turned and headed towards the counter, leaving Nero in bewilderment. " That's not true " Nero muttered, [ She is right, you were probably gonna order egg-fried rice and an energy drink. And don't even bother asking how I know? From yesterday's conversation even she could tell that; your food preferences are practically a monologue about protein intake, without much regard for variety ]. Hearing this Nero wanted to retort what was wrong with it but choose to shut up as there is no way he would win an argument with Aria.

Yuanen Yehui soon brought a plate of food to Nero, which included rice, curry, etc. { Honestly, it's really difficult to come up with something diverse. So, just imagine something yourself }.Nero was engrossed in eating when a loud and arrogant voice disrupted his meal. "Give me your number," the voice demanded. Nero turned around to find that the owner of the voice was a golden haired young boy and the waitress whom he was demanding number from was Yuanen Yehui. ' Who is this shiny chicken? Aria ' Nero thought, mentally addressing Aria for information.

[

Name: Yue Zhengyu

Age: 15

Martial Soul: Holy Angel

Rank: 37

Soul ring configuration: 🟡🟡🟣

]

"What kind of service is this? Get me..." Yue Zhengyu's outburst was halted by a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Nero standing there, " Who are you? " he asked Nero who just interrupted him. Without directly answering, Nero quipped, "You know I hate shiny chickens " . Yue Zhengyu looked puzzled for a moment, then his gaze flicked to his own hair, understanding the meaning behind Nero's words he shifted his gaze again to Nero with anger evident in his eyes, but before he could even say anything a fist zoomed into his face. A resounding " Boom! " sounded as Yue Zhengyu was sent flying out of the restaurant and into a nearby park. Seeing this a finely dressed man was about to attack Nero but stopped in his place when four black soul rings materialized beneath Nero's feet. The sight left everyone, except Yuanen Yehui, stunned, as Nero's soul ring configuration was too monstrous even by Shrek Academy standards.

" You should check on your young master, and yes, tell him if he has a problem with her, then he can come to me. I have a Demon bloodline, but do remind him that there will be consequences for his actions," Nero calmly stated to the man who appeared to be Yue Zhengyu's butler. The butler's eyes widened in realization and urgency but before the butler could rush out, a voice transmission suddenly appeared in his ears. Moments later, The Butler looked at Nero with a slight fear in his gaze and hurried out of the restaurant as if he had seen a ghost.

This went unnoticed by the law enforcers as there was no use of martial soul, unlike the original timeline. "Thanks," Yuanen Yehui expressed her gratitude to Nero, curiosity evident in her eyes. "What did you say to him?" she inquired. Nero's lips curled into a smirk as he responded, "Oh, nothing much. Just mentioned my aunt's name." Yuanen Yehui's head tilted slightly in puzzlement, prompting Nero to chuckle. "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. You should head back and get ready; the opening ceremony will start soon." Despite her lingering confusion, she nodded and, after informing her manager, made her way back to the working student dormitory.

------

The opening ceremony was held within the sparkling clean Spirit Ice Plaza.

Just like any other academy, they had six grades. Each grade had around one hundred students give or take ten or twenty, and together they totaled a little over seven hundred students.

Upon careful observation, it could be discovered that the oldest group of students appeared to be in their thirties. Not only did they have extraordinary cultivation bases, they held themselves with solemnity and gravity. Yet they were outer court students. People usually graduated from an advanced academy in their early to mid-twenties, but the age range for Shrek Academy students was bizarrely wide. The newest students were naturally the youngest ones, and were fifteen or younger, with most being thirteen or fourteen. Second grade students seemed older, but only by an average of three years. Each grade of students were put into a single class instead of several classes.

"Nero!" The sound of Xie Xie's voice drew Nero's attention as he entered the plaza. As Nero approached them, "Nero, are you okay?" Tang Wulin asked Nero due to the recent encounter with Elder Cai. "I'm fine," Nero assured Tang Wulin. Before Class Zero could delve deeper into the topic of Working students, an announcement rang out, signaling the start of the opening ceremony and instructing everyone to take their designated positions.

A middle-aged man took a step forward in the air and proclaimed, "A new academic year is about to commence. As is our tradition, Shrek Academy welcomes a fresh batch of students to our ranks. It's my pleasure to introduce the headmaster of the outer court, the esteemed Silver Moon Douluo, Elder Cai, who will share a few words." Elder Cai stepped forward to deliver her speech, but in that moment, Nero sent a voice transmission to both Class Zero and Yuanen Yehui which shifted their expression to shock, but they swiftly regained their composure.

Elder Cai wore a mask of indifference as she began "Shrek Academy has never forced its students to cultivate nor is our education compulsory. There is an annual minor exam and a major one every three years. Failing the minor exam twice will result in expulsion. So, the number of students in each grade will decrease in the next three years. For those in the sixth grade who have yet to meet the graduation requirements, I hope you will all work hard and fulfill them before you turn thirty-five. As for our new students, you have the option to relax and take it easy, but then you might not be here in three years ". As Elder Cai paused momentarily in her speech to scan the students, Nero informed Aria to start the plan.

After scanning the students, Elder Cai continued " Of course, Shrek Academy will not hold back in your education. You can.." "Ah! "a sudden exclamation from a student interrupted Elder Cai. She was about to reprimand him when her own expression transformed from annoyance to astonishment. A puzzling spectacle was unfolding before her eyes — students were struggling to stay steady as if the ground beneath them had lost all friction. Even though the ground appeared solid, their movements resembled those of individuals on a frictionless surface. This unexpected disruption sent a wave of confusion through the students and teachers.

Nero smiled as he played along, mimicking the struggles of his peers to maintain his balance after all this was his plan. Aria had subtly manipulated the friction conditions of the ground. The idea was simple yet effective: an individual would experience friction when they were steady, but if they attempted to move, friction would stop acting on them. This created the illusion of an unstable surface, causing the confusion and commotion among the students. She was able to do this all because of his mother's notes on space energy manipulation. But this was temporary as Aria was still far behind his mother in space manipulation.

After a few tense seconds, the situation gradually returned to normal as the students regained their stability. The uneasy atmosphere was palpable, and it was evident from the darkened expression on Elder Cai's face that she was thoroughly displeased. Her gaze flickered towards Nero to see if he was the culprit behind this, but his expression betrayed only confusion. She huffed in frustration, then turned around and left the plaza. The teachers in the air exchanged uncertain glances before dispersing, each heading to their respective classes to begin the new academic year.

Led by Wu Zhangkong and Shen Yi, Class Zero and the other freshmen were guided to their respective classrooms. Along the way they also clarified that they were only assistant teachers and the head teacher was Elder Cai. Class Zero glanced at Nero but there wasn't a hint of panic on his face as he had already anticipated something like this.

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