As soon as school ended, Shrek Academy's mission hall was crowded with students.
"Cleaning the working-student dormitory? Which young master is this? Is he here to study or to play lord? A hundred contribution points—what a rich guy."
"No matter how many contribution points they offer, I won't go. I'd never lower myself to do such a menial task."
"Exactly. Who in Shrek Academy isn't a genius? Why would we do something that lowers our status like that?"
...
At Shrek Academy, if you don't mind risking expulsion and just want to coast by, the academy's free resources are enough for a basic living.
Of course, this doesn't apply to working students—they don't get any free resources.
But every academic year, Shrek Academy eliminates the bottom five students in the rankings.
If you don't want to be expelled, you must work hard to improve yourself and surpass those around you.
And to obtain resources that can help you grow, the first step is to find ways to earn enough contribution points.
At Shrek Academy, earning contribution points is no easy feat.
Most students rely on their family's resources to support their studies and lifestyle at Shrek Academy.
And this is for regular students.
For working students, it's even tougher.
Take cleaning Lingbing Square as an example. Cleaning such a massive area alone, without a spirit skill suited for cleaning, could take an entire day.
And yet, the reward is a measly twenty contribution points.
Of course, this is a task with zero technical difficulty.
Cleaning dormitories is just as straightforward. Offering a hundred contribution points for cleaning one room is by far the most generous reward for a non-technical task.
Xia Yi set this price after careful consideration.
Shrek Academy students are all geniuses.
Helping someone clean their dormitory is akin to doing a maid's work.
If he didn't offer enough, their pride might not allow them to accept.
Xia Yi first broke the lock on the empty dorm next to his, then left a note in his room.
He instructed the student who took his cleaning task to also clean the adjacent room.
As payment, Xia Yi left behind a piece of Hundred-Refined Metal.
After confirming his dorm arrangement, Gu Yue and Wu Jin returned to their previous dorms to pack up, while Xia Yi went shopping at the stores within Shrek Academy.
He bought three new beds and some daily necessities.
As for the rusty old iron frames in the working-student dormitory, he simply threw them out.
After shopping, Xia Yi hired a craftsman to fix the windows.
Xia Yi didn't know how long he'd stay at Shrek Academy, but he definitely couldn't keep living in a drafty room.
Inside Shrek Academy, you could find someone for almost any task, so there was no need to go into the city.
When Xia Yi returned to his dorm with the window repairman, his room was already spotless.
In front of Gu Yue's dorm, a small, thin boy was wiping down some unbroken windows.
It was the same boy who, in front of the teaching building, had planned to spend three thousand contribution points to teach him a harsh lesson that night.
"It's you!" Xia Yi was slightly surprised and said, "I thought only girls would take this kind of task."
The boy ignored Xia Yi and continued wiping the windows.
"I'm your employer, after all. Isn't it rude to just ignore me?" Xia Yi asked with a stern face.
"We're just in a client-task relationship. Why would I need to treat you like a boss?" Yuanen Yehui replied coldly, "I've got nothing to say to you rich kids."
"With that tone, if you weren't so flat-chested, I'd think you were a boy," Xia Yi shrugged indifferently and said, "Fine, think of me as a rich kid if you like."
With that, Xia Yi turned and went back to his dorm. Since the other party was ignoring him, he didn't feel the need to pester her.
Yuanen Yehui shot a cold glance at Xia Yi. After confirming that he genuinely didn't know she was a girl and wasn't teasing her on purpose, she went back to cleaning the windows.
Because of her mother's situation, she already disliked those from prestigious families. After being pestered by Yue Zhengyu for days, she was even more disgusted.
Seeing that Xia Yi hired someone to clean his dorm and learning that his teacher was the legendary Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, she naturally labeled him as a spoiled rich kid—one even more despicable than Yue Zhengyu.
About ten minutes later, after Xia Yi had set up the two new beds and arranged his daily necessities, Yuanen Yehui suddenly showed up.
"Do you need something?" Xia Yi asked.
"The room next door is cleaned. Do you want to check it?" Yuanen Yehui asked flatly.
"No need, you can go." Xia Yi shook his head. She had cleaned his dorm meticulously, even when he wasn't around, proving she wasn't the type to cut corners.
"There's one more thing I want to ask." Yuanen Yehui took out the piece of Hundred-Refined Metal Xia Yi had left and asked, "Did you forge this?"
"Yeah, why?" Xia Yi responded.
"Are you a Level 3 or Level 4 blacksmith?" Yuanen Yehui continued to ask.
"Uh..." Xia Yi was momentarily speechless and asked, "Why do you ask?"
"This piece of Hundred-Refined Metal is far beyond the work of a Level 1 or 2 blacksmith. That much I'm certain. So you must be at least Level 3 or 4," Yuanen Yehui said seriously. As the second-year class president, she had a keen eye for quality.
Xia Yi tossed his Level 5 blacksmith badge over and said, "See for yourself."
"Five stars... Level 5! You're a Level 5 blacksmith!" Yuanen Yehui's pupils contracted sharply. She looked at Xia Yi in shock, her throat moving as she struggled to swallow her surprise.
"Is there a problem?" Xia Yi asked calmly.
After staring at Xia Yi like he was a monster for a while, Yuanen Yehui finally came back to her senses and asked eagerly, "Do you have any spirit-forged items?"
"This counts, I guess." Xia Yi casually tossed his Creation Hammer over.
Despite her small and thin appearance, Yuanen Yehui was quite strong. She effortlessly caught the fast-flying hammer.
"It really is spirit-forged... but its vitality far surpasses other spirit-forged metals. What is this forging hammer made of?" Yuanen Yehui asked, swallowing again.
"Green Origin Copper," Xia Yi answered truthfully.
"Impossible," Yuanen Yehui immediately shook her head.
"You don't believe me? That's up to you." Xia Yi shrugged.
"I'll be staying next door. I'll come find you tomorrow," Yuanen Yehui said, determination in her eyes.
She had planned to buy Thousand-Refined Metal from Tang Wulin for her One-Word Battle Armor. But after finding out Xia Yi was a Level 5 blacksmith, she changed her mind.
With this decision made, she knew she needed to find a way to earn enough contribution points to afford a full set of spirit-forged metal.
(End of Chapter)