Running? Shrek's Fine Curriculum

"It's not that far from Suotuo City back to Spirit Hall. If I'm fast, I can be back tomorrow morning..."

Under the cover of night, Golden Crocodile Douluo held Tang Hao in one hand as he soared high through the air, murmuring to himself. He figured that in Suotuo City, there wouldn't be many people above the level of Shrek's dean.

As he thought, his figure flashed away.

Meanwhile, after he left, a figure moving considerably more slowly flew in the opposite direction.

"Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao."

"I must inform the sect master of what happened today."

Xing Ergou's face was cold. Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect already had a way to die!

"..."

"Wulin, you're up too."

"We were just about to go eat at the cafeteria."

Early the next morning, Tang Wulin had just finished meditating and stepped out of his dormitory when a voice reached him from outside.

Looking in the direction of the voice, he saw Xiao Wu with Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, waving happily at him.

"Brother Tang."

Ning Rongrong greeted him as well, and Zhu Zhuqing did the same, a hint of a smile on her normally cool face.

"It's our first day at the academy, after all. I was planning to see what the courses were like."

Tang Wulin smiled faintly as he replied.

"That's true."

Xiao Wu wholeheartedly agreed. Shrek Academy was an academy, after all; its teachers and their ability to teach were what mattered most.

"But before that, we still have to eat."

"Let's go eat together!"

Xiao Wu spoke with anticipation in her eyes.

The cafeteria wasn't far from the dormitories. In fact, the whole of Shrek Academy wasn't very large, and they found it after a short walk.

"I wonder what tasty food they'll have in the cafeteria."

Before they even went in, Xiao Wu spoke with curiosity on her face. Back when she was at Nuoding Academy, she had heard that advanced academies served lavish meals.

Though Shrek was a little run-down, it was still an advanced academy. Surely the food couldn't be bad.

Seeing her like this, Tang Wulin and the other two could only smile helplessly. Clearly, none of them had high hopes for Shrek's food.

The cafeteria wasn't large, with only a few simple tables. Some food sat on the first table, and behind it sat a plump middle-aged man.

"Millet porridge, pickles, and steamed buns?"

As soon as Xiao Wu's gaze landed on the breakfast on the table, her brain froze. She looked lost in thought.

Ah... huh?

"Uncle, is this our breakfast?"

Ning Rongrong also fell silent for a moment. No matter how much the academy cut corners or how little money it had, surely it couldn't feed its students this.

"You're new students at the academy too, aren't you?"

"That's just the staple food and porridge. Breakfast is over here."

The middle-aged man stopped eating and smiled as he spoke, beckoning them over to him. Only then did they see several lightly seasoned dishes.

"So there are dishes after all."

"I thought the academy didn't even have food for us to eat..."

Only then did Xiao Wu breathe a sigh of relief. When she spotted a dish of stir-fried greens with carrots, a smile spread across her face.

It's carrots! We're saved!

After helping themselves to a few dishes, they sat down to breakfast together. It might not have been lavish, but it didn't taste bad, and it was enough to fill their stomachs.

"Uncle, it's our first day here, so we don't know the academy's schedule. Where should we go later?"

Xiao Wu suddenly remembered something and turned to ask the man.

"Ah, Dean Flender will be waiting for you at the training ground today. Just head straight over."

"Okay, thank you."

They didn't linger. After breakfast, they headed for the academy's training ground.

Four young men were already there. Besides Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Tang San, there was a chubby boy with red hair, who was naturally Ma Hongjun.

"Wow, Oscar, you really weren't lying! So many of the new students are girls!"

Ma Hongjun was stunned when he saw them, but he quickly quieted down again. Whether any girls had come or not, it didn't seem to have much to do with him.

A talented girl wouldn't think much of him.

"Of course, of course!"

Beside him, Oscar, who had shaved his beard and returned to the peak of his good looks, flashed a showy smile. His gaze, however, was fixed on Ning Rongrong, and he felt a surge of anticipation.

He was still far behind that Spirit Hall Holy Son, but while he couldn't compare with those above him, he was better off than those below. He was the second most handsome person in the whole academy, so perhaps he could capture her heart!

"..."

Dai Mubai had said nothing. He looked at Tang Wulin with a gloomy expression, thinking of his fiancée, who was close to Tang Wulin, and the slap he had received. He felt utterly miserable.

"Xiao Wu, you're here."

Tang San looked toward Xiao Wu and greeted her with a smile. She, however, ignored him completely, and his smiling face immediately fell.

Tang Wulin, it's all because of Tang Wulin!

"Xiao San, you can't beg for love."

Dai Mubai, his face gloomy, froze for a moment and then sighed with emotion. That girl called Xiao Wu had gone to get a room with Tang Wulin.

Compared to him, Dai Mubai didn't seem quite so miserable. Xiao San was the real clown.

"Brother Tang, have you noticed... there doesn't seem to be a classroom building anywhere in the academy?"

Ning Rongrong looked puzzled. There didn't seem to be a single decent classroom building in all of Shrek Academy. She hadn't thought about it before, but now that she looked...

How were they supposed to arrange their studies and classes?

"There really isn't a classroom building."

"Perhaps the academy's courses are out of the ordinary."

Tang Wulin shook his head, sighing inwardly. There was more to it than the lack of a classroom building.

Shrek Academy's courses were held at the Great Soul Arena, and its way of making money was to place bets on its students. Oh, right, there was also running, that fine Shrek tradition.

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure appeared in their field of vision. It was none other than Flender, the dean of Shrek Academy, a rank seventy-eight Soul Saint known in the Soul Master World as the Four-Eyed Cat Owl.

"This is a very good year. Our academy has gained five new students, five exceptionally gifted monsters. I, Dean Flender, welcome you on behalf of the academy."

"Now then, first, pay a tuition fee of one hundred Gold Soul Coins."

Flender spoke with a smile.

Tang Wulin and the others had no objection. Each handed over a bag of Gold Soul Coins they had prepared beforehand.

"Dean, doesn't our academy have a classroom building? We didn't see one anywhere in the academy earlier."

At that moment, Ning Rongrong spoke up and asked.

"Well... ahem, ahem."

"The academy has to find sources of income and cut expenses, you understand. But we'll have everything we need eventually."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Flender's face at the question, but he then spoke solemnly.

The question had almost stumped him, but he wasn't worried. They really didn't have any of those things now, but so what?

Once he had taught these geniuses to become powerful, they would carry Shrek's spirit far and wide. By accepting only geniuses and no trash, it would surely become the strongest academy on the continent!

When that time came, wouldn't they have everything?

"..."

For a moment, everyone was at a loss for words.

Listen to him. Wasn't a classroom building a necessity for an academy?

Even the senior students, Dai Mubai and the others, couldn't keep a straight face. They had heard him say the same thing when they first enrolled.

"Don't worry. As for the courses, I have certainly made arrangements. They are the foundation of an academy. Just ask Mubai and the other seniors' legs..."

Perhaps worried that the new students would run away, Flender sighed and spoke slowly.

Shrek was a qualified academy, whatever else might be said of it. He was also an old acquaintance of the Grandmaster, so he would naturally make proper arrangements for every student.

"Your courses will take place at night. Now that you've paid your tuition, you can go back and rest. Support System Soul Masters are the exception; your courses are different."

"Let me say this beforehand: get yourselves into your best condition before dark. This academy's teaching is very special, and you may even face danger."

"All right, Oscar and Ning Rongrong, come with me."

Flender spoke solemnly.

"Yes, Dean!"

Dai Mubai and the other senior students were long accustomed to this and quickly disappeared from sight. Ning Rongrong and Oscar followed Flender, while Tang San didn't stay long either.

Seeing Xiao Wu with Tang Wulin only made his heart feel as though it were being cut by a knife!

"I'm off to my course first!"

Ning Rongrong spoke to Tang Wulin and the others with a grin, then headed toward Flender, anticipation in her eyes.

"I really wonder what Rongrong's course will be."

Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing watched her leave, and Xiao Wu muttered to herself. Tang Wulin, who knew what the course involved, merely smiled without speaking.

Rongrong's course was an "excellent tradition" that had been passed down in Shrek for ten thousand years, continuing even into later generations.

"By the way, Wulin, why do you think Shrek's courses start at night?"

On the way back, Xiao Wu noticed the oddity. They rested during the day, but had classes at night.

Was this really a proper academy?

"Hmm? That's a good question."

Tang Wulin smiled and shook his head. Perhaps this was Flender's special arrangement!

After all, they could go to the Great Soul Arena during the day just as well.

"What the academy teaches you is how to use your Martial Souls. As Support System Soul Masters, the two of you have different courses from the others."

"First, I have a question. What is the key to surviving in battle? Oscar, you answer..."

Elsewhere, Flender looked at Ning Rongrong and Oscar in front of him and launched into a lengthy lecture, putting on an air of profundity.

As for how Support System Soul Masters could survive on the battlefield, he didn't know what others thought, but in his eyes, they needed a good pair of legs that could run well.

Running didn't just improve speed; it also strengthened the body!

And he wasn't alone in that view. Even his good friend Yu Xiaogang, an honorary elder of Spirit Hall known in the Martial Soul world as the Grandmaster, agreed with it. That showed how much weight it carried!

If he really could make Shrek Academy bigger and stronger, he would make sure this fine method was carried on forever!

"Running isn't just running. It brings many benefits, but running faster and having a stronger body are the real keys. Your course today is to run twenty laps around the village surrounding Shrek Academy."

"Start now."

Flender looked at the two of them and spoke calmly.

"Yes, Dean."

Oscar nodded obediently and ran off in a flash, though his face was filled with indescribable bitterness.

Dean Flender made it sound easy, but Oscar had been running like this for years and hadn't seen himself get any faster...

Alas, what a hard life!