The Second Contract

Tang San paid him no further attention. Turning around, he pulled a Gold Soul Coin from his pocket and said to Wang Sheng and the other work-study students, "Roommates, we're eating on the second floor today. My treat, so eat as much as you want."

"Hooray!!!" Xiao Wu was the first to jump up, her two rabbit ears standing straight. "Third Brother! That's what I'm calling you from now on! You're the best!"

The other work-study students also came back to their senses, shouting, "Long live Tang San!" and "Way to go, Tang San!" Their faces were filled with incredulous delight. They crowded around the menu board, standing on tiptoe to see what dishes were listed.

When the male student who had mocked the work-study students saw this, his face turned first green, then pale. He hurriedly rose from his seat, skirted the crowd, and slunk downstairs.

Sharp-eyed Xiao Wu spotted him at once and shouted after him, "Why are you running? Watch your filthy mouth next time!"

Having vented their anger, Xiao Wu and the others burst into laughter. No one bothered to chase him.

Tang San was smiling as he called for everyone to find a seat when, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of Yu Xiaogang limping toward him from the stairs.

Tang San's smile stiffened slightly, and he sighed inwardly. There's no avoiding him. He put on a polite smile and greeted him first. "Teacher, you're here to eat too."

Yu Xiaogang nodded at Tang San and swept his gaze over the work-study students around him. There was a trace of surprise in his voice. "You're eating on the second floor too?"

"Yes," Tang San answered briefly.

Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San on the shoulder. "Come eat with me."

Eat with you? How am I supposed to swallow my food then?

Tang San quickly shook his head, resolute. "No, thank you, Teacher. I'm eating with my roommates."

Yu Xiaogang did not insist. He nodded and said, "All right. Then come see me this afternoon when you have time."

"All right." Tang San hurriedly turned away to order.

Yu Xiaogang limped off toward an empty table in the corner.

Wang Sheng edged up to Tang San and asked in a low voice, "You know Grandmaster?"

Tang San nodded helplessly, sighed, and waved a hand. "Let's not talk about it. Let's eat."

Before long, Tang San saw that everyone had eaten and drunk their fill. He smiled, got up, and paid the bill.

Thirteen people had eaten their fill, and it had only cost one Gold Soul Coin in all.

After the meal, Tang San said goodbye to his roommates and headed to Yu Xiaogang's residence alone.

To be honest, Tang San really did not want to go. He had enjoyed that meal, chatting and laughing with the work-study students. It had been a rare chance to relax.

But the moment he thought about facing Yu Xiaogang's face in a little while, his stomach began to churn.

But he had no choice.

Right after the meal, Tang San had taken a moment to sense the Life-and-Death Contract in his sea of consciousness.

Once the mark for taking a teacher had dissipated, the contents of the second contract had clearly appeared.

[Contract 2: Join Shrek Academy and win the championship of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament]

Tang San had nearly sprayed the food from his mouth and had taken a great deal of effort to calm himself down.

Having lived another life on Douluo Continent, Tang San knew how crazy Bibi Dong of Spirit Hall was, so he wanted nothing to do with Spirit Hall. He had even distanced himself from Tang Hao as much as possible for that very reason, so he would not be dragged into the tangled grudges between Tang Hao and Spirit Hall.

What the hell does all your fighting and killing have to do with me!

Tang San only wanted to keep his head down and cultivate, then woo a few great beauties. If he had the chance, he would become a god; if not, he would find a paradise away from the world and lie back as a carefree salted fish. In any case, with his talent, he would have no trouble cultivating to the level of a Titled Douluo. Tang San knew that a Titled Douluo could live for hundreds of years, which was more than enough.

But this damned system just had to make me do something so huge! If I really win the Soul Master Tournament, won't Bibi Dong chase me down and cut me to pieces? What am I supposed to do?

After struggling with it for a long time, Tang San finally had no choice but to accept this cruel reality and reluctantly began to consider how to deal with it.

First, he carefully recalled everything about Shrek in the original story.

Having read the original story many times, Tang San knew Shrek very well.

Shrek Academy's strict admissions requirements were that students had to be no older than thirteen and have Soul Power of at least rank twenty-one. They also had to pass assessments of their Soul Ring quality and practical combat ability. The requirements were outrageously harsh.

The graduation requirements were even more inhumane. Ordinary advanced Soul Master Academies required students to reach rank thirty in Soul Power before the age of twenty, while Shrek's standard was rank forty before twenty.

A person quickly came to Tang San's mind: Yu Tianheng, a genius of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. With rank eight Innate Soul Power, he had broken through to rank forty at twenty-one. He would have been among the best at any advanced Soul Master Academy.

But Yu Tianheng, the number one student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, would not have been able to graduate from Shrek.

At that thought, Tang San even wondered whether there was something wrong with Flender's head.

That said, the teaching staff really was quite good.

In the first twenty years after Shrek Academy was founded, it had enrolled forty-two students, fourteen of whom had successfully graduated.

A graduation rate of one-third.

Measured against Yu Tianheng, that graduation rate was actually quite good.

After all, Yu Tianheng had the resources of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan behind him. What did that bunch of Shrek students have? They were so poor they didn't have two coins to rub together, and they had to count every coin even for meals.

Everyone who had managed to meet the graduation requirements under those conditions was a genuine monster.

From that perspective, Shrek really did have its merits when it came to teaching students how to cultivate.

Of course, that also had a great deal to do with how harsh its admissions requirements were.

But the problem was that Shrek was simply too poor. It had no resources and no facilities. Its students lived in ramshackle wooden huts and ate plain, meager meals.

What worried Tang San even more was safety. Quite a few Shrek students had died gruesome deaths in the jaws of Soul Beasts while seeking Soul Rings.

It could not even provide the most basic protection. What kind of academy was that?

As for Flender's famous saying, "Those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities," Tang San felt it had to be viewed from two sides.

If "causing trouble" meant acting as a hero and upholding justice, then there was nothing wrong with the saying. For a martial artist, drawing a blade to help when faced with injustice was the spirit one ought to have.

But if "causing trouble" meant bullying men, forcing women, stirring up trouble for no reason, and using one's power to oppress others, then the person who said it deserved a beating more than anyone. What such teaching produced was not students, but a pack of scourges.

As for the second point in the contract, winning the Soul Master Tournament, Tang San had no confidence at all right now.

Tang San in the original story had relied on Tang Sect techniques. Mysterious Heaven Skill, Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eye, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon—from internal skills to external techniques, movement techniques to hand techniques, he had everything.

On top of that, he had encountered the opportunity of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and taken Immortal Herbs to cleanse his muscles and marrow. Only then had he narrowly defeated Spirit Hall Academy and won the championship.

But he had no techniques at all.

He did know quite a bit about Immortal Herbs. Having read the original story over and over so many times, Tang San remembered the characteristics, methods of consumption, and effects of the Immortal Herbs around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with perfect clarity.

But the problem was that Tang San did not know how to counter poison and could not deal with Dugu Bo. That old poisoner's venom was no laughing matter.

And Dugu Bo's temperament was unpredictable. He might take offense and smack Tang San dead with a single palm strike, leaving him nowhere even to cry.

Tang San shook his head and sighed, putting those thoughts aside for the moment as he quickened his pace.

It was still too early to think about those things. He was only six and did not have a single Soul Ring yet.

The most important thing right now was to deal with Yu Xiaogang first.

To be honest, Tang San really did despise Yu Xiaogang.

But objectively speaking, Yu Xiaogang was not entirely without merit.

Though Yu Xiaogang was conceited, shameless, and mediocre in ability, he did come from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and had spent a long time in Spirit Hall. His collection of books should have been more extensive than that of a small academy like Notting Junior Academy.

And there was also the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night. A Storage Soul Tool was a great treasure.

Those things were already enough to balance out the resentment in Tang San's heart for now.