Dormitory

Zhang Lexuan led Ji Lin between the white freshmen's teaching building and the black second- and third-year teaching buildings, where they came upon the dormitory building. The dormitory occupied an enormous area. Though it was a single building, it was marked in four colors: white, yellow, purple, and black. Clearly, these represented the residential areas for students of the different grades assigned to the four teaching buildings. The building stood six stories tall.

The two arrived at the entrance to the white section, where a very old-looking man sat. He wore a gray cloth robe, and the wrinkles on his face were deep enough to squash more than a double-digit number of flies at once. His eyes were cloudy yellow, his eyelids drooped, and he looked as though he were in the twilight of his life. The sunlight filtering between the buildings happened to fall over him, and the reclining chair he lay half-sprawled in looked rather comfortable.

Zhang Lexuan stepped forward and respectfully said, "Mu En!"

Ji Lin knew that this elderly man, who looked as if he had one foot in the grave, was Mu En—the Dragon God Douluo Mu En, a Rank 99 Limit Douluo.

He hurried forward, imitating Zhang Lexuan as he bowed respectfully. "Hello, Elder."

"Mm."

Mu En responded softly, then extended his trembling right hand. "Let me see your badge and dormitory key."

Ji Lin hurriedly handed them over.

Mu En waved them before his eyes, then returned them to him. "Go on. Dormitory 108 is the third room on the left of the first floor. The fourth floor and above are the girls' dormitories. You are not allowed upstairs. If you are caught, you will be expelled."

"Thank you." After Zhang Lexuan pulled Ji Lin into another respectful bow, she led him toward the dormitory building.

Mu En remained motionless in his original position, muttering to himself, "So this is the child that girl Lexuan chose? His talent is quite good. At such a young age, he already has this level of cultivation, and he even possesses an ultimate-attribute martial soul. He is quite well matched with that girl Lexuan. It's just a pity about Bei Bei..."

Ever since Zhang Lexuan had returned from the Star Dou Great Forest, she had sought Mu En out for a serious talk. She apologized to him and asked for his forgiveness, saying that she could no longer fulfill the agreement they had made in the past.

Mu En had readily agreed and told Zhang Lexuan not to burden herself over it. In truth, he had regretted proposing that agreement to Zhang Lexuan in recent years as well. He knew about Bei Bei and Tang Ya; indeed, he had been the one to tell Bei Bei to approach Tang Ya in order to support the Tang Sect.

He simply had not expected Bei Bei and Tang Ya to get together so quickly. He had even worried that Zhang Lexuan would be unable to let go and trap herself in a dead end.

He had wanted Zhang Lexuan to abandon that agreement, but as someone with experience, he knew full well that he could not meddle in the emotional entanglements of young people. Nor did he know how to intervene.

Now that Zhang Lexuan had figured things out and let go on her own, he was more than willing to grant her wish.

Bei Bei had never known about his engagement to Zhang Lexuan from beginning to end, so it was best to pretend that engagement had never existed.

Just then, several more freshmen passed by. Clearly, they did not notice the old man beside the entrance and walked straight inside. The old man did not stop them either. He simply sat there, drowsy as ever.

"Sister Lexuan, who was that old gentleman just now?"

As they walked, Ji Lin asked Zhang Lexuan. Though he knew Mu En's identity, there were some things he still had to ask about.

"He is one of the Academy's senior elders. Just be polite whenever you see him in the future. Don't disturb him."

Zhang Lexuan shook her head.

Following Mu En's directions, the two quickly found Ji Lin's dormitory. The student dormitory was a corridor-style building, with dormitory doors lining both sides of a long hallway, each marked with a number. It was obvious that the inside of the dormitory building was somewhat old, though no one knew how many years it had been in use. There was a communal bathroom at each end of the corridor.

When they unlocked the door, a wave of stale air rushed out. The two quickly stepped aside, waited for a while, then held their breath and rushed in to open the windows. This room had been unoccupied for at least a month. Everything was covered in a layer of dust.

While the windows aired the room out, Ji Lin got a clear look at its furnishings.

The dormitory was tiny, only about ten square meters. The two beds occupied most of the space. Aside from them, there was only one table and two metal wardrobes. A lamp hung from the ceiling, while several metal protrusions were fixed to the walls. The lamp was a simple spirit tool and required Soul Power to light up. Those metal protrusions were where Soul Power was injected.

After airing it out for a while, the stale air in the dormitory finally cleared. Looking at the filthy, messy room, Ji Lin's head began to ache. As the continent's number one academy, Shrek Academy had built its dormitories far too miserly. It was clearly yet another fine tradition inherited from Flender, Shrek Academy's founding dean.

Seeing Ji Lin's tightly furrowed brows, Zhang Lexuan smiled softly.

"I'll help you clean up the dormitory."

"Thank you, Sister Lexuan. It's a good thing you're here. Otherwise, this really would have been troublesome."

Ji Lin took out some cleaning supplies from his Storage Spirit Tool, and the two began cleaning the dormitory.

It took only half an hour. With Zhang Lexuan's help, every neglected corner was thoroughly cleaned until it was spotless. Though everything in the dormitory remained as simple as before, it now carried a fresh atmosphere.

After the cleaning was finished, Zhang Lexuan prepared to take Ji Lin to the cafeteria for something to eat.

Each grade had its own cafeteria, located behind the dormitory area.

The two arrived at the freshmen's cafeteria. There were not many people inside at the moment, making it seem extremely spacious.

There was not even a single table or chair, only a wide empty space. On one side were sinks for washing hands and utensils. Along the inner side were windows where meals could be purchased, with prices displayed outside each one. There were eight windows in total, each offering different dishes, and the prices became increasingly expensive from right to left.

There was not even anywhere to sit while eating in the cafeteria? A notice at the entrance also stated that no food was allowed to be taken out of the cafeteria.

Ji Lin was speechless at Shrek Academy's methods. Flender's spirit had been passed down for ten thousand years, and it had not changed in the slightest.

After his brief surprise, Ji Lin went to the most expensive window and bought two sets of Spirit Beast Meat with vegetables. After the two finished eating, they simply left the cafeteria.

"Xiao Lin, let's call it a day. I need to return to the Inner Court. If anything comes up later, come find me there."

"Mm, all right. You've worked hard today, Sister Lexuan."

After saying goodbye to Ji Lin, Zhang Lexuan returned to the Inner Court alone.

Ji Lin, meanwhile, returned to his dormitory and took out his daily necessities and bedding from his spirit tool. They were all high-end items Xu Jiujiu had prepared for him.

After making his bed, Ji Lin saw that he had nothing else to do and prepared to cultivate.

Suddenly, he glanced at the wooden bed across from his and grew curious about who his roommate might be.

It had better not be Princess Tang. I don't want to live with her. God King Tang would keep an eye on me. Though he probably has no time to spare for Princess Tang right now.

I wonder whether she will come to Shrek Academy. I wonder whether she has taken human form and become the way she appeared in the memories I left behind as a prank.

He clearly remembered the appearance of the most beautiful girl in his heart from the memories he had fabricated with Feather Crossing Dust. She actually looked like Wang Qiuer from the original story, and even shared the same name: Wang Qiuer. He was looking forward to seeing Wang Dong'er encounter Wang Qiuer.

At that thought, Ji Lin revealed a mischievous smile.