Seeing Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing walk into the restaurant, Lin Kun's heart nearly leaped into his throat! He quickly lowered his head, pretending to focus on his meal while restraining the perception of both Insight Skill and his Book Spirit to the absolute minimum, terrified that these two big shots would notice him.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing clearly did not notice Lin Kun in the corner. They walked straight to an empty table in the middle of the hall and sat down. The atmosphere... was extremely cold.
Dai Mubai tried to start a conversation, wearing his trademark roguish smile—or so he thought. "Zhuqing, the grilled fish here is pretty good. Want to try some?" Zhu Zhuqing did not even look at him, her voice cool and detached. "Whatever." Dai Mubai had hit a wall and awkwardly rubbed his nose before ordering for himself.
The entire hall's atmosphere became somewhat delicate because of those two. The diners whispered among themselves, their eyes occasionally drifting toward the strikingly attractive man and woman with their bizarre dynamic.
Lin Kun shoveled down his food while secretly watching from the corner of his eye, inwardly ranting like mad. Oh-ho! A live version of the original plot! Dai Laoda's wife-chasing crematorium arc begins! This gossip is guaranteed juicy!
Just as he was getting engrossed, Insight Skill suddenly sent him a faint warning—not about Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, but about the restaurant entrance!
Three young men dressed in fine clothes staggered in. One look was enough to tell they were spoiled young masters. The leader wore an arrogant expression, his gaze sweeping across the hall before immediately landing on Zhu Zhuqing's cold beauty and fiery figure. A lecherous glint flashed in his eyes.
"Well, well! Where did this little beauty come from? I've never seen you in Suotuo City before. How about having a drink with your big brothers?" The young master grinned as he headed toward Zhu Zhuqing's table.
Lin Kun thought to himself, Here it comes! The classic disposable lackey experience-delivery scene!
Dai Mubai's face instantly darkened, a fierce glint flashing through his golden eyes. "Get lost!"
"Heh! Kid, do you know who we are? How dare you talk to us like that?" Having been embarrassed, the young master flew into a rage. "If you know what's good for you, hand over that little beauty. Otherwise, you'll regret it!"
Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless. She could not even be bothered to spare them a glance, merely tapping the table lightly with her slender fingers.
Dai Mubai slowly rose to his feet. A powerful wave of Soul Power naturally spread from him, and two bright yellow Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet. "I said, get lost!"
"A... a Soul Elder?!" Feeling Dai Mubai's Soul Power pressure, far beyond their own, along with the standard Soul Elder ring configuration—two yellow rings—the three young masters turned deathly pale. Half their drunkenness evaporated as they stumbled backward in terror. "S-sorry! We failed to recognize a great man! We'll get lost! We'll get lost right away!" They fled the restaurant in utter panic.
Dai Mubai snorted, withdrew his Spirit Rings, and sat back down, trying to salvage his image. "Just a few blind idiots. No need to pay them any mind."
Zhu Zhuqing finally glanced at him, her tone still indifferent. "Nosy."
Dai Mubai: "..." His expression collapsed again.
Lin Kun nearly burst out laughing in the corner and hurriedly covered his mouth. Dai Laoda's road to winning back his wife was long and arduous indeed!
He had thought that little disturbance was over and was about to settle his bill and leave, lest he get caught in the crossfire. However, Little White in his arms seemed to have been frightened by Dai Mubai's burst of Soul Power. It squirmed uneasily and let out an incredibly soft "chirp."
The sound was tiny, nearly impossible to notice amid the noisy restaurant.
But Zhu Zhuqing's sharp cat ears twitched slightly. Her cold gaze instantly swept toward Lin Kun's corner, landing precisely on his... bulging chest, where Little White was hidden.
Lin Kun's body stiffened! Had she discovered him?!
Dai Mubai followed Zhu Zhuqing's gaze and looked over as well, one brow lifting slightly. He seemed to have become a little curious about the "thing" that could make such a noise.
It's over, it's over! I got so caught up watching the drama that I became part of it! Lin Kun groaned inwardly.
Zhu Zhuqing did not say anything. After looking at him once, she withdrew her gaze. She seemed merely curious about Little White and did not investigate further.
Seeing no reaction from Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai lost interest as well and continued trying to find conversation topics.
Lin Kun secretly let out a sigh of relief. He quickly left money for the meal, lowered his head, and hurried out of Destiny Restaurant. Only after he had gone quite far did he pat his chest, lingering fear still in his heart.
"As expected of Zhu Zhuqing. Her senses are way too sharp! I need to keep farther away when I watch a show from now on..." Lin Kun muttered. "Still, I finally got to see characters from the original story. Shrek Academy must be somewhere near Suotuo City."
His top priority was to find a place to stay and obtain accurate information.
Based on the system map and what he had learned along the way, Lin Kun found a reasonably affordable inn in the southern district: Rose Hotel. The name was a little tacky, but the prices were fair and the place was fairly clean.
While checking in, the chubby owner saw that Lin Kun was young and alone, so he kindly gave him a reminder. "Little brother, Suotuo City hasn't been very peaceful lately. Try not to go out at night. I heard that some Shrek Academy outside the city is recruiting students again. At this time every year, it attracts plenty of strange people..."
Shrek Academy! Recruitment!
Lin Kun's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "Boss, do you know where Shrek Academy is recruiting?"
The owner shook his head. "I don't know about that. Seems like there's no fixed location? Anyway, I hear their requirements are really strange. It's not a place ordinary people can get into. You want to give it a try too, little brother? Take my advice—the place is weird. You'd be better off finding a proper academy."
Although he did not get a specific address, confirming that Shrek was recruiting was the most important information!
After thanking the owner, Lin Kun entered his room and let Little White out to get some air. The little fellow curiously scampered around the room, full of fascination with everything.
Lin Kun began planning his next move. Shrek's recruitment had to be within the next few days, and he needed to find the recruitment site somehow. In the original story, it had been near Suotuo City's southern gate, right? But he could not remember the exact location.
"Looks like I'll have to stake out the area around the southern gate tomorrow." Lin Kun made up his mind.
Early the next morning, Lin Kun checked out of Rose Hotel and prepared to search around the southern gate for clues. He had barely reached the hotel lobby when a burst of commotion and violent Soul Power collisions came from outside!
Boom! "Damn it! You dare fight me for a room? You're asking to die!"
Curious, Lin Kun crept to the doorway and looked outside. On the open ground before the hotel, two groups of people were confronting each other.
On one side was a youth dressed in red, with red hair to match. He was handsome but carried a hint of rascality, scorching flames burning around his body. Two yellow Spirit Rings gleamed beneath his feet. It was none other than Ma Hongjun, the Evil Fire Phoenix! Beside him stood a plainly dressed girl, nervously tugging at him.
On the other side were three burly men who looked like mercenaries. Their Soul Power fluctuations were not weak either, all around level twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and each wore a vicious expression.
"Fatty! We had our eyes on that room first! If you know what's good for you, get lost!" the mercenary leader cursed. "Bullshit! This lord paid first! You want to snatch it by force? Have you asked my Phoenix flames?" Ma Hongjun refused to back down and spat a mouthful of Evil Fire at them!
The two sides immediately descended into battle! Ma Hongjun might only have been a Great Soul Master, but his Evil Fire Phoenix spirit possessed extremely high quality, its flames tyrannical beyond measure. For a time, he fought the three mercenaries, whose levels exceeded his own, to a standstill. Flames scattered everywhere, making the surrounding pedestrians cry out and scramble away.
Lin Kun hid behind the hotel door, dumbstruck. Good grief! Dai Mubai just left, and now Ma Hongjun shows up! Is Rose Hotel some kind of Shrek check-in hotspot?
He instinctively swept them with Insight Skill.
Ma Hongjun, Level: 28, Spirit: Evil Fire Phoenix, Spirit Rings: Yellow, Yellow. Status: Evil Fire agitated, emotions excited. Mercenary A, Level: 28, Spirit: Iron-Armed Ape... Mercenary B...
The Book Spirit rapidly recorded the battle data and began analyzing Ma Hongjun's flame trajectories and combat habits.
At that moment, apparently affected by his Evil Fire, Ma Hongjun lost control for an instant. A huge mass of Phoenix flames veered off course and blasted straight toward the hotel entrance! Its target was Lin Kun, who was peeking from behind the door!
"Watch out!" the plainly dressed girl cried out!
Lin Kun's scalp went numb! What a completely undeserved disaster! It was already too late to dodge!
In that critical moment, he reacted almost instinctively! A faint silver light flashed in his eyes!
First Spirit Skill: Information Overload!
Target—Ma Hongjun! Infused content: the unstable points in Ma Hongjun's own flame energy, flaws in how he exerted force, and an emergency information package of "Your flames are about to burn innocent bystanders!"
Ma Hongjun, who had been fighting with gusto, suddenly froze. His mind was instantly flooded with complex information about his spirit's flaws, along with an intense warning that he might injure someone by accident! His movements abruptly stalled, and the flames under his control became chaotic, weakening by more than half!
Boom! Only a small portion of the misfired flames ultimately struck the hotel doorframe, blackening it, but their power had greatly diminished and Lin Kun was unharmed.
Everyone was stunned for a moment, including Ma Hongjun himself. He shook his head, confused, unable to understand what had just happened to him.
Seeing this, the three mercenaries assumed Ma Hongjun was running out of steam and seized the chance to launch a fierce attack!
Ma Hongjun came back to his senses and immediately flew into a rage. Without the time to think further, his Evil Fire erupted again. "You're asking to die!"
Just as the conflict was about to escalate again—
"Stop!"
A deep, powerful voice rang out. A burly middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses and a somewhat stiff expression strode over. Behind him followed a youth in fitted blue clothes, his face ordinary but his gaze gentle and curious—it was Zhao Wuji and Tang San!
Zhao Wuji merely released a trace of his Soul Sage pressure, instantly subduing everyone present! The three mercenaries turned pale, cold sweat streaming down their faces. They did not dare utter a single word and fled miserably.
Ma Hongjun also withdrew his flames and gave an unhappy snort.
Tang San's gaze swept over the scene before finally settling on Lin Kun at the hotel entrance, still shaken. A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Lin Kun? Why are you here?"
Seeing Tang San and Zhao Wuji, Lin Kun groaned inwardly even more! How could he run into his fellow villager and his fellow villager's teacher everywhere he went? Suotuo City was way too small!
He quickly forced out a smile. "Tang San? What a coincidence! I... I came to Suotuo City to stay with relatives. I happened to be staying at this hotel, and I was just about to head out when..."
Zhao Wuji glanced at Lin Kun but did not pay much attention to this boy, whose Soul Power seemed weak. He instead scolded Ma Hongjun, "Fatty! You lost control of your Evil Fire and caused trouble again! Go back and train extra!"
Ma Hongjun drooped his head. "Oh..."
Tang San walked up to Lin Kun, looking puzzled. "Staying with relatives? Didn't you go home?" He remembered Lin Kun saying at Nuoding Academy that he was going home.
Lin Kun's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, I let something slip! His mind raced as he tried to invent an excuse to brush it off.
Suddenly, a crisp voice filled with anger came from the other end of the street.
"Dead fatty! You caused trouble again! I'm going to break your legs!"
A girl in a pink dress came running over furiously, her hair braided into a scorpion tail. Behind her followed a girl with an ordinary face and gentle eyes, dressed in blue—presumably Ning Rongrong.
Xiao Wu?! Ning Rongrong?! They had arrived too?!
Watching Shrek's first-generation lineup about to gather, Lin Kun felt his vision go dark.
It's over... There's no explaining this now!
Before you continue