Shrek Academy

Morning.

Zhao Xuan walked out of a hotel in Suotuo City and stretched lazily.

"That was a really comfortable sleep."

Behind him, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Hermione emerged one after another, all looking refreshed, as if they had slept well the night before.

The sun was just rising, and a light mist still shrouded the city, yet the streets were already bustling with activity. Countless early-rising vendors were hawking their wares along the main street, earning a living.

Zhao Xuan's expression suddenly shifted, and he asked slyly, "Tang San, Xiao Wu, why didn't you rest at that Rose Hotel yesterday?"

Tang San and Xiao Wu froze, and then Xiao Wu's embarrassed and angry voice rang out, "Zhao Xuan! Are you looking for a death wish! And you knew it was... it was that kind of hotel, why didn't you stop us?"

Zhao Xuan pouted and said shamelessly, "I thought you guys knew."

"Hehe." Seeing Zhao Xuan's rogue-like demeanor, Hermione couldn't help but chuckle secretly.

As a rabbit, no one had better hearing than Xiao Wu. Even though Hermione was several meters away, Xiao Wu's ears still caught Hermione's laughter: "You too, you knew, didn't you, Hermione?"

Hermione lowered her gaze and glanced at Xiao Wu: "I thought you guys knew too."

"Hmph, so you two really knew! Tell me, were you two colluding to make fun of me!" Seeing their identical answers, Xiao Wu knew something was up.

Xiao Wu's face was flushed red, unsure if it was from shame or anger.

"Alright, alright, stop messing around, let's hurry and report," Tang San, the male protagonist, finally spoke. His face was slightly flushed, and his eyes dared not meet Zhao Xuan's and Hermione's.

"There's definitely something going on with those two," Zhao Xuan said to Hermione as they walked ahead. Zhao Xuan rubbed his chin.

"Anyone with eyes can see something's up with them," Hermione said, idly twirling her blonde hair and rolling her eyes at Zhao Xuan, finding it amusing.

Outside Suotuo City, in an unnamed village.

"Xiao San, did you bring us to the wrong place?" The sun was high in the sky, and sweat streamed down their faces. Xiao Wu couldn't help but ask.

Tang San also looked around hesitantly, unsure. "It should be here."

"But does it look like an academy around here? I don't understand why Master would send you here," Hermione said, fanning herself with her hand, complaining slightly. Xiao Wu nodded in agreement, strongly echoing Hermione's thoughts.

The high temperature caused sweat to flow uncontrollably, making the two neat-freak girls feel particularly uncomfortable.

"Let's ask the villagers. If there's a Soul Master Academy nearby, they'd surely know," Zhao Xuan pointed to a few people at the village entrance.

"Okay."

As they approached the village entrance, they immediately noticed something was off. A table was set up at the entrance, with an old man in his sixties sitting behind it. In front of him, teenagers of similar age to them were lined up in an orderly fashion, accompanied by their families.

Zhao Xuan's brow furrowed: "I have a bad feeling about this."

Hermione tugged at his sleeve: "Look over there, your premonition is correct."

Following Hermione's gesture, Zhao Xuan's entire being felt unwell.

Above the old man's head was a wooden archway with a tattered plaque hanging from it. The plaque was inscribed with a few large characters, followed by a drawing of an incredibly ugly humanoid monster head.

Because the paint was almost completely peeled off, they hadn't seen the characters on the plaque from a distance. However, they could now see them clearly.

"Shrek... Academy?" Xiao Wu struggled to recognize the characters.

"Xiao San, isn't this the academy Master told us to enroll in?" Zhao Xuan's mouth twitched. He felt like Master had tricked him.

"Are you kidding me? This academy is worse than my home academy."

Hermione stared at the dilapidated Shrek Academy with her brown eyes, looking incredulous. Seriously, it wasn't even a third the size of Nuoding Academy.

It wasn't just Tang San and the others who were filled with doubt; even the other teenagers who had already arrived looked bewildered.

As time passed, more and more people arrived, and a crowd gradually formed at the village entrance, buzzing like a marketplace.

The old man in charge of admissions sat lazily on his chair, dressed in simple clothes, like an old farmer making do. He ignored the chatter in front of him, seemingly dozing off.

But at a certain moment, he opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes.

"Registration begins! The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. Just put the coins in the box in front." He still looked lazy, making one worry he might fall asleep at any second.

Tang San and Zhao Xuan exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

"This old man seems extraordinary," Tang San said calmly.

"Indeed. At least much stronger than Hermione's grandfather. He's at least a Soul King, maybe even a Soul Emperor," Zhao Xuan said with curiosity. If this old man was truly powerful, even if he were just a Soul King, not to mention a Soul Emperor, this academy shouldn't be so run-down!

"Him? Stronger than my grandfather?" Hermione was somewhat unconvinced. Could this old man, who looked like a farmer, be stronger than her grandfather, the principal of Nuoding Academy?

Zhao Xuan chuckled: "You might not believe it, but with your grandfather's Soul Ancestor cultivation, I could defeat him even without using this power."

Hermione wanted to retort, but after thinking about it, she found herself unable to do so. She glared at Zhao Xuan and then became rather unhappy.

Since registration had begun, no matter how questionable the academy seemed, they had come this far and had to give it a try.

So, a parent and child stepped forward, placing ten Gold Soul Coins into the box in front of the old man.

Unexpectedly, the old man merely pinched the boy's arm and rejected him: "Your age doesn't meet the requirements. You can leave."

The boy seemed at a loss and instinctively looked at his father, who then began his performance.

At first, he pleaded in a low voice, but as the old man repeatedly refused him, even a clay figurine would have some spirit.

The boy's father became angry: "You're clearly trying to scam people! Refund our registration fee, or we're not leaving. If we had known this so-called Shrek Academy was so dilapidated, we wouldn't have come."

The old man glanced at him and said indifferently, "Mubai, someone wants a refund for the registration fee. Handle it."

From the ground nearby, a figure suddenly sprang up, "If you want a refund, fine. Beat me, and I'll return it all."

Dai Mubai didn't waste any words. He immediately activated his Soul Power, releasing all three of his Soul Rings – two from the hundred-year range and one from the thousand-year range. Surging Soul Power created an invisible pressure in the air. Cold light flashed in his evil eyes as he looked at the father and son.

The father and son's faces turned pale. In this world, Soul Rings were the best way to speak.

The crowd had been too crowded earlier, and the group didn't know when Dai Mubai had arrived. But judging by the current situation, Dai Mubai must be someone from Shrek Academy.

"No wonder he said we'd spar later. He must have guessed our purpose for coming to Suotuo City," Zhao Xuan said, a little surprised to see Dai Mubai. It seemed this guy's brain wasn't bad after all.

"It's that scumbag," Hermione and Xiao Wu both snorted simultaneously, their impressions of Dai Mubai clearly not good.

The crowd behind them couldn't help but stir after this scene. People nearby began to discuss.

"What's going on with this academy? It feels more like a bandit's den."

"Yeah, what kind of academy is this run-down? Did we come to the wrong place?"

The crowd surged, murmuring amongst themselves. Soon, some people, having had a bad impression from the scene, left with their children.

Seeing the crowd disperse, the old man seemed unable to hold back any longer. Shrek Academy barely managed to recruit anyone each year. If they couldn't find a couple of little monsters among these people this year, the academy might not be able to continue.

So, he impatiently stood up from behind the table and said to those queuing to register, "To register for our Shrek Academy, you should first understand the rules. Coming here without understanding them is just a waste of the registration fee. It's not too late to regret it now. Do you know the meaning of the name Shrek in Shrek Academy?"

Shrek? Zhao Xuan naturally didn't know. However, he had a strong impression of slimes – those jelly-like blobs. In games back then, they were usually cannon fodder in the newbie village.

The old man said coldly, "Shrek is a type of monster, an extremely peculiar existence even among Soul Beasts. The meaning of our Shrek Academy is 'Monster Academy.' In other words, we only accept monsters here, not ordinary people. If you are over thirteen years old or your Soul Power has not reached level twenty-one, don't waste your time here."

"Whoa!" Zhao Xuan let out a strange exclamation.

"Xiao San, I suddenly think this academy is quite interesting. An academy that only accepts monsters?! That's way cooler than its appearance suggests."

Zhao Xuan looked at the old man with great interest, suddenly developing an interest in this academy.

(ps1: Regarding updates, usually two per day, or one/none when I'm slacking.)

(ps2: Hermione, only her appearance is taken, not her personality. The author's writing is poor and can't capture the feeling from the movie, so let her develop freely.)

(ps3: Damn, I forgot. I remembered when writing the first point.)