Ma Hongjun

Morning.

Tang San dragged Zhao Xuan out of bed. Zhao Xuan rubbed his eyes and looked at Tang San, who was drenched in sweat.

"Xiao San, what were you doing so early in the morning? You're covered in sweat."

"I went to retrieve my Hidden Weapons," Tang San explained. He had put tremendous effort into making them, and he could not bear to leave behind even a single needle.

Thinking of those long needles Tang San had coated in poison, their tips glowing an eerie blue, as well as the crossbow bolt from that coldly gleaming back-mounted floral crossbow...

Zhao Xuan shuddered instinctively. "It's good that you retrieved them. Good."

"Snore... snore..."

"Is that... Oscar? When did he get back?" Hearing the snoring, Zhao Xuan turned and saw a figure sleeping face-down on the other bed.

"Forget it. Let's eat first."

"Sure. Let's go get Xiao Wu first."

When they arrived outside the girls' dormitory, Tang San did not enter directly since there were other girls inside besides Xiao Wu. Instead, he stood at the door and knocked.

"Coming." A somewhat soft female voice came from inside. It was Xiao Wu's voice, and Zhao Xuan clearly saw a flash of delight in Tang San's eyes.

Tsk, this damned sister-obsessed fool.

Sure enough, Xiao Wu opened the door. She looked much better than yesterday, though her face was still somewhat pale. Perhaps she would need a few more days of rest before fully recovering.

"Xiao San, Xiao Xuan." Xiao Wu greeted them. Compared to her usual energetic self, she now looked more like a delicate little girl.

Yet compared to how she usually was, she was even more heartbreaking to look at now.

"Xiao Wu, are you all right?" Tang San asked worriedly. The tenderness in his eyes seemed ready to overflow. Zhao Xuan got goosebumps all over.

"I'm fine." Xiao Wu shook her head, her scorpion-tail braid swaying slightly. As she lowered her head, there seemed to be something unusual in her gaze toward Tang San.

"That's good. Let's eat first. Where are Hermione and the others?" Tang San let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Xiao Wu say she was fine.

"Hermione is already up. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing are still cultivating."

Just as Xiao Wu finished speaking, Hermione emerged from the side. She was still bleary-eyed, her fluffy golden hair somewhat disheveled.

"Breakfast? Perfect. I still don't know where the cafeteria is." Hermione rubbed her eyes.

They knew the cafeteria was to the east, but none of them knew its exact location, so they could only search for it one place at a time.

Since Shrek Academy was located in a small village, the buildings were not spaced far apart. Still, there were only a few houses in sight.

"This academy's facilities are really terrible." Hermione sighed again. Her family only ran a primary Soul Master Academy, yet its facilities were far better than this place's.

"I wonder what the academy head is thinking. Hmm... Zhao Xuan, what do you think about poaching the academy's teachers and taking them to Nuoding Academy?" Hermione's eyes suddenly lit up as she turned to Zhao Xuan.

Zhao Xuan smacked his lips. "Tsk, it's not a bad idea, but if it were that easy to poach people, why wouldn't the advanced academies have already come for them?"

"That's true."

Hermione nodded. They had already seen one Soul Emperor and one Soul Sage, yet there had to be some deeper reason those teachers remained here.

Because the village itself was not large, even though Shrek Academy occupied a third of it, the group left the academy after only a few steps.

Outside the academy, they could see a small stream. Lush aquatic grass grew along both banks, and sparkling dew still clung to the green blades of grass.

Following the stream upstream, they found a building erected beside it, with wisps of cooking smoke drifting out from within.

"Could that be the place?" Zhao Xuan asked doubtfully.

"We'll know once we take a look." Xiao Wu took the lead without hesitation.

When they reached a fork in the road, a burst of arguing suddenly drifted over. Following the sound, they saw a boy and a girl quarreling not far away.

The girl had ordinary features, but she was youthful and pretty, around fourteen or fifteen years old. Judging from her plain clothes, she was probably a villager.

The boy looked even younger, about the same age as Tang San and the others. He was slightly chubby and solidly built, with short hair and small eyes. His plump face was somewhat cute, but the funniest thing was the pair of mouse-whisker-like mustaches above his lips.

The group smiled and paid it no mind, preparing to continue toward their destination. Yet the two grew louder and louder, and as they listened to the content of the argument, their expressions turned strange. They stopped in unspoken agreement.

But what came next was even stranger. Xiao Wu could no longer hold herself back. "Stop!"

The chubby boy and Cuihua were startled to see Xiao Wu suddenly appear. Then the chubby boy's eyes lit up at once. Perhaps noticing the others behind Xiao Wu, he waved impatiently. "Get lost. Don't meddle in other people's business."

Naturally, Xiao Wu would not let it go. She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Forcibly taking a woman in broad daylight, and you think you're in the right?!"

The chubby boy seemed startled for a moment before flying into an angry embarrassment. "It's a conflict between me and my girlfriend. What the hell does it have to do with you?!"

Xiao Wu's brows shot up. Zhao Xuan and Tang San stepped forward at just the right time. Standing behind Xiao Wu, they cut rather imposing figures, and the chubby boy instinctively backed away a few steps.

Hermione watched silently from the side, though her expression was somewhat strange. Why did Xiao Wu and the others look more like the villains here?

Perhaps seeing how tense the group was, the girl named Cuihua hurriedly stepped forward. "Please don't misunderstand. Hongjun really is my boyfriend."

Zhao Xuan and the other two froze, staring in astonishment at the earnest-looking girl. Zhao Xuan and Tang San silently retreated.

Zhao Xuan gazed speechlessly at the sky. This was rather awkward.

Xiao Wu, the main culprit, was even more embarrassed. Ha, had she really interfered in a couple's quarrel? But it hadn't looked that way just now!

The two sides stood apart, with the girl between them. The scene fell silent for a moment.

"Zhao Xuan, Tang San, what are you doing here?" Dai Mubai's voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Dai Mubai."

"Boss Dai?"

Zhao Xuan and the others answered.

At the same time, the youth named Ma Hongjun across from them called out as well.

Both sides froze, then looked at each other. Dai Mubai walked over, looking at them strangely.

"What's wrong with you all? Right, let me introduce you. This is Ma Hongjun, another student of our academy. His martial soul is the top-tier Beast Soul, the Evil Fire Phoenix."

"Hongjun, they're the new students who enrolled this year. Your junior brothers and sisters."

The group exchanged looks and suddenly felt even more awkward.

Dai Mubai was puzzled. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Cough, cough... It's like this." Zhao Xuan said awkwardly.

"..."

"Hm?" After hearing Zhao Xuan's explanation, Dai Mubai understood. He turned to the girl with a strange expression.

"Miss Cuihua, you couldn't take it anymore either?"

Cuihua nodded shyly, then turned and ran away in a flash.

"Cuihua, Cuihua." Ma Hongjun stood where he was, calling after her reluctantly.

"What... exactly is going on?" Tang San asked. No matter how slow he was, he now understood that things were somewhat different from what they had imagined.

Looking at the dejected Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai smiled. "Let me explain."

"..."

After hearing the explanation, everyone's eyes snapped toward Ma Hongjun. The two girls' faces were especially red.

"I... I'm going to eat." Ma Hongjun's face reddened as he hurriedly slipped away.

"Heh. Even this dead fatty knows how to be embarrassed." Dai Mubai could not help laughing.

"Shrek Academy? Monster Academy? It really lived up to its name."

Zhao Xuan and the others sighed inwardly.

(Next, I need to think about how to incorporate original plotlines. It'll probably be difficult...)