Morning

A cheerful stream flowed alongside the road to the cafeteria, its sparkling waters lifting their spirits.

"Senior Dai, why is our academy so run-down?"

On the way, Hermione asked Dai Mubai the question she had long kept in her heart. Since she was not familiar with him, she addressed him as senior.

"You don't have to be so formal. There aren't many people in our academy to begin with, and we'll be together often from now on. You can call me Mubai. Hmm... Dai Boss works too. I'm the oldest among the original group, so Xiao Ao and Hongjun call me that." Dai Mubai smiled gently, lacking the overbearing arrogance he had shown when they first met.

"As for the dean and the others..." Dai Mubai paused, then sighed softly. His gaze grew distant, and his tone carried a trace of admiration.

"The dean and the others..."

Dai Mubai then slowly explained why the dean and the academy's teachers lived in such poverty.

After hearing it, Zhao Xuan and the others were genuinely astonished. The free-spirited temperament of those teachers they had yet to meet deeply shook them. Their refusal to be bound and their attitude of living life freely left the group dazed.

On this continent, soul masters were the most noble profession, without exception. The stronger a soul master was, the greater the rights and status they could enjoy. Rights, status, and the wealth those two could bring were the three things humans found hardest to resist.

Yet they had resisted such "desires" and chosen such an ordinary life. That was something many people could not do, and it was also worthy of admiration.

Before long, they arrived at the academy cafeteria. Just as Zhao Xuan had guessed, it stood beside the stream.

Calling it a cafeteria was not entirely accurate. It was merely the dining hall of the village school. Beyond the wall next to it was the village school itself, where children were taught to read.

Perhaps because Suotuo City was prosperous, the surrounding villages benefited as well. Not only were their pockets fuller, but they also placed far greater importance on education than other places, allowing this village school to continue operating.

It was a style of architecture rarely seen on the Douluo Continent: black tiles and white walls, like the Huizhou-style homes of the Jiangnan water towns.

When they arrived at the village school, it was time for the village children's morning reading. The sound of young voices reciting drifted from within. Though their voices were tender, they brimmed with vitality like the rising morning sun.

The cafeteria in one corner of the school was tiny, with only a few tables and chairs placed simply inside. The academy hired a capable village woman to prepare their three daily meals.

After they entered, they found several people already seated inside. Aside from Ma Hongjun, who was hunched over and devouring his food, everyone else turned to look at them.

"Perfect. Let me introduce you. These are the other teachers of Shrek Academy. Aside from the dean and Teacher Zhao, all the teachers are here." Dai Mubai's eyes lit up. After speaking to them, he ran ahead.

"This is Teacher Li Yusong. You must have seen him during registration. He is a level sixty-six assault-system Soul Emperor, and his martial soul is the Dragon Patterned Staff." Dai Mubai introduced the elder before him.

Everyone bowed slightly. Li Yusong nodded with a smile, sweeping his gaze over them. It paused briefly on Zhao Xuan before quickly moving away.

Then Dai Mubai walked behind a cold-faced middle-aged man. The man looked stern, was dressed neatly, and drank the porridge before him with meticulous care.

"Teacher Lu Qibin. Cold on the outside, kind at heart. His martial soul is the Star Compass, and he is a level sixty-six Control System Battle Soul Emperor."

Lu Qibin nodded indifferently at them, and everyone hurriedly returned the gesture.

"Well, I'll introduce myself last. My name is Shao Xin, a level seventy-one Food System support Soul Sage." The final teacher to rise looked rather lively. Before Dai Mubai could introduce him, he stood and introduced himself, but the contents made everyone's pupils contract.

Another Soul Sage, and a Food System one at that?

"Teacher Shao is a rare Food System soul master. His abilities rank among the top ten of the Food System!" Dai Mubai added with a smile.

Everyone fell silent. Although Shrek Academy had only a handful of teachers, its faculty was terrifying. Aside from the dean, whose strength remained unknown, there were already two Soul Emperors and two Soul Sages. Even those two Soul Sages possessed some renown on the continent.

If Old Jack were here, he'd probably cling to their legs immediately. Zhao Xuan could not help thinking. These were living, breathing Soul Sages. The Soul Sage Old Jack had always worshipped was someone who had died who knew how many years ago.

"Don't just stand there. Hurry up and sit down to eat. If Flender returns later and you still haven't gone, he'll punish you." Shao Xin shook his head and smiled at them.

"Oh, right, right."

The group came to their senses and hurriedly went to get food. The academy was poor to begin with, so all they had were steamed buns, porridge, and pickled vegetables. Zhao Xuan could not help sighing over Shrek's poverty once again.

After finishing breakfast, Dai Mubai grabbed several steamed buns and ran off, saying he was taking them to Zhu Zhuqing.

"As if she'd eat them," Xiao Wu could not help mocking. But this reminded her of something, so she and Hermione also took breakfast back for the two girls. She firmly believed Zhu Zhuqing would never eat the breakfast Dai Mubai had brought her.

"How about we bring some for Oscar?" Tang San turned to ask Zhao Xuan.

"Forget it. Would a Food System soul master lack food?" Zhao Xuan rolled his eyes at Tang San, wiped his mouth, and left the cafeteria.

Tang San thought about it and found that reasonable, so he followed Zhao Xuan out.

Seeing that everyone in the cafeteria was about to leave, Ma Hongjun stuffed down the remaining food on the table in a few bites and hurried after them.

When they reached the field near the dormitories, several girls were standing to one side and chatting. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were lowering their heads as they ate the breakfast Xiao Wu had brought back, while Dai Mubai stood nearby, looking rather gloomy.

"Damn, are these the girls from this year's class? They're pretty high quality."

The late-arriving Ma Hongjun stepped onto the field. When he saw the girls standing together, he was practically drooling.

Just then, Xiao Wu excitedly finished saying something to the other two, and the three turned to look at Ma Hongjun. Xiao Wu wore a cheerful grin, Ning Rongrong looked surprised, and Zhu Zhuqing's brows furrowed slightly on her cool face.

"Fine, no chance at all." Ma Hongjun said dejectedly.

They had not waited long before two figures arrived late.