Three Years

After the competition ended, a white-haired, long-haired woman came looking for Meng Li. She was stunningly beautiful. At the time, Meng Li and Gu Yue were eating in their dorm room.

The visitor was none other than Shen Yi. She was an old acquaintance of Wu Changkong, though Meng Li and Gu Yue did not know about their relationship.

"Who are you?" Gu Yue frowned slightly, watching the woman who had appeared out of nowhere with caution.

The key point was that the woman was very beautiful.

"Would it be convenient for me to come in and sit for a while?" Shen Yi asked with a faint smile.

"No." Gu Yue picked up a piece of tofu with her chopsticks.

"I'm from Shrek Academy and have some connection to your teacher. I came to ask whether the two of you would be willing to enroll at Shrek Academy?" Shen Yi had no choice but to speak from the doorway.

She believed the words Shrek Academy alone would be enough to attract them.

"Not interested."

"Not interested..."

Meng Li and Gu Yue spoke at the same time.

Ever since the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition, Meng Li had thought that someone would surely invite him to join some academy once it ended. Sure enough, someone came poaching him on the very first day after the competition.

He had signed a contract with Eastsea Academy. How could he just leave whenever he wanted? He was not the sort to betray his word, and besides, things were pretty good here.

Going somewhere new meant getting to know unfamiliar people. More importantly, he hated partings.

"...You're rejecting it just like that? This is an opportunity countless people dream of." Shen Yi was somewhat surprised.

After all, joining Shrek Academy meant becoming a powerful Battle Armor Master.

Battle armor—the equipment that could raise Soul Power by One-ring.

"I don't know whether joining Shrek Academy is everyone's dream, but I signed a contract. I have to attend my advanced academy here as well, so I'm sorry." Meng Li wore an apologetic expression.

"All right, then. I respect your choice." Shen Yi nodded approvingly. Shrek Academy had not fallen so low that it needed to shamelessly beg people to join. The academy had countless geniuses and did not lack these two.

"You're still looking? She's already long gone." Gu Yue said sourly.

"Mm." Meng Li withdrew his gaze and looked at the bowl piled high with food before saying helplessly, "Isn't this a bit too much food?"

"It's not like I told you to eat it all." Gu Yue shot Meng Li a resentful look.

Mm, but that expression... I have a feeling something bad will happen if I don't finish it all. Meng Li noticed the change in Gu Yue's expression.

"You eat too." Meng Li placed a piece of beef into Gu Yue's bowl.

"The competition is over, so I have time to research some things now. Are you free tomorrow? I've already talked to Tianhai's Spirit Masters about getting the research materials on their soul spirits."

Gu Yue smiled lightly. "My labor comes at a price."

"How many meals are you planning to mooch off me for this time?"

"One month."

"That's robbery."

"So, are you agreeing or not?"

"Fine, no problem..."

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three years passed.

"Meng Li, Meng Li!"

The dorm room door opened, and a young girl of fourteen or fifteen walked in with a smile on her face.

"Look what I brought you!" She carried a cake in her hands, with the number fourteen written on it.

"You're here. Wait a bit, I'll make you something to eat."

Meng Li had been reading a book on Mecha Designers. Hearing Gu Yue's voice, he set down the blueprint in his hands and rubbed his shoulders. Without turning around, he continued speaking to himself.

Over the past three years, their relationship had only grown closer. Gu Yue treated Meng Li's dorm room as her own territory, and mooching food and drinks had become second nature to her.

Meng Li had also grown used to this arrangement. Having a girl constantly keeping him company brought him joy and eased much of the loneliness of being alone.

"No, I'll cook today," Gu Yue said.

"Why?" Meng Li sensed something unusual. He turned around and saw Gu Yue holding a cake, smiling at him.

"Happy birthday!"

Touched, Meng Li froze for a second before replying with a smile, "Thank you!

"Even I forgot about it."

"It's all right. I remembered!" Gu Yue said seriously.

"Oh, right. Teacher Wu said that in a while, we, including Xie Xie and the others, will be going to take Shrek Academy's entrance assessment!

"How does the academy feel about that? They spent so much cultivating us. Wouldn't it be rather unfair for us to leave like this?"

Meng Li asked in confusion. Others had invested so much in them. The amount spent on the Spirit Ascension Platform alone was astronomical.

"It is unfair. Naturally, the academy doesn't want us to leave, but it seems Teacher Wu and the school reached some kind of agreement, and the school agreed in the end."

Gu Yue explained.

Meng Li might be shameless, but he was not someone who did not know gratitude. The academy had given them so much; simply walking away was clearly not his style.

If everyone were not going to Shrek Academy, he truly would not want to go.

Meng Li looked at the Federation card in his hand. To compensate the academy, he decided to withdraw a portion of the money.

Over the years, his software proposals had already been implemented in the New Soul Tool Communicator.

The New Soul Tool Communicator had been welcomed by both soul masters and ordinary people the moment it was released.

Soul Tool Short Video, King of Soul Fighting, chat functions—these preinstalled apps became reasons to buy the New Soul Tool Communicator.

Soul Tool Short Video became the most popular video app.

King of Soul Fighting became the favorite game among young adults and teenagers, allowing them to experience the fun of team battles.

Its balance was also excellent. None of the characters' skills were excessively overpowered, and those that were had been nerfed.

While the New Soul Tool Communicator brought enormous profits to him and the company, it also changed life in this world.

He had also achieved financial freedom ahead of everyone else and no longer had to worry about money.

On the eve of their departure after his birthday, Meng Li went to find Long Hengxu.

"What are you doing?" Long Hengxu stopped reading the files in his hands, looking somewhat bewildered.

"You've all taken care of us these past years. We're going to Shrek Academy, and we signed the contract, so we're the ones at fault. This is some compensation. It might not even be enough to cover Tang Wulin's food expenses, but for the rest of us, excluding food expenses, it should be enough," Meng Li explained.

"Teacher Wu and I have already discussed it. Keep this money. It will be of great use to you in the future. Once you've completed your studies and come back, just teach your junior schoolmates a little more knowledge." Long Hengxu smiled. This kid isn't bad. He knows gratitude. If he didn't keep calling me Brother Long, we'd probably have a pretty good relationship.

"No, you have to take it. I'll teach classes when the time comes too!" Meng Li shook his head and forcefully made Long Hengxu swipe the card.

What was this supposed to be? Long Hengxu looked at the several extra zeros on the academy's financial Federation card and smiled helplessly.

Blue Sky Hotel.

Inside an elegant private room.

Before leaving, Zhou Hansheng treated Meng Li to a meal.

When Zhou Hansheng asked why, Meng Li told him that he was going to Shrek Academy.

After hearing this, Zhou Hansheng took out a white card and handed it to him.

"You'll need this."

The card was made from a special metal, and it felt high-quality in Meng Li's hand.

The words Shrek Academy were written on the card, with a string of mechanically printed digits below them.

"What is this?"