Shrek Academy

Huo Yuhao feigned curiosity and timidly walked to a spot about five meters away from the group of students, not daring to come any closer. His hesitant appearance, as if he wanted to speak but could not, indeed drew the enthusiasm of the students at the entrance.

"Little brother, are you here to register for Shrek Academy too?"

A warm, girlish call rang out. The voice was crisp and pleasant, yet it startled Huo Yuhao. He had expected his indecisive appearance to draw helpful attention from these students who were clearly responsible for receiving visitors, but he had still underestimated their enthusiasm.

The girl walking at the front practically skipped over to Huo Yuhao in just a few strides. She curiously sized him up from head to toe. His neat black hair, paired with the brilliant golden eyes he had gained after absorbing his Soul Ring, made the plainly dressed Huo Yuhao look like a young noble who had fallen into the mortal world.

Faced with the girl's enthusiasm, Huo Yuhao, who was already exceedingly skilled even in the art of killing, unexpectedly found himself a little at a loss. His little face flushed as he said, "I-I'm not a new student. I'm not old enough, and my rank isn't high enough either. I just... just wanted to see Shrek Academy. My mother said it's the best school in the world."

By the end, Huo Yuhao's tone carried obvious longing and loneliness.

"Hehe, I thought it was something serious. Little brother, from now on, you're my distant cousin. You came to Shrek today as a student's family member to visit the school. Isn't that right?"

The girl grinned and blinked at Huo Yuhao, seemingly reminding him to be quick-witted.

"Th-this... isn't that inappropriate, Sister?"

Looking utterly helpless, Huo Yuhao turned a pleading gaze toward the young man who had come with the girl.

The young man had also walked over by then. With a helpless expression, he raised a hand to greet Huo Yuhao first. He gave Huo Yuhao an apologetic look before knocking the girl on the head. "Xiao Ya, don't casually cause trouble for this little brother."

Xiao Ya's beautiful eyes widened as she said indignantly, "What did you call me?"

The young man immediately raised both hands in surrender. "All right, Little Teacher Ya. Is that better?"

Xiao Ya rolled her eyes at him. "That's more like it. Mind your status."

Though she was not very old, that glance was full of charm, leaving the young man momentarily dazed. Huo Yuhao had gradually adjusted to Xiao Ya's overflowing youthful energy and bright enthusiasm, but he still followed his earlier instinct and continued acting. He lowered his head with a somewhat nervous look, rubbing the toe of his right foot against the ground as though there were some little ants down there that he disliked.

"Little Teacher Ya, I should remind you that even if you want this little brother to pose as your family member, he still doesn't qualify to visit this year. The term 'family accompaniment' is preceded by the words 'new student.' Only family members of new students may enter the school for a visit. You're already an old second-year senior."

Xiao Ya made as if to hit him after hearing that, but soon stopped with a worried expression. "That's right. I'm already a second-year student. It seems I really can't bring family members into the school for a visit."

The young man smiled slightly, clearly confident. "My name is Bei Bei, and her name is Tang Ya. Little brother, what is your name?"

"My name is Huo Yuhao."

Huo Yuhao raised his head as though he had regained some confidence and looked at Bei Bei as he spoke.

"Little Brother Huo, the Soul Tool Department's Special Enrollment exam doesn't begin until tomorrow. But since you're already here today, Xiao Ya and I will take you around the school first."

Bei Bei suddenly raised his voice, drawing curious looks from the students behind them.

Huo Yuhao had never expected that getting into Shrek for a visit could be this easy. He immediately nodded with great tact.

After saying a few words to the other students at the entrance, Tang Ya and Bei Bei led Huo Yuhao smoothly into Shrek Academy.

Unlike the grandeur and solemnity Huo Yuhao had imagined, Shrek Academy possessed a beautiful environment, lush with abundant vegetation. As he walked along the broad avenue, he could see at least ten different kinds of plants no matter which direction he looked. These plants had clearly all been carefully pruned.

After proceeding two hundred meters, several enormous statues ahead blocked their view. There were ten statues in total, each ten meters tall, carved from the hardest granite.

There were three statues in the front row. The one at the center depicted an elderly man wearing glasses, smiling amiably. He was of average height and slightly plump, looking every bit like a kindly gentleman.

Bei Bei said to Huo Yuhao, "The one in the middle is the founder of Shrek Academy and its first dean, Flender."

Though Huo Yuhao had already learned some of this from intelligence reports, he still listened closely to Bei Bei's introduction. Bei Bei's explanation was extremely detailed, even mentioning matters absent from the intelligence reports. Huo Yuhao's gaze kept shifting with Bei Bei's introduction, and when Bei Bei introduced Dai Mubai, his heart gave a slight jolt.

What puzzled Huo Yuhao was that Qian Daoliu, who had been reminiscing nonstop ever since they entered the city, constantly telling Huo Yuhao what this place had been like ten thousand years ago and what that place had been called ten thousand years ago, suddenly seemed to have gone mute. He sulkily refused to say a single word.

Huo Yuhao sent his consciousness into the Sea of Spirit and glanced at Qian Daoliu. Only after confirming that the other party was merely in a bad mood, rather than being watched by some unspeakably powerful existence, did he turn his attention back to Bei Bei's introduction.

Bei Bei explained to Huo Yuhao, "The paths split from here. The left leads to the Martial Soul Department, while the right leads to the Soul Tool Department. These are Shrek Academy's two major divisions, and both belong to the Outer Court."

"Relatively speaking, the Martial Soul Department is larger, while the Soul Tool Department is smaller. The Martial Soul Department is further divided into many branches. Generally speaking, freshmen must pass their first freshman assessment before they are eligible to apply to the Soul Tool Department. However, the Soul Tool Academy's Special Enrollment exam I mentioned earlier is an exception. But since we're visiting, Little Teacher Ya and I will take you to the Martial Soul Department first."

They headed left from the statues. The road remained broad enough for four or five carriages to travel side by side, and a sign beside the road bore the words Lakeside Path.

Through the shade of the lush trees on the right, a wide expanse of water could faintly be seen. In other words, behind the ten statues of the Golden Iron Triangle and the Shrek Seven Devils lay an enormous lake.

Perhaps noticing where Huo Yuhao was looking, Tang Ya said with some pride, "This lake is called Sea God Lake. It was created to commemorate Tang San, the ancestor of our Tang Sect. The area covered by this lake..."

Hearing Tang Ya's words, Huo Yuhao's heart jolted. He had considered many possible plans for enrolling, one of which had been joining the Tang Sect. At the time, he had only known that the Tang Sect had declined and now had just one sect master and one disciple. He had not expected them to be these two seniors before him.