A Very, Very Tough Girl

Fortunately, Du Cheng remembered that Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were waiting for him outside, so he did not waste too much time in the room.

"Why are you still here?"

When Du Cheng came out of the room, he happened to see Xiao Wu speaking to Tang San with a look of disdain on her face.

Over the past few years, although Tang San had not caused Du Cheng any more trouble, Xiao Wu and the others still did not think much of him.

"I..."

Hearing Xiao Wu's words, Tang San's expression remained unchanged.

"We were going the same way, so I thought I'd wait for you."

"Who asked you to wait?"

Rolling her eyes, Xiao Wu happened to spot Du Cheng coming downstairs.

"Cheng Gege, you finally came out."

She quickly ran over and hooked her arm through Du Cheng's, then continued in a spoiled tone.

"Zhu Jiejie and I have been waiting for you forever."

"Then let's go."

Ruffling Xiao Wu's hair, Du Cheng returned the room key to the front desk before heading outside.

"We still need to buy some things. If you're in a hurry, you can go to the academy first."

"No, I'm not in a hurry!"

The moment Du Cheng finished speaking, Tang San rapidly shook his head.

For Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, he could even stay in a woodshed. How could he possibly leave first?

Du Cheng did not pay much attention to Tang San's answer.

If he wanted to follow, then let him follow. It was not like it would cost them anything.

The facts proved that whether they were women or girls, they possessed an incredibly powerful talent for shopping.

From morning to afternoon, from bedding to little dolls...

As long as they came across a shop, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing would go in and take a look.

They did not necessarily have to buy anything—the point was participation!

"Shouldn't we be heading to the academy now?"

Trailing behind the group dejectedly, Tang San's voice carried a hint of despair.

"If we stay any longer, we'll probably have to spend another night here."

It did not matter whether they went to the academy a day earlier or later. The main thing was that Tang San did not want to keep sleeping in the woodshed.

In the middle of the night, a spider as big as a fist had crawled across his face. He had nearly thought he had encountered a soul beast!

"I think Tang San is right."

For the first time ever, Du Cheng and Tang San agreed on something.

"We've bought everything we need. If we're missing anything, we can get it later."

After saying that, Du Cheng quickly added, "Don't you want to see our new academy sooner?"

"Um..."

As soon as Du Cheng said that, Xiao Wu's face became conflicted.

Of course she wanted to go shopping, but she was also full of anticipation for the new academy.

After a long while, Xiao Wu finally turned to Zhu Zhuqing.

"Zhu Jiejie, how about we go take a look at the new academy first?"

"Alright!"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and glanced at Du Cheng with a smile.

When it came to handling Xiao Wu, Cheng Gege really was experienced!

Phew~

Having persuaded the two of them, Du Cheng did not even have time to be bothered by his dislike of Tang San.

"Little San, hurry up and find us a carriage!"

As a Soul Master Academy located in a village, Shrek Academy had only one defining trait—poverty!

"This is a Soul Master Academy?"

Although he had some understanding of the original story, Du Cheng could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth when he saw the sight before him.

If not for the many parents bringing their children here to enroll, he would have suspected they had come to the wrong place.

"Are you lot here to register too?"

While they were still dazed, the white-haired old man sitting behind a table in charge of admissions suddenly slapped the table in front of him.

"If you want to register, hurry up and line up to pay! Ten Gold Soul Coins per person. If you don't have the money, get lost!"

What a money-grubber. Arrogant too. Just what one would expect from a Shrek Academy teacher!

But arrogance came at a price!

"Of course we're here to register, but why haven't you posted your admission requirements?"

Looking at the long line in the distance, Du Cheng suddenly curled his lips into a smile.

"You haven't even displayed the admission requirements, and you won't refund the registration fee if someone fails. How are we supposed to know whether you're recruiting students or scamming people out of money?"

As Du Cheng's words fell, the surroundings first went quiet. A few breaths later, an even greater uproar erupted.

"That's right, where are the admission requirements?"

"I've been standing here all morning, and I don't think I've seen anyone get accepted."

"Could they really be scammers?"

As the voices around him rose, the admissions old man's previously arrogant expression changed drastically.

The reason they had not announced the admission standards was to lure more people into registering, allowing the academy to make a fortune.

Shrek Academy only accepted monsters. Its admission requirements were so strict that they were likely among the harshest in the entire Douluo Continent.

If those standards were posted, ninety percent of the people here to register would probably leave at once!

"Kid, are you looking for trouble?"

His gaze landing on Du Cheng, the admissions old man's eyes darkened.

Those questions were far too pointed. Could this kid have been sent by Soto Academy?

"What are you saying, Old Master?"

Du Cheng looked at the admissions old man with a sincere smile.

If he remembered correctly, this guy seemed to be a Soul Emperor, and his strength was fairly decent.

But none of that had anything to do with Du Cheng.

So what if he was a Soul Emperor? Did being a Soul Emperor mean he could act arrogantly in front of Du Cheng?

No!

"I merely want to know the academy's admission requirements. Isn't that a reasonable request?"

"Or could it be..."

After a brief pause, Du Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Are you really collecting money under the guise of recruitment?"

"That's right! If you're recruiting students, why don't you dare reveal the standards?"

As Du Cheng spoke, a young girl with ear-length short hair and a white gown suddenly stepped out of the crowd.

After flashing Du Cheng a wide smile, the girl turned toward the admissions old man with an angry expression.

"If you're really using recruitment to scam people out of money, I'll send word to Bone Grandfather and Sword Grandfather right now and have them tear this dump apart!"

Good heavens, what a fierce one!

Hearing the girl's words, Du Cheng could not help but suck in a breath.

If his own words had merely been sarcastic, then this girl was confronting them head-on.

But once he considered the girl's identity, everything suddenly made sense.

If nothing unexpected happened, she should be the female character with the strongest backing in the entire Douluo Continent apart from Qian Renxue. Yes, incredibly strong backing!

"Tear down Shrek Academy?"

Narrowing his eyes, the old man collecting the money suddenly erupted with a powerful wave of soul power. One white, one yellow, three purple, and one black soul ring emerged from his body.

"I, Li Yusong, would like to see which family's brat has such a big mouth today!"

"A Soul Emperor!"

The moment Li Yusong revealed his soul rings, cries of shock immediately erupted from the crowd.

Who could have imagined that the admissions teacher of such a shabby academy would actually be a Soul Emperor?

At this point, they had already dismissed the idea that Shrek Academy was scamming people out of money.

After all, this was a Soul Emperor, an existence most people might never encounter in their entire lives!

"Regarding the recent content, I'd like to briefly respond to everyone's suggestions. Author-kun has seen some of them, but since I can't view paragraph comments in the backend, I may have missed a few.

1. Zhu Zhuqing's age bug has been fixed.

2. As for the protagonist's name, if everyone likes it, the next book's protagonist can be called Cao Cheng, Cao Shuang, or something similar. Still undecided.

3. Regarding updates, Author-kun normally updates 4,000 words daily. Starting from May Day, if the number of update requests exceeds 10, I'll add another 2,000 words.

I haven't seen any other issues for now. If you have suggestions, please leave them in the book review section. Paragraph comments and chapter comments are not easy for me to see.

Lastly, please leave good ratings, request updates, and please don't stockpile chapters! (?(′???`) Sending hearts)"