Star Luo Empire, A Choice

Golden Feathers spun once in her still somewhat childish palm, piercing through layers of firewalls as they shot toward Dai Mubai. Wherever the Golden Feathers passed, the flames were completely absorbed and clung to their surfaces.

"Crack—"

The flames wore away at Dai Mubai's protective barrier. Li Fire was the finest armor-piercing weapon; in no more than a breath, the white barrier could no longer hold and collapsed.

"Alright, you've passed the entrance test." Flender spoke up in time to announce the end of the assessment. Nan Li's Golden Feather had stopped less than half an inch from Dai Mubai's eyes.

Nan Li curled her lips into a smile and flashed a glittering golden token before Dai Mubai's eyes.

Dai Mubai nearly thought he was seeing things. That was a token only members of the Star Luo Imperial Family could possess! Could Nan Li be from the Star Luo Empire?

In Star Luo, those who had made major contributions to the empire could also be granted imperial tokens. In such cases, the token represented not status, but honor.

Of course, there was another possibility—Nan Li was the trusted confidante of someone within the Star Luo Imperial Family.

Could it be Dai Weisi...

Nan Li paid no attention to Dai Mubai's thoughts. In any case, he would never guess correctly. Her crimson wings spread open, and with a flap, Nan Li flew to Dan Hong's side. Flames followed behind her as though they were crowding around their king.

"So you can fly." Dan Hong elegantly adjusted her hairpin and cast Nan Li a sideways glance as she spoke indifferently.

Nan Li withdrew the flames. "It was too boring. I was just playing around."

Oscar had not suffered any attacks. He ran over to Dai Mubai's side and condensed a Recovery Sausage, handing it to him.

Dai Mubai ate the sausage and recovered considerably.

Oscar then went to check on Ma Hongjun.

On the ground nearby, Ma Hongjun slowly came to as well. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Oscar gazing at him with deep affection. Ma Hongjun reflexively said, "Ugh, are you trying to kill me?"

Seeing that none of the three students were seriously hurt, Flender finally turned to look at Nan Li and Dan Hong. He seemed to have forgotten how he had fleeced Nan Li in Suotuo City that morning, and a malicious smile appeared on his face.

Nan Li smiled back. It was still uncertain who would end up losing out.

"Student Nan Li, from now on, you're a member of Shrek Academy. Don't you think you should pay the tuition first?" Flender raised his brows and rubbed three fingers from one hand together, making his meaning perfectly clear.

Dan Hong and Nan Li exchanged a look. They were both somewhat speechless and somewhat amused. Dan Hong asked, "May I ask what your academy's tuition is...?"

"Not much, six hundred Gold Soul Coins a year!" He was not trying to extort them. Aside from Nan Li, not one of this year's applicants had even reached the fourth test. The academy's finances had long been unable to make ends meet!

"Dean, isn't our tuition only one hundred Gold Soul Coins a year?" Oscar looked at Flender in disbelief.

Flender glared furiously at Oscar!

To Dan Hong, the scene meant only one thing: What an honest, good child!

Nan Li and Dan Hong looked at Flender together, their smiles perfectly synchronized.

"Ahem." Flender clenched his fist and pretended to cough lightly before speaking unhurriedly. "Well... it's like this. Student Nan Li, the academy's tuition is indeed one hundred Gold Soul Coins per year, but during the second test, you damaged the crystal ball used to test Soul Power. Therefore, you will need to cover the replacement cost."

Nan Li felt as though a Dong Yun had flown over her head...

Oscar felt that he still had not grasped the dean's true business acumen. He only charged five Copper Soul Coins for one sausage, yet the dean dared to sell a white crystal ball for five hundred Gold Soul Coins! One should know that a crystal ball for testing Soul Power below Level 30 cost only thirty Gold Soul Coins!

Dan Hong smiled faintly. What she took from her Soul Tool was not a money pouch, but two white crystal balls. "I happen to have two crystal balls for testing Soul Power. I'll offer them as compensation to your academy. Since A'li was the one who broke the crystal ball, there is no need to trouble the dean with making another trip."

"One crystal ball is worth five hundred, so these two come to one thousand Gold Soul Coins. A'li's tuition is included in that, so there's no need for you to give change, Dean." Dan Hong's expression was flawless, gentle and sincere.

For once, Flender had been thwarted. Wearing a gloomy expression, he walked past Dai Mubai and the other two. He accepted one crystal ball from Dan Hong, his eyes shifting as he said, "Hahaha, well, the academy isn't short of crystal balls. I'll take this one, but the tuition should still be paid in cash."

Dan Hong continued smiling. "Alright."

Flender accepted one hundred Gold Soul Coins, then abruptly turned to Dai Mubai and the others. Pushing up his glasses with a finger, he said, "You two, go back and treat your injuries. Oscar, show Student Nan Li around the academy."

"Everyone, gather at the training ground early tomorrow morning!"

Ignoring Oscar and the others' resentful wails, Flender clasped his hands behind his back and strolled away leisurely.

Nan Li looked at Dan Hong, asking with her eyes whether she intended to leave or stay.

"Alright, little A'li, your big sister needs to leave too. Don't miss me too much!" Dan Hong waved, then flew neatly toward Suotuo City before Nan Li could say anything.

Nan Li watched Dan Hong leave, then turned to face the three of them.

Dai Mubai snorted coldly and left.

The little fatty left behind only, "I'm going to find Cuihua," before hurrying off as well.

Jiang E Li said something within the Sea of Consciousness. Watching Ma Hongjun's retreating figure, Nan Li frowned.

Seeing that all his brothers had left, Oscar hesitantly said, "Student Nan Li, shall I show you the rest of the academy?"

Nan Li nodded. "Thank you."

Nan Li followed Oscar around Shrek Academy, roughly familiarizing herself with the layout of its buildings.

After noticing Nan Li turn to look at him several times in a row, Oscar scratched the back of his head and asked in confusion, "Why do you keep looking at me?"

"Are you really twelve?" Nan Li still found it hard to believe. It could not be helped; the visual impact was too great. "Your beard..."

"Oh, this? I can't help it. I was born with thick body hair. If I don't shave for a day, my beard grows out like this." Oscar grabbed at his beard, looking as though he did not care much. "Shaving every day is too troublesome. Usually no one pays much attention to me anyway, and I basically stay at the academy every day, so I can't be bothered to shave daily."

"So that's how it is." Nan Li nodded in understanding.

After saying goodbye to Oscar, Nan Li returned to her dormitory.

Thinking back on the performances of Shrek's three students, especially Dai Mubai, Nan Li lowered her eyes in thought for a while before writing several words on a sheet of stationery.

Cooperation with the Star Luo Empire required a suitable and reliable intermediary. Dai Mubai, the Third Prince Dai... Nan Li shook her head and temporarily abandoned the idea.

Her fingertips tapped against the golden token as she picked up her pen and wrote another name. Star Luo Empire's three princes still needed to be assessed. As for the Heaven Dou Empire, its princes had been dying one after another recently. That was the real trouble.

Nan Li put her things away, tidied her bed briefly, and began cultivating.

When she attended Nuoding Academy, she spent most afternoons and evenings cultivating. She did not know how Shrek Academy's classes would be arranged, but cultivating whenever she had nothing to do would remain unchanged.

Any force could potentially rebel. Only her own strength was something she could fully control.

As for Ma Hongjun's enrollment time, the Original Work sometimes said it was three years earlier—three years before Tang San enrolled—and sometimes said he was eleven. In this story, Ma Hongjun was nine when Flender brought him back to the academy.

"A Dong Yun flew over her head..." was because the Xumi Raven Clan were crows.