Get a Receipt for the Registration Fee

At the entrance to Shrek Academy, the line wasn't very long.

But the atmosphere was strange.

An old table.

An old chair.

A lazy-looking old man sat behind the table.

Beside him stood a wooden sign.

It read:

Registration fee: ten Gold Soul Coins. No refunds.

Xiao Wu stared at those eight characters, looking them over again and again.

Then she took out the Appeal Form given to her by the Suotuo City Martial Soul Hall Branch.

Tang San saw what she was doing and fell silent for a moment.

"Xiao Wu."

"Hmm?"

"Don't rush."

"I'm not rushing."

Xiao Wu folded the Appeal Form again and put it somewhere easy to reach.

"I'm just getting ready."

Tang San: "..."

Up ahead, a boy had just paid.

The old man squeezed his hand bones, then checked his Soul Power and waved him away.

"Not qualified."

The boy's father was stunned.

"Not qualified?"

"My son's a genius in our town. He's only twelve and already has seventeen levels of Soul Power."

The old man said lazily, "Shrek only takes monsters, not ordinary people."

The father's face flushed red.

"What about the registration fee?"

"No refunds."

The old man pointed to the wooden sign beside him.

"It's written right there."

The father snapped, "But you didn't make it clear beforehand what you mean by 'monster'!"

The old man looked up at him.

"If you didn't bother to find out before coming to the academy, that's your problem."

People waiting in line began whispering among themselves.

Some thought the rules were overbearing.

Others felt that if Shrek Academy dared to charge so much, it must have some real ability.

Xiao Wu's mouth twitched.

"Tang San."

"Hmm?"

"This really looks like a scam."

Tang San didn't say anything.

But his brows furrowed slightly too.

Tuition and registration fees were reasonable.

But the requirements had to be made clear beforehand.

If they didn't even publish the most basic admission requirements, and simply pocketed the registration fee after saying "we don't take ordinary people," that really wasn't right.

The Martial Soul Hall School in Notting City had taught them many times over the past few years.

Rules could be strict.

But they had to be written down clearly first.

By the time Tang San and Xiao Wu reached the front, two more children had been turned away.

Their registration fees still hadn't been refunded.

Xiao Wu was nearly at the end of her patience.

At last, it was their turn.

Tang San stepped forward. Instead of paying, he asked,

"May I ask what Shrek Academy's specific admission requirements are?"

The old man looked up at him.

"Under twelve, with Soul Power at level twenty or above."

Tang San nodded.

"Why isn't that written on the sign?"

The old man frowned.

"Are you here to register or to pick a fight?"

Xiao Wu immediately said, "We're here to register, but we can pick a fight on the side too."

Tang San gently tugged at her.

Xiao Wu huffed, but said no more.

Tang San remained calm.

"I just think that if you have specific requirements, you should tell people beforehand."

"That way, those who don't qualify won't waste their registration fees."

The old man sneered.

"That's how things have always been done at Shrek Academy."

Tang San replied, "Just because it's always been done that way doesn't mean it's reasonable."

At that, quite a few people nearby turned to look.

The old man's gaze darkened.

Before he could speak, a lazy voice came from behind them.

"You do seem to care about the rules."

Dai Mubai walked out of the academy.

He glanced at Xiao Wu, then looked at Tang San.

"You really did come."

Xiao Wu put her hands on her hips.

"Of course we did."

"But your academy's registration rules really don't seem like those of a proper academy."

Dai Mubai's mouth twitched.

That was a direct hit.

The old man looked at Dai Mubai.

"You know them?"

Dai Mubai nodded.

"I met them yesterday in Suotuo City."

The old man grunted.

"If you're here to register, then follow the rules."

Tang San took out twenty Gold Soul Coins and put them on the table.

"We'd like to register."

Xiao Wu quickly added,

"But we need a receipt."

The old man stared at her.

"What?"

Xiao Wu took out the Appeal Form and waved it.

"The Suotuo City Martial Soul Hall Branch said that the academy has to provide proof of payment when it charges fees."

"If the fees are improper, we can file an appeal."

The old man: "..."

Dai Mubai: "..."

The line behind them fell silent as well.

Quite a few parents' eyes lit up.

Someone whispered,

"We can file an appeal?"

"The Martial Soul Hall handles this now?"

"If I'd known, I would've asked about it too."

The old man looked rather displeased.

It wasn't that he feared the Martial Soul Hall.

But if the Suotuo City branch really started looking into them, the dean would have a lot of trouble.

Shrek Academy might be poor, but it wasn't completely unafraid of trouble.

Especially in recent years, the Martial Soul Hall had been promoting schools and Soul Master registration systems across the various regions. Low-Rank Soul Masters and their parents had come to trust the Martial Soul Hall more and more.

Getting caught charging improper fees would look bad.

Dai Mubai glanced at Tang San and said quietly,

"You came well prepared."

Tang San replied calmly,

"It never hurts to look things up before going out."

Dai Mubai fell silent.

He had a point.

In the end, the old man took out a crude receipt from his drawer, his face still dark.

"Names."

"Tang San."

"Xiao Wu."

The old man wrote down their names and slapped the receipt onto the table.

"Now get tested."

He first squeezed Tang San's hand bones, then asked him to release his Soul Power.

Blue Silver Grass sprouted from Tang San's palm.

Two Yellow Soul Rings rose around him.

The old man's impatient expression changed in an instant.

"Blue Silver Grass?"

"Two rings?"

"Twelve years old?"

Tang San nodded.

"Twelve."

The old man frowned.

"You got Blue Silver Grass to level twenty-nine?"

A murmur of surprise swept through the line.

Dai Mubai grew serious as well.

He'd already known Tang San was no ordinary person at the Rose Hotel yesterday.

But it wasn't until he saw the two Soul Rings for himself that he realized the boy was even more unusual than he'd thought.

The old man looked at Tang San's hand bones, then at his Soul Rings, and finally nodded.

"Qualified."

Next was Xiao Wu.

Her Martial Soul was the Soft Bone Rabbit.

She had two Yellow Soul Rings.

Her Soul Power also met the requirements.

At last, the old man's expression softened a little.

"You qualify too."

Xiao Wu put away her Soul Rings and held out her hand.

"Our receipt."

The old man handed it to her.

Xiao Wu carefully put it away.

"Can't lose this."

Dai Mubai rubbed his forehead.

He suddenly felt that this girl really might take the receipt to Spirit Hall and file a complaint.

Another young woman arrived.

Her clothes were plain, but her bearing was clearly different from that of an ordinary person.

The girl walked up to the table, paid, and took the test.

A phantom of a seven-tiered pagoda appeared in her hand.

The old man narrowed his eyes.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"

Tang San looked over too.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The continent's number one auxiliary-type sect.

This girl clearly wasn't an ordinary person.

Xiao Wu whispered,

"She doesn't look like she's short on money."

Tang San nodded.

"Mm."

The girl was Ning Rongrong.

She looked at the receipt in Xiao Wu's hand and asked curiously,

"They give you a receipt when you register?"

Xiao Wu immediately replied,

"Of course they do."

"What if you fail and they refuse to refund you?"

Ning Rongrong blinked.

Then she looked at the old man behind the table.

"I want one too."

The old man fell silent.

He had a feeling that something was off about today's admissions.

In the past, students came, paid, had their bones tested, and were sent packing if they failed.

Who ever asked for a receipt?

After getting her receipt, Ning Rongrong tucked it away with a smile.

"This is pretty interesting."

A little while later, a young woman dressed in black joined the end of the line.

She was tall and slender, her expression cool. She seemed like a quiet cat.

Far away in Spirit City, Meow Meow watched her through Cat Net in Suotuo City. His tail twitched slightly.

"Zhu Zhuqing."

The Hell Spirit Cat had finally arrived.

Bibi Dong looked at the image.

"The Star Luo Zhu Family?"

"Mm."

Meow Meow nodded.

"Her Martial Soul is the Hell Spirit Cat."

"She and Dai Mubai are engaged."

Bibi Dong looked at Dai Mubai, standing at the academy entrance in the image.

"He doesn't look like someone who can take responsibility."

"He didn't, before."

Meow Meow said.

"But now, he's worth watching."

"If he keeps fooling around, Zhu Zhuqing might not follow the same path as before."

Bibi Dong didn't ask what "the same path" meant.

She looked at Zhu Zhuqing, her expression faint.

"She carries a great deal of pent-up frustration."

"Mm."

Meow Meow said.

"The competition among the royal family and nobles in Star Luo is far too fierce."

"That girl was driven to this point."

Zhu Zhuqing soon completed the test.

Her age qualified.

Her Soul Power qualified.

Her Martial Soul was the Hell Spirit Cat.

When Dai Mubai saw her, his whole body stiffened.

"Zhuqing..."

Zhu Zhuqing merely gave him a cold look.

She didn't say a word.

Dai Mubai's expression darkened.

Watching them, Xiao Wu asked in a low voice,

"Tang San, do they know each other?"

Tang San nodded.

"Looks like it."

Ning Rongrong blinked too, as if she were enjoying the show.

After getting her receipt, Zhu Zhuqing stood off to the side.

Dai Mubai tried to walk over, but her icy gaze stopped him in his tracks.

The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment.

The old man cleared his throat.

"Those who passed, move on to the next test."

Only then did Dai Mubai collect himself and lead the others farther into the academy.

Xiao Wu had taken a few steps when she glanced back at the children and parents who'd just been turned away.

She suddenly stopped.

"Wait."

Everyone looked at her.

Xiao Wu turned to the old man.

"They don't meet the standards you've written down. So shouldn't you refund their money?"

The old man's face turned completely black.

"These are the academy's rules."

Xiao Wu took out the Appeal Form.

"Then I'll ask Spirit Hall whether these rules are fair."

Someone in the line immediately chimed in.

"Exactly! They only just told us the standards."

"They weren't written down clearly. Why should we get no refund?"

"We accept that our children didn't qualify, but they should at least return the money."

The old man looked at the crowd, his expression growing darker by the second.

Dai Mubai was at a loss too.

He'd never thought there was anything wrong with these rules.

Shrek was poor.

Registration fees were one of the academy's sources of income.

But after Xiao Wu made a scene, he suddenly realized that the rules really weren't easy to justify.

Especially since Spirit Hall would actually step in over something like this now.

If the matter reached the branch hall, the dean would definitely scold them when he returned.

The old man grimly pulled a money pouch from under the table.

"Today is an exception."

"Those who failed will get half their money back."

Xiao Wu frowned.

"Why not all of it?"

The old man glared at her.

Xiao Wu glared right back.

Tang San gently tugged at her.

"Let's leave it at that for now."

Xiao Wu huffed.

"Write the admission standards clearly next time."

The old man replied impatiently,

"Fine."

Ning Rongrong was thoroughly amused.

Zhu Zhuqing's expression remained blank, but there was a subtle change in her eyes.

Watching Tang San and Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai felt conflicted.

The two had just arrived at Shrek and weren't even officially enrolled, yet they'd already changed the academy's registration-fee rules halfway.

What was this?

Spirit Hall-style students?

Far away in Spirit City, Meow Meow watched with satisfaction.

"Excellent."

"Xiao Wu handled that beautifully."

Bibi Dong looked at the image.

"Half a refund?"

"Half for now is fine."

Meow Meow said lazily.

"You eat a meal one bite at a time."

"Shrek's rules weren't formed in a day."

"Getting them to realize that their fees need to be clearly stated is already a first step."

Bibi Dong said,

"You're not planning to have the Suotuo Branch Hall intervene directly?"

"No rush."

Meow Meow said.

"Let Tang San and Xiao Wu see for themselves."

"And let Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing see too."

"If Spirit Hall is the only one pointing out these problems, they'll think Spirit Hall is just picking a fight."

"But if they see it with their own eyes, that's different."

Bibi Dong nodded slightly.

That was what Meow Meow had always done.

Don't rush to crush anything.

Let people see it first.

Then, once they'd seen it, let them choose.

Outside Suotuo City.

Grey-White Cat crouched in a tree, transmitting the entire scene back through Cat Net.

Beside him, another cat, Scrawny Yellow, meowed softly.

The meaning was simple.

"That rabbit's pretty fierce."

Grey-White Cat nodded.

She certainly was fierce.

But fierce in the right way.

Inside Shrek Academy.

Dai Mubai led the four of them toward the next test.

On the way, Xiao Wu was still muttering.

"How can an academy charge people like this?"

Ning Rongrong smiled.

"You were pretty gutsy just now."

Xiao Wu said,

"They were the ones in the wrong."

Ning Rongrong nodded.

"Exactly."

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing.

Tang San looked at Dai Mubai walking ahead and asked,

"Has Shrek Academy always been like this?"

Dai Mubai stopped.

He turned to look at Tang San.

Tang San's expression was calm. He wasn't mocking him.

He was simply asking.

Dai Mubai fell silent for a moment, then said,

"The academy is very poor."

"But being poor isn't an excuse for failing to make the rules clear,"

Tang San said.

Dai Mubai had nothing to say.

He couldn't argue with that.

In the end, he simply said,

"Maybe you're right."

Xiao Wu snorted.

"Of course we're right."

Ning Rongrong's smile deepened.

Zhu Zhuqing finally glanced at Dai Mubai.

Her gaze was cold.

Yet it stirred something in Dai Mubai's heart.

At least she'd looked at him.

That was better than being completely ignored.

The group continued onward.

Up ahead, the teacher overseeing the second test was already sitting in a chair, waiting.

Not far away, a middle-aged man with a face full of stubble was leaning against a tree, dozing.

The Four-Eyed Cat Eagle Martial Soul.

Flender.

He still didn't know that his academy had just been forced by a few new students to refund half their registration fees.

And he had no idea.

Over at the Martial Soul Hall Branch in Suotuo City, someone had already started the first entry in Shrek Academy's Ledger.

Meow Meow was sprawled on a cushion in the Pope's Palace in Spirit City, his tail swishing gently.

"Ledger opened."

"First entry: unclear admissions standards; registration fees not refunded."

"Under observation."

Bibi Dong looked at him.

"You're going to write down everything Shrek does?"

"Of course."

Meow Meow blinked.

"This cat believes in following the rules more than anyone."

Bibi Dong: "..."

Somehow, that didn't sound like a compliment to himself at all.