The afterglow of the simple gathering to celebrate Xiao Qing's birthday had yet to fade when Shrek Academy welcomed another important day of the year: the entrance examinations.
Ma Hongjun was this year's chief examiner. Flender had assigned him the task partly to hone his people skills and partly to recognize how much more steady he had become in recent years. Ma Hongjun took the responsibility seriously. He began reviewing the admissions process and standards over and over several days in advance, eager to fulfill this "first" duty to the best of his ability.
Dai Mubai's daily routine had also acquired a new fixture. Though he had left his former debauched ways behind for good, he still enjoyed occasionally leaving the academy to soak up the bustle of everyday life in Suotuo City. Many of Shrek Academy's daily necessities—special ingredients, ordinary tools, consumables, and the like—had to be purchased in the city on a regular basis.
The task had gradually fallen to Dai Mubai, who went into the city often and knew his way around its shops. He didn't mind. In fact, he rather enjoyed it. Helping the academy handle these mundane affairs gave him a sense of being needed that was different from having family servants wait on him and from simple financial transactions—a sense that was more equal and genuine.
Seeing the things he had bought used in everyone's meals or cultivation gave him a subtle sense of satisfaction.
With the entrance examinations approaching, it was customary for new students who passed to stay at the academy on a trial basis. The academy would need to prepare extra food supplies.
For once, Flender wasn't being overly stingy with money. He handed Dai Mubai a purse containing a good number of Gold Soul Coins and instructed him, "Buy plenty of food that keeps well, some dried meat, and bring back a few fresh fruits and vegetables, too. Don't buy shoddy goods just because they're cheap, but don't let them fleece you, either."
Dai Mubai weighed the purse in his hand and nodded. He knew the truth behind Flender's rare "generosity": most of the money probably came from the tuition paid by the academy's students, along with the rewards from the occasional low-level commission.
Meanwhile, on the main road not far from Suotuo City, two dusty figures were heading toward its gates. They were Tang San and Xiao Wu.
After graduating from Nuoding City's junior Soul Master Academy and following their teacher Yu Xiaogang's advice, they had decided to come to Suotuo City and try to apply to the Shrek Academy that Grandmaster had described as accepting "only monsters."
Grandmaster had given them a general direction and a brief description. The rest was up to them to figure out.
After days of travel, both of them looked tired, but their eyes held more curiosity and anticipation about the unknown academy than anything else.
They entered bustling Suotuo City. The crowds, rows of shops, and all kinds of Soul Masters and commoners were a novelty to the pair, who had grown up in Nuoding City.
First, they found a clean, modest-looking inn and used what little money they had to rent two adjoining single rooms. They washed up and changed out of their dusty clothes.
"Third Brother, I'm hungry!" Xiao Wu rubbed her stomach and looked at Tang San with pleading eyes. She was still growing, and after traveling for so long, her stomach had been empty for ages.
Tang San nodded. He needed to replenish his strength, too. "Let's go find something to eat. We'll have to make the travel money Grandmaster gave us last. I hope we pass the academy's examinations."
After leaving the inn and asking passersby for directions, the two headed for a street in Suotuo City known for its snacks and casual restaurants.
The food street was bustling, and the aromas of all kinds of dishes mingled in the air. Vendors called out, customers haggled, and diners chatted and laughed without pause.
As they walked, Tang San and Xiao Wu carefully studied the prices at the stalls on either side. They bought some affordable meat pies and clear water, eating as they went while quietly observing the city's Soul Master scene and comparing it with Nuoding City's.
Just as they were about to leave the street and turn into a quieter side lane to head back to the inn, Xiao Wu's keen ears suddenly twitched.
She stopped and listened, then looked in puzzlement toward a narrow, dim alley beside the lane. "Third Brother, listen. There's a strange sound over there. It sounds like someone crying, and there's arguing, too."
Tang San listened intently as well. From deep in the alley came the faint sound of a woman sobbing and two men shouting roughly at her, interspersed with dull thuds as objects collided. He frowned slightly. When traveling, his instinct was to avoid getting involved in other people's business. But before he could speak, Xiao Wu, ever curious and naturally inclined to stand up for others, darted into the alley like a nimble rabbit.
"Xiao Wu!" Tang San called under his breath, then hurried after her.
The alley was narrow and cluttered with odds and ends, and it smelled musty. After they ventured ten or so meters in, the sight before them brought them to a halt.
Two burly men in plain fitted clothes, their faces marked by a thuggish air, had a delicate-looking young woman in a pale blue dress cornered against the wall.
With her back against the damp wall, the girl hung her head and trembled as she stifled her sobs. Her long hair fell over her face, hiding her features.
One of the men reached out to grab her arm, cursing as he said, "What are you crying for? A debt must be repaid—that's only right! Your father ran off, so you can pay us back! Come with us!"
"Stop! What are you doing? Two grown men bullying a girl—isn't that shameful?" Xiao Wu's brows shot up. She rushed forward and spread her arms, shielding the crying girl behind her as she glared at the men.
Tang San followed right behind her and stood at her side, calmly sizing up the two men. Soul Power rippled around them, but neither seemed very strong. They were probably somewhere between the teens and level twenty, and appeared to be Battle Soul Masters. He said in a low voice, "Whatever the matter is, you can discuss it calmly. There's no need to lay hands on a young lady."
The two men didn't seem to have expected anyone to barge in and interfere. They froze for a moment, then their faces twisted with anger.
The man who had reached for the girl drew his hand back and looked sidelong at Tang San and Xiao Wu, sneering. "Where'd you little brat and little girl come from? Mind your own business! This girl's father owes our boss money, then ran off. The daughter pays her father's debt. Get it? If you know what's good for you, get lost. Otherwise, we'll deal with you, too!"
The girl behind Xiao Wu seemed to be even more frightened. She sobbed harder, shivering as she shrank behind Xiao Wu. Between hiccups, she said, "N-no... that's not true... I didn't... I don't know them..."
"You heard her! She doesn't know you!"
Xiao Wu grew even angrier and pointed at the two men. "You're just a bunch of thugs! Trying to abduct a woman in broad daylight! Third Brother, teach them a lesson!"
Tang San frowned even more deeply.
Something felt off. The two men acted fierce, but their eyes lacked the genuine menace of debt collectors. Instead, there was something... staged about them.
And why was the girl alone in such a secluded alley? But Xiao Wu had already rushed in, and he couldn't leave her to face them alone. He set his feet slightly apart and silently circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, ready to act at any moment.
Just as they faced off and the air grew taut, something unexpected happened!
The blue-clad girl who had been cowering behind Xiao Wu, sobbing softly and looking utterly helpless, suddenly stopped crying.
She jerked her bowed head up. Not a trace of tears or fear remained on her face. In their place was a cold, mocking, vicious expression. Her movements were shockingly quick, nothing like those of an ordinary, helpless girl. A flash of cold light glinted from her right hand, hidden in her sleeve: a foot-long dagger with a faint blue sheen along its edge. It had clearly been poisoned.
Her wrist flicked. The dagger struck like a venomous snake, not at the two "ruffians" in front of her, but straight at Xiao Wu's neck. Xiao Wu was only inches away, her back turned and her guard down. The girl meant to take her hostage!
The attack came out of nowhere. Neither Xiao Wu nor Tang San had expected the "victim" to suddenly turn on them, let alone target the very person who had come to help her!
Hearing the wind behind her, Xiao Wu instinctively tried to dodge. But they were too close, and the girl's attack was too fast and vicious. Xiao Wu only had time to turn her head slightly.
Tang San's eyes went wide with fury. His Purple Demon Eye flared to its limit, and the dagger's path seemed to slow before him—but he was still two steps away from Xiao Wu. If he tried to fire a Hidden Weapon in haste, he might hit her instead!
The Mysterious Heaven Skill surged madly through his body. His feet were about to launch into the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, hoping to draw the enemy's attention and save Xiao Wu.
But someone was faster than them!
Just before the poisoned dagger's tip could touch Xiao Wu's skin, a white blur shot from the shadows among the debris on the other side of the alley, appearing as if out of thin air.
The figure moved so fast that it even produced a low sonic boom. Its target was neither the two men pretending to be ruffians nor the woman with the dagger. It was the narrow space—less than half a foot wide—between Xiao Wu and the woman.
"Fourth Soul Skill: White Tiger Demon God Transformation!"
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