Entrance Exam

After returning to the hotel with food, Feng Xinglie found the lobby empty of Tang San and Xiao Wu. He went straight upstairs and stopped outside Zhu Zhuqing's room.

"Young Lady Zhu, are you all right?"

He called out several times, but there was no response from inside. In his worry, Feng Xinglie twisted the doorknob and the door itself into a spiral, then strode inside.

"Young Lady Zhu! Ah... you're all right. That's good."

Zhu Zhuqing sat on the bed with her knees hugged to her chest. Tear tracks still marked the corners of her eyes, and she stared at Feng Xinglie without even blinking.

"Are you... all right?"

Zhu Zhuqing's gaze shifted several times between Feng Xinglie and the utterly twisted door before she finally nodded.

"Sorry, I got a little worried just now... Young Lady Zhu, I know you're heartbroken, but if you don't eat, you won't have the strength to get stronger. You'll need a healthy body if you want to fight fate, too."

"Thank you..."

Looking at the food in front of her, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes filled with tears again. She choked out:

"Actually, that person just now is my fiancé."

"Your fiancé? A White Tiger Martial Soul... Is he a prince of the Star Luo Royal Family?"

"Mm. The Star Luo Royal Family and the Zhu Family have arranged marriages for generations, and only the strongest pair gets to survive in the end. Dai Mubai and I are younger, so we've had less time to cultivate than our older brothers and sisters. They've always suppressed us. Dai Mubai abandoned his duty and ran away by himself a few years ago."

"Hell White Tiger..."

Seeing that Feng Xinglie had already guessed the answer, Zhu Zhuqing stopped hiding the truth.

"My older sister drove me into a corner, too, so I came here to find him. If we had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, we might have a chance of beating her and the others."

"So while you've been suffering in the Zhu Family, he's been living in luxury here in Suotuo City as a deserter."

Zhu Zhuqing fell silent, her fists clenching tighter. Seeing that his words had hit home, Feng Xinglie hurried to comfort her.

"It's all right. Isn't Shrek Academy known as Monster Academy? Maybe we can find a way to get stronger there. And if nothing else works, you can consider what I mentioned before: find someone powerful to lean on until you're on your feet."

"Dai Mubai... is a student at Shrek Academy."

"Isn't that even better? You can see what Shrek Academy is like and look for a chance to give him a good beating. Don't worry. I'll help if you need me."

"Mm!"

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Feng Xinglie gratefully as he handed her the food.

"Eat up. You'll need your strength to beat someone up, and you can't starve yourself over a scumbag."

Not long ago, the aloof young beauty had been eating bite by bite like a docile little cat. Feng Xinglie sighed inwardly.

She really is still a child. A little coaxing was enough to lower her guard, and she even told me the royal family's secrets so easily. Still... she's had it rough.

After they finished eating together, Feng Xinglie spent another hour coaxing a smile back onto Zhu Zhuqing's face. He treated the wound on her hand, found her another room with an intact door, and finally returned to his own room. After confirming the information and making several more arrangements, fatigue overtook him. He flopped down onto the soft bed.

"Ah, coaxing people is more tiring than fighting... Still, it worked out well. Tomorrow's the official start of school. I hope everything goes smoothly."

After a good night's rest, Feng Xinglie and Zhu Zhuqing had breakfast the next morning, then set off together for Shrek Academy. They left Suotuo City and headed south. As the farmland lining the road grew more and more plentiful, Zhu Zhuqing's expression became increasingly complicated. If he hadn't known the story, even Feng Xinglie would have started to wonder whether they'd taken a wrong turn. Fortunately, before long a small village appeared at the end of the road. A crowd had gathered at its entrance, mostly children around their age.

"This... is Shrek Academy?"

Looking at the words "Shrek Academy" on the wobbly sign by the village entrance, Zhu Zhuqing furrowed her brows. The place was so shabby it barely looked like an academy. There was only one person handling admissions, an old man of about sixty, who lounged behind a table and sized up the children before him.

"The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. Just put them in that box."

When someone came to register, the old man pointed to the wooden box on the table. After the child's parents paid, he took the child's hand and felt their bones to check their age. After a thorough squeeze, he shook his head.

"You're too old. You can leave."

The boy's father hurriedly put on a smile. "Teacher, my son only just turned thirteen. Could you make an exception?"

The old man said impatiently, "Don't hold up the people behind you. You know the academy's rules, don't you? We only accept children under thirteen. Anyone over thirteen is rejected. You can leave."

The boy's father asked, "Then what about our registration fee..."

"Once you've registered, there are no refunds," the old man replied bluntly.

Even the mildest person had a breaking point. The boy's father couldn't help shouting angrily, "You're clearly just swindling people! Give us back our registration fee, or we're not leaving. If we'd known this so-called Shrek Academy was such a dump, we never would've come!"

The old man glanced at him and said coolly, "Mubai, someone wants their registration fee back. Take care of it."

A figure sprang up from the ground nearby. "You can get your registration fee back if you can beat me. I'll return every last coin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—appeared beneath his feet. His surging Soul Power pressed down on the father and son. Feeling how far the other man's strength surpassed his own, the boy's father could only sigh and prepare to swallow the loss and leave with his son.

"You said that if we beat you, you'd return every last coin."

Everyone turned in surprise. Feng Xinglie stepped up in front of Dai Mubai and cupped his hands.

"Please."

Dai Mubai looked Feng Xinglie up and down. After a moment, he seemed to remember something and sneered.

"Oh? You want to play the hero? I think I saw you at the Rose Hotel yesterday. What, tired of being a coward? Finally found your backbone today?"

"Yeah. I hope you'll keep your word when you lose."

"Hmph. You think you can beat me?"

Feng Xinglie lowered his eyes and kept his hands in his pockets, acting as though Dai Mubai didn't even exist. This infuriated Dai Mubai. With barely a meter between them, Dai Mubai suddenly swung a fist at Feng Xinglie's face without warning. At the same time, the purple Soul Ring beneath his feet blazed with dazzling light.

"Third Soul Skill: White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"

Determined to teach the upstart a lesson, Dai Mubai opened with his strongest Soul Skill. His muscles swelled abruptly as he released it, and his punch hurtled toward Feng Xinglie with a fierce, rushing wind.

"Look out!"

Zhu Zhuqing hadn't expected Dai Mubai to attack so suddenly and cried out. But before she could finish, Dai Mubai—the one who had launched the first attack—was already flying backward in a strange pose. He crashed into the wooden sign bearing the words "Shrek Academy," splitting it in two. Only then did everyone realize:

"Dai Mubai got hit!?"