Everyone at Shrek Academy Was One Creepier Than the Last!

(Zhu Zhuqing fanart)

Lin Jiang reached out and grasped the handle.

A warm current of energy flowed through his palm and into his body, resonating faintly with his Golden Dragon King Martial Soul.

"A god-tier carving knife..."

He turned it over and over in his hands, the corners of his mouth lifting.

Lin Jiang put the Golden Dragon Carving Knife away in his storage ring and leaned back against the pillow.

"This is getting more and more interesting."

The next day.

Ning Rongrong finally arrived at Shrek Academy.

It was called an academy, but the sight before her left her rooted to the spot.

A few dilapidated wooden houses, a crooked fence, and a peeling wooden sign hanging by the gate.

The words "Shrek Academy" were scrawled across it in crooked writing.

The academy was located in a tiny village with only a hundred households.

A sparse crowd had gathered at the village entrance: some students there to register, and some parents accompanying them.

Ning Rongrong's mouth twitched.

Wasn't this place a little too shabby?

The cost of decorating just one of her father's tearooms would be enough to renovate this place ten times over.

She was still looking around when a commotion suddenly broke out up ahead.

"Why won't you give us our money back?!"

A boy's face flushed red as he shouted at the old man by the gate.

His father beside him was trembling with anger too. "Ten Gold Soul Coins! You're robbing us blind!"

The old man sat in his chair without even lifting his eyelids. "You don't meet the requirements. No refunds. Next."

Just then, a blond boy came out from inside.

He looked young, around fifteen or sixteen. His hands were in his pockets, and a devil-may-care smile played on his lips.

The next moment—

Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet.

A hundred years, a hundred years, a thousand years.

For someone so young to have this Soul Ring Configuration sent a wave of gasps through the crowd.

The blond boy released his Soul Power, sending a surging pressure crashing down on the father and son.

Their faces went pale. Gritting their teeth, the two slunk away.

Ning Rongrong stared at the blond boy, her heart skipping a few beats.

Could he... really be Dai Mubai?

Could things actually be just as the Simulator had said?

It was her turn.

Ning Rongrong stepped forward, and the old man in charge of the test looked her up and down.

"Does your family know you're here?"

Ning Rongrong lifted her chin slightly. "You say that education should be open to all. If I meet your requirements, you have no reason to turn me away, do you?"

The old man said no more and let her begin the test.

As she went through it, Ning Rongrong kept an eye on the blond boy.

He stood nearby with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on her—

Greedy, hungry, and utterly brazen.

Like a wolf eyeing a tender piece of meat.

Ning Rongrong's heart gave a thud, and every hair on her body stood on end.

Was this guy... really that disgusting?!

She forced herself to endure the discomfort and completed her test.

Next came Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Dai Mubai's gaze immediately shifted to Xiao Wu.

The same look. The same greed.

Xiao Wu frowned and glared at him.

Zhu Zhuqing came after them.

Dai Mubai's eyes practically glued themselves to her as he looked her up and down without a hint of restraint.

His stare was so blatant that people around them began turning to look at Zhu Zhuqing too.

Tang San looked over as well, his gaze lingering on her for a moment.

Xiao Wu stood to one side, watching the scene, her mouth twitching slightly.

In her heart: Disgusting. Men, humans—not one of them is any good.

She paused, then silently added—

Except Lin Jiang.

With all those eyes on her, Zhu Zhuqing felt completely ill at ease. She instinctively took half a step back, her face as cold as ice.

The tests proceeded in an orderly fashion.

The group briefly introduced themselves.

When Dai Mubai introduced himself, his gaze swept over the three girls, a faint smile on his lips.

Tang San was perfectly proper, but Ning Rongrong couldn't help feeling that there was something off about the way he looked at people.

Ning Rongrong saw it all, and her heart sank further and further.

Dai Mubai.

Tang San.

Xiao Wu.

Zhu Zhuqing.

One by one, the names matched.

Could everything the Simulator had said... really be true?

Everyone prepared to head to the next testing point.

Ning Rongrong walked at the back, watching the others' backs as her thoughts tumbled over one another.

Dai Mubai walked in front, glancing back at Zhu Zhuqing now and then.

Tang San walked in the middle, his gaze occasionally passing over Xiao Wu.

Just then, a soft, effeminate voice came from nearby.

"Sausages for sale! Sausages for sale!"

"Don't miss out as you pass by! Oscar-brand sausages, five copper coins each!"

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing looked toward the voice. They saw a burly man with a full beard and a pair of flirtatious, peach-blossom eyes hawking his wares at a little stall.

The man was thickset and unshaven, yet he had a pair of captivating peach-blossom eyes. The more you looked at him, the more out of place they seemed.

Up ahead, Tang San was about to take out money to buy Xiao Wu a sausage.

Zhu Zhuqing turned to Ning Rongrong. "Rongrong, do you want one?"

The Simulator's words flashed through Ning Rongrong's mind—

"I Have a Big Sausage!"

Her face went white, and she hurriedly shook her head.

"Uh... no, no thanks."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "All right, then I won't have one either."

Just as Tang San was about to take out his money, Dai Mubai stepped forward and grabbed his hand.

"Don't buy one."

Tang San froze.

Dai Mubai turned to the bearded man, his tone unfriendly.

"Oscar, you're an embarrassment to the academy!"

"I've warned you more than once not to sell sausages inside the academy!"

Everyone stared in surprise.

This burly man was a student too?

Dai Mubai turned back to them, his expression grave.

"Don't let his appearance fool you."

He pointed at Oscar, looking disgusted.

"His name is Oscar. He's fourteen, and he's a student at Shrek Academy too."

"As for why I won't let you eat his sausages..."

He paused and looked at Oscar.

"Oscar, make a fresh sausage."

Oscar glanced at the pretty girls in front of him, his face turning awkward.

He timidly stuck out his right hand and stammered:

"I have a big sausage!"

The moment he finished speaking, a steaming hot sausage appeared in his hand.

The sausage was still giving off heat.

Ning Rongrong: "..."

Standing behind them, she watched the scene, her mouth twitching.

In her heart: It really is exactly as the Simulator said...

Xiao Wu looked puzzled. She tilted her head, looking from the sausage to Oscar, not quite understanding.

Zhu Zhuqing frowned too, sensing that something was off.

Ning Rongrong knitted her brows and stared at the sausage in Oscar's hand.

Raised with a noble's education, she could hardly imagine how a Soul Master in this world could be so sleazy.

And he was fourteen?

This burly, bearded man was fourteen?

She leaned close to Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing's ears and quietly explained.

Xiao Wu's pretty face instantly turned bright red, and her eyes went wide.

"Disgusting!"

Zhu Zhuqing went even further and cursed aloud.

She backed away two steps, her face cold, as though she feared getting something filthy on her.

So this was the Shrek Academy said to accept only monsters?

They really were monsters!

Each one more shameless and sleazy than the last!

Xiao Wu bit her lip and rolled her eyes inwardly.

She wanted to see Lin Jiang more than ever.