Da Ming flew Wang Dong'er back up to Shrek Academy, thousands of meters in the air. Then, with steady steps, he returned to the Confinement Room once more. Walking up to Zhang Yang, he set the bag full of Gold Soul Coins on the table.
"This is ten thousand Gold Soul Coins."
"Release him!"
Zhang Yang expressionlessly picked up the bag and weighed it in his hand. Only after confirming it was correct did he nod.
"Wait."
With that, he turned and walked toward the heavy metal door.
"Click—"
The door slowly opened again.
Yan Shaozhe, Qian Duoduo, Xuan Zi, and Er Ming all looked over at once.
"Elder Xuan! It must be someone from the academy!"
Hope filled Qian Duoduo's face.
Only Er Ming burst into delight the moment he spotted the corner of Da Ming's green robe.
"Haha! I knew it!"
"Big Brother really is the most reliable!"
Zhang Yang entered the Confinement Room, his gaze sweeping over the group before finally landing on Er Ming.
"You can leave."
Hearing that, Er Ming sprang up from the ground, dusted off his backside, and looked utterly triumphant.
He walked over to Qian Duoduo's cell, a mocking curve rising on his lips.
Then, right in front of everyone.
He raised his thumb and slowly turned it downward.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"You just stay here and reflect on yourself properly!"
With that, Er Ming did not even glance at Qian Duoduo's face, which had turned the color of pig liver. He swaggered out after Zhang Yang.
The moment he stepped outside, Er Ming gave Da Ming a bear hug.
"Big Brother! I knew you could do it!"
"By the way, Big Brother, did you find us a place to stay?"
Da Ming nodded.
"Yes, I found one. Let's go back."
The three of them met up and were about to leave Shrek Academy.
Just then.
"Wait."
A gentle female voice came from nearby.
The three stopped and turned around, only to see Shen Yi walking toward them with a smile.
Shen Yi's gaze passed over Da Ming and Er Ming, landing directly on Wang Dong'er's delicate little face.
"I was just about to look for you."
"You're Wang Dong'er, right?"
Wang Dong'er froze for a moment, then instinctively nodded.
"That's me."
She had originally planned to use the alias "Wang Dong" and disguise herself as a boy to enter the academy.
But after the string of chaos earlier, there was naturally no way her identity could remain hidden.
Since she had already been exposed, there was no need to keep covering it up.
"Good."
Smiling, Shen Yi took a silver metal ring from her storage ring and handed it to Wang Dong'er.
"This is your enrollment gift package. Take it."
"Enrollment gift package?"
Wang Dong'er accepted the metal ring with a curious expression.
"I get one too?"
Shen Yi nodded and explained,
"Of course. Every new student who passes the assessment and enters Shrek Academy receives an enrollment gift package like this."
At that, she paused slightly. Glancing at Da Ming and Er Ming, whose expressions still did not look too good, she added meaningfully,
"Although you two had a somewhat... unpleasant conflict with Elder Cai not long ago."
"Still, one matter is one matter."
"As students of the academy, none of the benefits and treatment you deserve will be withheld."
Hearing that, Da Ming and Er Ming's expressions eased slightly.
This academy's rules might be absurdly numerous, but its way of handling things was fairly generous.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Wang Dong'er thanked her politely.
Da Ming and Er Ming also leaned over curiously.
"What good stuff is in this gift package?"
Er Ming could not help asking.
Shen Yi gave a mysterious smile.
"You can open it when you get back and see for yourselves."
"There are detailed instructions for every item inside."
With that, Shen Yi turned and left.
In a somewhat old but fairly spacious courtyard within a city near the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.
This was the new home Da Ming had rented.
Though it could not compare to the comfort of the Star Dou Forest, it was at least a place to settle down.
The three sat around a stone table in the courtyard.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Open it and take a look!"
Er Ming had long since grown impatient and urged Wang Dong'er to activate the Storage Soul Tool.
Wang Dong'er did as he said and injected Soul Power into it.
Buzz—
A flash of silver light.
Several items appeared out of thin air on the stone table.
Three sets of finely made school uniforms.
Two exquisite little jade bottles.
A heavy bag of Gold Soul Coins.
And...
A pitch-black, rock-hard Black Steamed Bun.
The moment he saw the Black Steamed Bun, Er Ming's brows furrowed. Open disgust filled his face.
"What the hell is this?"
Er Ming picked up the Black Steamed Bun and weighed it in his hand. It was as hard as a rock.
"Is this academy deliberately trying to disgust us?"
"They're trying to fob us off with this thing?"
"A plain white steamed bun would have been fine. This black lump looks disgusting enough to kill anyone's appetite!"
However, Da Ming, who had remained silent all this time, narrowed his eyes slightly.
The instant the Black Steamed Bun had appeared, he seemed to sense an extremely faint yet highly unusual aura from it.
"Second Brother, don't jump to conclusions."
Da Ming spoke in a low voice.
"Feel that steamed bun carefully."
"Huh?"
Er Ming glanced at his big brother in confusion, then picked up the Black Steamed Bun again and examined it with his senses.
Er Ming's expression changed from initial disgust to shock.
"Holy shit?!"
Er Ming cried out.
"This... this... inside it..."
"What enormous Bloodline Power!"
The Bloodline Power contained within this unremarkable Black Steamed Bun was actually this dense!
"Quick, check the instructions!"
Wang Dong'er was startled by Er Ming's reaction and hurriedly picked up the slip of paper to read it aloud.
"Mystic Water Pill..."
"Soul Ascension Pill..."
"Black Steamed Bun... made from Deep Sea Demon Whale Meat..."
As Wang Dong'er's clear voice echoed through the courtyard, the expressions on all three of their faces became increasingly vivid.
By the time she finished reading the last line, the courtyard had fallen silent.
After a long while.
"Gulp—"
Er Ming swallowed hard. Staring at the pile of items on the table, his eyes went wide.
"This... this school..."
"They're actually this generous?"
"They're even giving students Deep Sea Demon Whale Meat?"
"That's way too damn lavish!"
Da Ming also took a deep breath, a complicated look flashing through his eyes.
Originally, he had been full of resentment toward this academy that had tricked him so badly.
But now, seeing these tangible benefits, the resentment in his heart had inexplicably faded quite a bit.
For the academy to invest this much in nurturing its students, its foundation was likely far deeper than they had imagined.
"It seems..."
Da Ming looked at Wang Dong'er and spoke slowly.
"Sending you here to study may have been the right decision."
"Hurry, Xiao Qi, eat this one first, then eat that one!"
Excitement sparkled in Wang Dong'er's eyes. She was beginning to look forward a little to attending Shrek Academy tomorrow.
Meanwhile, in the Dean's Office.
The system notification sounded in Lin Feng's mind once again.
[Ding!] [Detected that key figure Da Ming's recognition of Shrek Academy as Monster Academy has increased!] [Reward: Special Teacher—Level 99 Limit Douluo Bei Xin (Long Yeyue's husband)!] [Detected that key figure Er Ming's recognition of Shrek Academy as Monster Academy has increased!] [Reward: Complete set of fire-attribute Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones] [Detected that key figure Wang Dong'er's recognition of Shrek Academy as Monster Academy has increased!] [Reward: Special Student—Tang Wulin (version newly enrolled at Shrek Academy)]
Hearing this string of reward notifications, the corners of Lin Feng's lips lifted slightly.
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