Another Son Arrives

Zhu Zhuqing was completely speechless; whether it was Chen An's spirit rings or his self-revealed level, both were incredibly shocking to her.

Chen An watched the little girl's expression with great delight; finally, at long last, he had managed to show off in front of someone.

The fact that the other party had practically begged him to show off made him even happier.

"Master, please accept this disciple's kowtow."

After a moment, Zhu Zhuqing snapped out of her daze and hurriedly spoke.

After Zhu Zhuqing said this, his own level seemed to loosen slightly; this method was correct, he really should take on more students and disciples.

"Easy, easy."

Chen An was already beaming, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

"You should just head back to the academy with me first."

He retracted his martial soul and spirit rings, sensing a slight disturbance in the library; after a brief perception, he realized some books had been unsealed, which meant he could enrich the second floor of the cultivation building later.

"ヽ(￣▽￣)و Understood."

The two of them packed up their things and headed back, with Zhu Zhuqing insisting that she be the one to carry everything along the way.

Then, Chen An tapped her little head and said.

"Are you silly? I have a storage ring."

"(⊙o⊙)..."

On the slow walk back, Zhu Zhuqing briefly introduced herself, though she did not mention her family situation.

Zhu Zhuqing, level 23.

This level was truly impressive; to have reached this at her age was considered exceptional talent.

If he hadn't interfered, she would likely have been fleeing for her life, then cultivating, and then waiting for the Shrek Academy enrollment.

But that would never happen now, heh heh.

"Master, is this the academy?"

Upon returning to the academy, a flicker of disappointment appeared in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, followed immediately by a brilliant gleam.

Initially, she had thought that an expert like Chen An would belong to a prestigious academy, but reality told her there was a gap.

However, she immediately realized that this rather large academy had no one else, and thinking that she might be the first student with such a vast space for cultivation, her eyes lit up instantly.

Except.

Except for the boy waiting at the gate, who seemed a bit out of place, it didn't seem half bad.

"Mm, this is the academy I founded. Rest assured, you are my personal disciple and the head student."

One must have self-awareness; compared to other institutions on the continent, the academy did have a gap, but it would be fine once he reached the Title Douluo realm.

After speaking, Chen An led Zhu Zhuqing toward the boy.

He was quite puzzled; usually, there wasn't a soul to be seen here, and the most frequent visitors had been the Heaven Dou City officials who came to audit the construction application.

"Kid, what are you doing here?"

"Ah!"

The boy turned around; one could see that his clothes were tattered, though not old.

Seemingly startled, he slumped directly to the ground, the flyer in his hand sliding onto the floor.

Chen An picked it up and his eyes widened.

Wasn't this the special recruitment flyer he had sent out earlier? He remembered that he had only made ten copies of this version.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Zhu Zhuqing didn't quite understand the situation.

"Nothing, this is also a person of destiny."

Seeing that the two people before him were living, breathing humans and hearing their conversation, the boy immediately understood that Chen An was the Dean.

He stood up at lightning speed and said respectfully.

"Hello, Teacher. I would like to enroll in Phantom Star Academy."

"Oh, why do you want to enroll in Phantom Star?"

Chen An asked with a smile; it seemed he was about to gain another student. He glanced unobtrusively at the slightly bewildered Zhu Zhuqing—truly, good fortune never comes singly.

"Uh, because I saw on the flyer that there are no level restrictions, no martial soul restrictions, and most importantly, it's tuition-free and includes meal expenses."

This child was very honest, so honest that the first half of his sentence sounded weak, while the second half exposed his true purpose.

The poster he mentioned did indeed say that, and Chen An remembered it well because he was the one who had made that abstract flyer.

"Very good, to have the courage to speak your true heart. But have you discussed this with your parents?"

Looking at the boy, who appeared to be fifteen, he should normally have had his schooling arranged at this age.

Hearing this, the youth looked like he wanted to cry, as if something heartbreaking had been touched upon.

This made Chen An wonder if he had said the wrong thing.

"My father is a gambler who doesn't care about me, and after my mother remarried, I haven't seen her since..."

Once these words came out, Chen An was somewhat stunned. He had expected the "parents both dead" trope, but instead got a gambling father and a broken home—what a pity.

"Because I was robbed by some upperclassmen a few days ago, I didn't have the money for tuition and was expelled from school."

Hearing this, he could only exclaim, Good grief, the misfortunes just keep piling up.

Chen An considered it for a moment. This kid before him was truly pitiful, and since he had obtained the poster, it meant they were fated. He then said, "Alright, fine. Welcome to the academy."

After speaking, he sensed his surroundings and realized the Library had loosened, and the disturbance was even greater than when Zhu Zhuqing had joined.

This couldn't help but make him wonder if this kid was the truly fated one.

The youth froze, seemingly surprised that it had been so easy. He hadn't held much hope, having already prepared himself to drop out and try to enter the palace instead.

After realizing what happened and confirming it once more, he began to jump for joy.

"Master..."

Zhu Zhuqing looked at the youth, then at Chen An, but before she could speak, Chen An interrupted her.

"Do not say unkind things between fellow disciples."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded to show she understood, then stood obediently behind Chen An and remained silent.

Once the youth had calmed down a little, Chen An asked as a matter of routine.

"What is your name? What is your Martial Soul and level?"

"Luo Xiaoshi, 15 years old, level 13, Power Attack System Spirit Master, Martial Soul: Stone Monkey."

Upon hearing this, Chen An's neck twitched.

It was truly terrible. The Martial Soul was very ordinary, and more importantly, he was already 15 years old and only level 13.

Normally speaking, at this age and level, the road ahead was basically dark.

Unwilling to give up, he asked, "What about your Spirit Ring?"

Luo Xiaoshi was silent for a moment before saying, "My first Spirit Ring is 11 years old... Teacher, I..."

He didn't finish his sentence, and Chen An covered his forehead, saying, "Since you have already joined, there is no such thing as dropping out. I just want to ask, why is your first Spirit Ring only 11 years old?"

It was highly unscientific. An 11-year-old Spirit Beast was barely stronger than livestock. If he had come from a school, no institution should have allowed a student to obtain such a low-age Spirit Ring.

Of course, Chen An realized he might be sounding a bit out of touch, but that was no excuse for a school to be so irresponsible.

"Teacher, you are so kind."

As he spoke, Luo Xiaoshi was on the verge of tears, but he held them back and continued, "My previous school practiced self-hunting for Spirit Beasts. The only one assigned to me was that beast, so I had no choice but to hunt it."

This answer made the corners of Chen An's mouth twitch again. He wondered what kind of school would make a child hunt a Spirit Beast on their own.

Luo Xiaoshi, seemingly intent on shocking him further, continued, "The team leader said we couldn't join forces because we needed to train our independent hunting abilities. He took us to the captive breeding grounds and then just left us to our own devices."

Well, the school definitely had to take some of the blame for the boy's current situation. If he could reach level 13 on his own with an 11-year-old Spirit Ring, then looking at it that way, his talent seemed passable.

"Since you've joined Phantom Star, just cultivate properly from now on."

Chen An composed his expression, returned to his normal state, and spoke.

Luo Xiaoshi nodded heavily, feeling much more at ease; he had been worried he was about to be expelled again.

"This is your senior sister, Zhu Zhuqing. It's getting late, so I'll take you both to the dorms."

He had originally intended to tell them to look out for one another, but he hesitated. He admitted that, in this moment, he was being a bit double-standard.