The days that followed returned to their usual calm. Those who needed to cultivate cultivated, and those who wanted to slack off slacked off.
Chen An had finally managed to enjoy some peace and comfort, but the two children were cultivating so diligently that they rarely came out during the day. As a result, they asked him questions far less often.
Naturally, he soon had nothing to do again. Unable to sit still, Chen An sent word around, then set off for the villages around Suotuo City...
At that moment, he was raising his voice to shout at a somewhat hard-of-hearing old man.
"Hello, sir. Is your village chief around?"
After thinking it over for a while, he had decided to find a few men and women willing to come back and work.
There had been no rush at first, but when he considered the timing, the next round of recruitment was still months away.
However, the busy farming season was coming up soon. If he didn't find people in advance, it would probably be hard to hire anyone.
As for why he didn't recruit workers in Suotuo City, the moment those workers heard it was Phantom Spirit Academy, they named exorbitant prices, sure that he was desperate for staff.
Naturally, he couldn't afford those wages.
"Huh? The village what?"
"The village chief!"
"Huh? What about the village chief?"
Chen An was dumbfounded. How had he run into a Ma Dongmei routine here?
The old man's deeply furrowed brow made him look like he genuinely had no idea. If this had been in his previous life, he could've won an Oscar for that performance.
Perhaps he'd spent so much time with Zhu Zhuqing lately that he'd started picking up some of her habits.
His thoughts shifted, and he spoke up.
"Sir, I won't beat around the bush. Your village chief has broken the law, and I've been sent to arrest him. If you don't tell me where he is, I'll have to treat you as his accomplice."
As soon as he said that, the old man leaped to his feet. His neck flushed red in an instant, followed by his whole face.
"You little rascal, don't you have any sense of fairness? What Ma Dong did has nothing to do with me!"
Chen An watched the old man's performance with interest. That flushed-red display was just what he wanted to see, and he was enjoying every second of it.
But by now, how could the old man not realize he'd been fooled? He was used to tricking others; he'd never been tricked himself.
Now he'd been pecked in the eye by an eagle, and his face grew redder still. He could barely get his words out.
"You..."
He couldn't speak for a long time. Luckily, he wasn't so old that he'd keel over from embarrassment.
Chen An suppressed a laugh and raised a hand, signaling for him to continue the performance.
Unexpectedly, the old man simply ignored him and walked off.
Ah, what a pity. The whole show had ended just like that.
If this place wouldn't work, there were plenty of others. The Douluo World had no shortage of scattered villages.
So Chen An visited a few more villages and eventually found some men and women willing to come.
"Good. Then it's settled. Report here in four months."
After signing the contract, Chen An breathed a sigh of relief. He'd taken care of another important matter.
Once that was done, he'd intended to head straight back to the academy. But then he remembered Zhu Zhuqing's trip out a while ago.
Seeing that it was still early, he decided to go take a look at the so-called Shrek Academy.
"That's what I'll do."
Once he'd made up his mind, he concealed his aura and set off for Shrek.
When he arrived, all he could do was marvel. The descriptions hadn't been wrong: the place was almost too plain.
"Huh, is that kid Dai Mubai?"
From his vantage point on the mountain, he could just make out a boy training.
At this distance, he shouldn't have been able to see clearly, but the boy had transformed into the White Tiger. His features were simply too distinctive.
He looked up at the sky. At this hour, that fellow hadn't gone out carousing.
"That's rare. Could Zhu Zhuqing have given him a wake-up call? Interesting."
He did nothing else and left.
He'd leave these matters for his two disciples to handle.
Like that rabbit, he believed in having a just cause. If the other side didn't strike first, he wouldn't make a move.
Inside Shrek's training ground.
Flender suddenly furrowed his brow. Zhao Wuji, standing beside him, might not have been the sharpest, but he knew how to read people.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just a strange feeling. Maybe I haven't been sleeping well lately."
With that, they said no more and turned their attention back to what was happening on the training ground.
Meanwhile, Chen An was humming a little tune as he strolled back.
"When the sun comes out, I bask in the sun; when the moon comes out, I bask in the moonlight."
He usually stayed cooped up at the academy and hardly ever went out. Since he'd finally made the trip, he might as well take in the scenery along the way.
There might not even have been scenery like this in his previous life. And even if there had been, he wouldn't have had time to enjoy it.
He was walking slowly only by comparison. By the time he got back to the academy, the sky hadn't even begun to darken.
"Teacher, something's wrong!"
Luo Xiaoshi was waiting at the entrance. The moment he saw Chen An return, he hurried over.
He was nothing like his usual calm self.
"What's wrong? Your teacher's doing just fine."
Chen An couldn't help feeling exasperated. He was a little annoyed. If Zhu Zhuqing had said that, it would've been fine, but when Little Stone said it... forget it.
"Go on, what's the big emergency? Was your senior sister carried off by a monster, or did someone come and beat you up?"
Chen An teased him. He wasn't worried in the least.
This place was remote. Luo Xiaoshi's enemies? They wouldn't find him. And as for those people from the Zhu Family... Zhu Zhuqing had gone to Suotuo City alone before and been fine, so why would they come now?
Besides, Zhu Zhuqing had talismans on her. Even if someone ambushed her, her attack talismans would buy her enough time to tear a distress talisman.
Surely Zhu Zhuqing wasn't really a little pig? She had a Civet Spirit Martial Soul, not a Pig Spirit Martial Soul.
"Uh, Teacher, stop teasing me.
"I just couldn't expand my cultivation any further. It felt like I'd reached my limit, but I still felt like there was room to grow. And I didn't have a headache or anything like that."
Uh, was that all?
Ah, no, no. Every disciple mattered. He had to give him a proper answer.
"Are you stupid? If you've reached your limit, then break through. You really think you can finish cultivating the entire technique at level 20? Can't you keep doing it at level 30?"
He couldn't help it. He just couldn't help it. He was ashamed, but not regretful.
He really hadn't expected this kid to be so inflexible. Chen An wanted to facepalm. By comparison, his eldest disciple was clearly the clever one.
"Ah, oh, right! :-O"
Luo Xiaoshi froze, then suddenly understood. That did seem to make sense. He scratched his head, realizing he'd gotten himself stuck in a rut. How embarrassing.
"Hurry up and break through. I'll go get your senior sister."
Little Stone froze again and said woodenly,
"Huh? Why get Senior Sister?"
Chen An was getting a little angry. He answered as he stepped outside. You pose no threat to my martial arts, but you're making me lose face in the field of education.
"You're level 20. Don't you need to get a Soul Ring?"
Chen An replied anyway, wondering why this kid seemed to get more and more dull the more he cultivated. He remembered that monkey was clever. He shouldn't be getting duller with cultivation. He shouldn't.
He pushed the thought aside, and another question came to mind.
"Little Stone's level 20. What Soul Ring should I get for him? A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring? No, no. He couldn't handle that yet.
"A Thousand-Year Soul Ring? No, he's too weak."
Chen An completely disregarded the fact that Luo Xiaoshi was only level 20. But that was understandable. He was used to cheating.
In the end, he decided to find one with a high number of years that still fell short of a thousand. There was only one path left: to become a rainbow warrior.
Before you continue