[Li Yuan: Group members who want to eat tomorrow's juicy melon, reply with 1 to sign up!]
[Ice-Snow Smart: 1.]
[Big Cat in the Night: Curiosity +1.]
[Loves Eating Carrots: Curiosity +2.]
[Viper-Hearted Big Sister: +3! This melon sounds ripe already!]
[Richest Little Heiress of Heaven Dou: +4! Must listen!]
[Single Academy-Running Housewife: +5! This lady wants to see just how melodramatic it can get!]
Li Yuan looked at the neat line of "+1"s filling the screen, and his heart blossomed with joy.
Found it, the wealth code!
Oh no, the "Chat Fire" ignition code!
If he could have such high group activity every day, with group levels skyrocketing and rewards rolling in endlessly, would those days be far away?
Wait, the number of people seemed wrong!
He counted them, excluding himself and Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and Hu Liena, who obviously wouldn't reply with 1, exactly six people replied with 1.
Yet counting him, there were eleven people in the group in total, so where was the remaining one?
[Li Yuan:@Little One in the Forest, if you want to eat the melon, come out and make a sound.]
Seeing this sentence, the others in the group reacted with delayed realization.
There was actually someone in their group who had never spoken a single time since joining.
Damn, could someone hold back that much? What an old fox!
[Little One in the Forest: Awooo—! (Little milk dragon roaring voice version)]
[Li Yuan: I said let you make a sound, not for you to really roar!]
[Little One in the Forest: Awooo! Awooo! Awooo! (A few more hurried ones, as if protesting)]
Li Yuan frowned, could a soul beast that hadn't opened its spiritual wisdom have gotten in?
That shouldn't be, or did the chat group malfunction?
Forget it, he wouldn't worry about that for now.
[Li Yuan: Fine, fine, none of your business, go play aside.]
[Li Yuan: Everyone, see you tomorrow, rain or shine, good night!]
Meanwhile.
In the Star Dou Forest, somewhere in a space surrounded by countless ferocious beasts.
A little one covered entirely in golden fur, with a third eye on its forehead and resembling a little lion, was facing a glowing "brick" in front of it, baring its ungrown little milk teeth with all its might and roaring fiercely in a babyish way.
All around, several vast and obscure consciousnesses were quietly communicating.
"Do you guys know what the Auspicious Beast is saying?"
"No idea, anyway it feels like it's cursing quite viciously."
The little one awoooed at the "brick" a few more times, only to find that the thing over there stopped moving.
It reached out its little paw with some boredom and gave the "brick" a tug, then carefully pushed it next to a pile of shiny gemstones, curled its body up, and soon let out a faint purr.
Tomorrow... it seemed there would be a story to listen to?
Carrying a sliver of uncomprehending curiosity, it drifted off to dreamland.
The next day.
Li Yuan, having just finished breakfast, was summoned to the office by Chen Gang, the principal of Notting Academy.
"Principal, you're looking for me?"
Li Yuan pushed the door open and entered, and as soon as he finished speaking, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Besides the kindly Principal Chen Gang, there was another figure in the office that he extremely did not want to see.
Yu Xiaogang.
Seeing Li Yuan walk in, Yu Xiaogang immediately straightened his back, lifted his chin slightly, and tried hard to strike a reserved and arrogant posture, as if waiting for the other party to greet him first.
Li Yuan rolled his eyes at him, not pampering him in the least.
Who was he putting on an act for?
He forcefully suppressed the urge to turn around and leave.
After all, Principal Chen Gang had taken good care of him over the years, so he still had to give him this face.
He wanted to see what kind of act this Yu Xiaogang wanted to put on today.
"Hmph!"
Seeing Li Yuan completely ignore him, Yu Xiaogang let out a heavy snort from his nose, his expression unsightly.
Chen Gang next to him thought his throat felt uncomfortable, gave him a concerned look, and thought nothing of it. Instead, he enthusiastically greeted Li Yuan: "Xiao Yuan is here, sit down quickly, don't just stand there."
As he spoke, he even poured Li Yuan a cup of hot tea.
"Xiao Yuan, calling you here is because there's good news."
Chen Gang said with a smile: "You all are graduating soon, you probably haven't found a new soul master academy yet, right? But don't worry, Xiao Gang recommended a very good academy for you."
He patted Yu Xiaogang's shoulder beside him and continued: "Xiao Gang said that Shrek Academy only takes in one or two students a year, the requirements are especially strict, and the teaching faculty is also extremely strong."
"I don't know the specifics, but Xiao Gang said the principal is a powerhouse at the Soul Saint level! So I figured it should be an extremely outstanding advanced soul master academy."
"Xiao Gang went through a lot of trouble, and for his sake, the principal there made an exception to agree to take in a few more students, so he wants you to go together with Tang Se, Xiao Wu, the three of you, so you can look out for each other."
"That's why I'm asking for your opinion."
Li Yuan finally understood.
To summarize: the principal was used as a gun by Yu Xiaogang, without even investigating the basic conditions of the academy, and purely based on trust in an "old friend," he came to recommend it to one of the academy's students with the most potential.
This move was simply out of this world.
What did Shrek Academy have?
No money, no facilities, and not even the mimicry cultivation environment that was standard for advanced soul master academies!
Sending a student with his talent there wasn't that just purely ruining his future?
Of course, Li Yuan knew Principal Chen Gang must have had good intentions, only that he was kept in the dark.
He only felt a sense of sorrow for this old good-natured man.
Decades of friendship, back when Yu Xiaogang was reviled by the people of the world, it was Chen Gang who took Yu Xiaogang in and gave him a meal to eat.
Probably the principal would never have dreamed that this "close friend" of his would pit him like this right before leaving.
Before Li Yuan could express his stance, Yu Xiaogang on the side could no longer hold back. He crossed his arms and stood up, speaking in a high and mighty tone as if bestowing charity:
"Li Yuan, although you didn't choose to take me as your master back then, it makes me very regretful."
"But as a theoretical Grandmaster, I truly cannot bear to see children with good talents like you ruin a bright future because you chose the wrong academy."
"So, I made an exception to use my personal connections and spoke with my friend, and that's how I secured this opportunity for you to enter Shrek Academy. You must cherish it well."
Spoke with him?
Li Yuan sneered inwardly.
This lie was told with a completely straight face.
How could he not see through Yu Xiaogang's little schemes? He was as clear on them as a mirror.
It was nothing more than Tang San needing teammates to participate in the Soul Master Tournament in the future.
And the high-talent Li Yuan and Xiao Wu happened to be ready-made "green leaves" that he could control.
As long as they entered the academy of his "old friend" Flender.
Wouldn't they just be at his mercy, prettily called a "team configuration" while actually serving as foils for Tang San?
"Heh..."
Li Yuan let out a scoff, the corners of his mouth curving into an undisguised sneer: "Grandmaster, you really played a good hand!"
Yu Xiaogang didn't catch the sarcasm in his words, and thinking that Li Yuan was marveling at his connections and foresight, he immediately grew even more smug:
"That's only natural, Li Yuan, rest assured, although you didn't take me as your master, as long as you enter Shrek, I guarantee the principal will treat you all equally."
"Even... regarding your future soul ring choices and development direction, I can give you some extra guidance."
Before you continue