Flender

On the way back to the academy, Tang San kept asking Dai Mubai about Shrek Academy from time to time, and Dai Mubai readily answered. Tang Liu, Xiao Wu, and Ma Hongjun occasionally chimed in as well, keeping the atmosphere from becoming too heavy.

Dai Mubai led them to the dining hall, where they ran into Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, who were also having breakfast.

As for Oscar, perhaps Tang Liu had provoked him this morning, so he had continued sleeping in and had not come.

Breakfast in the dining hall was simple—porridge and steamed buns—but at least there was plenty of it.

After quickly finishing his meal, Tang Liu woke Little Funi, who had fallen asleep, and began feeding her dried meat, naturally drawing everyone's attention again.

"It's so cute! That's a Jade Spirit Fox, right? You're raising it, aren't you? I wanted to ask when I saw it yesterday. What's its name?" Ning Rongrong asked with a smile, her eyes seeming to sparkle with little stars as she looked at Little Funi.

"Her name is Little Funi. She's a hundred-year Jade Spirit Fox," Tang Liu replied.

"Can I pet her?" Ning Rongrong asked, a trace of pleading appearing on her face.

But Tang Liu, who knew her true nature well, naturally understood that she was putting on an act. So, he started showing off his own acting skills.

"I don't know about that. It depends on whether she wants to. Why don't you give it a try?" Tang Liu put on a troubled expression, then picked up Little Funi and held her out toward Ning Rongrong.

Just as Ning Rongrong reached out to take her, Little Funi broke free from Tang Liu's hands and swiftly climbed up his arm into his clothes, refusing to show herself again.

"Looks like she doesn't want to," Ning Rongrong said, a flash of disappointment passing through her eyes.

"It's fine. Feed her something one day, and maybe she'll let you pet her," Tang Liu said, pretending to comfort her.

The atmosphere at the dining table was always the most harmonious and lively, so after breakfast, the distance between them had shortened considerably.

But how long could breakfast possibly last?

Before long, having received Flender's message ordering them to assemble, they hurried toward the training field.

On the way there, Tang Liu quietly said to Tang San, "Brother, when we pay the tuition later, let me pay yours too."

Tang San frowned and refused. "No. I'm your older brother. How can I let you pay my tuition? If anyone's paying, it should be me paying for you."

"Just listen to me, Brother. I'm not using my own money to pay your tuition. I'm using the money Father gave us," Tang Liu said with a smile.

Tang San had wanted to refuse again, but upon hearing Tang Liu's last sentence, he fell silent. Then he gently nodded in agreement. "All right."

Tang Liu grinned and took his hand.

In that instant, both of them felt a warm current slowly flow through the deepest part of their hearts.

At last, they too were children with parents who helped pay their tuition.

When they arrived at the training field, Oscar was already standing there, holding grilled sausages made with his own Soul Power.

However, he had shaved off his full beard, revealing an exceptionally handsome face.

The original work said Oscar was the best-looking among the Shrek Seven Monsters. Now that they saw him, he truly was stunning.

If Dai Mubai's looks were handsome with the steadfastness of a soldier, then Oscar was a youthful, handsome pretty boy.

At present, the only one who could compare with those two was Tang Liu.

It was just that Tang Liu had not fully grown up yet. His appearance was more adorable than anything else. Though he was still handsome, compared to Dai Mubai and Oscar, he looked more like a child.

All the newcomers were startled when they saw Oscar. Even a faint emotion flashed through Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes.

"You're really only fourteen?" Xiao Wu could not help asking.

Oscar said gloomily, "You know the academy's rules. If I weren't fourteen now, I wouldn't have been able to enroll before. My body hair is just a little more vigorous, that's all."

Even after he said that, Tang San and Xiao Wu still found it hard to believe.

"The world is vast, and all sorts of strange things exist," Tang Liu said indifferently. "We're all twelve, yet I'm so much shorter than you. Compared to that, when you're fourteen, it won't seem strange if you don't have as much facial hair as he does."

Tang San: "..."

Xiao Wu: "..."

Everyone else: "..."

Well, that made perfect sense!

Originally, Oscar had looked at Tang Liu with some resentment over Tang Liu seeing him bare-faced that morning. But after hearing Tang Liu say that, the resentment immediately vanished, replaced by a sense of shared misery.

At that moment, a middle-aged man slowly walked over from the entrance.

Tang San and Xiao Wu were both startled when they saw him.

"Isn't that the shady merchant uncle we met?" Xiao Wu asked in surprise.

"What shady merchant uncle? That's our Shrek Academy's headmaster, the founder of Shrek Academy," Oscar said in surprise. "He's known as the Four-Eyed Owl Flender. He's a level seventy-eight Soul Saint with a flying beast Martial Soul. That's quite rare even among battle Soul Masters. Fatty is his direct disciple."

"Good, he's only level seventy-eight," Xiao Wu murmured. "I never expected that famous line about only accepting monsters, not ordinary people, to have come from him."

Tang Liu suddenly said, "Shrek doesn't have any Soul Douluo, does it?"

Oscar and Xiao Wu both glanced at him, somewhat surprised.

"That's right. There aren't more than a hundred Soul Douluo on the entire continent, and only around ten Titled Douluo. Still, I believe Headmaster will reach the Soul Douluo level before long," Oscar said, shaking his head.

"Mm." Tang Liu responded faintly and said nothing more.

Xiao Wu, however, quietly let out a breath of relief, then said to Tang San, "Xiao San, do you think that uncle will still remember us?"

Tang San gave a bitter smile. "It's only been two days. He probably hasn't forgotten. But since he's the headmaster, he shouldn't hold your offense against you."

Oscar gave a malicious little laugh and lowered his voice. "Then you're mistaken. Our Headmaster Flender is famous for holding grudges. But his greatest virtue is that he protects his own."

Just then, Flender, who was approaching, suddenly glanced at them, a teasing look flashing through his eyes.

Oscar's expression changed drastically. "Oh no, he might have heard me. I'm doomed."

Flender glanced at him again but ignored him. He walked up before the eight students and said in his uniquely magnetic yet somewhat hoarse voice, "This year is quite good. We have five more little monsters. I, Flender, headmaster of Shrek Academy, welcome you on behalf of the academy. Later, each of you will pay one hundred Gold Soul Coins to Teacher Li, who handles the finances. Mubai."