"Teacher! Teacher!"
As Mu Chen stepped out the door, he heard someone calling out nearby.
He turned and looked closely. Tang San was waving excitedly, rushing toward him.
"Xiao San, what's wrong?" Mu Chen asked, surprised.
Tang San said excitedly, "I've broken through to level thirty!"
"Oh?" Mu Chen was taken aback.
Tang San had broken through a few days ahead of schedule.
"Then... tomorrow, I'll take you to the Star Dou Forest to find a suitable Soul Beast."
He patted Tang San on the shoulder.
Tang San had grown much taller, too. Even though Mu Chen was tall himself, it was no longer possible for him to casually ruffle Tang San's hair as he used to.
"Thank you, teacher!" Tang San was already getting excited.
"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Go eat first. Then it'll be time for class!" Mu Chen said.
Tang San asked, "Teacher, will you be teaching the classes here?"
Mu Chen shook his head. "From now on, the classes here will all be taught by the teachers who were already here."
Tang San was a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Teacher, I'll be going, then."
Mu Chen nodded.
After Tang San left, Mu Chen went to find Flender.
"Flender, there's something I need to talk to you about."
When he arrived, Mu Chen promptly took the seat of honor. Flender was rather speechless, but didn't take offense.
"What is it?" Flender asked.
Mu Chen glanced at the inferior tea on the table and pushed it aside in distaste before speaking.
"You haven't been paying me, so you'll have to waive my disciples' tuition while they're here."
"Uh... waive their tuition!"
Flender sucked in a sharp breath.
"Right."
"The few students who passed the entrance exam these past few days are all my disciples, so... you get it."
Mu Chen stood up and smiled as he patted Flender on the shoulder, then left without another word.
"Four people enrolled this year, and all four are his disciples. That means I have to waive four hundred Gold Soul Coins in tuition... This hurts so much, I could cry..."
As the bell rang across Shrek Academy,
not long after,
on the grounds of Shrek Academy,
Flender faced the academy's mere seven students and said calmly, "Four new students have joined Shrek Academy in the past few days. Now... both the old and new students, introduce yourselves."
"I'll go first!"
Xiao Wu stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention.
"My name is Xiao Wu. My Martial Soul is the Soft Bone Rabbit, and my Soul Power is level thirty-two."
At those words,
the three locals stared in shock.
Zhu Zhuqing introduced herself next. "Zhu Zhuqing. My Martial Soul is the Hell Spirit Cat. Level twenty-eight."
Tang San smiled. "My name is Tang San. I'm level thirty, and my Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass."
Ning Rongrong didn't introduce herself, since both the newcomers and the locals already knew about her.
Dai Mubai stepped out of the line and glanced at Zhu Zhuqing before saying in a low voice, "My name is Dai Mubai. My Martial Soul is the White Tiger, and I'm a level thirty-five Battle Soul Elder!"
At that, Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Dai Mubai, then quickly looked away.
Ma Hongjun stepped out of the group and grinned. "My name is Ma Hongjun. My Martial Soul is the top-grade Beast Martial Soul, Evil Fire Phoenix, and I'm level twenty-seven!"
Oscar also smiled as he introduced himself. "My name is Oscar. My Martial Soul is Sausage. I'm a level twenty-nine food-type Soul Master."
For a moment,
the two groups got to know each other a little.
"Very good. Class starts now."
Flender glanced at Ning Rongrong. Thinking of what Ning Fengzhi had asked him to do, he considered it for a moment and decided to start by curbing Ning Rongrong's temper.
"Ning Rongrong, Oscar."
"As support Soul Masters, the most important thing in battle is protecting yourselves."
"Running away is the best way to do that."
"So the two of you will run twenty laps around the entire village. You may use Soul Power."
"Oscar, take her."
At the thought of being alone with Ning Rongrong, Oscar couldn't help grinning excitedly.
The prospect of running twenty laps barely dampened his spirits.
Ning Rongrong raised an eyebrow.
Running?
Perfect. She could test the results of her cultivation. She couldn't let down Mu Chen's gift of the Kirin Heaven-Treading Steps.
"What are you grinning about, idiot?"
"Lead the way!"
Ning Rongrong had also realized that Mu Chen didn't dislike her personality at all. In fact, he'd praised her for being straightforward.
She liked Mu Chen even more for it, and couldn't be bothered to put on an act in front of everyone.
Oscar gave an awkward little cough and smiled sheepishly.
"Follow me!"
Watching Ning Rongrong leave with Oscar without the slightest hesitation, Flender sneered inwardly.
He didn't think Ning Rongrong could finish the task.
She would surely give up halfway. Then he could use that as an excuse to give her a harsh lesson.
Flender glanced at Xiao Wu and the others. "Your classes won't start until tonight. Go back and rest up."
At that, the others left one after another.
Dai Mubai, however, never took his eyes off Zhu Zhuqing.
Suddenly,
Zhu Zhuqing stopped and turned to face Dai Mubai.
Her abrupt move caught Xiao Wu, Tang San, and Ning Rongrong's attention as well.
Dai Mubai stopped when he saw her.
Ma Hongjun also looked at him in surprise.
"I never thought I'd run into you here. I suppose this gives me a chance to settle things with you."
Zhu Zhuqing's words left everyone confused, and Dai Mubai felt a faint sense of unease.
"From this moment on, I, Zhu Zhuqing, unilaterally end our engagement. From now on, we're strangers."
"I've already found someone I love. Don't bother me again, or I won't be nice to you."
"From now on, we're just classmates."
After speaking, Zhu Zhuqing took out paper and a pen.
She wrote a large character meaning "divorce," then flung the paper in front of Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai caught the paper with the character on it, his expression changing drastically. "How dare you!"
"What wouldn't I dare to do?" Zhu Zhuqing shot him a scornful glance and walked away.
"What does it say?"
Ma Hongjun craned his neck to look. A huge character meaning "divorce" met his eyes, leaving him confused.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Dai Mubai clenched his teeth, his face flushing red as he stared at Zhu Zhuqing's retreating figure. A trace of murderous intent surfaced in his eyes.
Humiliation! Utter humiliation!
He was a prince of the empire, and she had divorced him!?
Seeing that Dai Mubai's expression was off, Xiao Wu and Tang San hurried after Zhu Zhuqing.
Xiao Wu asked, "Zhuqing, what did you write?"
Zhu Zhuqing said coolly, "I divorced him. From now on, our engagement is over."
Xiao Wu suddenly understood. "So he's the third prince of the Star Luo Empire who fled from Star Luo City to the Heaven Dou Empire!"
Tang San understood, too.
"What!?"
Ma Hongjun was stunned. "Boss Dai, you're actually the third prince of the Star Luo Empire?"
Dai Mubai spoke coldly. "Zhu Zhuqing, the wheel of fortune turns! Don't look down on a young man just because he's poor!"
He really was a tiger brought low in the Heaven Dou Empire, bullied by a cat!
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