"Sure, that's possible,"
Yan Shaozhe considered it briefly.
"What kind of location and what size are you looking for?"
Lu Ran had always been full of ideas.
Besides, Mu En had told him that Lu Ran could do whatever he wanted. Even if something went wrong, Shrek would have his back.
Yan Shaozhe didn't ask why.
"I'd like a shop of at least a hundred square meters, preferably around two or three hundred."
If it was too small, there wouldn't be enough room for the customers or the staff.
"As for the location, it should have plenty of foot traffic. Somewhere in Shrek City, or..."
Lu Ran explained what he was looking for, both inside Shrek and in the city.
Yan Shaozhe understood that Lu Ran wanted to start a business, but what could someone so young possibly do?
Still, he nodded.
"Fine. I'll take a look."
Lu Ran added, "There's no rush. If there aren't any vacant shops right now, it'll be fine to wait a couple of months."
Why hadn't Lu Ran chosen the Soul Bone?
The reason was simple.
A Soul Bone granted additional power.
A Soul Master's cultivation limit was fixed by factors such as their Martial Soul, Innate Soul Power, Soul Ring age, and physical constitution. Once they reached that limit, they could no longer break through. Some people's limit was Level 60, some Level 20, and some Level 90. Once they hit the ceiling, they couldn't advance.
If a Soul Master's limit was Level 90,
then absorbing a Soul Bone early would still leave them at Level 90 once they reached their limit.
But if they absorbed a Soul Bone after reaching the Level 90 limit, they could use its additional power to break through that limit,
reaching Level 91.
In other words, a Soul Bone was like a bonus question with a trap in it. If you did it halfway through the lesson, you'd only get half the points. Only by saving it for last could you get full marks.
As for Lu Ran,
first of all,
a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone was simply too low in age.
By then, he'd be carrying a whole set of Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, yet using a mere Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone. That would be pathetic.
Second,
the Soul Bone would be of little use early on, and not much use later, either.
He couldn't even replace it at will.
It was far too useless.
He might as well trade the Soul Bone
for two shops, one inside Shrek Academy and one in Shrek City.
After all, either of those would be worth a fortune and nearly impossible to obtain.
The Freshman Assessment came to a complete end.
The ten freshman classes were consolidated into four regular classes.
Huo Yuhao entered the Soul Guidance Department.
This time, Yan Shaozhe didn't stop him, and there was no dispute at the Sea God Pavilion. Or rather, he simply didn't care. The Spirit Eye Martial Soul was a rare Body Martial Soul, and an even rarer spiritual-type one,
but it really didn't measure up to Lu Ran's.
Besides, even if Huo Yuhao had been exceptionally outstanding and performed brilliantly, Yan Shaozhe still wouldn't have stopped him from entering the Soul Guidance Department.
He wouldn't have dared to.
Xian Lin'er already hated Yan Shaozhe to the bone.
She looked like she wanted to bite him to death whenever she saw him.
If he stopped a student like Huo Yuhao, whose only distinction was having a rare Martial Soul,
then he really would be deliberately picking on the Soul Guidance Department.
Never mind Xian Lin'er fighting him to the death—even Mu En and the Elders wouldn't take his side.
Education Committee Building.
"Why?!"
In the office, Zhou Yi nearly smashed the elegant rosewood desk as she roared:
"Why am I not the head homeroom teacher?!"
Her shrill voice pierced the walls.
Even the people in the office next door could hear her clearly.
"Is Zhou Yi causing trouble again?"
A round-faced, middle-aged female teacher frowned.
Zhou Yi was famous throughout Shrek Academy as one of its worst-tempered teachers.
Another teacher, a handsome young man, chimed in.
"She got demoted to the freshman classes. Of course she's unhappy."
"And now she's only the assistant homeroom teacher..."
Inside the office, Du Weilun tried to calm Zhou Yi.
"Calm down."
"Teacher Zhou, please calm down..."
His tone was gentle, but left no room for argument.
"This is the rule. We can't change it just because you're dissatisfied."
Shrek Academy had always used a dual homeroom teacher system,
with a head homeroom teacher and an assistant homeroom teacher.
The head homeroom teacher was in charge of class discipline and student selection, serving as the lead and holding final decision-making authority.
The assistant homeroom teacher handled the teaching duties.
And now Wang Yan was the head teacher, while she was the assistant.
"Why?!"
"I'm the head homeroom teacher! What right does Wang Yan have to take my place?!"
Zhou Yi's voice spiraled completely out of control, shrill and hoarse, as loud as a pig being slaughtered at New Year.
Du Weilun frowned in annoyance.
"Enough!"
His expression turned displeased, and his voice sank. "If students hadn't reported you again and again, you wouldn't be teaching the freshman classes at all."
"Have you still not realized what you did wrong?"
Zhou Yi's teaching style was too domineering and aggressive, and she completely disregarded her students' physical well-being.
They had reported her repeatedly.
The Academy had considered that she was a veteran teacher and that her husband, Fan Yu, might eventually take over the Soul Guidance Department. It also didn't want the Soul Guidance Department to think the Martial Soul Department was deliberately making trouble for them, especially since the two were married.
So the Education Committee had decided to give her one more chance,
letting her teach a freshman class and reflect on her behavior.
Who could have imagined she wouldn't change a thing? She'd even dared to expel students without permission and exploit them.
They had no choice but to keep her under Wang Yan's supervision.
They couldn't let her run wild anymore.
"What did I do wrong?!"
"Tell me!"
Zhou Yi's whole face twisted into a snarl, her wrinkles twitching like spider legs. She looked just like a gray-haired, red-faced demon.
"My class always gets the best results!"
"My students always have the highest advancement rate!"
"I'm the most capable teacher in the Academy! Why are you suppressing me?!"
"Why are you suppressing me?!"
Normally, as the Director of Education, Du Weilun shouldn't have shown his displeasure.
But he still frowned.
He really wanted to say: Your students' advancement rate is high because you expel so many of them.
Almost every year, half the students in your class get eliminated.
A class of a hundred students dwindles to fewer than ten after four or five years.
If that still doesn't make your advancement rate high, Zhou Yi, you might as well get lost.
But mindful of his position, and of Fan Yu's abilities and status, he swallowed the words.
"This is the opportunity the Academy has given you..."
Du Weilun said coldly,
"Don't think that just because your husband is Fan Yu, the Education Committee wouldn't dare act against you."
Zhou Yi's gaze faltered.
For an instant, a flicker of surprise appeared in her furious eyes.
She knew very well that everyone knew—
the reason she could act so imperiously was not only her outstanding teaching ability, but also her connection to Fan Yu.
Though she was the only one who thought her teaching ability was outstanding.
No one else agreed.
But in the past, they'd only said her teaching style was unsuitable or that her students had health problems. This was the first time anyone had said it outright.
"Huff... huff..."
Zhou Yi glared at Du Weilun, but his expression remained stern, devoid of any personal animosity.
Her breathing grew extremely heavy.
Blood surged up her neck, and the thick veins stood out,
but her face didn't change in the slightest.
She didn't think she'd done anything wrong, but now that Fan Yu had been brought into it, she understood that the Education Committee was serious this time.
With no choice, she could only back down.
"Grind, grind..."
The muscles in her aged face bulged as the unsettling sound of grinding teeth echoed faintly through the office.
Fine... fine, Shrek...
After all these years of hard work... this was how you treated me...
"Huff..."
A wave of coldness washed over Zhou Yi. She'd wasted all these years of hard work on ingrates...
"Fine... fine..."
She gritted her teeth. "Very well..."
Du Weilun had nearly run out of patience,
but he merely watched her coldly.
A silent confrontation erupted in the office, the tension pressing down until it reached its breaking point.
At last,
Zhou Yi could no longer endure it and looked away from him, her gaze full of hatred.
Her expression was icy.
"Bang!"
The office's rosewood door exploded, crashing into the gray walls on either side as splinters flew everywhere.
Teachers from the other offices came out to investigate, startled by the noise.
Zhou Yi turned,
then ground the broken pieces of the rosewood door beneath her foot
and left the office.
"If I receive another student complaint..."
Du Weilun's voice came from behind her, carrying an undisguised warning:
"you'll be taking a year off."
Before you continue