Tang San! Enemy

"Su Chen, look!" Tang Ya's voice was much softer than usual, brimming with an almost reverent excitement. "These are the founders of Shrek Academy and its most legendary predecessors! Every student who enrolls has to pay their respects here first!"

Following the direction of her finger, Su Chen's gaze slowly swept across the ten enormous statues.

The three at the front, from left to right, were the legendary Golden Iron Triangle. The statue in the center depicted a middle-aged man holding a scroll, with the air of a scholar about him. He had to be the theoretical Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang.

The statue on the left depicted a graceful, strikingly beautiful woman. That should be Liu Erlong. On the right stood a man whose features were somewhat indistinct, but whose eyes were sharp as a hawk's: Flender.

The seven statues behind them were the Original Shrek Seven Devils, whose fame had shaken the continent for ten thousand years. Each stood in a different pose. Even as statues, they seemed to radiate the peerless bearing of people who had weathered countless battles before ultimately ascending to the Divine Realm.

Su Chen's gaze darted across the ten statues, then, almost involuntarily, settled on the third statue from the left in the back row—the one depicting a young man, rendered in pale blue from head to toe.

He was a handsome, gentle-looking young man with flowing blue hair and a faint smile that seemed capable of embracing all things. His left hand hung naturally at his side, while his right appeared to be loosely holding something. He stood with an easy, unrestrained air.

Tang San!

The Sea God and Asura God, the possessor of Dual Godhood, the founder of the Tang Sect, and the central figure of the Original Shrek Seven Devils. He was also the lofty, domineering enforcer who now held absolute authority in the Divine Realm.

Su Chen's eyes remained placid, but a cold ripple stirred deep within him. He would never forget all the "arrangements" and "trials" this God King had imposed on the lower world in the original story. Nor would he forget his almost obsessive protectiveness toward his daughter, or the methods he used to eliminate potential "threats."

Su Chen bore the inheritance of the Angel God and had stolen an opportunity that originally belonged to Tang San's "son-in-law." In the future, he was destined to stand against this God King.

He would never become Tang San's lackey or pawn.

So the person represented by this statue would one day be his enemy.

Tang Ya had been quietly watching Su Chen, her gaze following his. Naturally, her eyes came to rest on Tang San's statue as well.

When she saw Su Chen looking at the statue, her heart leapt with joy at first. After all, he was the founder of the Tang Sect and one of the ancestors she revered most. But then an indescribable bitterness welled up inside her.

The great ancestor Tang San had founded the Tang Sect, shaken the continent, and left behind countless legends. But ten thousand years had passed, and in her hands, the Tang Sect could only decline and wither. All she and Bei Bei could do was struggle to keep it afloat; even its most basic inheritance was on the verge of being lost. The gulf between its former glory and its present state, and the helplessness it brought, stabbed at Tang Ya's heart. Her nose tingled.

But she soon took a deep breath and forced herself to regain her composure, a smile returning to her face. Whatever the case, this was no time for sorrow. She still had to tell Su Chen about the academy's glory.

She opened her mouth, ready to proudly recount the great deeds of this Tang Sect ancestor, Lord Sea God, and the profound meaning behind the statues...

"I'm a little tired today," Su Chen said suddenly, calmly cutting her off. "Let's go register first."

His tone wasn't harsh, but it carried an unmistakable firmness. He turned his gaze away from Tang San's statue as if it were just another ordinary stone figure, unworthy of further attention.

Tang Ya froze for a moment, the words dying on her lips. She looked at Su Chen's impassive profile and remembered that he had just fought a five-thousand-year-old Red-Winged Dragon. Though he had seemed relaxed, he must have used up a good deal of Soul Power. It was only natural that he felt tired.

At that thought, the little annoyance she'd felt at being interrupted vanished at once, replaced by concern. "Oh, right! I didn't think of that!"

Bei Bei nodded too, showing that he understood.

Neither of them suspected anything about Su Chen interrupting Tang Ya. They naturally put it down to post-battle fatigue.

They walked past the towering statues, and the road opened up again. After following it for a while, they came to a relatively spacious clearing. A few simple long tables had been set up there. A dozen or so boys and girls around Su Chen's age were lined up, their faces filled with nervousness, anticipation, apprehension, and every other emotion.

Several middle-aged men who looked like academy teachers sat behind the tables, methodically handling registration and preliminary checks. Nearby stood a few young people in yellow outfits, with Shrek insignias embroidered on their cuffs. They looked relaxed, occasionally chatting in low voices or helping keep order. They were second- and third-year students from the outer court, assigned to assist with the new students' registration.

Compared with the sea of people outside the eastern gate, everything here was much more orderly. Anyone who had made it this far had already passed the basic qualification screening.

Tang Ya rose onto her tiptoes and craned her neck to look. Then she pointed to the steady, dignified-looking middle-aged man seated in the center behind the tables and lowered her voice. "Su Chen, see that man? That's Director Du Weilun, head of the Spirit Department in the outer court! He's a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse. He rarely handles new student registration himself. I guess the admissions season is especially busy, so he's overseeing things in person."

Soul Douluo? Su Chen's gaze shifted slightly as he took another look at Du Weilun. The man seemed to notice and looked up. When he saw Bei Bei and Tang Ya, a faint smile appeared on his stern face, and he nodded.

But when his gaze fell on Su Chen, he paused. A flicker of almost imperceptible surprise and thought passed through his eyes, but he soon returned to his usual impassive calm.

With two well-known outer court students, Bei Bei and Tang Ya, to introduce and vouch for him, Su Chen's registration process was greatly simplified. He only needed to complete two basic checks.

The teacher in charge was a kind-looking woman. First, she brought out a transparent crystal ball and had Su Chen channel his Soul Power into it. The crystal ball immediately glowed brightly.

"Soul Power, level twenty-seven. Meets the standard—excellent." The teacher nodded and recorded it. That level was among the very best for new students, though by Shrek's standards, it wasn't entirely unheard of.

Next, she reached out and gently pressed several key points on Su Chen's wrist and arm bones, checking his bone development and age.

"Bone age: around twelve. That checks out." The teacher confirmed it again, her smile growing warmer. A twelve-year-old at level twenty-seven certainly had talent worth taking seriously.

"Ten Gold Soul Coins for tuition and miscellaneous fees. Here are your temporary student pass, dormitory key, and two sets of white freshman uniforms." The teacher handed Su Chen the items briskly. "The specific class assignments will be posted on the notice boards in the dormitory and teaching areas later. Be sure to check them. You can head to the dormitory now and get settled."

Su Chen took the items and thanked her. Bei Bei and Tang Ya nodded to the teacher as well. Then the three of them left the registration area and headed toward the dormitories.

Along the way, Tang Ya continued introducing the buildings as they passed, like a diligent tour guide.

"Su Chen, look over there. That's the teaching area." Tang Ya pointed toward a cluster of neatly arranged buildings in the distance. "The teaching buildings are mainly divided into four colors: white, yellow, purple, and black, corresponding to different year levels. White is for new students, yellow is for second- and third-years, purple is for fourth- and fifth-years, and the black one... that's the sixth-year building."

She paused, her voice tinged with longing and solemnity. "Everyone who studies in that black building is an elite among the outer court's elites. After completing their studies in sixth year and passing the assessment, they can receive an official Shrek Outer Court graduation certificate."

"That certificate carries more weight than any other across Douluo Continent! No matter which country or faction you want to join afterward, it'll earn you immense respect and give you a much better starting point."

Su Chen nodded, his eyes sweeping over the buildings. The white teaching buildings were the most numerous, followed by the yellow and purple ones. There was only one black building, standing alone, yet it was the tallest and most imposing. Such a clear hierarchy silently urged the students to keep climbing higher.

"No wonder it's the academy Soul Masters aspire to attend most," Su Chen said mildly. It wasn't flattery, just a statement of fact. Shrek Academy had stood for ten thousand years. Its training system, accumulated resources, and reputation had truly made it the continent's gold-standard institution for Soul Master education.

"Of course!" Tang Ya said proudly, puffing out her chest. "But some of the very best students don't choose to leave after graduating in their sixth year. Instead, they do everything they can to get into the inner court!" Her eyes lit up at the words "inner court." That was the true heart and essence of Shrek.

As they spoke, they passed an area lined with notice boards. A crowd of new students had already gathered in front of one freshly put-up board, talking excitedly.

"That's the new student class assignment notice!" Tang Ya's eyes lit up, and she immediately jogged over. "Su Chen, come see what class you're in!"

She squeezed up to the notice board, rose onto her tiptoes, and leaned closer to the large sheet covered in densely written names, her purple eyes scanning quickly. Before long, she found Su Chen's name.

"Found it! You're in... Freshman Class One!" Tang Ya called back happily. But as soon as she saw the name of Freshman Class One's head teacher, her excited smile froze. Her little face visibly fell, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

"Ah—!" She let out a short wail, turned around, and greeted Su Chen with a long face. "How could it be Zhou Yi's... that... old... ahem, Teacher Zhou's class?"

She stopped herself just in time before saying "old freak" and "old witch." Speaking ill of a teacher in public wouldn't be appropriate, but her expression said it all.

At the name Zhou Yi, Bei Bei's brows furrowed slightly too. He clearly knew something about her.

"Su Chen, you'd better be careful." Tang Ya leaned closer and lowered her voice, her face full of concern and lingering dread. "Teacher Zhou Yi has loads of rules, and she's incredibly strict! The training is brutal, and she threatens to expel students at the drop of a hat!"

"I heard she believes in something like, 'If you want to train a monster, you have to use a monster's methods.' Her methods... well, they're pretty extreme. The proportion of new students who can't stick it out under her or get expelled for one reason or another is the highest of all the classes!"

She rattled off all the terrifying rumors she'd heard about Zhou Yi. Then, looking at Su Chen's calm profile, she suddenly felt her worry was unnecessary and couldn't help giggling. "But... if it's you, I don't think I'm all that worried after all. You're so strong. That training probably won't be much for you!"

She had seen Su Chen kill a five-thousand-year-old Red-Winged Dragon with a single sword strike! His strength was nothing like that of an ordinary new student.

Su Chen showed no reaction at all when he heard the name Zhou Yi. He naturally knew who she was: a teacher whose teaching philosophy was still stuck in the "extreme, squeeze-them-dry training" of ten thousand years ago.

In Su Chen's view, rather than training monsters, her methods relied on her being lucky enough to have students with top-tier talent, who could then grit their teeth and endure through sheer determination and natural ability.

Her supposedly exceptional advancement rate was built on expelling nearly half the students right at the start. Make the denominator smaller, and of course the proportion would look higher.

Honestly, in Su Chen's eyes, that crude approach was even worse than Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's, whom he hadn't particularly admired even ten thousand years ago.

That Grandmaster's theories might have been rigid and his own strength weak, but at least he knew to use medicine to condition his disciples' bodies and make up for the toll of intensive training.

"I understand. I'll be careful." Su Chen nodded to Tang Ya, accepting her well-meant warning.

Seeing how calmly he responded, as if he really didn't take Zhou Yi seriously, Tang Ya relaxed and changed the subject to something more cheerful.

She patted her chest—not particularly full, but nicely shaped—and raised her chin. "By the way, Su Chen, Bei Bei and I have a fourth-year advancement assessment to take soon! Once we're done, I'll come find you, show you around the academy, and take you to eat something delicious! There's tons of great food in Shrek City!"

Her voice was bright with anticipation. She gazed at Su Chen with unblinking purple eyes, seemingly waiting for his answer.

Su Chen met her gaze, the light in her eyes utterly undisguised. After a brief pause, he replied simply, "All right. Good luck."

Tang Ya's face immediately blossomed into a radiant smile, like a child who'd just been given candy. She nodded vigorously. "Okay! We'll be off, then! You should go rest in the dormitory, Su Chen!" She waved enthusiastically at him, then turned and bounded back to Bei Bei. Together, they headed toward the upper-year assessment area, and she couldn't resist looking back at Su Chen once more.

Bei Bei glanced back and gave Su Chen an apologetic smile before leaving with Tang Ya. He had a vague feeling that Tang Ya seemed a little too enthusiastic toward Su Chen today. But then he thought of how she was trying her hardest to recruit Su Chen into the Tang Sect, so it was only natural that she'd act especially warm toward him.