Tang San! The Enemy

"Su Chen, look!" Tang Ya's voice was much softer than usual, carrying a near-devout excitement. "These are the founders of our Shrek Academy and our most legendary ancestors! Every student who enters the academy must first pay their respects here!"

Su Chen followed the direction of her finger, his gaze sweeping slowly across the ten massive stone statues.

The front row of three, from left to right, was the legendary "Golden Iron Triangle." In the center stood a middle-aged man holding a scroll with a scholarly air; this was surely the master of theory, Yu Xiaogang.

To his left was a spirited and beautiful woman, presumably Liu Erlong. To his right stood a man with somewhat blurred features but eyes as sharp as a hawk's—Flender.

The seven statues in the back row were the "Original Shrek Seven Devils," whose names had shaken the Douluo Continent for ten thousand years. Each statue held a different pose, and even as mere stone, one could faintly perceive the peerless grace of those who had fought through countless battles to eventually ascend to the God Realm.

Su Chen's gaze moved rapidly across the ten statues, eventually, almost involuntarily, locking onto the third statue from the left in the back row—a young man rendered in a pale blue hue.

He was a youth with flowing blue hair, a handsome and gentle face, and a faint smile at the corners of his lips that seemed to encompass all things. His left hand hung naturally, while his right hand seemed to grasp at nothingness, his posture relaxed and elegant.

Tang San!

The possessor of both the Sea God and Asura god positions, the founder of the Tang Sect, the soul of the Original Shrek Seven Devils, and the high-and-mighty, control-obsessed law enforcer of the current God Realm.

Su Chen's eyes remained calm and waveless, but deep within, a cold ripple stirred. He would not forget the many "arrangements" and "trials" this God King had imposed upon the lower realm in the original story, nor would he forget his near-paranoid protection of his daughter and his methods for eliminating potential "threats."

He carried the inheritance of the Angel God and had intercepted the opportunity that originally belonged to Tang San's "son-in-law"; he was destined to stand in opposition to this God King in the future.

He would not, and could never, become a lackey or a pawn for Tang San.

Therefore, the person represented by this statue would only ever be his enemy in the future.

Tang Ya had been observing Su Chen quietly, her gaze following his line of sight until it naturally landed on the statue of Tang San.

Seeing Su Chen staring at the statue, she felt a surge of joy—after all, that was the founder of the Tang Sect and one of the ancestors she revered most. But immediately, an indescribable bitterness welled up in her heart.

Ancestor Tang San had founded the Tang Sect, shaken the continent, and left behind endless legends. Yet, ten thousand years later, she could only watch as the Tang Sect withered and declined in her own hands, with only her and Bei Bei struggling to hold it together, barely able to maintain even the most basic heritage. This immense disparity and sense of powerlessness caused a sharp pain in Tang Ya's heart, and her nose stung.

But she quickly took a deep breath, forced herself to adjust her mindset, and put a smile back on her face. Regardless, now was not the time for sadness; she still had to introduce the academy's glory to Su Chen.

She opened her small mouth, preparing to introduce the great achievements of this Tang Sect ancestor and the profound meaning behind the statue's construction with the proudest tone she could muster...

"I'm a bit tired today." Su Chen spoke suddenly, his flat tone cutting off Tang Ya's impending words. "Let's go register first."

His tone was not harsh, but it carried an unquestionable weight. His gaze shifted away from Tang San's statue as if it were nothing more than an ordinary piece of stone, not worth any extra effort.

Tang Ya was slightly stunned, the words on the tip of her tongue swallowed back. She looked at Su Chen's somewhat indifferent profile, remembering that he had just fought a five-thousand-year-old Red-Winged Dragon. Although he looked relaxed, his soul power consumption must have been significant, so feeling exhausted was only natural.

Thinking of this, the small flicker of unhappiness in Tang Ya's heart vanished, replaced by concern: "Ah, right! It was my oversight!"

Bei Bei also nodded in understanding.

Neither of them harbored any suspicion regarding Su Chen's interruption, naturally attributing it to the fatigue following the battle.

Bypassing the tall group of statues, the path ahead widened once more. After walking a bit further, a relatively open space appeared. On the ground, several long tables were set up, and a dozen or so boys and girls of similar age to Su Chen were queuing up, their faces filled with nervousness, anticipation, and apprehension.

Behind the tables sat several middle-aged men who looked like academy teachers, conducting registration and preliminary audits in an orderly fashion. Nearby stood several youths in yellow training gear with the Shrek emblem embroidered on their cuffs; they were relaxed, occasionally whispering to each other or maintaining order—they were second and third-year outer court students assigned to assist with new student registration.

Compared to the massive crowds outside the East Gate, this area was far more orderly. Those who had made it here had already passed the most basic qualification screening.

Tang Ya stood on her tiptoes, craned her neck to look, and then pointed to the middle-aged man sitting steadily in the center of the long tables, whispering to Su Chen: "Su Chen, look, that is the director of the Outer Court Martial Soul Department, Director Du Weilun! He is a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse! He rarely handles new student registration directly; it seems he's only sitting here personally because the enrollment season is particularly busy."

Soul Douluo? Su Chen's gaze flickered, and he took an extra look at Du Weilun. The other party seemed to sense the gaze 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 landed on Su Chen, a trace of imperceptible surprise and contemplation flashed in his eyes, though he quickly returned to his calm, unruffled state.

With the introduction and guarantee of Bei Bei and Tang Ya, two well-known outer court students, Su Chen's registration process was greatly simplified. He only needed to complete two basic verifications.

The person in charge was a kind-faced female teacher. She first took out a transparent crystal ball and asked Su Chen to inject his soul power; the crystal ball immediately lit up with a bright luster.

"Soul power, level twenty-seven. Meets the standard, excellent." The teacher nodded and recorded it. This level was definitely top-tier among new students, but by Shrek's standards, it was not unique.

Next, she reached out and gently squeezed Su Chen's wrists, arm bones, and other key areas to feel the development of his bones and his bone age.

"Bone age, around twelve years old, matches." The teacher confirmed again, her smile growing even gentler. Level twenty-seven at twelve years old—this talent was indeed worth noting.

"Pay the ten Gold Soul Coin registration fee. This is your temporary student ID, dormitory key, and two sets of white new student uniforms." The teacher efficiently handed the items to Su Chen. "Specific class assignment information will be posted on the bulletin boards in the dormitory and teaching areas later. Keep an eye out. Now, you can go to the dormitory area to settle in."

Su Chen took the items and thanked her. Bei Bei and Tang Ya also nodded to the teacher, and the three of them left the registration point, turning toward the path leading to the dormitory area.

On the way, Tang Ya acted like a dedicated tour guide, continuing to introduce the buildings along the way to Su Chen.

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

She paused, her tone filled with longing and solemnity: "Those who can enter that black teaching building to study are all the elite of the outer court. After completing their studies in the sixth year and passing the assessment, they can receive the official graduation certificate of the Shrek Outer Court."

"The value of this certificate is the highest in the entire Douluo Continent! No matter which country or power you want to go to in the future, with it, you will receive great respect and a better starting point."

Su Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the buildings. The white teaching buildings were the most numerous, followed by the yellow and purple ones, while the black one stood alone, yet it was the tallest and most solemn. This clear hierarchy invisibly motivated students to constantly climb higher.

"As expected of the academy soul masters yearn for most." Su Chen said flatly. This was not flattery, but a statement of fact. Shrek Academy had stood for ten thousand years; its training system, resource accumulation, and established reputation had indeed become a gold-plated signboard for soul master education on the continent.

"Of course!" Tang Ya puffed out her chest with pride. "However, there is a group of top-tier students who do not choose to leave after graduating from the sixth year, but will strive to enter—the Inner Court!" When she said the words "Inner Court," her eyes were shining; that was the true core and essence of Shrek.

As they spoke, they passed an area clustered with bulletin boards. A crowd of new students had already gathered in front of a brand-new board, discussing things animatedly.

"That's the new student class assignment announcement!" Tang Ya's eyes lit up, and she trotted over. "Su Chen, come and see which class you're in!"

She squeezed to the front of the board, stood on her tiptoes, and leaned close to the large paper filled with dense names, her purple eyes searching rapidly. Soon, she found Su Chen's name.

"Found it! You're in... New Student Class One!" Tang Ya turned back and shouted happily, but when she saw the name of the homeroom teacher for Class One, the excited smile on her face instantly froze. Her little face collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.

"Ah—!" She let out a short, mournful cry, turned around, and said to the approaching Su Chen with a miserable face, "How could it be the class led by that... that old... cough, Teacher Zhou!"

She managed to swallow the words "old pervert, old witch" in time; after all, criticizing a teacher in public had a bad influence, but the expression on her face said it all.

Bei Bei's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing the name Zhou Yi, clearly indicating he knew of her.

"Su Chen, you really need to be careful." Tang Ya leaned in close to Su Chen, lowering her voice with a look of lingering fear and concern. "This Teacher Zhou Yi has so many rules, and she's incredibly strict! Her training volume is massive, and she's always threatening to expel students at the drop of a hat!"

"I heard she believes in the philosophy that 'monsters must be cultivated using monster methods,' and her tactics are... well, quite intense. The percentage of freshmen who can't keep up or get expelled for various reasons under her is the highest among all freshman classes!"

She rattled off all the "terrifying rumors" she had heard about Zhou Yi like beans spilling from a bamboo tube. Then, looking at Su Chen's calm profile, she suddenly felt her worry might be unnecessary and couldn't help but chuckle. "But... if it's you, I don't seem to be that worried anymore. You're so strong; those training sessions surely won't be anything to you!"

She had seen Su Chen slay a five-thousand-year Red-Winged Dragon with a single sword strike with her own eyes! That kind of strength was simply incomparable to an ordinary freshman.

Su Chen's eyes didn't flicker in the slightest when he heard the name "Zhou Yi." He naturally knew of this person—a teacher whose teaching philosophy remained stuck in the "extreme suppression" training style from ten thousand years ago.

In Su Chen's view, her methods were less about cultivating monsters and more about the luck of being assigned top-tier talented students who then relied on their own tenacity and talent to endure.

Her so-called ultra-high advancement rate was built on the foundation of expelling nearly half the students early on—when the denominator shrinks, the percentage naturally goes up.

To be honest, this crude and simplistic approach was, in Su Chen's opinion, not even as good as Yu Xiaogang, whom he hadn't particularly admired ten thousand years ago either.

Although that Grandmaster's theories were somewhat rigid and his own strength was poor, at least he knew how to use medicinal herbs to condition his disciples' bodies and compensate for the wear and tear of high-intensity training.

"I understand, I will be careful." Su Chen nodded at Tang Ya, accepting her well-intentioned reminder.

Seeing his indifferent reaction, as if he truly didn't take Zhou Yi to heart, Tang Ya breathed a sigh of relief and switched to a lighter topic.

She patted her chest, which was not particularly ample but shapely and firm, and lifted her small face. "Right, Su Chen, Bei Bei and I are going to participate in the fourth-year advancement assessment in a bit! Once we finish, I'll come find you, take you to get familiar with the academy, and go eat something delicious! Shrek City has so much good food!"

Her tone was light and carried obvious anticipation. Her purple eyes blinked at Su Chen without looking away, as if waiting for his response.

Su Chen looked at the undisguised brightness in her eyes, paused for a moment, and responded concisely, "Alright. Good luck."

Having received his response, a brilliant smile immediately bloomed on Tang Ya's face. Like a child who had just received candy, she nodded vigorously. "Mm! Then we're off! Su Chen, you go to the dormitory and rest first!" She waved vigorously at Su Chen before turning around, skipping back to Bei Bei's side, and following him toward the senior assessment area, not forgetting to glance back at Su Chen one more time.

Bei Bei turned back to give Su Chen an apologetic smile before leaving with Tang Ya. He vaguely felt that Tang Ya seemed a bit overly enthusiastic toward Su Chen today, but upon second thought, Tang Ya was trying her best to recruit him into the Tang Sect, so it was understandable for her to be warm.