Beibei

Noticing the look of heartache on Yan Shaozhe's face, Feng Tianyu couldn't help but want to laugh.

As the possessor of the Bright Phoenix martial soul, Yan Shaozhe was truly short-sighted; given his own talent, as long as his strength improved, he would bring Shrek Academy returns ten or a hundred times over.

Yet Yan Shaozhe always appeared so stingy—did everyone who became a dean eventually turn this petty?

He was cut from the exact same cloth as Flender from ten thousand years ago.

Mu En was the only one who saw clearly, willing to invest heavily in him.

Although it was because of his talent that the other party was willing to spend the resources, one should judge by actions rather than intentions; even if only for the sake of that large amount of Whale Rubber, Feng Tianyu had to feel grateful to Mu En.

Feng Tianyu expressed his thanks with a proper attitude:

"Thank you, Mu En, and thank you to the Academy for the cultivation."

Yan Shaozhe twitched his lips. He thanked Mu En and the Academy, but not him. He opened his mouth, but in the end, only said:

"Mm, go eat."

Before long, Yan Shaozhe led Feng Tianyu to the cafeteria. The dining hall was empty, without a single table or chair in sight. There was no one eating, likely because everyone else was still in class.

Only one side had sinks for washing hands and utensils, while the inner side featured serving windows. There were eight windows in total, each marked with a price, offering different dishes that grew more expensive from right to left.

Feng Tianyu's mouth twitched. It was truly hard to imagine that this was the number one academy on the continent without experiencing the harsh conditions of Shrek Academy firsthand.

Even any elementary Soul Master Academy from ten thousand years ago wouldn't have been as austere as Shrek Academy.

Feng Tianyu thought of a viral image from his past life: "Sentenced to Shrek Academy to fight 400 people for one toilet."

It was used to mock the grueling conditions of Shrek Academy!

Feng Tianyu had his own guesses about this; perhaps Tang Jia San Shao had come from such an academy himself—eating without tables or chairs, and having to fight hundreds of people for a toilet while living in the dorms.

Having not seen much of the world before becoming successful, these things were vividly portrayed in his works.

Feng Tianyu felt a sense of realization. Most authors were poor; very few were wealthy. They wrote about poverty with piercing insight because they were truly penniless, while they glossed over wealth because they had never been rich themselves.

From Feng Tianyu's expression, Yan Shaozhe could roughly guess his inner thoughts. He couldn't help but rub his nose, explaining with some embarrassment:

"Tianyu, don't look at the cafeteria's conditions as merely average, or think it strange that there aren't even tables and chairs. That is intentional on the Academy's part, meant to temper the will of you newcomers."

"Our Shrek Academy is very pragmatic. We despise the extravagance and decadence of those so-called noble academies, believing that only under harsh conditions can a student's potential be unearthed."

"The conditions in the outer courtyard are like this. Once you go to the inner courtyard, you will know that the Academy's foundation is still very profound."

While speaking, Yan Shaozhe gave Feng Tianyu a badge shaped like a dark green monster:

"Keep this badge with you from now on; it is the symbol of an outer courtyard core disciple. Go get your food—get two portions. Show the cafeteria staff your badge, and you can eat the Academy's high-grade nutritional meals for free."

Feng Tianyu took the badge and nodded:

"Understood, Dean."

He ran to the leftmost serving window and showed the badge. It worked perfectly, and the cafeteria worker served him two portions of the high-grade nutritional meal as requested.

Feng Tianyu carried the two trays back to Yan Shaozhe. Just as Yan Shaozhe reached out to take one, Feng Tianyu handed it to Grey Wolf instead.

Yan Shaozhe was stunned, retracted his hand, and rubbed his nose in embarrassment again:

"Tianyu, I told you to get two portions, meaning one for me. Why did you give it to your martial soul? Can a martial soul even eat?"

Feng Tianyu suddenly realized and said:

"Dean, you want to eat too? I didn't think of that; I thought you told me to get two portions for me and Grey Wolf."

"Yes, Grey Wolf needs to eat too. Eating allows Grey Wolf to reduce the soul power consumption from me."

Yan Shaozhe was astonished. An externalized martial soul could reduce the host's soul power consumption by consuming food—this topic was certainly worth researching.

Then he watched as Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf walked to a corner, squatted down, and began to shovel the food from the trays, the man and the wolf devouring it with gusto.

This left Yan Shaozhe feeling sullen:

"This brat, I really can't bring myself to like him. I hate kids the most!"

Although Yan Shaozhe, as a level 95 Super Douluo, could go without food for a long time, it felt improper to just watch while in the cafeteria.

So, he went to a window to get a meal, and like Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf, he found a corner to squat in and began to eat.

This was Shrek Academy; even a level 95 Super Douluo, the Dean of the Shrek Academy Martial Soul Department, had to squat in a corner to eat in the cafeteria, tempering an excellent character through harsh conditions.

On the other side, Grey Wolf was eating until his mouth was oily, his eyes glowing, looking as if he would chew the very bones to pieces and swallow them:

"Delicious... so delicious... and after eating this meat... my body feels warm."

Feng Tianyu felt the same. A warm current seemed to flow through his body, nourishing his flesh, bones, and organs... Although the improvement wasn't immediately obvious, it was certainly of great benefit to his body.

"When I was getting the food, the auntie at the window said today's dishes are stewed Scale Dragon Pig meat and stir-fried Crimson Flame Mad Bull, both made from the essence parts of century-old soul beasts. They have great benefits for the body."

The man and the wolf gorged themselves until their bellies were round. The warm current in their bodies lingered, and they felt that if they seized the chance to cultivate now, they would surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.

After washing the trays and returning them to the designated area, Feng Tianyu brought Grey Wolf back to Yan Shaozhe.

Yan Shaozhe had also finished eating. He elegantly wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and glanced at the man and the wolf:

"Let's go, to the dormitory. The dorms are just in front of the cafeteria; just turn the corner after leaving."

Led by Yan Shaozhe, Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf arrived at the Shrek Academy dormitory, a six-story tenement building that housed nearly 3,000 students from the first to the sixth grade.

Looking at the dilapidated building, Feng Tianyu wore a mask of agony. He wanted to live in his own villa outside the school; he didn't want to compete with 400 people for a single restroom inside the academy. It wasn't that he couldn't endure hardship, but this was simply too much.

"Dean, can I apply for day-student status? I don't really want to live on campus!"

Yan Shaozhe clearly knew the state of the dorms. A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes, but his expression remained righteous and stern as he replied:

"Absolutely not! Shrek Academy enforces semi-military management. All students must live on campus. As long as you are within our academy, we must ensure your safety."

"Don't let the shabby appearance of this building fool you; it is absolutely the safest place on the Douluo Continent. The dormitory warden guarding this building is none other than my teacher, the Dragon God Douluo Mu En."

"Even a Title Douluo or a 100,000-year soul beast wouldn't dare break into this building to harm you."

Feng Tianyu scoffed inwardly. So, they ensure student safety inside the academy, but outside the academy, they don't?

He remembered that in the original plot, whenever Xuan Zi led a team to hunt soul beasts, accidents always occurred, and a pile of elite students died every single time.

Yan Shaozhe pulled out a set of keys and shoved them into Feng Tianyu's hand:

"Your dorm is 316. The fourth floor and above are the girls' dormitories. For any reason whatsoever, boys are strictly forbidden from going above the third floor."

"Go back to your dorm and get some rest. Classes officially start tomorrow. When the time comes, have your roommate lead you to the classroom for Grade 1, Class 1."

Holding the keys, Feng Tianyu inhaled and exhaled repeatedly, over and over... After fully preparing himself mentally, he walked toward the tenement building with the air of a man marching to his execution, resigned to the fact that from now on, he would be fighting 400 people for a restroom.

At the entrance of the dormitory, Feng Tianyu saw Mu En, dressed in grey, lying on a rocking chair. He took the initiative to greet him:

"Mu En!"

Mu En opened his eyes a crack, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile:

"It's Tianyu. Go get settled in your dorm first. I have personally selected a roommate for you; if you have any questions in the future, just ask him."

Feng Tianyu was a bit curious. Since Mu En had personally chosen his roommate, he wondered who it could be.

He then walked into the tenement building, followed the stairs up to the third floor, and found room 316. The door wasn't locked; it was left ajar, so he pushed it open and walked right in.

A gentle voice drifted over from the room:

"You must be my roommate, right?"

"Hello, my name is Beibei!"