Tang San, Han Li, Xiao Yan, Wang Lin, and Shi Hao Are Disliked

That evening, Shrek Academy, in a corner of the cafeteria.

Dai Mubai sat at the head of the table, his chin resting on his interlaced fingers, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"Is everyone here?"

Oscar raised his hand: "Wait, Tang San isn't here."

"I didn't call him." Dai Mubai remained expressionless.

Oscar froze for a moment, then silently lowered his hand.

Ma Hongjun gnawed on a chicken leg and mumbled: "So today is... a roast session for those four guys?"

Dai Mubai nodded: "Exactly. And since Tang San isn't here, everyone can speak freely."

Xiao Wu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but after seeing the expressions of those around her, she shut it again.

Although she felt it was a bit excessive to exclude Tang San, she... she did have plenty of complaints she wanted to vent.

Dai Mubai cleared his throat: "Those four, what do you think of them?"

Oscar was the first to speak. He put down his sausage, his expression as serious as if he were presenting an academic thesis: "That ugly freak Han Li, he's gloomy all day long, looking at everyone like they owe him money. I ran into him on the road today and greeted him. He just glanced at me—just one look—and I felt like he was keeping a tab on me in his mind."

Ning Rongrong asked curiously: "What kind of tab?"

Oscar spread his hands: "How would I know? But I just have that feeling. He's keeping track of me, my name, my face, what I said to him today. That guy is just too terrifying."

Ma Hongjun finished his chicken leg, wiped his mouth, and chimed in: "And that foul-mouthed Xiao Yan, has anyone here dealt with him? I had a meal with him once, and he spent the whole time blathering about 'thirty years east, thirty years west.' Isn't he annoying? My ears are calloused from it."

Xiao Wu interjected: "He seems to say it every day. I've kept count; it's at least five times a day."

Ma Hongjun's eyes widened: "Five times? That many?"

Xiao Wu nodded: "Once when he wakes up, once before eating, once before cultivating, once before a fight, and once before bed. Like clockwork."

Everyone fell silent.

Zhu Zhuqing was never one for many words, but she spoke up today. Her voice was cold, like a winter wind: "That lunatic Shi Hao, his fighting style has no rhyme or reason, and he mutters 'dominating the ages' all day long. I fought him, and he shouted those four words the entire time. It gave me a headache."

Dai Mubai asked curiously: "Did you win?"

Zhu Zhuqing was silent for a second: "I won, but he fought for an hour, and even though I was nearly exhausted, he was still shouting. Those four words were on loop in my head all day; I even dreamt of 'dominating the ages' that night."

Ma Hongjun couldn't help but laugh: "Zhuqing, you actually got brainwashed too?"

Zhu Zhuqing gave him a cold glare, and Ma Hongjun immediately shut his mouth.

Ning Rongrong was the last to speak. She hesitated, then lowered her voice: "That... lady... ahem, that guy Wang Lin, he's always talking about 'this seat,' 'karma,' and 'exterminating clans.' It's chilling to hear. I accidentally stepped on his shoe today, and he looked at me and said, 'The karma is set; this footstep of yours, this seat has noted it.' I was so scared I cried."

Xiao Wu was surprised: "You cried?"

Ning Rongrong nodded, looking aggrieved: "I went back and cried for a quarter of an hour! That guy is just too scary. He looks so handsome, but he speaks so terrifically, like a ghost."

Xiao Wu took a deep breath and slapped the table: "And there's more! The four of them are so disrespectful to Tang San, calling him a 'floor tile'! Tang San might be a bit... you know... sometimes, but he doesn't deserve to be called a floor tile, right?"

Dai Mubai frowned: "What does 'floor tile' mean?"

Xiao Wu: "It means the trash of the trash."

Everyone fell silent again.

After a while, Dai Mubai tapped the table: "Alright, let me say a few words. These four—one ugly freak, one foul-mouth, one lunatic, and one sissy—none of them are normal."

Oscar added: "And they don't get along with each other either; they argue every day."

Ma Hongjun: "But whenever they argue and Tang San goes to mediate, all four of them turn around and curse at Tang San."

Xiao Wu slapped the table: "Exactly! What kind of nonsense is that? Tang San was clearly trying to be kind!"

Ning Rongrong said softly: "Actually... I do think Tang San is a bit... annoying."

Everyone looked at Ning Rongrong.

Ning Rongrong shrank her neck: "I didn't mean it like that. I just mean, Tang San is always smiling and nice to everyone, which sometimes makes him feel... fake."

Xiao Wu opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again.

Because in her heart, she knew Ning Rongrong had a point.

Dai Mubai raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "My opinion is that we must drive these four away. They aren't suited for Shrek Academy. Let's vote. Raise your hand if you agree to kick them out."

Seven hands went up at once.

Even Xiao Wu raised hers.

Although she felt a bit sorry for Tang San, those four guys were just too annoying.

The next morning.

Dai Mubai took the expulsion letter signed by the Seven Devils and placed it solemnly on Flender's desk.

Flender was drinking tea.

He saw the letter, put down his cup, read it once, then read it again, and sighed.

"Everything you've said makes sense."

Dai Mubai felt a surge of joy: "So, Dean, you agree?"

"But have you considered one question?" Flender interrupted him.

Dai Mubai was stunned: "What question?"

Flender did not answer directly, instead calling out toward the door: "Xiaogang, come in for a moment."

Yu Xiaogang pushed the door open, holding a stack of documents in his hand.

He walked to Flender's side, adjusted his glasses, let his gaze linger on Dai Mubai's face for a second, and then flipped open the documents.

"I have observed them," Yu Xiaogang's voice was as calm as if he were delivering an academic report. "Han Li, martial soul Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword, a miscellaneous tool-type martial soul. His Heavenly Bottle can catalyze spiritual herbs, and his talent for alchemy is extremely high. I found some pill residue in his dormitory; the efficacy of those pills is ten times stronger than the best healing medicine in the academy's infirmary."

Dai Mubai's expression changed.

Yu Xiaogang continued: "Xiao Yan, martial soul Xuanhuang Flame, a mutated fire attribute. His strange fire can devour soul power for cultivation, and his cultivation speed is five times that of an ordinary person. If he maintains this pace, he will be able to break through to level thirty within three months."

Ma Hongjun's chicken leg fell to the floor, but he did not pick it up.

"Shi Hao, martial soul Supreme Bone, a mutated tool-type martial soul. I have tested his physical strength; it is comparable to a ten-thousand-year soul beast, and his physical body is still growing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Following this trend, his physical strength a year from now may reach the level of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Zhu Zhuqing's fingers trembled slightly.

"As for Wang Lin..." Yu Xiaogang paused. "His martial soul Heavenly Inverse Bead is something I still cannot fully analyze. But what I can be certain of is that he can manipulate the laws of causality. Do you know what this means? It means that in front of him, your attacks, defenses, dodges, and every change can be altered through causal interference."

A deathly silence fell.

Flender took a sip of tea and said slowly: "Any one of these four, if placed anywhere on the continent, would be a genius seen once in a century. You want to drive them away?"

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, his fists clenching until they creaked: "But they are too weird!"

Flender put down his teacup and looked into Dai Mubai's eyes: "Geniuses are all freaks. Aren't you all the same?"

They looked at each other, unable to refute.

Flender stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to them: "I will not drive them away, and furthermore, I intend to keep them here and cultivate them properly."

Xiao Wu couldn't help but ask: "Why?"

Flender turned his head and smiled: "Because the motto of Shrek Academy is to only accept monsters, and those four are the most monstrous monsters I have ever seen."

Flender relayed the meaning of the Shrek Seven Devils to the four of them.

Location: That dilapidated dormitory.

The four occupied different corners, some sitting, some lying down, their postures varied, but their expressions were uniformly indifferent.

Flender stood at the door, arms crossed: "The Shrek Seven Devils have submitted a joint petition demanding that you leave."

Xiao Yan sneered: "Oh."

Shi Hao rolled over: "And then?"

Wang Lin kept his eyes closed: "So?"

Han Li remained expressionless: "We are not leaving."

Flender nodded: "I know you aren't leaving, and I never intended to let you leave."

He paused and said earnestly: "But from today on, you must coexist with the Seven Devils. I don't require you to be friends, but I do require that you do not fight among yourselves, do not cause trouble, and do not tear down the academy."

Shi Hao raised his hand: "What if someone provokes me first?"

Flender thought for a moment: "Hit them back, but don't cripple them."

Shi Hao nodded in satisfaction.

Xiao Yan let out a hum: "I have no objections."

Wang Lin said indifferently: "This Seat doesn't care."

Han Li gave his final stance: "Acceptable."

After Flender left, there was silence in the dormitory for a while.

Han Li was the first to speak, breaking the silence: "I need time to study the rules of this realm. Do not cause trouble."

Xiao Yan sneered: "You say don't cause trouble, so we don't? Who do you think you are?"

Han Li glanced at him, expressionless: "I am merely making a suggestion."

Shi Hao said while hanging upside down: "I want to fight, fight every day, until I am the strongest."

Wang Lin said with his eyes closed: "This Seat has plans to lay out. Your affairs have nothing to do with This Seat."

Four people, four different hearts.

Yet, they reached an eerie tacit understanding: they would not actively provoke each other, but they would not interfere with each other either.

Because their goals were not on the Douluo Continent. Han Li wanted to go home, Xiao Yan wanted to become stronger, Shi Hao wanted to reign supreme through the ages, and Wang Lin wanted to uncover the secrets of reincarnation.

This small world was, to them, merely a stepping stone.

A temporary, not-so-important, but unavoidable stepping stone.

Tang San had been very unhappy lately.

He discovered a strange thing: the Shrek Seven Devils were no longer fond of him.

This morning, he went to find Dai Mubai for a spar.

Dai Mubai glanced at him and said, "No time today," before turning to go find Shi Hao for a fight.

At noon, he went to find Oscar for lunch.

Oscar said, "I have plans with Ma Hongjun," and walked away with his tray, leaving Tang San standing there all alone.

In the afternoon, he went to find Ning Rongrong to chat.

Ning Rongrong said, "I need to cultivate," and then actually started cultivating, leaving Tang San out in the cold.

Tang San stood in the corridor, the wind blowing through his blue hair, unable to stir the confusion on his face.

What did I do wrong? he asked himself.

Then he asked again, "What on earth did I do wrong?"

Xiao Wu walked up from behind, saw Third Brother standing in the corridor in a daze, and sighed.

Tang San turned his head, saw Xiao Wu, and his eyes lit up: "Xiao Wu! Do you know why they are ignoring me?"

Xiao Wu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to put it.

She thought for a moment, and in the end, she told the truth: "Third Brother, you might just be... naturally annoying."

Tang San's smile froze.

"What?"

Xiao Wu scratched her head: "It's just... you're a good person, really good, but you're so good that it makes people feel... fake."

Tang San's face turned pale.

Xiao Wu quickly waved her hands: "I don't mean you're fake, I mean, you smile at everyone, you're nice to everyone, you never lose your temper, you never refuse anyone... normal people aren't like that."

Tang San was silent for a long time.

His voice was muffled: "So, am I... a loser among losers?"

Xiao Wu panicked: "No, Third Brother, you're not a loser, you're... you're a very, very gentle loser!"

Tang San: "..."

This assessment didn't make him feel any better.

He looked up, his eyes slightly red: "Xiao Wu, what do you think I should do?"

Xiao Wu thought about it: "Smile less? Or lose your temper occasionally? Or... stop saying 'Resurrect, my lover' at the drop of a hat?"

Tang San took a deep breath, those words already on the tip of his tongue.

"Resurrect, my..."

Xiao Wu slapped her hand over his mouth: "Shut up!"

Tang San's word "lover" was stifled back into his stomach.

He blinked his eyes, looking at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu let go and put her hands on her hips: "Third Brother, if you say 'Resurrect me' while I'm still alive again, I really will go die just to show you."

Tang San quickly said: "No, no, I won't say it anymore!"

Xiao Wu nodded in satisfaction: "That's more like it."

Then she turned and walked away, but after two steps, she turned back: "Oh right, I'll make braised pork for you tonight, don't overthink it."

Tang San stood where he was, watching Xiao Wu's retreating back, his heart warming up.

He wanted to say "Resurrect, my lover," but he held it back.

Tang San took a deep breath, held his head high, and walked toward the training ground.

He decided that from today on, he would be a less annoying person.

Starting with not "resurrecting" anyone.

On the training ground, Shi Hao was fighting with Dai Mubai.

Xiao Yan was watching from the side, critiquing as he watched: "Your punches are too slow, your power isn't enough, did you not eat?"

Shi Hao roared while fighting: "Arbitrate the Ages! Arbitrate the Ages! Arbitrate the Ages!"

Dai Mubai was beaten back step by step, cursing: "Can you change your catchphrase?"

Shi Hao thought for a moment: "Suppress Everything!"

Dai Mubai: "...Let's stick with Arbitrate the Ages."

Tang San stood by the edge of the training ground, watched this scene, and silently turned to leave.

He suddenly felt that compared to these four weirdos, the Shrek Seven Devils' disdain for him didn't seem so hard to bear after all.