After finally getting rid of the ill-intentioned girls around him, Mu Guiyun was about to get up when, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted a boy lurking by the doorway, acting furtively as if he were up to something. That shock of blue hair was especially conspicuous.
Bei Bei?
Mu Guiyun blinked, puzzled.
Hadn't he moved up to second year this year? What was he doing in the first-year teaching building?
He glanced at the black-haired girl beside him, who still wore an expressionless face, and gradually came to an answer.
He rose and walked toward the door. Under Bei Bei's astonished gaze, Mu Guiyun smiled and greeted him. "Long time no see, Bei Bei."
"Mu Guiyun?! Why are you studying in the Outer Court too?"
Bei Bei cried out in surprise. They were around the same age, and since they'd grown up together in the Inner Court, they were fairly close.
As for why Bei Bei hadn't noticed him just now, it was entirely because Mu Guiyun had been surrounded by a crowd of beautiful girls—and because Bei Bei hadn't been paying attention to him in the first place.
At that, Mu Guiyun spread his hands helplessly. "It's a long story. What about you? What are you doing in the first-year teaching building?"
"Well, um... I'm just having a look around, that's all. Hahaha!"
Bei Bei scratched his head, his gaze wandering. He was obviously hiding something.
Mu Guiyun narrowed his eyes. Seeing how Bei Bei kept glancing toward the classroom, he suddenly tried him out. "Is it for Tang Ya?"
"How did you know?!"
Bei Bei's heart jolted. But when he saw the teasing look in Mu Guiyun's eyes, he realized he'd fallen for it again.
Damn, you sly old fox!
Though he had no idea how Mu Guiyun had figured out what was on his mind, Bei Bei still explained, "Our academy and the Tang Sect have been friends for ten thousand years, after all. The Tang Sect has suffered such a blow, and as an outstanding student of the academy, I've come to offer condolences to the Tang Sect's orphan. It's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
Bei Bei's clumsy excuse left Mu Guiyun speechless.
If I weren't familiar with the story, you might actually have fooled me!
You're so full of compassion—why don't you ask Mu En to teach those bastards from the Iron Blood Sect a good lesson?
In Mu Guiyun's eyes, the Tang Sect's decline was entirely of its own making. After Soul Tools spread across the Douluo Continent, the Tang Sect not only refused to pursue change, but stubbornly shut itself off from the world, until it was finally swept into the dust of history.
While the two were chatting, Mu Guiyun's deskmate—Tang Ya—slowly walked out of the classroom.
Seeing the two blocking the doorway, Tang Ya first glanced at Mu Guiyun without expression, then turned her eyes to Bei Bei. A trace of irritation immediately rose in her gaze.
She walked around them, and before long, disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"She seems to dislike you."
Mu Guiyun smiled. Tang Ya's reaction was exactly what he'd expected.
After all, her father had just died and her mother was gone, and even the old sect grounds where she'd grown up had been seized by outsiders. Where would she find the time for romance?
In the original story, the two only got together because Bei Bei repeated a year and spent several years wearing her down. Only then did he win Tang Ya over.
"Ah... hahaha."
Bei Bei looked awkward, standing there at a loss.
"Have fun on your own. I'm out of here."
Feeling thoroughly bored, Mu Guiyun waved and left Bei Bei with a dashing figure as he turned and walked away.
Alone, he made his way to the cafeteria. Looking at the throng of people inside, Mu Guiyun gave the academy a big thumbs-up in his mind.
As expected of Shrek Academy. The damn Outer Court cafeteria didn't even have chairs!
Just thinking about having to eat standing up made Mu Guiyun feel uncomfortable all over.
What's more, even the dormitories had no private bathrooms. If he planned to live in the Shrek Outer Court, he'd have to be prepared to fight four hundred people for the toilet...
This was the standard of facilities at the number-one academy on the continent. Believe it or not!
In short, the Inner Court's conditions were excellent, while the Outer Court's were as crude as they could get...
According to Yan Shaozhe, "These are the facilities the Outer Court has. Take it or leave it. Better yet, don't come at all..."
Having grown up in the Inner Court under the care of his teacher, Mu En, and several senior fellow disciples, Mu Guiyun knew some of the inside story.
More than four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent. In its bid to unify the continent, the Sun Moon Empire had resolutely launched a war.
Although the Sun Moon Empire was hopelessly weak in terms of high-level combat strength, it relied on Soul Tools to beat the three empires, each with their own schemes, into retreat during the early stages of the war.
In the end, it was the Sea God Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy at the time—a powerful figure with a Level 99 Ultimate cultivation and Ultimate Fire attribute—who came to the rescue at the critical moment. In an instant, he summoned more than sixty experts of Titled Douluo rank.
Under that great expert's leadership, the allied forces, which had been a disorganized rabble, united in an instant and utterly defeated the Sun Moon Empire.
That battle not only cemented Shrek's position as the continent's foremost academy, but also once again showed the world its terrifying unity and influence.
So, not long after the Holy War, following the death of that Sea God Pavilion Master, the four great empires—Sun Moon, Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, and Dou Ling—joined all the continent's top powers, such as the Body Sect, Star Crown Sect, and Mingde Hall, in putting pressure on Shrek Academy.
With its high-level combat strength depleted, Shrek Academy had no choice but to open the Outer Court.
Before that, Shrek Academy had no distinction between an Inner and Outer Court, and had only a few dozen students.
Whenever Yan Shaozhe brought this up, he would grit his teeth in anger.
Damn it! You told us to open the Outer Court, and we did. So where's the money?! Damn it!
More than a thousand teachers and students, along with all kinds of expenses, forced the once-wealthy Shrek Academy to tighten its belt overnight...
It was because of this that Shrek Academy gradually drifted apart from its allies of thousands of years. Even when the White Tiger Lineage had its throne stolen, Shrek Academy chose to turn a blind eye.
Back then, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the White Tiger Lineage, and even the Tang Sect had all lent no small amount of support behind the scenes.
After all, no one wanted a colossal force looming over them at all times.
And that laid the groundwork for Shrek Academy to take to the skies ten thousand years later...
Mu Guiyun arrived at a commercial street not far from Shrek Academy, picked a decent-sized restaurant at random, and went inside. He had no habit of eating while standing.
But as soon as he entered, he spotted an old acquaintance—his deskmate, Tang Ya.
"Wel... welcome!"
Tang Ya had naturally spotted Mu Guiyun too. The smile on her lovely face came to an abrupt halt, replaced by a trace of awkwardness.
"You're working here in your spare time?"
Mu Guiyun frowned, looking at the sweat on Tang Ya's forehead. He guessed the reason at once.
He knew Tang Ya had been poor in the original story, but he hadn't expected her to be this poor already.
This was the first time Mu Guiyun had spoken to her, and Tang Ya looked a little ill at ease. "I come to the commercial street to do odd jobs in my spare time and earn a little money for living expenses."