Shrek Girls' Group

Festive and joyful,

Mu Baobao returned to the Inner Court. Less than half a month later, the New Year arrived, and Shrek City was bustling.

The academy, however, was exceptionally quiet. As night fell, Zhang Lexuan dragged the brothers Mu Baobao and Mu Beibei away, saying they were going out for a stroll.

"Remember to come home for New Year's Eve dinner!" Xian Lin'er, their teacher's wife, called after them helplessly.

Along the way, they ran into Wu Ming, Hua Yao, Han Ruoruo... several Inner Court senior sisters. Mu Beibei called Tang Ya over, and seeing how lonely Jiang Nannan seemed, he actually pulled her along too.

Ma Xiaotao cast Mu Baobao two suspicious glances, pretending she didn't know him at all.

"Xiaotaohong, you spent an entire semester away with Junior Baobao. How come you don't know him anymore? Did something happen? Are you mad at him?"

Several senior sisters teased her. Mu Baobao's devotion was obvious to everyone. Even when these senior sisters practically offered themselves up, he never took the bait. Zhang Lexuan smiled as she linked arms with Ma Xiaotao, whispering something to her.

Ma Xiaotao quickly blushed and snapped, "Senior Sister, stop imagining things. There's really nothing between us."

Zhang Lexuan immediately put on a troubled expression. "Do you think there's something wrong with that brat in that department? Your Evil Fire has erupted so many times since childhood, yet he can still hold himself back."

"That happened?" Ma Xiaotao was dumbfounded and immediately believed it somewhat. Mu Baobao was speechless.

"Sister Lexuan, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm just pure-hearted and responsible, alright? Did you want me to become a scumbag like Dean Yan, leaving affection everywhere and hurting people? I'd get chopped to pieces!"

Instead, that sparked the senior sisters' interest. "What if we don't need you to take responsibility?"

Beibei had all his attention on Tang Ya, taking her everywhere to eat and drink. The senior sisters found that utterly boring, so they could only turn their sights on Mu Baobao.

"Ah, I really miss little Yuhao's barbecue. When he comes back, I'll make him grill me a whole tableful."

With milk tea in her left hand and skewers in her right, Tang Ya had Beibei paying the entire time. Mu Baobao could only call it impressive. Had Yuhao's grilled fish really turned into Yuhao's barbecue?

"Senior Brother Mu, you're really popular!"

Jiang Nannan silently followed behind them. She felt a little superfluous, and while the senior sisters' bold words made her blush, they also earned her admiration.

Shrek City at night, especially during the New Year, was lively. Inns, restaurants...

were all open. It was the best time to make money. Red lanterns hung everywhere, children played with fireworks, and the atmosphere was utterly warm and joyful.

Mu Baobao felt somewhat lonely. On Blue Star, he had never had the chance to experience this. It had been very lonely.

So he understood Jiang Nannan somewhat. They both had nowhere to return to, or a home they could not return to.

The weather had turned cold. Soul Masters feared neither bitter cold nor scorching heat, but to avoid attracting unnecessary attention, the senior sisters were all dressed heavily in trousers, padded jackets, and winter clothes... disguised as ordinary people.

Yet their outstanding beauty still drew plenty of attention. Whenever someone tried to approach, they met only icy stares.

Those people could only leave wisely. The senior sisters realized they truly could not tease Mu Baobao, this iceberg, into reacting. They could only move ahead and gather around their eldest senior sister, while he instead walked beside Jiang Nannan with a gentle smile.

"Lonely?" he asked.

Jiang Nannan froze slightly. "Ah, what?"

He waved a hand. "Aren't these senior sisters also staying behind? To be honest, there are quite a lot of orphans in the Inner Court, among both teachers and students."

"You could say everyone is huddling together for warmth. Since that's the case, why not join them? You can comfort each other."

Perhaps Shrek Academy was not as righteous as Spirit Hall, constantly safeguarding the continent's peace... It was even extremely hypocritical. Still, there were many orphans here, and many people no longer felt alone.

Huo Yuhao naturally regarded this place as home. Of course, perhaps that was also because they dared not accept people with malicious intentions, unknown backgrounds, or anyone who could leave at any time.

After pouring vast resources into training someone, only for them to return to wherever they came from, wouldn't that make them complete suckers?

If they were orphans and talented, then naturally the academy could safely direct resources toward them and waive their tuition, making them see this place as home and unwilling to leave. They really knew how to win people over.

"Little brother, don't cry! Big sister knows she was wrong!" As Mu Baobao pondered this, several senior sisters stopped. When he arrived, he saw a speechless scene: Tang Ya was comforting a child, while Beibei helplessly shook his head.

The senior sisters could not hold back their laughter. Tang Ya had become excited after seeing a group of children playing with fireworks and had gone over to join them.

The two of them had deliberately shared food and fireworks with the children, but Tang Ya mercilessly lit all of them, holding them in her hands to play. Other people were reluctant to light even one.

"What are you laughing at? Go buy more!"

Tang Ya stuck out her tongue. This could only be considered a minor episode, but Mu Baobao felt pained... The new semester would begin, and then it would be time for the Continental Soul Master Elite Tournament.

Tang Ya would take the chance to withdraw from the academy. When she returned to the Tang Sect ruins, her Blue Silver Grass would mutate... She would be taken to the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters and become the Blue Silver Saintess... As for Ma Xiaotao, during the Continental Soul Master Tournament, the dark attribute of the Judgment Sword would strike her and trigger a mutation into the Dark Phoenix.

She too would be taken away by the Holy Spirit Cult. However, because of him, she could suppress her Evil Fire at all times... Though they had not truly cultivated together, so it had not weakened much.

As long as they remained vigilant, the odds were low. And that eighth-rank Soul Tool, the Judgment Sword of Darkness and Light, made him extremely envious as well... He would absolutely seize it when the chance came. But he did not know what to do about Tang Ya.

Her determination to leave Shrek was firm. Although hidden weapons were completely useless before Soul Tools and could not halt their decline, the fact that no one had extended a hand when the Tang Sect was destroyed was undeniable.

What Huo Yuhao developed were all products combining hidden weapons and Soul Tools, not pure hidden weapons.

By Legend of the Dragon King and Ultimate Douluo, the Tang Sect had completely lost all trace of hidden weapons. They were researching all kinds of Soul Tool technology. The only remnants were the Mysterious Heaven Skill and the Six Great Arts, which had not been eliminated. Tang Ya should have been this innocent and happy, yet because her martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, she had been forced to shoulder such heavy responsibilities.

Tang Ya was probably suffering no less than Jiang Nannan at this moment. She needed to pretend to be as carefree as usual, or she truly would collapse.

The two brothers falling for two great Holy Spirit Saintesses... This script was painfully absurd. Yet they could only silently accept it and slowly change things. There was no other way.

The Shrek Girls' Group walking through these prosperous streets was incredibly eye-catching... They occasionally ran into academy students, but those people only greeted them and left, casting Mu Baobao envious looks. That continued until they encountered two people who invited themselves to join.

Spirit Department teacher from the Outer Court, Wang Yan.

Spirit Department student from the Inner Court, Chu Qingtian.

Wang Yan had graduated only a few years ago, but after becoming a teacher, his seniority instantly rose by a level.

Chu Qingtian, meanwhile, still had not applied for graduation.

Mu Baobao knew that this guy was waiting to confess to Wu Ming during the Sea God Fate Conference. His martial soul was the Lightning Demon Leopard.

It was a high-level agility attack martial soul. He had seen Wu Ming drag her severely injured body through battle after battle with soul beasts, driving away many of them and saving numerous students... and had fallen for this fierce woman. Everyone else was afraid of provoking her.

Wang Yan and Han Ruoruo had conducted martial soul research together for two months during the previous summer vacation. At first, he had not realized he liked her; he had only felt empty inside. During Huo Yuhao's Sea God Fate Conference, when he saw that no one had chosen Han Ruoruo... he felt his chance had come and confessed to her.

Hua Yao casually chose the boy who removed her veil. She did not even know who he was.

To put it bluntly, this had all been added to avoid making it entirely Huo Yuhao and the others' story... Shrek was not full of cowards. How could they endure for so long?

"Senior Sister Wu Ming, Senior Sister Han Ruoruo, come here for a moment!" Mu Baobao's eyes shifted.

A mischievous idea rose in his heart. He said something to the two senior sisters, then grinned wickedly. "When the time comes, I'll let you Shrek Seven Devils be embarrassed!"

The two women were inexplicably stunned after hearing him. Then, with dark expressions, they walked over to the men.

Han Ruoruo was alright. She and Wang Yan had spent time together already, so with her gentle temperament, she asked, "Teacher Wang, would you accompany me for a walk?"

Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian had barely interacted, but the Inner Court's living volcano lived up to its reputation.

She directly dragged him away. The two men looked at Mu Baobao in confusion. What exactly had he said to them? Yet Mu Baobao merely made a gesture telling them to do their best, and the Shrek Girls' Group instantly lost two members.

"What's going on?" they asked blankly.

"I merely brought about two romances. Teacher Wang and Senior Brother Chu Qingtian have liked them for a long time, but they never expressed their feelings. They can really hold themselves back!" Mu Baobao said. They simply did not know each other's feelings, so they had not pestered them.

There was no need to worry that they would become Double-Faced Turtles like Xu Sanshi and Qian Duoduo. Hua Yao immediately grew anxious.

"Junior Brother, what about me?" She did not even care how Mu Baobao knew all this, only repeatedly asked him.

"Senior Sister, I don't know about you. But I believe someone likes you too!" he said nervously. After all, he truly did not know this one.

"Senior Sisters, we probably won't be going back tonight. Let's hurry and eat New Year's Eve dinner!"

"Where are Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo?"

After symbolically buying a few things, everyone arrived at Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er's home for New Year's Eve dinner.

Tie Wuji was there too, along with several Soul Guidance Department teachers, including Huo Yuhao's teachers Fan Yu and Zhou Yi. Fan Yu had already been internally selected as the next dean of the Soul Guidance Department, while Zhou Yi was his wife.

With her gorgeous features, she appeared only twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. Her eyebrows were like spring mountains, and her appearance was soft and captivating. This was Zhou Yi's true face without disguise. She truly was a beauty.

In the Outer Court, she always disguised herself as an old woman. Because of her strict teaching and fiery temper, she was nicknamed the Old Witch.

Yet Mu Baobao respected her greatly. Everyone who could enter Shrek Academy was a monster, but she taught without discrimination... Raising monsters into monsters was utter nonsense. Turning trash into monsters was what truly counted as impressive.

She did not view students through tinted glasses. As long as someone was willing to learn, she would teach them. That alone made her outstanding.

"Senior Sister Han Ruoruo went for a walk with Teacher Wang, while Senior Sister Wu Ming domineeringly dragged Senior Brother Chu Qingtian away!" Mu Baobao said casually. Everyone's expressions turned strange. "Please watch your wording."

"How did those people get together?" Xian Lin'er asked in confusion. Mu Baobao could only explain the matter. Everyone was surprised, but they offered their blessings.

Qian Duoduo replied, "It's a good thing, anyway. Do you really want our Inner Court to produce a whole bunch of Saints and Saintesses? There'll be wedding wine to drink then."

"So let's eat. They may miss the New Year's Eve dinner, but they definitely won't miss the wedding wine!"

Everyone said this happily. Beibei, Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan... were still underage and could only drink fruit juice pitifully, but Mu Baobao was not so particular.

He poured each of them a small cup. "Happy New Year. You mustn't drink too much because you never know whether people outside are good or bad. The academy is very safe."

He and Ma Xiaotao were old enough, so there were naturally no restrictions in that regard. Still, they would not drink before people they did not trust... Blue Star had plenty to say about this. Who knew what those drinking buddies normally called friends might do to you?

"Little Mu said it well. Rules are meant to be broken!" Tie Wuji laughed loudly. Fan Yu, Zhou Yi... and the others all raised their cups to celebrate the New Year.

So this was Shrek? Mu Baobao thought. On Blue Star, he had never experienced this many times!

A group of people without homes had gathered together and formed a big family. Or perhaps they were simply huddling together for warmth. After finishing New Year's Eve dinner, they did not clean up.

This was an unspoken custom, meant to welcome another good year. They would only clean the next day.

"These girls are so careless. No wonder they might become Saints and Saintesses!" Xian Lin'er helplessly looked at the senior sisters, who were behaving very casually.

Zhou Yi pushed up her glasses. "Acting freely is a very good quality, isn't it?"

Tang Ya had drunk a small cup of wine and was slightly tipsy, though she was still conscious... She was counting the sparrows overhead, making everyone want to laugh.

"I've never had the time to discuss this with you. Battle Armor is truly an excellent Soul Tool. It can absolutely influence the entire continent. Mingde Hall will not be afraid!"

Fan Yu approached Mu Baobao. Although they differed by a generation, Fan Yu treated him entirely as an equal, even as a senior, because Battle Armor was too epoch-making... Qian Duoduo said proudly.

"Take a look at whose disciple he is!" Tie Wuji immediately tore him down. "You're his teacher's wife!"

"Damn it, you dead hammer, are you deliberately trying to make things difficult for me? It's New Year's, and I think you're due for a beating."

The two began bickering again, summoning the Wulong Shield and Black Steel Hammer as nine Soul Rings emerged... Fan Yu sighed helplessly. These two had always been like this.

"It's nothing. Since Soul Tool formations can be applied to weapons, then armor should naturally be possible as well. It simply places extremely high demands on metal quality and spiritual power... I only lacked the confidence to obtain precious Soul Bones, after all. Those things are only something heaven-favored geniuses have the right to possess."

Mu Baobao's words carried a hint of mockery, though in this life, he too was a heaven-favored genius.

"If you want to fight, get out of the city!" Xian Lin'er's Azure Flame Dragon roared around them, frightening the two men into quickly throwing their arms around each other's shoulders. "You saw wrong! We're core figures in making Battle Armor. Of course, our Baobao is the creator. We're like good brothers!"

The Martial God Douluo truly lived up to her reputation. Or perhaps female dragons and tigresses... were not to be provoked.

At the final stage, Fan Yu, Qian Duoduo... produced several cannon-like Soul Tools as though presenting treasures, though they were very small.

"These are fireworks cannons we recently invented. They can continuously release all kinds of fireworks. Don't worry, the materials are special... absolutely pollution-free!" Only bigshots of the Soul Guidance Department could casually create things like these.

The effect was quite good, and they could even set the shape of the fireworks. When they exploded in the sky, they seemed to trigger a chain reaction. Outside Shrek City,

fireworks also burst continuously. Colorful fireworks bloomed everywhere. Legend had it that a soul beast called Nian would emerge to cause trouble on this day, but it feared firecrackers, fireworks, and red lanterns. Thus, people would put on new clothes in advance and make all these elaborate preparations.

Gradually, it became a festival, meant to drive away fierce beasts and bless the coming year. It was also a day when staying up late was allowed.

With all this noise... only a ghost could sleep.