Next.
With Dai Mubai, a senior student, leading the way, they officially entered Shrek Academy.
As they walked, Tang San asked:
"Senior Dai, why haven't we seen any other students at Shrek Academy? Are there only the two of you left?"
"Ah, that's a long story..." Dai Mubai sighed at the question.
He then explained Dean Flender's philosophy.
The academy believed in quality over quantity, so at present, it had only three students enrolled.
Afterward.
Xiao Wu invited the two girls to visit Suotuo City and get to know each other better.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing couldn't resist an invitation to go shopping, and happily agreed.
Suotuo City.
After half a day of shopping, Xiao Wu and the others had grown closer and were no longer as awkward around one another as they'd been at first.
Sure enough...
Shopping was the best way for girls to grow closer, fast.
As they passed a restaurant, they spotted the chubby boy inside, stuffing himself.
Watching him wolf down his food, Xiao Wu couldn't help commenting:
"That chubby kid sure can eat!"
"So what if I'm fat? Did I eat all the rice in your house?"
As though she'd hit a trigger word, the chubby boy sprang up from his stool and looked over.
He wasn't fat. He was "burly."
Get it? Burly.
The chubby boy set down his bowls and plates, swallowed his food, and said to the three girls:
"I never change my name, whether I'm standing or sitting. I'm Ma Hongjun of Shrek. Now, tell me your names if you've got the guts..."
The Evil Fire Phoenix's drawback meant Ma Hongjun had to eat a great deal just to keep the evil fire inside him under control.
Over the years, that had made him rounder and rounder.
"Xiao Wu, you're back already? And who's this...?"
Tang San looked at Ma Hongjun, puzzled.
"You're the new junior students, right? Hello, I'm Ma Hongjun, your senior."
Ma Hongjun was the friendly sort, and greeted them without a hint of awkwardness:
"Don't let my round figure fool you. I'm actually pretty nimble..."
The moment Tang Wu saw Ma Hongjun's hearty grin, he recognized him.
Good grief!
Unless I'm mistaken, this isn't the Ma Hongjun from the original at all!
What is this? First a manga-version Oscar, and now a manga-version Ma Hongjun.
Could this be a fused world?
Tang Wu had already been wondering about it. Gangzi was still the same sorry sight as ever, but some of the others were completely different.
After his brief shock, he found himself eagerly anticipating what came next.
What sparks would fly when characters from the original collided with their manga counterparts?
The next day.
"The bed in this dorm is way too hard. I slept on it all night, and now my back hurts."
Tang Wu rolled his sore shoulders and complained about the living conditions at Shrek Academy.
There were faint dark circles under Tang San's eyes. It was clear he hadn't slept well either.
Hearing his little brother gripe, he nodded in agreement.
When they entered the dining hall, the girls had beaten them there and were already seated and waiting.
Looking at Xiao Wu's haggard face, Tang Wu chuckled:
"Xiao Wu, why does your face look so dark? Did you fall asleep hugging a pot of soot last night?"
"Oh, don't even start~~~" Xiao Wu replied with a groan.
"With conditions like that, there was no way to sleep last night. I only started getting drowsy when it was almost morning."
It was an old Shrek tradition. The dorms had been just as awful ten thousand years ago as they were ten thousand years later.
The ways of the ancestors must never change, huh?
As they sat around chatting and complaining about the academy,
Ding-a-ling-a-ling—
"What's that sound?" Xiao Wu asked.
"That's the bell," Dai Mubai explained from nearby. "It means the dean is calling us to gather on the training field."
They hurried to get ready. By the time they reached the training field, Flender had already been waiting for quite a while.
Seeing him, Tang San exclaimed:
"You're the shopkeeper from the other day! I never expected you to be the dean of Shrek Academy!"
The day before.
As the course of history dictated, Tang San had still gotten the Plate Crystal.
But this time, the Dragon Whisker Needle never got its chance to appear, because Tang Wu had secretly killed Zhao Wuji.
On their first day at Shrek, Flender didn't begin teaching.
Instead, after a brief lecture, he dismissed everyone.
Apart from Ning Rongrong and Oscar, the two pure support-type Soul Masters, who were ordered to run ten laps around the training field, everyone else was to meet in Suotuo City that evening.
Night fell.
When Tang San arrived at the Spirit Fighting Arena in Suotuo City, his brow furrowed.
Looking at the fighting ring, he felt deeply uncomfortable at the thought of being stared at like a monkey.
"Bro, look on the bright side. You get a free sparring partner, and you can earn money while you're at it."
Tang Wu tried to persuade Tang San.
A Soul Fighting match this safe and useful for practical training was hard to find elsewhere.
After all, bloodshed and chaos were the norm on the Douluo Continent. Fighting in a fair environment like this was the exception.
Hearing Tang Wu's words, Tang San understood the point and felt less resistant:
"You're right, Xiao Wu. For practical training, this is a pretty good place."
Not long after collecting his Spirit Fighting Badge, Tang Wu was matched with an opponent for his first bout.
Standing across from him in the arena was a man who looked to be in his thirties.
His arms were thick and his palms were covered in countless calluses. He was clearly a seasoned veteran of the fighting arena.
At the referee's command, the match began!
A cleaver appeared in the man's hand. It was broad at the top and narrow at the bottom, making it easier to put force behind a swing.
Zheng Huaqiang's Martial Soul was the Vine-Slaying Blade. He'd spent years fighting at the Suotuo City Spirit Fighting Arena, and wielded the Vine-Slaying Blade Technique with consummate skill.
That was why everyone who knew him respectfully called him Brother Qiang!
Tang Wu probed first, but before his Blue Silver Grass could reach his opponent, the Vine-Slaying Blade had chopped it to pieces.
"It's no use. Your Brother Qiang may not be good at much, but no one can beat me at chopping trees."
"Because I was born for this..."
"What the heck? Since when can Martial Souls counter each other?"
Tang Wu had been fighting for a while now, but this was the first time he'd encountered a Martial Soul being countered.
Unwilling to accept it, he activated his ability again. The Blue Silver Grass grew rapidly, but still couldn't get close to Zheng Huaqiang.
It hadn't even reached him before he chopped it into little bits in midair.
Just kidding. They weren't that big.
"This isn't an ordinary opponent. I'll have to hit him with everything I've got!"
With the odds against him, Tang Wu immediately changed his approach.
The Blue Silver Grass around him sprang up, forming a huge patch of tall grass.
The grass stood three people high. It could easily conceal one person, or even three grown men.
Tang Wu hid inside.
His enemy was in the open, and he was in the shadows.
Zheng Huaqiang charged in and swung his long blade, wiping out all the grass in front of him.
But Tang Wu had already hidden somewhere else and vanished from sight.
He'd turned it into a game of hide-and-seek.
"Hide-and-seek? That's a children's game." Zheng Huaqiang snorted disdainfully.
"Let's see how long you can keep hiding..."
As he spoke,
he cleared away every patch of grass that appeared in front of him.
His blade never stopped moving, sending grass clippings flying, and he refused to quit until he found Tang Wu's hiding place.