Wildcat Academy

At that, Flender looked a little confused. Has the great name of my Shrek Academy spread to the ends of the earth?

Even Spirit Hall had heard of it?

"There is such an academy, but you're not planning to rob me of my last asset too, are you?"

Chen Qi gave a mysterious smile.

"We don't want some rundown academy. I mean, Flender, since we're already here, why not show us around?"

Flender finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they weren't after his academy, that was fine.

Qian Renxue toyed with the flower-shaped Soul Tool. Hearing their conversation, she looked a little puzzled.

Chen Qi seemed to know everything. Not only had he recognized Flender, but he also knew Flender ran an academy.

Could the two of them have some old history?

Thinking this, Qian Renxue hurriedly tugged Chen Qi aside and asked in a lowered voice,

"Chen Qi, do you and Flender know each other? How come you know everything?"

"Well, you should know about the Golden Iron Triangle, right? This Flender is the Flying Horn. There are plenty of newspaper articles about him. Just read them and you'll know."

Chen Qi continued to make things up as usual. As a battle-hardened university student from the twenty-first century, how could he possibly read something as boring as newspapers?

He wasn't a journalism major.

Qian Renxue nodded, still a little bewildered. She'd heard of the Golden Iron Triangle; they'd been somewhat famous back in the day.

She just didn't know why they'd suddenly disbanded.

She hadn't expected Flender to be the Flying Horn, one of the Golden Iron Triangle.

Watching the two of them whispering together, Flender hurriedly stuffed his little stash deeper into his clothes.

He was certain those two were up to no good. They were probably discussing how to make Flender go bankrupt.

"Um, you two, I'll show you around, all right?"

Hearing that, Chen Qi looked up and nodded at him.

"Good. Looks like you made the right choice. Lead the way."

So the group headed outside the city. The old site of Shrek Academy, the number-one academy in the world ten thousand years later, stood here.

"Chen Qi, why did you suddenly want to visit the academy he runs?"

Qian Renxue asked, frowning in confusion.

"Master, since I finally came out with you, how could we not have a good time? Besides, you wanted to come and see this place too, didn't you?"

Chen Qi's answer left Qian Renxue speechless.

It was true. Once she'd heard that Flender had an academy, she'd been quite curious.

She'd spent eight years at Spirit Hall, and the only academy she'd ever seen was Spirit Hall's. She knew nothing at all about academies elsewhere.

Soon, the group arrived in front of a dilapidated gate. The sign above it bore the crooked words "Shrek Academy."

Qian Renxue looked at the surroundings, thinking they'd come to the wrong place.

No matter how she looked at it, this didn't seem like an academy at all.

There were nothing but single-story houses and thatched huts. Anyone could believe it was a village.

"This is Shrek? It's a little too rundown, isn't it?"

Flender's mouth twitched.

Good land was so expensive. This place was a cursed plot where quite a few people had died before he bought it, but it was cheap.

He'd gotten it for next to nothing. It was economical and practical.

Flender thought he was a genius: spend as little as possible, charge the highest tuition. A true genius.

"Hm? Headmaster, you're back. Who are these two?"

A plain-looking young man inside the academy spotted Flender outside and walked over, asking in confusion.

Flender looked over. It was his most outstanding student, Qin Ming. With his talent, he'd be able to graduate next year.

"Ah, Qin Ming. These two have come to visit Shrek Academy. Quickly, get some tea and snacks ready for our guests."

Qin Ming nodded and hurried off to prepare everything without hesitation.

"Sorry you had to see that. This is my student, Qin Ming. He's nineteen this year and is about to break through to become a Soul Ancestor."

Qian Renxue and Chen Qi calmly nodded at that.

He was nineteen and still hadn't reached level forty? This academy really was full of useless people.

Qian Renxue thought to herself that she was only eight and already level thirty-nine. By the time she reached Qin Ming's age, she might even have become a god.

When neither of them reacted, the corner of Flender's eye twitched. He began to wonder whether they simply knew too little to understand how frightening Qin Ming's talent was—or whether they'd seen even more frightening talent.

Flender naturally leaned toward the latter. As Spirit Hall's cherished darling, Qian Renxue must have seen plenty of geniuses, so Qin Ming probably seemed pretty ordinary to her.

There wasn't a single decent path inside the academy. They were all dirt tracks, full of potholes. Some of the holes were wet, and stepping in them meant getting a shoe full of mud.

Every step Qian Renxue took was a gamble with her shoes and her feet. Fortunately, she wasn't wearing a skirt; otherwise, the whole thing would've been ruined.

Seeing her predicament, Chen Qi felt a little helpless. He stopped, bent down, and said,

"Get on."

Qian Renxue froze for a moment. She hadn't expected Chen Qi to bend down and let her climb onto his back of his own accord. He really was so considerate.

Her cheeks flushed slightly. She lowered her head and climbed onto his back.

Qian Renxue wasn't heavy. Carrying her felt like carrying a soft, fluffy marshmallow. It was pretty comfortable.

"Ding! Qian Renxue's favorability has changed. Current favorability: 660/1000."

Hearing the system's voice, Chen Qi nodded in satisfaction. This trip had been worth it.

Watching Chen Qi carry Qian Renxue, Flender scratched his head and wondered what their relationship was.

They were far too intimate to be just a couple, weren't they? Looking at them like this, Chen Qi really needed a shock.

"What are you staring at? Hurry up and move."

Chen Qi carried Qian Renxue over to Flender and tapped him on the forehead as he spoke.

Flender jumped in fright. After taking a few quick, ragged breaths, he gave an awkward smile and continued leading Chen Qi along.

As they walked, Qian Renxue noticed something strange. Apart from Qin Ming, whom they'd just met, there wasn't a single student in this enormous academy.

She remembered that at Spirit Hall's academy, students could be found on every street corner. But here at Shrek, even the broadest roads were covered in weeds, with nothing else in sight.

"Chen Qi, how come I haven't seen a single student?"

"Who knows? Hey, Flender, why can't we see a single student at your Shrek Academy?"

Flender was at a loss for words. Shrek didn't have many students to begin with.

The only student this year worth mentioning was Qin Ming. Sometimes, there wasn't a single one.

"The students went on a field trip, so they aren't at school."

Flender casually made up an excuse. Qian Renxue nodded, but soon noticed another problem.

"What about the teachers?"

Speaking of teachers, Flender remembered the pile of foot-washing coupons he'd gotten as a bargain yesterday. He'd given them all to the academy's teachers, who were probably off getting their feet washed now.

"Well, didn't I say they went on a field trip? The teachers went too."

Qian Renxue gave an expression of sudden realization. This academy really was a wildcat academy!