Pheasant Academy

Flender was somewhat puzzled by this, wondering if the great name of his Shrek had already spread to the ends of the earth.

Could Spirit Hall actually know about it?

"There is indeed such an academy, but you aren't planning to snatch away my final assets, are you!"

Chen Qi smiled mysteriously upon hearing this.

"We don't want a broken-down academy. My point is, Flender, since we're already here, why don't you take us around for a look?"

Flender breathed a sigh of relief; as long as they weren't eyeing his academy, everything was fine.

Qian Renxue was fiddling with a flower-shaped soul tool, and hearing their conversation, she felt a bit confused.

She felt as if Chen Qi knew everything; not only did he recognize Flender, but he also knew he ran an academy under his name.

Could the two of them have some sort of history?

Thinking of this, Qian Renxue quickly pulled Chen Qi aside and lowered her voice to ask.

"Chen Qi, do you and Flender have some kind of friendship? How do you know everything?"

"Well, you should know about the Golden Iron Triangle, right? This Flender is the Flying Horn. There are many newspapers with information about him; you'd know if you just took a look."

Chen Qi was making things up as usual. As a die-hard college student from the twenty-first century, how could he possibly read something as incredibly boring as a newspaper?

He wasn't a journalism major, after all.

Qian Renxue nodded blankly. She had heard of the Golden Iron Triangle; they were quite famous back in the day.

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

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

Flender watched the two of them whispering and conspiring, and he quickly shoved his small treasury deeper into his clothes.

He was certain these two were up to no good; they were likely discussing how to make Flender lose his entire fortune.

"Um, you two, I'll take you there, alright?"

Chen Qi looked up and nodded at him.

"Good, it seems you've made the right choice. Lead the way."

And so, the group headed toward the outskirts of the city, where the site of the Shrek Academy—the greatest academy in the world ten thousand years later—was built.

"Chen Qi, why did you suddenly want to come to the academy he opened?"

Qian Renxue frowned and asked in confusion.

"Master, since I've come out with you once, how could I not have a good time? Besides, you also wanted to come here and see it, right, Master?"

Chen Qi's answer left Qian Renxue speechless.

Indeed, after hearing that Flender had an academy, Qian Renxue was quite curious.

She had spent eight years in Spirit Hall, and the only academy she had ever seen was the one belonging to Spirit Hall; she had no knowledge of academies in the outside world.

Soon, the group arrived in front of a dilapidated gate, with "Shrek Academy" written crookedly on the sign.

Qian Renxue looked at the surrounding environment, thinking they had come to the wrong place.

From every angle, this didn't look like an academy at all.

It was all single-story houses and thatched huts; people would believe you if you called it a village.

"This is Shrek? Isn't it a bit too broken?"

Flender's mouth twitched at the remark.

Good land was expensive, and although this was a cursed place where many had died before he bought it, it was cheap.

He could easily secure it for a small amount of money; it was economical and practical.

Flender felt he was truly a genius—spending the least amount of money while charging the highest tuition. He was a genius.

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

A plain-looking youth inside the academy saw Flender outside and walked over to ask, puzzled.

Flender looked over and saw it was his most promising student, Qin Ming, who, given his talent, would be able to graduate smoothly next year.

"Ah, Qin Ming. These two are guests visiting our Shrek Academy. Hurry and prepare some tea and snacks to entertain them."

Qin Ming nodded and, without hesitation, ran off to prepare the items.

"Pardon the poor hospitality, you two. This is my student, Qin Ming. He is nineteen this year and is about to break through to become a Soul Ancestor."

Qian Renxue and Chen Qi nodded calmly upon hearing this.

Nineteen years old and not even level 40? This academy was truly full of trash.

Qian Renxue thought to herself. She was only eight years old and already level 39; by the time she reached Qin Ming's age, she might even be a god.

Seeing that the two had no reaction, Flender's eye twitched. He began to wonder if they were shallow and ignorant of Qin Ming's terrifying talent, or if they had seen even more terrifying talent before.

Flender naturally leaned toward the latter. As the apple of Spirit Hall's eye, Qian Renxue must have seen many geniuses, so Qin Ming appeared rather mediocre to her.

There wasn't a single decent road inside the academy; they were all dirt paths full of potholes, some of which were wet and muddy, leaving a footprint of sludge with every step.

Every step Qian Renxue took was a gamble with her shoes and her feet; fortunately, she wasn't wearing a skirt, or the entire thing would have been ruined.

Seeing her state, Chen Qi felt a bit helpless, so he stopped in his tracks, leaned over, and said, "Get on."

Qian Renxue was stunned at the sight. She hadn't expected Chen Qi to take the initiative to bend over and let her climb on; he was truly sensible.

Her face flushed slightly as she lowered her head and climbed onto his back.

Qian Renxue's body wasn't heavy; carrying her felt like carrying a marshmallow—soft and quite comfortable.

Ding, change in Qian Renxue's favorability detected. Current favorability: 660/1000.

Hearing the system's voice, Chen Qi nodded with satisfaction. This trip was worth it.

Flender watched Chen Qi carrying Qian Renxue and scratched his head, wondering what kind of relationship they actually had.

This level of intimacy couldn't possibly be that of a boyfriend and girlfriend, could it? Looking at it this way, Chen Qi really deserved a shock.

"What are you looking at? Let's go."

Chen Qi carried Qian Renxue up to Flender, patted him on the forehead, and spoke.

Flender was startled, took a few quick breaths, then gave an awkward laugh and continued leading the way for Chen Qi.

As they walked, Qian Renxue noticed a problem: apart from the Qin Ming they had just seen, there wasn't a single student in the massive academy.

She remembered that at the Spirit Hall academy, students could be found on every street corner. In contrast, here at Shrek, no matter how wide the streets were, there was nothing but weeds covering the ground and nothing else.

"Chen Qi, why haven't I seen even a single student?"

"Who knows? Hey, Flender, why is it that you can't even see a student here at Shrek?"

Flender was at a loss for words upon hearing this; Shrek hadn't had many students to begin with.

The only one worth mentioning in this current batch was Qin Ming, and sometimes there wasn't even a single one.

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

Flender casually made up an excuse to brush her off. Qian Renxue nodded upon hearing this, but soon she discovered another problem.

"What about the teachers?"

Speaking of teachers, Flender remembered that he had struck a bargain yesterday and obtained a large stack of foot-washing vouchers, which he had given to all the academy's teachers. They should all be out getting their feet washed right now.

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

Qian Renxue wore an expression of sudden realization. This academy was truly a bush-league institution!