Dean

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be the new students of this year's Shrek Academy?"

Before Ning Rongrong could take out her money, Flender brought up something else first.

He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, and his entire demeanor shifted instantly.

Better to swindle them first.

"So what if we are, and what if we aren't?"

Ning Rongrong tossed out bag after bag of Gold Soul Coins. Each bag contained one hundred, and it was simply more convenient to use small change in this bizarre little shop.

"If you are, I'll give you this crystal as a welcoming gift."

Flender watched those "fragrant" bags of Gold Soul Coins, his eye twitching uncontrollably. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't help but keep his gaze fixed on them.

This was a windfall of two thousand Gold Soul Coins!

But for the sake of Xiaogang's disciple...

"There's such a good deal? You guessed right, though."

Ning Rongrong's expression was strange. Could this profiteer actually have a change of heart?

Yet, Flender truly followed through, pushing the Gold Soul Coins Ning Rongrong had offered back toward her.

"Is this for real? Aren't you afraid we're lying to you? What if we're from the Soto Advanced Soul Master Academy and just pretending to be from Shrek Academy?"

"At your age and with your cultivation, you wouldn't even look twice at that Soto Academy." Flender smiled confidently.

He then adjusted the nose pads of his glasses again and spoke in a tone he believed to be quite imposing, "Besides, I am the Dean of Shrek Academy; I'm not so easily fooled."

However, the feedback he received wasn't very favorable.

"You're that Dean who will do anything for money?" Xiao Wu's surprised voice rang out at an inopportune moment.

"Who said that?"

It was indeed the truth, but just because it was a fact didn't mean it should be said so casually.

Flender's thoughts raced, and he quickly realized which brat had said such a thing.

Dai Mubai went without saying; he had always been respectful and even reverent toward him. Ma Hongjun was his own personal disciple, so that left only that rascal Oscar, who would gossip about him behind his back.

As for the other teachers, they were his good brothers and wouldn't speak so informally about these things to the students.

He would make sure to give Oscar some extra training tomorrow!

Doesn't this just mean he didn't deny the claim at all? Xiao Wu thought to herself, silently mocking him.

Still, this was fine; it meant she could successfully live with Xiao Jiu.

"You're really the Dean of Shrek Academy?" Ning Rongrong, however, was not satisfied.

Whether it was Li Yusong, who said he only accepted monsters during the enrollment, or Zhao Wuji, who later revealed his seven-ring strength, they both lived up to her expectations of joining an interesting academy.

But this Dean? A profiteer?

Well, he was certainly unique.

"Could the name Flender possibly be fake?" Flender glared.

Unfortunately, he was met only with silence.

"There's really nothing to talk about with you juniors. Take the crystal and go. Classes officially start tomorrow; remember to get some rest early tonight."

Flender felt rather dispirited.

It was true; after twenty years of seclusion, the Golden Iron Triangle no longer held any reputation among these eleven or twelve-year-old kids.

He lay back down on his recliner.

He left Ning Rongrong and the others staring at each other in confusion.

"I remember the name Flender being correct," Xiao Wu said, blinking.

She had been quite attentive to the Soul Power Level of the Dean of Shrek Academy back then, and she had indeed heard the name Dean Flender.

So he really is our Dean? Ning Rongrong's eyes seemed to ask.

She then looked around the entire shop.

The academy Dean wasn't even present for the enrollment, and he was just here selling this junk?

This was too bizarre.

"Still not leaving? I'm not providing meals for you here," Flender urged. He wanted to be alone to quietly nurse his wounded heart; he had just let two thousand Gold Soul Coins slip through his fingers for nothing.

"Um, we'd like to rent a house in the academy instead of staying in the dorms. Is that allowed?" Xiao Wu asked without much hesitation.

"Remember to pay."

As expected, Flender didn't care at all, as long as there was money.

If he could, Flender would prefer the students to cover their own room and board.

Although the Shrek Academy cafeteria was stingy as could be, even a mosquito's leg was meat; every little bit saved helped.

As for Xiao Wu and her group, having received a definitive answer, the Dean and his shop no longer had any utility, and they left Flender's little store immediately.

"That's great! When we get back to the academy, we'll find a few larger rooms," Xiao Wu said happily, hugging Jiang Jiu's arm.

They had already seen the dormitories arranged by the academy—small rooms of about a dozen square meters for two people.

It wasn't that they were bad.

If it were just the two of them living together, a smaller room would be cozier.

But if the rooms were larger, it would be more convenient to move around, and if the bedroom space was well-planned, it could still be decorated to be very cozy.

Ning Rongrong held the crystal in her hands, observing it carefully, but she still couldn't make heads or tails of it.

"The shopkeeper said he was giving this to us, so how should we split it? One-fifth each?" She looked at the others.

Xiao Wu didn't know what this thing was either, so she looked at Jiang Jiu.

"Tang San, you should know what this is, right? Judging by how you were acting just now."

Jiang Jiu vaguely remembered that this thing could be used to make Dragon Whisker Needles, but other than that, it didn't seem to have any other use.

"Oh, right! Tang San, you wanted to buy it too, didn't you?" Ning Rongrong had naturally noticed Tang San's movements earlier, but she wasn't in the habit of yielding.

"Yes, this is Hair Crystal, the most precious type of crystal."

"Moreover, this piece of Hair Crystal is a top-grade specimen, which can be called a Crystal Board," Tang San explained to Jiang Jiu.

"The most precious crystal? That's certainly worth collecting, but if it's just a crystal, then spending two thousand Gold Soul Coins on it isn't really worth it," Ning Rongrong muttered. Her talent for appraising treasures hadn't failed her.

At the end of the day, a crystal was just an ornament. Even if it were the best of its kind, it would only be worth that much—at most, a few hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Tang San opened his mouth, then hesitated.

"Does it have other uses?" Jiang Jiu paved the way for him.

Tang San naturally wanted to get his hands on this Crystal Board. To others, the Hair Gold inside was just an ornament, but in his hands, it was an extraordinary hidden weapon.

"It's not convenient to demonstrate on the street. Let's talk about it when we get back." Tang San nodded, then shook his head.

"Fine." Ning Rongrong put the crystal away. She was also quite interested in the other uses of this Crystal Board.

If it turned out to be even more valuable, it would only prove that her eye for treasure was good.

"Do you still want to keep shopping?" Jiang Jiu patted Xiao Wu's head.

"Let's call it a day. Jiang Jiu, didn't you want to buy new furnace equipment? After we buy the things, let's go pick out a house!"

Xiao Wu's interest in moving into a new home now outweighed her interest in shopping.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing had no objections.

When they arrived at the Blacksmith Shop and watched Jiang Jiu and Tang San skillfully chat with the master and the assistants, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but feel a bit emotional.

"Xiao Wu, your Jiang Jiu is really quite unique."

She liked wearing men's clothing, didn't pay much attention to dressing up, and enjoyed blacksmithing, yet her temperament was truly captivating. She possessed a mature charm that made people trust her—that was Ning Rongrong's assessment.

Xiao Wu blinked her large eyes, her gaze filled with smiles, but she didn't say anything more.