Shrek Academy

And so, the next morning arrived.

The three of them left their rooms right on time, ready to grab some breakfast.

"I kind of regret sleeping in the middle," Du Hao said, rubbing his eyes, feeling like his entire body was falling apart.

Being used as a human bolster by the two girls all night had been quite uncomfortable.

It had left him unable to get a good night's sleep.

"Who told you not to stay still?" Zhu Zhuqing replied coldly, looking just as listless; it seemed she hadn't slept well either.

"What are you two talking about?" Xiao Wu asked, her face full of energy, still as innocent and lively as ever.

It was as if she hadn't been affected by the lack of sleep at all last night.

Seeing the vibrant, innocent Xiao Wu, the "mining duo" exchanged a look.

They were suddenly overcome with a deep sense of shame.

"Alright, alright, let's just go eat," Du Hao said, forcing himself to find a way out of the awkwardness as he took the lead and headed toward the restaurant downstairs.

Zhu Zhuqing followed silently behind him, not daring to look at Xiao Wu, as if she felt somewhat unworthy.

"These two are so weird..."

Xiao Wu, who hadn't yet realized the severity of the situation, just followed closely behind them, completely unaware of what she had missed.

By the time the three reached the restaurant, Tang San was already tucking into a hearty meal.

Seeing them, he quickly raised his hand.

"Over here, over here!"

Once they were seated, Tang San looked curiously at Du Hao and Zhu Zhuqing, then back at the energetic Xiao Wu.

He hesitated for a moment.

"What did you guys do last night?" After carefully choosing his words, Tang San added, "You didn't spend the whole night cultivating, did you? No, that can't be right—why is Xiao Wu so energetic?"

Just as Tang San was lost in his confusion, Du Hao reached out to interrupt his wild imagination. "Don't even start; we just didn't sleep well, that's all."

He snatched a golden chicken leg from Tang San's hand and said while eating, "Hurry up and eat. We still have to head to Shrek Academy after this."

"Oh, alright then."

Having confirmed that the two hadn't been secretly working hard behind his back, Tang San felt relieved and continued to feast.

He had been stifled for days.

Throughout the long journey, he had only been eating dry rations; it was rare to have a good meal, so he had to fill his stomach properly.

And so, after the four of them finished breakfast, the three of them left the hotel and headed toward Shrek.

Having spent most of yesterday accompanying Xiao Wu and finding Flender's little shop, they had already clearly inquired about the address of Shrek Academy.

Leaving Soto City and heading south, they were met with nothing but neatly arranged farmland, but in this endless expanse of crops, there wasn't a single building to be seen.

Let alone any trace of Shrek.

"Brother Hao, we didn't go the wrong way, did we?" Tang San asked, looking around suspiciously, seeing nothing that even remotely resembled an academy.

To be precise, there wasn't even a single structure.

"Just follow me. But you'd better prepare yourself mentally—that Shrek Academy might not be quite what you imagine," Du Hao said, a mischievous look on his face.

When he was gathering information yesterday, he had already learned the true state of Shrek.

How should he put it? It might be slightly better than the original, but not by much. At most, it had a basic perimeter wall.

It barely looked like an academy.

"Alright then. I just don't know how much further we have to walk. Will we still make it in time for registration?" Hearing Du Hao say this, Tang San calmed down.

He figured that an academy arranged by his teacher couldn't be that bad, or so Tang San comforted himself.

"Right, let's pick up the pace, or we won't make it for lunch." No sooner had Du Hao finished speaking than his figure vanished from where he stood, darting off into the distance.

"Hey, Brother Hao, that's cheating!"

Xiao Wu and Tang San were the last to react, as Zhu Zhuqing had already followed suit.

Once they realized what was happening, the two of them immediately broke into a sprint, chasing after the pair ahead.

For a time, the country path was filled with the figures of people running at high speed; from afar, it looked as if the four were just chasing each other in play.

Before long, the silhouette of a village appeared in Du Hao's line of sight. He understood instantly that he had reached his destination.

"Oh my! Brother Hao, don't block the way!"

Just as Xiao Wu prepared to collide with him in a display of "affection," a gentle finger pinched the back of her neck from behind.

"What are you trying to do, Xiao Wu?"

Looking at Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes, Xiao Wu realized her plan had been seen through and tried to act cute to get away with it.

"Could you really not stop just now~"

Facing the young girl's attempt to act cute, Zhu Zhuqing chose to ignore her entirely, instead reaching out to flick her on the forehead.

"If there's a next time, I'm sleeping in the middle again tonight."

"No, please, I was wrong." Seeing that her cuteness had failed, the little rabbit immediately begged for mercy.

Watching the Kitten discipline the little rabbit behind him, Du Hao, who hadn't spoken, shook his head with a smile.

"This rabbit..."

"Brother Hao, what are you saying?" At this moment, Tang San also arrived by his side, looking at the village ahead with curiosity.

"Have we already arrived at Shrek?" Tang San's eyes turned golden-yellow as he gazed at the village ahead, examining it carefully.

Tang San tried to find something different about this village.

But no matter how he looked, the village where Shrek was located was very small, even smaller than Holy Soul Village.

No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like a place that would have an academy.

However, upon seeing a wooden sign beside the village entrance, it was indeed written with the words "Shrek Academy."

At this moment, Tang San finally fell silent.

"Brother Hao, why don't we just leave?" Tang San retracted his gaze, his tone resolute.

"Alright, stop with the snarky comments." Du Hao slapped Tang San on the back of his head and continued, "Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look."

At this moment, Tang San somewhat regretted agreeing to his teacher's request to join Shrek. He felt like he had been scammed this time.

Unlike Tang San's regret, Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu appeared calm, showing no signs of feeling out of place at all.

Xiao Wu even skipped over to the Shrek sign and kicked the wooden board with her foot.

"Is this the school the principal talked about? Why does it look so run-down?" Although she said this, there wasn't a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

On the contrary, she felt a sense of familiarity with this all-natural school, reminiscent of the Star Dou Great Forest.

As for Zhu Zhuqing, it was even simpler.

As long as Du Hao was there, she didn't care; it was all the same to her wherever she went to school.

"Let's go. Regardless of anything else, let's head inside and see." Calling out to the group, Du Hao walked toward the village first, with the two women following closely behind.

"Sigh, fine, let's go in and see." Coming back to his senses, Tang San sighed.

Since Grandmaster had sent him here, there must be a reason for it. Surely his teacher wouldn't scam his own student, right?

Self-comforting, Tang San followed closely behind and walked into the village.