Second Check-in! Someone from the Inner Courtyard?

"You don't have to be in such a hurry to hand me a good guy card."

Ling Feng did not leave right away. Looking at the innocent boy before him, he paused, then continued chatting with him.

"You're here for the entrance test, right?"

"Yep, yep!"

When the boy smiled, he revealed two rows of big white teeth. His honest, simple appearance made it impossible for Ling Feng to feel even the slightest dislike toward him.

"My name's Li Goudan. I'm twelve this year, and my martial soul is a sickle. I'm real fast at cutting wheat during the autumn harvest!"

"I heard Shrek Academy is the best academy, and you need soul power above rank fifteen."

"I just happen to meet the admission requirements, so I came to give it a try. Hehe."

Aside from the initial embarrassment after being bumped into by Ling Feng, Li Goudan had been wearing that guileless grin the whole time.

Hearing Li Goudan introduce himself in his local dialect, even adding a strange diminutive suffix to his own name, Ling Feng could not help but smile.

"Why are you called that? How did your parents come up with that name?"

"My ma said a cheap name's easier to raise..."

Li Goudan scratched his head, seemingly thinking Ling Feng was making fun of him.

"If you think it sounds bad, you can call me Little Li."

"...Forget it. I'll take advantage of you a little and call you Xiao Li instead, how about that?"

"Sure! Whatever works!"

After exchanging a few words, Li Goudan and Ling Feng instantly grew much closer.

"Have you registered already? I just got here, so I don't know the way..."

"I have. They even gave me a map. I'll take you there."

And so, Ling Feng, who had originally planned to visit Sea God Lake, could not refuse Li Goudan's enthusiasm and accompanied him to register.

The huge pile of luggage Li Goudan had brought was casually tossed into Ling Feng's storage soul tool.

Watching Ling Feng put all his belongings into the soul tool as though performing a magic trick, Li Goudan's eyes widened at once, looking like someone who had never seen the world.

Along the way, Li Goudan talked to Ling Feng about many things.

About his father, who had gone out to earn money but unfortunately died in the jaws of a soul beast.

About his mother, who had painstakingly raised four children by herself.

About his three younger siblings, who had no innate soul power and could not cultivate, yet were all very sensible...

Ling Feng could not help glancing at Li Goudan's face.

Though his life had been poor, Li Goudan's eyes were still filled with hope.

Under Ling Feng's guidance, the two quickly arrived at the registration area.

Li Goudan's aptitude was right on Shrek Academy's cutoff line, so registering was naturally no problem.

But...

"What? Ten gold soul coins for one school year?! I don't have that much money..."

Li Goudan, who had been full of hope moments ago, looked as though he had been struck by lightning. His hands tightly clutched the corners of his clothes.

"Don't worry. The academy has considered this situation, so there are special student loans."

The senior in charge of admissions patiently explained it to Li Goudan.

"You can owe the academy the ten gold soul coins for enrollment first. Over the next year, or even several years, you can earn it back by doing academy missions or other part-time work."

"You may not be able to earn that much money right now, but what about after two or three years at the academy? Once you have strength, earning these gold soul coins will naturally become much easier."

"While you study at the academy, no interest will be charged on this money. It can be considered a form of assistance for poor students."

"Of course, the premise is that you cultivate diligently and make sure you can graduate."

"If you are expelled for failing the assessments, the tuition will not be refunded. Any money you borrowed will still have to be repaid."

After hearing the senior's explanation, Li Goudan relaxed slightly, but the conflict on his face showed that he still had concerns.

Ten gold soul coins for one school year was enough for his family to live on for several years.

Ling Feng watched from the side and clearly saw the hope in Li Goudan's eyes gradually fading away.

"That's too much money. I've thought about it, and I'd better..."

"Here. Ten gold soul coins!"

Just as Li Goudan was about to give up, Ling Feng had already placed ten gold soul coins before the senior.

Firmly holding Li Goudan in place, Ling Feng helped him complete the enrollment procedures.

"Brother Ling Feng, you..."

Dragged off to the side by Ling Feng, Li Goudan looked at the key and freshman badge in his hands, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"Ah, just treat it as a loan from me!"

Ling Feng did not mind in the slightest. He casually slung an arm around Li Goudan's neck and patted his shoulder.

"It's not like you don't have to pay it back!"

"They're both loans. If you borrow from the academy and something goes wrong, what will you do if you can't repay it?"

"But if you borrow from me, it won't matter even if you don't pay me back for three or five years."

Ling Feng's generosity made Li Goudan's eyes redden.

"Brother Ling Feng, thank you so much!"

"Don't worry, I'll pay this money back to you."

"I'll definitely pay it back!"

Li Goudan suddenly dropped his accent and solemnly promised Ling Feng in equally awkward standard speech.

Finally.

After holding it in for ten seconds, Ling Feng could no longer contain himself and burst into laughter, prompting Li Goudan across from him to grin foolishly as well.

"I still have something to do, so I won't take you to the dorms."

Ling Feng took out Li Goudan's belongings, then fished another storage soul tool ring from his storage soul tool. He placed Li Goudan's things into the storage ring and handed it to him.

"I'm lending you this too. Just return it when you're done using it. I live in 108."

After pointing Li Goudan in the right direction, Ling Feng turned and headed through Shrek Plaza toward Sea God Lake once more.

It had to be said that Shrek Academy's scenery was quite pleasant.

At the very least, cultivating in such an environment would not leave one with nowhere to vent their emotions from excessive repression.

Passing through the woods beside the path, Sea God Lake suddenly came into view before Ling Feng.

A gentle mist of water mixed with fresh air washed over him, calming his mind considerably.

"I wonder how long Sister Luocheng will be busy."

"Since Sister Luocheng was called away by Yan Shaozhe, she's most likely on Sea God Island right now, isn't she?"

"I'll check in first."

After strolling along the lakeshore for a while, Ling Feng found a secluded corner and sat down cross-legged.

"Check in!"

As Ling Feng gave the command, the system notification sounded at the same time.

"Plot check-in successful! Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue has been issued to the system space!"

"Because the host has reached the level-thirty bottleneck, two God-Bestowed Soul Rings have been awarded as an additional reward!"

"Next plot check-in location: Huo Yuhao's grilled fish stall. Reward: one Mystic Water Pill."

This check-in took even less time, finishing almost instantaneously.

With a thought from Ling Feng, a piece of whale glue larger than his head appeared in his hands, nearly slipping from his grasp.

He examined the whale glue in his hands. It was deep yellow, translucent as amber.

Not only was the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue provided by the system of exceptional quality, it was also incredibly fresh, with almost no impurities at all.

"Such a huge piece! If I eat it all, perhaps my physique really will be able to absorb a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"

Ling Feng put the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue back into the system space, stood up, and stretched lazily as he considered whether to go to Sea God Island to find Ling Luocheng.

"Hmm?"

As he pondered, a red dot appeared amid the mist over Sea God Lake.

As the red dot grew larger and larger, Ling Feng seemed to realize something.

"It can't be this much of a coincidence, can it?"