(P.S. Parallel worlds were mentioned earlier. The content of this competition is my own creation and differs somewhat from the original work.)
Time flowed like water, and two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
Over those two weeks, life at Shrek Academy remained as busy and fulfilling as ever.
Classes for the core disciple class proceeded as usual. Every day, Huo Chen traveled between the classroom and the cultivation rooms. Sometimes Ma Xiaotao dragged him out for a meal; sometimes, late at night, he returned to Homecoming Cottage in Sunset Forest to chat with the Ice Empress and Snow Empress, then returned to the academy at dawn.
Tang Ya had completely settled down in Shrek City. Aside from managing Tang Sect affairs each day, she came to see Huo Chen. Sometimes she sought his advice on cultivation; other times, they simply stayed together and did nothing at all.
Since that day, Bei Bei had never appeared before Tang Ya again.
Huo Chen heard that Bei Bei had recently taken on several long-distance bounty missions and left Shrek City.
No one knew when he would return, nor whether he had deliberately chosen to leave.
The days passed by peacefully until a notice shattered that tranquility.
That morning, the notice board outside Shrek Academy's outer courtyard was surrounded by people.
A notice bearing the academy's official seal had been posted in the most conspicuous spot on the board. Its bold black title read:
<Notice Regarding the Forty-Seventh Outer Courtyard Shrek Seven Monsters Selection Tournament>.
The news spread throughout the entire outer courtyard as though it had grown wings.
Students gathered before the notice board in groups of three or five. Some rubbed their hands excitedly, some wore solemn expressions as they calculated their chances, while others had already begun forming