A Gathering of Monsters at Shrek's Gates

Zhu Zhuqing...

The man you found was indeed strong.

But did that mean our engagement was truly over?

He clenched his fists, then loosened them. He pushed open the dormitory door and walked inside.

Behind him, on the training ground, Flander watched Dai Mubai's retreating figure vanish into the distance and quietly said to Zhao Wuji, "Tomorrow morning, come wait at the school gate with me. In all my life, I've only personally seen a few people capable of beating Dai Mubai that badly."

Zhao Wuji grinned, exposing two rows of white teeth. "Fine. I'd like to see which little monster turned the White Tiger into a sickly cat."

The training ground of Shrek Academy fell silent beneath the night sky.

Only the tattered flag atop the fence snapped in the night wind, like a silent invitation awaiting the young faces that would arrive tomorrow.

Not long after the lights in room 307 of the Rose Hotel went out, even breathing filled the room.

Xiao Wu was the first to fall asleep. Her carefree nature was almost admirable; after turning over once, she kicked her blanket down to the foot of the bed. Tang San sat on the bed by the window, meditating, his breaths long and steady. Zhu Zhuqing lay wrapped in her blanket with her back to the others, utterly still, but Yun Tian knew she was not asleep.

The tense line of her shoulders gave her away.

Yun Tian lay with his arm beneath his head, staring at the ceiling. Moonlight slipped through a gap in the curtains, casting a narrow silver-white streak across it.

A great deal had happened today. He had saved Zhu Zhuqing outside the Star Dou Great Forest, then fought Dai Mubai in the hotel lobby that night.

That blond, heterochromatic-eyed youth might have been somewhat spoiled and debauched, but he truly possessed an unyielding spirit. Even after being beaten so badly, he had not uttered a single weak word. In the end, he had merely left in silence.

Tomorrow, they would be heading to Shrek Academy.

At that academy which claimed to "accept only monsters," he would probably meet everyone he was supposed to meet.

Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, Flander, Zhao Wuji... and Dai Mubai, whom he had fought today.

He wondered what expression the young master with the White Tiger martial soul would wear when they met tomorrow.

Yun Tian turned over and closed his eyes.

As the night deepened, the wind of Soto City squeezed in through the window crack, carrying the chill of late autumn.

By the time sunlight streamed into the room the next morning, Zhu Zhuqing's bed was already empty.

When Yun Tian woke up, he saw her standing by the window, her slender outline traced by the morning light.

She had changed into a clean set of black leather clothes, and her hair had been tidied up again. She looked far more refreshed, though her feline eyes still carried the lingering coldness of last night.

"Awake?" Zhu Zhuqing did not turn around, her voice calm. "Xiao Wu and Tang San are still asleep."

Yun Tian gave a quiet acknowledgment and got up to wash.

By the time he had woken Tang San and Xiao Wu, and the four of them had finished breakfast, packed up, and headed out, the sun had fully risen.

More and more pedestrians filled the streets of Soto City. Breakfast stalls sent up clouds of steam, and the fragrance of fried dough sticks and soy milk lingered in the air.

Xiao Wu walked along while chewing on a freshly baked sweet pancake, her cheeks puffed out. No one could tell that she had gone through so much yesterday.

Shrek Academy was even more remote than they had imagined.

After passing through an alley full of broken stones and circling around a patch of muddy ground, they finally saw a crooked ring of bamboo fencing ahead.

A worn wooden board hung above the fence gate, with the words "Shrek Academy" scrawled in red paint. More than half the paint had peeled away, making the place look utterly shabby.

But several people were already standing in front of the gate.

A tall youth with blond hair and mismatched eyes leaned against a fence post with his arms crossed, his expression somewhat complicated.

He had changed into a clean black combat outfit. The swelling at the corner of his mouth had gone down, but his gaze toward Yun Tian and the others still held an indescribable meaning.

Dai Mubai.

Beside him squatted a chubby boy with a head full of messy red hair, a grass stem dangling from his mouth as he boredly sized up the approaching group of four. A young man with a face full of stubble stood farther away, holding a sausage and eating it with relish, though his gaze curiously drifted over this group of peers.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

At the center of the fence gate stood two middle-aged men, one tall and one short.

The taller man wore round-framed glasses, his hands tucked into his sleeves and a crafty smile at the corners of his mouth. The short, stout man stood with his arms crossed, his bell-like eyes sweeping over the four youths who had just arrived like searchlights.

Flander and Zhao Wuji.

"You're here." Dai Mubai spoke first, his voice quiet and tinged with complicated emotions.

His gaze passed over Yun Tian and Tang San before landing on Zhu Zhuqing at the back. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

Zhu Zhuqing coldly looked away, as though she had not seen him at all.

Yun Tian had expected this scene. Without changing expression, he stepped forward. "We're here to register. Four of us."

Flander pushed up his glasses, his gaze pausing on Yun Tian for a moment.

The "four-ring Soul Ancestor with four purple soul rings" Dai Mubai had described last night now stood before him. Though Yun Tian had concealed his soul power extremely well, the mountain-like steadiness of his presence could not escape Flander's eyes.

Flander already had an answer in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged. "You know Shrek's rules, right? No older than thirteen, and soul power no lower than rank twenty-five. State your levels."

"Tang San, rank thirty-one, three-ring Soul Elder." Tang San stepped forward.

"Xiao Wu, rank thirty-one, three-ring Soul Elder." Xiao Wu raised her hand.

"Zhu Zhuqing, rank twenty-eight, two-ring Grand Soul Master." Zhu Zhuqing's voice was calm.

When it was Yun Tian's turn, he paused, then looked at Flander and Zhao Wuji. "Yun Tian, rank forty-two, four-ring Soul Ancestor."

Though they had already heard it from Dai Mubai last night, when they heard Yun Tian calmly say the words "four-ring Soul Ancestor" in person, the grass stem in Ma Hongjun's mouth still fell to the ground, while Oscar nearly failed to hold onto his sausage.

Even a girl in a goose-yellow long dress standing beside the fence abruptly turned around, her almond-shaped eyes wide open.

The girl had originally been lazily fanning herself with a small white jade fan. Upon hearing Yun Tian state his level, she sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and hurried over in a few strides. "Wait! A twelve-year-old four-ring Soul Ancestor?! And two twelve-year-old three-ring Soul Elders?!"

She looked Yun Tian, Tang San, and Xiao Wu up and down, her expression as vivid as if she had seen soul beasts turn human. "My name is Ning Rongrong. I'm here to register today too. Are you really telling the truth? Four rings? Three rings? I've never seen such outrageous talent at this age even in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

Xiao Wu finished the last bite of her sweet pancake and cheerfully wiped her hands. "Hello, Rongrong! You're here to register too? What rank are you?"

Ning Rongrong coughed, unusually lacking confidence. "Rank twenty-six... two rings."

"Rank twenty-six is pretty good too!" Xiao Wu sincerely praised her.

Ning Rongrong's cheeks flushed slightly, but the light in her eyes only grew brighter.

As the eldest daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had been taught from childhood the importance of "befriending the strong."

Among these four peers before her, one was a four-ring Soul Ancestor, two were three-ring Soul Elders, and one was a rank twenty-eight Grand Soul Master. Such a lineup would be considered core disciple material in any sect.

If she could build a good relationship with them and bring them into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's ranks in the future...

The little abacus in her heart clicked away rapidly, while a warm smile had already appeared on her face. "Since we'll all be classmates from now on, please take care of me!"