Shrek Academy Is More Like a Sect Than a School

Until the figure vanished completely around the corner of the corridor, Huo Yuhao lowered his head and gazed at the warm brass key in his palm. Tang Wulin's warmth still lingered on it.

He gently pressed his lips together, tightly clasping that trace of warmth in his hand. Then he turned, raised his hand, and softly pushed open the wooden door to Dormitory 108.

The instant the door opened, dust that had been settling throughout the room suddenly billowed up.

Fine dust settled over his shoulders, but he did not care in the slightest. He casually rolled up his sleeves, took hold of a rag, and stepped inside.

When Tang Wulin walked out of the dormitory building, the daylight was just right.

Warm sunlight spilled across the entire courtyard, while the shadows of the parasol trees by the road swayed gently in the breeze.

He stood quietly at the entrance for a moment, squinting.

He lightly rolled his neck and stretched his body.

Then he turned and took the bluestone path leading to Sea God Island.

He walked slowly along the stone-paved road, ancient trees towering on either side.

At the end of the road lay the entrance to the island.

He saw Xuan Zi sitting on a bluestone, head lowered as he gnawed on a chicken leg, looking utterly disheveled.

Seeing Tang Wulin approach, he spoke indistinctly through a mouthful of food.

"Yo, you're back?"

Tang Wulin stopped in front of him.

With both hands casually tucked into his sleeves, he asked softly.

"Is Teacher in the Sea God Pavilion?"

"He is, he is. He came back just now. He's probably waiting for you."

Xuan Zi hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth and reached into his robes for a second piece.

"Just go on up. Don't disturb me while I'm eating."

Tang Wulin chuckled softly. Without wasting any more words, he stepped past Xuan Zi and headed toward the Sea God Pavilion.

With half a chicken leg clenched between his teeth, Xuan Zi called after him loudly.

"Kid, your soul power fluctuations are a lot stronger than when you came onto the island!"

"How old is that new soul ring of yours?"

Without turning his head, Tang Wulin casually waved a hand.

The wind scattered his gentle voice as it drifted faintly back.

"We'll talk later."

He quickened his pace and continued onward.

Before long, he saw the small wooden cottage half-hidden by the branches of the Golden Ancient Tree.

He raised a hand and gently pushed open the wooden door, stepping inside.

Mu En reclined in a wicker chair by the window, holding a cup of warm tea as wisps of steam curled from it.

The old man slowly withdrew his gaze from the view outside.

It fell upon Tang Wulin, who had entered through the door, and he studied him closely for a moment.

Then he gently set down his teacup.

"Come sit."

Tang Wulin complied and sat on a low stool opposite him.

The tips of his boots rested lightly against the gaps in the wooden floorboards, his posture upright and steady.

Mu En's gaze traveled over his entire body from head to toe.

He nodded slightly, his tone calm and certain.

"Your fourth soul ring is complete? What is its age?"

Tang Wulin slowly raised his hand.

Emerald vines wound their way out from his wrist—the spread-out Blue Silver Emperor.

Between its verdant stems and leaves lingered fine, dazzling golden patterns of light.

The next instant, a soul ring slowly rose beneath his feet.

Its color was an intense crimson, like fully ripened lava.

Its aura was heavy and majestic, far surpassing the foundation a soul master of his age should possess. A faint red glow spread through the dim wooden cottage.

Mu En's hand holding the cup suddenly paused.

He stared intently at the crimson soul ring. After examining it for several breaths, he slowly placed the teacup on the table, leaning slightly forward as the relaxed smile on his face vanished completely.

His expression turned solemn at once, carrying a rare gravity.

"A hundred thousand years?"

"Yes, a hundred thousand years."

Tang Wulin calmly withdrew his martial soul and soul ring, then began making up a story.

"Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, I happened to encounter a hundred-thousand-year plant-type soul beast undergoing its tribulation. Its heavenly tribulation had not fully passed, and after it did, it was left barely alive. It sensed the aura of the Golden Ancient Tree on me, so it sacrificed itself to me, saying it wanted its seed planted beside the Golden Ancient Tree."

"Since our attributes were a perfect match, I agreed and used the opportunity to break through to the fourth ring."

Mu En did not answer immediately.

He leaned back in his wicker chair and narrowed his eyes slightly.

An invisible perception quietly spread out as he repeatedly examined the lingering aura on Tang Wulin.

Only after a long while did he speak again, disbelief coloring his tone.

"It was really that simple? This luck..."

Mu En suddenly looked up at the sky, as though he had thought of something. He immediately fell silent, while even greater excitement flashed through his eyes.

This must be Lord Sea God's doing!

Perhaps Lord Sea God took a liking to him and deliberately arranged it!

If Tang Wulin knew what the other man was thinking, he would probably be utterly speechless.

Of course, it benefited him that Mu En thought that way. Anything unreasonable could simply be blamed on the Sea God; it had nothing to do with him.

Mu En took a small sip of tea. His brows relaxed, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"So be it."

"Fortuitous encounters are decreed by fate. Since it has fallen upon you, it is your good fortune."

"A hundred-thousand-year soul ring as the fourth ring of a Blue Silver Emperor martial soul..."

"Child, your starting point may surpass that ancestor of yours in the future—the senior whose martial soul was exactly the same as yours."

He set down his teacup, and his tone abruptly shifted.

"By the way, that little girl named Gu Yuena."

"Her Elemental Envoy martial soul is rare. You said you are confident that you and she can form a martial soul fusion skill?"

"Yes."

Tang Wulin answered crisply, without the slightest hesitation.

"Though we have yet to try coordinating, I can sense it clearly."

"The elemental origin within her body is highly compatible with my aura."

"We will certainly be able to activate a martial soul fusion skill."

Hearing this, Mu En lightly tapped the armrest twice with his fingertips.

He nodded slightly and made the decision on the spot.

"Good."

"I approve her status as a core disciple."

"Bring her to the island later to register her records."

"Arrange accommodation in the inner courtyard. If the two of you can use a martial soul fusion skill, I will immediately grant her the resources of an inner courtyard disciple, and she will not need to participate in the Supervisory Corps' activities."

"Yes."

Tang Wulin acknowledged the order. He rose and bowed to Mu En, then turned and slowly walked out of the wooden cottage.

He paused briefly on the steps before the door.

The Supervisory Corps...

Having stayed here for so long, he had come to understand it somewhat. It could be said that disciples who had clearly joined Shrek Academy received tremendous protection.

People like him did not need to take part in Supervisory Corps activities at all, while those who experienced the most dangerous and difficult things were the noble children who would surely leave Shrek Academy in the future...

And whose backing was not particularly strong...

Wasn't that plainly a way to weed out dissidents?

But it made sense. How could such a large organization not have a few private schemes of its own?

Of course, this place only deserved to be called an organization, not an academy. Or rather, it resembled the sects of the cultivation world more.

The outer courtyard students were like outer disciples of those cultivation sects, handed over to certain people for unified management. After entering the inner courtyard, they were like inner disciples, only then receiving a measure of attention and being required to carry out arduous missions.

And after being accepted as disciples by the elders of Shrek Academy's inner courtyard, those so-called personal disciples received yet another level of treatment.

As for him, he was plainly the sect's heir. Once his cultivation was accomplished, he would go out and establish his prestige.