Zhu Zhuqing's Emotional Turmoil

On the other side, Tang San smiled faintly and said, "Tang San, twelve years old. Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. Twenty-ninth-level Control System Battle Soul Master."

Xiao Wu also grinned brightly. "Xiao Wu, twelve years old. Martial Soul: Soft Bone Rabbit. Twenty-ninth-level Assault System Battle Soul Master!"

Ning Rongrong smiled gently. "Ning Rongrong, twelve years old. Martial Soul: Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. Twenty-sixth-level Auxiliary System Tool Soul Master. I hope we'll get along well."

At last, everyone's eyes fell on Zhu Zhuqing.

She slowly raised her head and looked at Dai Mubai. "Zhu Zhuqing, eleven years old. Martial Soul: Hell Spirit Cat. Twenty-seventh-level Agility System Battle Soul Master."

After saying that, she lowered her head and continued eating.

"All right, now you all know each other. Welcome to Shrek. The vacation is over, too. School officially starts tomorrow."

Dai Mubai smiled and tilted his head back, downing the meat soup in his bowl.

The next day, dawn broke.

A faint trace of fish-belly white had just appeared on the eastern horizon, while Shrek Academy remained shrouded in dim silence.

Tang San opened his eyes right on time. Years of cultivation had given him an extremely regular routine.

He glanced toward the bed beside him. The bedding had been folded neatly, and Oscar was already nowhere to be seen.

"Up this early?"

Puzzled, Tang San left the dormitory. With a flash of his figure, he climbed onto the dormitory roof.

He sat cross-legged on the ridge, facing east with his eyes slightly narrowed, preparing to absorb the Purple Qi from the East, which appeared for only a brief moment each day, to temper his Purple Demon Eyes.

However, just as he was about to enter a meditative state, the corner of his eye caught some movement on the training field.

Tang San instinctively looked over.

Three people were running at a steady pace in a line across the training field. They did not speak, leaving only the sound of their footsteps—pat, pat, pat—in the empty field.

They were Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar.

Tang San sat on the roof, secretly astonished.

He considered himself diligent. He rose early to cultivate every day without ever slacking off, and believed he was already exceptionally hardworking.

Yet these three, whose talents were already outstanding, were actually working even harder than him?

In fact, this was a habit the three of them had maintained all along. With the vacation already over, this weighted run was merely their usual morning warm-up.

At that moment, each of them had two weighted iron blocks strapped to his calves, though their weights differed.

Dai Mubai's were clearly much larger. His weights totaled fifty kilograms, followed by Ma Hongjun's twenty kilograms, and finally Oscar's ten kilograms.

The three had already circled the training field again and again at a steady pace, their breathing even.

Tang San realized that Dai Mubai's forty-sixth-level Soul Power was perhaps not merely a gift of talent. He had certainly shed sweat beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Of course, Tang San did not know that some of it was also thanks to his mother's Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.

Suppressing his shock, Tang San began his own cultivation.

Before long, the sound of a door opening came from the direction of the girls' dormitory.

Zhu Zhuqing stepped out of her room, her jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders and making her already cold, beautiful face appear even fairer.

She quickly noticed the three figures on the training field as well.

Looking at Dai Mubai's steady back as he led the group, Zhu Zhuqing's usually icy eyes suddenly rippled violently.

She recalled hearing people in the Star Luo Empire say that Dai Mubai was a spoiled coward with a dispirited will. Knowing he could not compete with his elder brother, Dai Weisi, he had fled the Star Luo Empire.

But now...

Dai Mubai was actually this hardworking, completely unlike the person described in the rumors.

Could I have misunderstood him?

Zhu Zhuqing's fingers unconsciously gripped the edge of the railing, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

She stared fixedly at that golden figure running hard, her eyes shifting as she thought, That is my man. I shouldn't have listened to other people's slander.

A moment later, Ning Rongrong's lazy voice came from behind her.

"Zhuqing, what are you looking at?"

Immediately afterward, Xiao Wu rubbed her sleepy eyes and came over as well.

Ning Rongrong followed Zhu Zhuqing's gaze downward and instantly perked up.

Pointing at the training field, she called out, "Wow! It's Boss Dai and the others! They're up so early!"

Ning Rongrong also moved to the railing, her pale-blue dress fluttering gently in the morning breeze.

Her beautiful eyes shifted as she watched the three figures sweating profusely on the training field. In particular, when she looked at the golden figure in front, a strange glint flashed through her eyes.

"Do they get up this early every day?" Ning Rongrong could not help asking.

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head without answering, simply watching in silence.

On the training field, the fiftieth lap finally ended.

Dai Mubai and the other two arrived at the dormitory entrance and stopped.

They bent down, undid the weighted iron blocks strapped to their calves, and placed them on the rack by the dormitory entrance.

By then, the sky was already bright.

Dai Mubai raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Looking up, he happened to see three heads poking over the railing on the second floor of the girls' dormitory next door.

The corner of his mouth lifted, and he waved at them. "You're all up? Hurry down for breakfast. Classes are about to start!"

The seven gathered in the cafeteria.

After a morning of exertion, Dai Mubai and the other two had astonishing appetites and wolfed down their food.

Holding her bowl, Ning Rongrong swept her gaze over the three of them and asked curiously, "Why did you get up so early to run? And with such heavy iron blocks strapped to you... Aren't you tired?"

Oscar wiped his mouth and replied naturally, "Ever since Boss Dai arrived, we've been doing this for three years. We got used to it long ago. If we don't run in the morning, our whole bodies feel uncomfortable."

The four newcomers looked at one another.

Dai Mubai's gaze passed over everyone as he said calmly, "All right, eat quickly. The dean and Teacher Zhao should be here soon."

On Shrek's training field, seven figures stood in a line.

Dai Mubai stood at the far left. Beside him, in order, were Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing.

In the distance, Flender's figure slowly approached.

Xiao Wu let out a soft "Huh?" and tugged on Tang San's sleeve. "That... isn't he the shopkeeper we met in Suotuo City the day before yesterday?"

Oscar lowered his voice when he heard that. "That's right. He's our dean, the founder of Shrek Academy, known as the Four-Eyed Cat Eagle, Flender. He's a seventy-eighth-level Soul Sage, even fiercer than Teacher Zhao. He also possesses the rare flying-type Beast Martial Soul, which is exceptionally uncommon among Battle Soul Masters. Fatty is his direct disciple."

Ma Hongjun puffed out his chest, his face full of pride.

Xiao Wu muttered to herself, "Good. He's only seventy-eighth level. Oscar, does our academy have any Soul Masters at the Soul Douluo level?"

Oscar shook his head. "Do you think Soul Douluo are cabbages? You can find them everywhere?"

Xiao Wu seemed relieved and lightly patted her chest. "That's good!"

Dai Mubai could not help laughing inwardly. "That's good," she says! This old rabbit should keep courting death. She has no idea that she was discovered by a Titled Douluo long ago. He's only keeping her around for now.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Tang Hao is still following us nearby. This little rabbit definitely can't be allowed to fall into someone else's hands.

By then, Flender had already arrived before them. He pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and swept his gaze over the seven.

"My name is Flender, and I'm the dean of Shrek. First, welcome the four new little monsters."

He paused and looked toward Dai Mubai. "Mubai, you introduced them to one another, didn't you?"

"Yes, Dean. We introduced ourselves yesterday," Dai Mubai replied loudly.

Ma Hongjun glanced around, puzzled. "Teacher, where did Teacher Zhao go? Why haven't I seen him? Doesn't he usually conduct the morning class?"

The corner of Flender's mouth twitched. After a dry cough, he said, "Uh... Vice Dean Zhao isn't feeling well and needs to rest for a few days. I'll be arranging the classes during that time."

Hearing that, Dai Mubai silently mourned for Zhao Wuji for one second.