What's It to You? Why Are You Making Such a Scene?

There was another knock at the door.

"Brother Lin! Brother Lin, are you awake?"

"I just saw Grandmaster leaving your room."

Xiao Wu's voice bounced in from outside.

Ye Lin walked over and opened the door.

Xiao Wu stood in the doorway, rising on tiptoe to peer inside. Her gaze swept over him twice.

"Brother Lin, how did it go? Grandmaster said you were on the verge of a breakthrough yesterday."

Ye Lin nodded. "That's right. My Soul Power has reached level thirty now."

Xiao Wu's eyes widened.

"Brother Lin, you're a Soul Elder now! That's amazing!"

"Are you hungry? I'll take you to get something to eat."

Ye Lin nodded. "Sure."

Xiao Wu grabbed Ye Lin and pulled him outside.

They had barely left the dormitory area when Tang San emerged from a side path.

He saw Xiao Wu holding Ye Lin's arm and faltered for a moment, then hurried to catch up.

"Xiao Wu, Ye Lin, you're up too? I haven't had breakfast yet. Why don't we find something to eat together?"

Xiao Wu glanced back at him, her tone casual.

"Why go looking for breakfast? The academy cafeteria's just down that road behind us. Let's eat there."

The smile at the corner of Tang San's mouth stiffened for an instant as he followed her.

"The cafeteria works too. It's all the same."

He quickened his pace and fell in behind them.

The cafeteria was a spacious, single-story building with several long tables inside.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were already seated by a window, eating breakfast.

Dai Mubai sat at the other end of a long table with a tray piled high with food, shoveling it into his mouth.

When he saw the three of them come in, he lifted his chopsticks in greeting.

Xiao Wu pulled Ye Lin into a seat beside Ning Rongrong. Tang San hesitated, then sat across from Ye Lin.

No sooner had he sat down than another figure wandered through the cafeteria door.

He was a stocky little fatty with a round face, small eyes narrowed to slits, and two thin wisps of a mustache. Once inside, he let his gaze dart around the room.

It lingered on Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu for a full two seconds each. Then he chuckled and licked his lips.

Dai Mubai swallowed his food and waved the little fatty over.

"Ma Hongjun, come here. I'll introduce you to the new students."

Ma Hongjun trotted over eagerly and sat beside Dai Mubai, unable to resist sneaking a few more looks at the three girls.

Dai Mubai smacked the back of his head. "Where are you looking? They're all new students here. You'll be seeing them every day, so rein it in."

Ma Hongjun rubbed the back of his head and nodded with a chuckle.

But his eyes still drifted toward the three girls.

"This is the last of our Shrek Academy students, Ma Hongjun. His Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix."

Dai Mubai introduced Ma Hongjun, then briefly introduced everyone else to him.

Ma Hongjun had just reached for a steamed bun on the table

when a voice slipped into his mind.

The last of the old perverts has finally shown up. From the look of him, he probably came straight to breakfast after breakup sex, huh?

Poor Cuihua. She thought she'd landed a Soul Master, only to end up with something this filthy.

Last time around, Xiao Wu and I were there to stop him. This time, Cuihua probably couldn't have stopped him even if she'd wanted to. Who could stop breakup sex?

Ma Hongjun's hand hovered over the bun as the grin on his round face slowly collapsed.

His mouth opened, then closed again.

Something's wrong. That voice just now...

It didn't sound like anyone had spoken aloud. It appeared directly in my head.

And no one else reacted.

The headmaster once mentioned a technique called Sound Transmission in a Line.

Is someone speaking specifically to me?

He slowly turned his head and scanned the table.

He saw nothing suspicious.

Ma Hongjun's thoughts churned.

Cuihua. Breakup sex. Last time around.

One thing's for sure.

No one knew what Cuihua and I did in that cornfield just now.

Could someone here have been reborn?

Did they already know it would happen?

He swallowed hard and decided to pretend he hadn't heard anything. He picked up the bun, stuffed it into his mouth, and took a forceful bite.

The voice entered his mind again.

Ma Hongjun, you'd better keep those filthy eyes of yours in check. Stop staring.

Xiao Wu isn't someone you can set your sights on.

The corner of Ma Hongjun's mouth twitched.

He had already meant to stop looking, but that warning made him glance at Xiao Wu again.

She was turned toward Ye Lin, talking to him with smiling eyes. She looked happy.

As Ma Hongjun looked away, the corner of his eye caught Tang San's face.

That ugly black-haired bastard was drinking his porridge with a perfectly calm expression.

But his fingers gripped the spoon tightly.

Oh. Ma Hongjun understood everything.

That voice came from Tang San.

Ma Hongjun gave a scornful laugh to himself.

Seriously, what's it to you?

Xiao Wu's obviously much closer to Ye Lin. Anyone with half a brain can tell she likes Ye Lin. What the hell are you making noise for?

Ye Lin hasn't even said a word, and here you are making a whole song and dance of it.

What are you, a clown?

The corner of Ma Hongjun's mouth lifted despite himself.

Most of his irritation at being insulted out of nowhere faded.

He knew something no one else did.

This Tang San acts all mild and respectable, but his mind's full of schemes.

I'll have to find a way to mess with him later!

A bell rang outside the cafeteria, clang, clang, clang.

Dai Mubai stuffed the last bite of his bun into his mouth, slapped the table, and stood.

"Come on, come on. Class is starting! If you're late to Headmaster Flender's class, the punishment's no joke."

He headed out as he spoke.

Xiao Wu pulled Ye Lin to his feet.

"Let's go, let's go!"

The others quickly followed.

Shrek Academy's training ground was a stretch of hard-packed yellow earth.

When they arrived, a row of people was already standing there.

Flender stood in the middle, with two or three teachers of different ages on either side. Li Yusong and Zhao Wuji were among them.

Tang San stopped dead at the edge of the training ground.

His gaze fixed on a figure in the front row.

A gray cloth robe, hands clasped behind his back, a lean face, and an unhurried stance. It was Yu Xiaogang.

Tang San's pupils contracted slightly. He stood frozen for several seconds.

What the fuck?

Why is Gangzi here already?

That's not how it happened last time!

Last time, Gangzi didn't appear at Shrek Academy until after we came back from helping Oscar get a Spirit Ring in the Star Dou Forest.