Graduating for Shrek! Yu Xiaogang Still Wants Lin Xuan as His Disciple

On graduation day, Notting Academy held its usual simple ceremony.

Dean Reck stood onstage and delivered a few stock phrases about bright futures and promising prospects.

The students below were nearly asleep. Only Xiao Chenyu, seated in the front row, clapped with all his might.

Five years had passed, and the city lord's once-overbearing son had learned to behave. After Xiao Wu beat him up, Xiao Chenyu never bothered Lin Xuan or the other two again.

When the ceremony ended, the students went their separate ways.

Lin Xuan, Tang San, and Xiao Wu walked along the stone path outside the academy gates.

The July sun had baked the ground hot.

Xiao Wu walked between them. She swung her braid forward and brushed its tip against Lin Xuan's arm as they went.

"We graduated! Where are we going now?"

Lin Xuan pushed her braid away. "Stop rubbing your hair on me."

"Answer the question!"

"I haven't decided."

Xiao Wu huffed.

"Other people would love it if I brushed against them! What's wrong with doing it to you?"

While Xiao Wu was still giving Lin Xuan an earful, Tang San suddenly spoke.

"Lin Xuan, Xiao Wu."

They both turned around.

Tang San stood still, looking hesitant, as though weighing his words.

Lin Xuan knew that look too well. Tang San wore it whenever he was about to bring up Yu Xiaogang.

Lin Xuan could guess what this was about. Yu Xiaogang must have told Tang San to go to Shrek Academy, and Tang San wanted him and Xiao Wu to come along.

"My teacher recommended a place where I could continue my studies. It's called Shrek Academy."

Tang San paused, then continued.

"Would you two like to go with me?"

Xiao Wu didn't answer. Instead, she turned to Lin Xuan.

"Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan! Are you going?"

"If you go, I'll go!"

Tang San stood beside them without pressing for an answer.

He truly wanted Lin Xuan to come.

After five years, Tang San knew better than anyone how absurdly powerful Lin Xuan's support talismans were.

The Clear Mind Talisman enhanced perception and cultivation efficiency. The Blazing Fire Talisman increased fire attributes by forty percent. The Gale Talisman sped up movement, and the Frost Lock Talisman controlled the field and pinned targets down. And those were only the talismans Lin Xuan was willing to show.

Tang San had always suspected Lin Xuan had more up his sleeve.

Besides, a level-thirty-five support-type Soul Elder already outclassed the vast majority of support Martial Souls at the same level.

Only a fool would pass up a teammate like that.

As for Xiao Wu, Tang San glanced at her tugging and shaking Lin Xuan's sleeve. He had a fair idea where she stood.

Her feelings for Lin Xuan had been obvious five years ago.

Five years had only made them clearer.

Tang San wasn't that kind of man.

She had feelings for his friend. Even thinking about her that way for a second felt wrong.

Lin Xuan looked down at the sleeve Xiao Wu had wrinkled and pulled his arm free.

"Fine, let's go take a look. We came from the same village, after all. We'll go together."

Xiao Wu immediately bounced on her feet. "Then I'm going too!"

Tang San breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Lin Xuan, once we reach Shrek, you'll see how capable my teacher is. The dean of Shrek Academy is an old acquaintance of his, so he knows the place very well."

Lin Xuan shot him a glance.

Five years later, Tang San still defended Yu Xiaogang without even realizing it. He did it far less often than before, but that loyalty ran deep.

"Little San."

"You've been with him for five years. You should know him better than I do. So let me ask you one question."

Tang San's expression tightened slightly. He knew that lead-in all too well.

"That line of his, 'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters'... After five years, have you figured it out yet?"

Tang San didn't answer.

Lin Xuan didn't push him. "Forget it. I won't put you on the spot. Think about it on the way."

Xiao Wu had caught enough of their conversation to chime in. "Are you two talking about that Grandmaster again?"

"No," Tang San answered at once.

Xiao Wu pursed her lips. "Fine, don't tell me. I don't care about him anyway. I just want to know whether Shrek Academy is fun."

The three continued down the stone path.

Students leaving the graduation ceremony passed them in twos and threes. Those who knew them waved.

Lin Xuan had something else on his mind.

Of course he was willing to go to Shrek.

It wasn't because Tang San had invited him, or entirely because Xiao Wu kept pestering him.

It was because of Tang Hao.

Clear Sky Douluo had remained near Holy Soul Village, secretly watching Tang San.

Tang Hao had long known that Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form.

If the three of them went their separate ways and Xiao Wu traveled alone with him...

What would Tang Hao think?

If a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast left his watch with Tang San nowhere nearby, would Clear Sky Douluo make a move?

Lin Xuan pushed the thought aside.

Going to Shrek was the safest choice. As long as the three stayed together, Tang Hao's attention would remain on Tang San, and Xiao Wu would be safe near him.

As for the people from the original story—Zhu Zhuqing, Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Ning Rongrong—

Lin Xuan honestly wanted to meet them in person.

"Hey, Lin Xuan! What are you daydreaming about?"

Xiao Wu flicked her braid against his arm.

"Thinking."

"About what?"

"How to make money once we get to Shrek."

"Is money all you ever think about?"

"What are you going to eat if we don't make money? Air?"

Xiao Wu huffed. "We got by in Nuoding."

"At Nuoding, Work-Study Students got a stipend. We don't know how things work at Shrek. What if we have to pay tuition?"

That stumped Xiao Wu. After thinking for a couple of seconds, she said, "Then draw a few more talismans and sell them."

"I can't sell talismans freely."

"Why not?"

"The more people who know about them, the more trouble they'll bring."

Xiao Wu tilted her head and thought it over. It made sense, but she still wasn't satisfied.

"We can worry about that later. As long as you're around, I won't starve."

"Your greatest strength is that you never worry about a thing."

"Thanks for the compliment!"

Walking behind them, Tang San listened to their bickering and couldn't keep the corner of his mouth from twitching. They had argued for five years and never once let up.

The three returned to the dormitory and packed their belongings.

Lin Xuan sorted the talismans in his Storage Soul Tool and checked his stock: 1,247 Great Fireball Talismans, over four hundred Rending Wind Talismans, and just over two hundred Frost Arrow Talismans.

That stockpile felt like enough to give even a Soul Sage or Soul Douluo a hard time.

Of course, there was still the same old problem: he had to land the hits first.

Once they had finished packing, Tang San left ahead of them.

Lin Xuan knew where he was going: to tell Yu Xiaogang.

Sure enough, Tang San followed the academy paths to the familiar courtyard on the west side.

He knocked, went in, and sat down.

"Teacher, Lin Xuan and Xiao Wu both agreed. The three of us will go to Shrek together."

Yu Xiaogang had been sorting manuscripts at his desk. He set down his pen and looked up.

"They both agreed?"

"Yes."

"Lin Xuan agreed too?"

Tang San nodded.

Yu Xiaogang leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

Five years.

The boy named Lin Xuan had rejected him for five years. He would not become his disciple, accept his guidance, or even say more to him than necessary.

But that was fine.

At Shrek, everything would be different.

Flender was his old partner, and Yu Xiaogang knew the academy's training system inside out.

There would be combat drills, team coordination, and matches against outsiders. As a support-type Soul Master, Lin Xuan would have to work out tactics with his teammates.

And tactics were precisely Yu Xiaogang's greatest strength.

Once Lin Xuan saw what he could do with battle plans, becoming his disciple would only be a matter of time.

This time, he would succeed!