Flender Finds a Soul King

Flender Finds a Soul King

Balak Kingdom.

Outside Suotuo City.

By the time Yuan Yu arrived, it was nearly dark.

He had traveled south for more than half a month.

He traveled by day and practiced with his blade at night.

When low-level Soul Masters blocked his path, he knocked them out with his scabbard.

When he came across merchant caravans fleeing spirit beasts, he lent a hand.

When he found good wine, he bought a gourd of that, too.

The more he bought, the more he drank.

He had made no effort to avoid people along the way.

A Spirit Hall token hung at his waist, his Sun Wheel Blade rested across his back, and he made no effort to conceal the aura of a five-ring Soul King.

Some saw how young he was and thought about causing trouble.

But as soon as they drew close, the Five God-given Spirit Rings rose around him.

They turned and ran.

Yuan Yu did not chase them.

He merely called after them, "Pick your targets more carefully next time."

People at some small-town Spirit Hall branches recognized the Worship Hall token and offered to send escorts.

Yuan Yu declined.

"No need for an escort. Just give me some provisions."

The branch bishop glanced at the Wine Gourd on his waist, looking conflicted.

"Provisions?"

"And some fruit wine."

"...Yes."

Azure Luan and Ling Yuan followed from the shadows throughout the journey.

Ling Yuan's face darkened when she saw Yuan Yu take the fruit wine.

"He said he'd drink less."

Azure Luan said, "He didn't say he'd stop."

Ling Yuan looked at him.

Azure Luan added, "You can tell Bibi Dong when we get back."

Only then was Ling Yuan satisfied.

In the distance, Yuan Yu shivered.

He had the distinct feeling someone was keeping a tally behind his back.

That evening, he sat beneath a roadside tree, cradling his Black Jade Gourd as he looked at a signpost not far away.

Suotuo City.

Shrek.

Those two words stirred the fragments in his mind again.

"Since I'm already here."

Yuan Yu smiled, leaned against the tree, and fell asleep.

Not far away, a tall, thin figure stopped.

Flender pushed up his glasses.

The middle of nowhere.

A boy dressed in white.

A Wine Gourd at his waist.

A blade on his back.

And an astonishingly steady fluctuation of Soul Power.

Flender's eyes lit up.

"Who'd have thought I'd find a promising kid out here?"

He crouched down.

"Kid, wake up."

Yuan Yu did not move.

Flender reached for the Wine Gourd.

Yuan Yu's eyes stayed shut, but his hand closed over the gourd.

"You can take my money. Not my wine."

Flender froze.

"You're awake?"

Yuan Yu opened one eye.

"Just woke up."

Flender laughed.

"A kid drinking himself to sleep out in the wilderness? Aren't you afraid someone will sell you off?"

Yuan Yu sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"I'd fetch a high price."

"Confident, aren't you?"

"I know my worth."

The longer Flender looked, the more he felt something was off.

This boy was no ordinary child.

His clothes were made of excellent fabric.

His blade was no ordinary weapon, either.

The gourd was probably a Soul Tool.

But the real issue was his Soul Power.

Flender could not gauge it.

His heart gave a jolt.

Not being able to gauge it did not mean the boy had none.

Perhaps he was exceptionally good at concealing it.

Or perhaps his level was quite high.

Could a boy of around twelve really elude the senses of a Soul Sage like him?

Flender pushed up his glasses.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Yuan Yu."

"Where's your family?"

"Somewhere far away."

"Run away from home?"

"Training."

Flender glanced at the gourd in his hand.

"Training by sleeping beside the road?"

"The wine caught up with me."

"That's a rather casual way to train."

"You've got to stay flexible."

Flender chuckled.

"Interested in joining an academy?"

Yuan Yu looked up.

"What academy?"

"Shrek Academy."

At the name, some of the drunken haze left Yuan Yu's eyes.

Shrek.

That run-down village.

The academy for monsters.

Flender.

Zhao Wuji.

Dai Mubai.

Tang San.

Xiao Wu.

The fragments stirred one after another.

Yuan Yu studied the tall, thin man before him.

"You're Flender?"

Flender blinked.

"You know me?"

"I've heard of you."

"From whom?"

"In a dream."

Flender's mouth twitched.

"You've had quite a bit to drink."

Yuan Yu stood and brushed off his clothes.

"What kind of students does Shrek accept?"

Flender immediately straightened with pride.

"Only monsters. No ordinary people."

Yuan Yu smiled.

"Then it sounds like a fit."

Flender's eyes shone brighter.

"Let me see your Martial Soul."

Yuan Yu looked at him.

"You're sure?"

"Of course."

"Don't blame me if it scares you."

Flender laughed.

"Big talk for someone so young."

Yuan Yu did not explain further.

He raised a hand.

The Sun Wheel Blade appeared.

Five patterns lit up at once.

Water, flame, lightning, wind, rock.

The next instant, the Five God-given Spirit Rings rose behind him.

Watery blue.

Crimson gold.

Violet-white.

Green-gold.

Dark gold.

Five rings.

A Soul King.

The smile on Flender's face slowly froze. "What's with the colors of your Spirit Rings?!"

"Pretty, aren't they? Don't ask about the rest."

Flender pushed up his glasses.

Then pushed them up again.

"F-five rings?"

Yuan Yu put away the Sun Wheel Blade.

"Level fifty-five."

Flender fell silent.

Wind rustled through the leaves.

He stared at Yuan Yu for a long while before managing to ask, "You're twelve?"

"Mm."

"Level fifty-five?"

"Mm."

"And you call this enrolling in an academy?"

Yuan Yu thought for a moment.

"An exchange of knowledge?"

Flender's eyelid twitched.

In all his years, he had never felt the word "monster" was inadequate until now.

Shrek took in monsters.

But the one before him seemed like the dean of monsters.

Flender caught on quickly.

If he could keep this student—no, this little ancestor—at Shrek, the academy's reputation would soar.

Of course, so would the trouble.

A level fifty-five Soul King from Spirit City couldn't have an ordinary family behind him.

Flender even suspected that if he asked a couple more questions, the two powerful figures lurking nearby would show themselves.

But he couldn't bear to let the boy go.

Shrek Academy was poor.

So poor it couldn't even spare the money to replace its admissions sign.

But Shrek's most valuable assets had never been its buildings or land.

They were its monsters.

And this was the biggest one he had ever seen.

If Zhao Wuji found out, he probably wouldn't sleep tonight.

As for that brat Dai Mubai, he'd definitely want a fight first.

Flender's mind raced through the possibilities.

Get him back to the academy first.

Everything else could wait.

He immediately put on a friendly smile.

"Come on. Let's head back to the academy."

Yuan Yu asked, "Are meals included?"

"Yes."

"Lodging?"

"Yes."

"Drinks?"

"No."

Yuan Yu sighed.

"Not much of a deal."

Flender held back his irritation.

"How old are you? What do you need drinks for?"

"Fruit wine."

"Not even fruit wine."

Yuan Yu glanced at him.

"Dean, you're stingy."

Flender's face darkened.

The kid's talent was outrageous.

So was his mouth.

He asked another question. "Won't your family come looking for you?"

Yuan Yu looked into the distance.

"They know."

Flender followed his gaze.

He saw nothing.

But his Soul Sage instincts sent a chill down his spine.

Someone was out there.

Someone powerful.

Powerful enough that he was better off pretending he hadn't noticed.

Flender cleared his throat.

"Let's go, then."

On a distant hillside.

Ling Yuan stood with her arms crossed, looking displeased.

"This Flender doesn't look very reliable."

Azure Luan said, "Four-Eyed Cat Owl Martial Soul. Soul Sage. Dean of Shrek."

"You looked him up?"

"On the way."

"A Soul Sage teaching a level fifty-five Soul King?"

Azure Luan watched Yuan Yu follow Flender.

"He isn't going there to learn Soul Power."

"Then what's he going there to learn?"

"To meet people."

Ling Yuan fell silent.

Yuan Yu had met the most powerful experts in Spirit City.

But he had never met the young Soul Masters at an ordinary academy.

He had never met Tang San or Xiao Wu.

Nor had he ever truly set foot on the path from the original story.

Shrek was poor.

Run-down.

Unconventional.

But the people he needed to meet were there.

Before long, Flender led Yuan Yu into a small village outside Suotuo City.

A battered wooden sign hung at the entrance.

Shrek Academy.

Yuan Yu stopped.

"This is the place that only takes monsters?"

Flender coughed.

"Appearances don't matter."

"Then what does?"

"What's inside."

Yuan Yu looked at the dilapidated gate, then at the wall with gaps that let the wind through.

"Dean, you've saved quite a bit on what's inside."

Flender suddenly felt a twinge of regret.

This Soul King might be even harder to manage than Zhao Wuji.