Preparing for Enrollment

"Among all of you, only the Auspicious Beast experienced this. It must have something to do with the power of destiny within her."

Gao Ren and the others agreed with Di Tian's explanation.

As a favored child of destiny blessed by the primordial forces of heaven and earth, the Auspicious Beast would enjoy smooth sailing as she grew. Almost no one could surpass her luck.

Even an event with the tiniest chance of occurring was perfectly normal when it happened to the Auspicious Beast.

"Gao Ren, allow me to thank you on the Auspicious Beast's behalf first." Di Tian smiled at Gao Ren. "The Auspicious Beast's growth carries tremendous significance for our Star Dou Great Forest.

"Once her bloodline has fully evolved, I will bring her to visit you in person and thank you again."

"The Auspicious Beast is my friend. There's no need for such formalities between friends." Gao Ren smiled and shook his head.

Di Tian said nothing more. He simply smiled, walked over to the golden cocoon, and used his Soul Power to lift it into the air.

"Scarlet King, let's go."

"Everyone, see you next time." The Scarlet King nodded, then rose into the air behind Di Tian.

Di Tian deliberately flew beyond Shrek City's boundaries to avoid the Golden Tree's interference with space. Then he tore open a spatial rift and stepped inside with the Scarlet King and the Auspicious Beast, who had turned into a golden cocoon.

When they emerged again, they were already back beside the Lake of Life.

Upon sensing Di Tian's return, the Silver Dragon King sent her voice through the small demiplane into the outside world.

"Di Tian, the Auspicious Beast..."

The Silver Dragon King's voice cut off abruptly.

Silver Dragon King: Di Tian! You brought the Golden Dragon King back?!

As one half of the Dragon God, the Silver Dragon King knew her other half, the Golden Dragon King, extremely well.

Back then, she had escaped the Divine Realm while being pursued by its forces-or so she believed-but the Golden Dragon King had failed to escape.

However, that did not mean the Golden Dragon King had been killed.

Having inherited the Dragon God's strength and physical abilities, the Golden Dragon King was not so easy to kill.

The Silver Dragon King knew very well that, when near death, the Golden Dragon King would forcibly transform into an impregnable dragon cocoon.

At this moment, the Auspicious Beast encased in the golden cocoon looked almost exactly like the Golden Dragon King enclosed in his dragon cocoon!

"My lord?" Di Tian was somewhat puzzled. Why had his lord stopped speaking halfway through?

Meanwhile, after examining the golden cocoon, the Silver Dragon King realized she had made a mistake. This was the Auspicious Beast, not the Golden Dragon King.

The Golden Dragon King was not as weak as the Auspicious Beast, nor would his pull on the Silver Dragon King be so faint.

"Di Tian, how did the Auspicious Beast end up like this? Didn't she go to Shrek Academy?"

Hearing the Silver Dragon King's question, Di Tian hurriedly recounted everything he had seen and heard at Shrek Academy to his lord.

After listening, the Silver Dragon King remained silent for a long time before offering her assessment.

"The Auspicious Beast truly deserves to be called the embodiment of our Star Dou Great Forest's fortune!"

Thanks to the bond the Auspicious Beast had formed with Gao Ren, the Silver Dragon King's injuries were healing far, far faster than when she had relied on sleep alone.

Once production of the Healing Overlord Leg began, her recovery accelerated again, its effects complementing those of the Pure World Overlord's Leg.

One hundred years!

Even if Gao Ren's cultivation never improves again, the injuries the Asura Demon Sword inflicted on me should heal within a hundred years, even at the slowest possible rate!

Now, thanks to Gao Ren's Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the Auspicious Beast's bloodline has evolved as well... perhaps I should find an opportunity to persuade him to join us?

"Di Tian."

"At your command!"

"From now on, I will personally watch over the Auspicious Beast until she fully completes this transformation."

"Yes!" Di Tian bowed his head respectfully.

In the days that followed, Gao Ren's life returned to its usual routine.

With Shrek Academy on vacation, hardly any students could be seen in the cafeteria aside from the faculty and staff who had stayed to work.

Even so, Gao Ren went to work in the kitchen every day as usual. After all, he still had a teacher like Xuan Zi to feed.

Five days before Shrek Academy's new term began, Gao Ren watched the steadily increasing number of students and suddenly realized he had a very serious problem.

Since he had to entertain the Auspicious Beast from the Star Dou Great Forest, Gao Ren had felt it would be poor hospitality to serve almost the same things every time. Over the years, he had deliberately practiced making some new dishes besides fried drumsticks.

The menu at his counter had expanded considerably.

Chicken hot pot, yellow-braised chicken with rice, teriyaki chicken cutlet rice... Gao Ren had studied every chicken-based dish he had eaten in his previous life.

Dishes that used less of the Overlord Drumstick were priced lower because they required fewer ingredients, making them popular with even more Outer Court students... not everyone could afford his Overlord Drumstick. By doing this, he could give Outer Court students some incentive to save up and reward themselves with a good meal.

As a result, the number of orders had increased considerably.

With both the variety of dishes and the number of orders increasing, Gao Ren was beginning to struggle to keep up on his own.

Toward the end of the previous term, his serving speed had been downright disastrous. Some people still had not received their food by the time afternoon classes began.

Had he not later come up with a solution-letting Outer Court students preorder by writing down what they wanted for their next meal-Gao Ren would likely have struggled to serve the Outer Court's teachers and students quickly enough.

On top of that, once school began in a few days, he would have to participate in Shrek Academy's classes like the other students. He probably would not have so much energy left to earn Gold Soul Coins in the Outer Court cafeteria...

Gao Ren: If I'd known, I wouldn't have added so many dishes to the menu!

This kind of thing should only be enjoyed by a small circle.JPG

"Uncle!" Gao Ren sought out Gao Wei, the Outer Court's head chef.

"What is it?"

"Lend me two people."

"Lend you people?" Gao Wei could not help laughing. "You brat, you've earned so much money these past two years that a few flakes of dandruff falling off your head would be enough to hire several people. And yet here you are today, asking me to lend you staff."

"Well, our cafeteria staff are good cooks."

"Save it." Gao Wei declared with righteous conviction, "Only a small minority of our Outer Court can afford the Overlord Drumstick in the first place.

"I'm the head chef of Shrek Academy's Outer Court cafeteria. I'm responsible for all the teachers and students in the Outer Court! Borrow my staff? Not a chance!"

Gao Ren: ...

Having failed to borrow staff from his uncle, Gao Ren had no choice but to recruit people himself.

He posted a recruitment notice on Shrek Academy's bulletin board.

"Now hiring: the Overlord Drumstick counter seeks two kitchen assistants.

"Requirements: good cooking skills, hardworking, and responsible.

"Restrictions: one first-year student and one upper-year student.

"Generous compensation, negotiable in person.

"Interested applicants should report to the Outer Court cafeteria's kitchen outside mealtimes..."

A female student wearing a purple school uniform was reading the recruitment notice.

Purple indicated that she was an upper-year student in her fourth or fifth year.