Xuan Zi's Kindness Could Never Be Repaid!

The answer was that Xuan Zi had made it possible for Shrek Outer Court students, boys and girls alike, to sit down and eat!

It all began the day Gao Ren started learning to fry drumsticks.

Once he began learning to cook, he would probably eat all three meals a day at the Outer Court cafeteria unless something unusual came up.

And Xuan Zi, as his teacher and a ravenous old glutton, naturally wouldn't miss them.

So from that day on, Xuan Zi started eating there too.

There had always been one problem with eating at the Outer Court cafeteria: it had no tables or chairs.

And no one was allowed to take food out of the cafeteria.

This was a longstanding Shrek Academy tradition: eat standing up!

It had much the same logic as making four hundred people fight over a toilet!

Gao Ren had said as much while eating his first meal there with Xuan Zi.

"Teacher, don't you think eating while standing up is stupid?"

Xuan Zi: "Stupid?"

Gao Ren: "Yes. Just plain stupid."

Xuan Zi gave it careful thought with his warrior's brain. It did seem rather stupid.

He had eaten standing up like that when he was young,

but back then, everyone else had stood to eat, so he hadn't said anything.

Looking back, perhaps no one had raised the issue because the academy's attitude had worn them numb... Your objection is very good, but I'm not listening.

Because Gao Ren had brought it up, Xuan Zi later went to the people who called the shots for the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department.

They were Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Martial Soul Department, and Qian Duoduo, vice dean of the Soul Tool Department.

Though Gao Ren's cafeteria belonged to the Martial Soul Department, Xuan Zi wanted to keep the scales level, so the Soul Tool Department needed the same changes.

Neither dean was eager to make changes when Xuan Zi suddenly raised the matter.

Yan Shaozhe cited Shrek Academy tradition as his excuse.

Qian Duoduo cited tradition too, but his real objection was the cost.

When it came to being stingy, he was in a class of his own.

"Qian Duoduo, Small Hands, Iron Rooster, Porcelain Quail, Glass Mouse, Glazed Cat"—that absurdly long nickname belonged to him.

Xuan Zi's approach was simple: be tough with outsiders and reasonable with his own people.

But where Gao Ren was concerned, both deans counted as "outsiders."

"Yan Shaozhe, easy for you to talk when you eat sitting down! If you've got the nerve, stand for every meal from now on, just like our students! What kind of teachers can't share their students' joys and hardships?!"

"No tables or chairs in the cafeteria, nowhere to sit and eat. Anyone who didn't know better would think Shrek Academy was too poor to afford furniture!" Xuan Zi named no names, but everyone knew who he meant.

Someone leaked Xuan Zi's scathing tirade against the two deans, and his standing among the Outer Court students soared to dizzying heights.

Mu En: Children, it wasn't me. I wasn't drumming up support for the future Sea God Pavilion Master.

Students: \(^▽^)/

Xuan Zi's kindness could never be repaid!

Some students were so grateful they even volunteered to carry food for him.

"Enjoy your meal, Xuan Zi!"

"Thanks."

From the serving window, Gao Ren glanced at Xuan Zi's smug expression, smiled helplessly, then returned to the kitchen.

As he went back to work, a boy and a girl entered the cafeteria side by side.

The boy was slender and upright, his short dark-blue hair gleaming like gemstones in the sunlight.

Despite his youth, he had a handsome, refined air.

He was Mu En's great-grandson, Bei Bei.

The girl beside him had large, lively phoenix eyes, a high ponytail, and a delicate oval face. She had a striking, graceful charm.

That's right—this was Tang Ya, the Tang Sect's biggest winner-by-doing-nothing.

Both were second-year students in the Shrek Outer Court.

There was one small difference between them, though.

Tang Ya had just advanced from the first year, while Bei Bei had repeated a year for her sake.

"Hello, Xuan Zi!" Tang Ya waved to him from afar.

She had often complained to Bei Bei about having to eat standing up.

As for Xuan Zi, who had changed all that, her admiration flowed like an endless river...

"Hello, Xuan Zi," Bei Bei greeted him politely.

"Hello, hello." Xuan Zi answered indistinctly around a mouthful of drumstick.

"Xuan Zi, where did you buy that drumstick? Why does it smell so good?"

Catching the aroma of the Overlord Drumstick, Tang Ya—a ravenous girl at heart—zipped over to him.

Still chewing, Xuan Zi raised his greasy right hand and pointed toward the leftmost serving window.

It was the priciest of the cafeteria's eight windows, and the place where Gao Ren earned his pocket money.

Tang Ya stared blankly at the window he pointed to.

She never would have guessed the drumstick came from the most expensive window.

"Xuan Zi, are you getting senile—"

Before she could finish, Bei Bei clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Xuan Zi, we'll go try it right now!" Bei Bei said with an apologetic smile, dragging Tang Ya toward the window.

Tang Ya struggled as he pulled her away, but she couldn't break free of his grip.

Bei Bei: For heaven's sake, do you really think Xuan Zi is that easygoing?

Bei Bei was a core disciple of the Outer Court, which entitled him to free meals at its cafeteria.

So even taking Tang Ya to the most expensive window put no strain on him.

Tang Ya wasn't a core disciple, but out of respect for Bei Bei, the cafeteria turned a blind eye when she ate for free with him.

At the serving window, Tang Ya checked the day's menu.

Her eyes swept over it, and among the rotating dishes, she spotted a permanent item.

Overlord Drumstick. Limit one per person.

25 Gold Soul Coins each; fried +1 Gold Soul Coin.

"Twenty-five... Gold Soul Coins?!" Tang Ya nearly bit her tongue. As the penniless Tang Sect master, she had never seen a drumstick so expensive.

Bei Bei was taken aback too. That price was as high as it got in the Outer Court cafeteria.

But quick as he was, he soon figured it out. "The academy has always lost money on the food at this window.

If they can charge that much for a drumstick, there must be something special about it."

After hearing her spare brain's analysis, Tang Ya stopped worrying about the price.

"Mister, two Overlord Drumsticks for us!"

"Ah Ren, two Overlord Drumsticks!" Gao Wei shouted toward the kitchen.

It was Gao Ren's first day in business, and Gao Wei was worried something might go wrong, so he was personally watching over the window.

Not long after Gao Wei called out, Gao Ren emerged carrying an iron tray in each hand, each bearing an Overlord Drumstick.

Seeing how tiny Gao Ren was, Tang Ya couldn't help exclaiming, "Mister, the academy's going too far! Making a child this young work here!"