Shrek's Gate: Not So Fast

Registration continued at the Gate of Shrek Academy.

Ning Rongrong placed her hand on the crystal ball, and the light of her Soul Power flared.

The elder handling registration nodded.

"Twelve years old, level twenty-six. Not bad."

Ning Rongrong lifted her chin slightly.

She was used to praise at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but hearing a stranger call her "not bad" still felt good.

Standing nearby, Bai Jin added lazily, "But you still can't do laundry."

The pride vanished from Ning Rongrong's face.

"Shut up."

Xiao Wu laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

Tang San glanced at Bai Jin, then quickly looked away.

He disliked judging strangers too quickly.

Especially someone who seemed so unserious yet could make Ning Rongrong furious without making her dare to truly fall out with him.

Dai Mubai walked over, his gaze settling on the token at Bai Jin's waist. "You're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

"Part-time."

"Spirit Hall?"

"That's my iron rice bowl."

Dai Mubai frowned.

That answer was no answer at all.

But Dai Mubai did not lose his temper.

He had a short fuse and the arrogance bred by the Star Luo Imperial Family, but after spending these days receiving applicants, he had learned to rein himself in somewhat. This man's background was unclear, yet Ning Rongrong knew him, and a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect token hung at his waist.

Attacking before asking questions would not be domineering. It would be stupid.

Bai Jin looked at him. "Are you in charge of welcoming people here?"

"Dai Mubai."

"Oh."

Bai Jin nodded.

Dai Mubai waited, but nothing else came.

He could not help asking, "You've heard of me?"

"No."

Dai Mubai: "..."

Xiao Wu laughed again.

Even Tang San could not stop the corners of his mouth from lifting.

Just then, the elder handling registration spoke up. "If you're not applying, don't block the Gate."

Bai Jin turned toward him.

Soul Power surged around the elder, and six Soul Rings rose, his bearing steady.

Shrek was a small place, but its people certainly had big tempers.

Bai Jin smiled. "I'm here to see Ning Rongrong and stay a few days while I'm at it."

"The academy doesn't take in idlers."

"I'll pay."

"Money doesn't mean just anyone can enter Shrek."

Bai Jin thought about it and found that reasonable.

So Soul Rings lit up beneath his feet.

Yellow, purple, black, black, black, black, black.

Seven Soul Rings slowly appeared at the dusty village entrance.

He made no deliberate attempt to exert pressure.

But the moment that purple Second Soul Ring and black Third Soul Ring appeared, the surrounding noise seemed to be cut off.

The elder's expression changed.

Dai Mubai's back stiffened involuntarily.

A Seven-Ring Soul Sage.

And with a Soul Ring Configuration like that.

Flender came out of the academy just in time to see it.

He adjusted his glasses, looked first at the Soul Rings, then at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Guest Elder Token, and finally at Bai Jin's smiling face.

Three breaths later, Flender broke into an exceptionally warm smile.

"An honored guest!"

Bai Jin withdrew his Soul Rings. "The headmaster?"

"Flender."

"Sect Master Ning told me this place was good for training."

"Of course."

"What are the accommodations like?"

Flender paused for half a beat. "Rather simple."

"The food?"

"Plenty of it."

"The bill?"

"Can I send it to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

"Yes."

Flender clasped Bai Jin's hand with the sincerity of an old friend reunited after years apart.

"Mr. Bai, Shrek welcomes every strong expert who cares about our students' growth."

Ning Rongrong muttered, "Headmaster, that's not what you said a moment ago."

Flender's expression did not change. "You're still young. You don't understand the importance of educational resources."

Bai Jin glanced at him.

"You know how to make ends meet."

Flender smiled. "A poor man's skill."

A few simple exchanges settled the matter.

Tang San stood to the side without interrupting.

He could tell Bai Jin was not here to cause trouble. But the man had appeared too suddenly, and he was far too powerful—more powerful than someone his age had any right to be.

Xiao Wu edged closer and whispered, "Brother, he's really strong."

Tang San nodded slightly. "Mm."

"Could you beat him?"

Tang San did not pretend otherwise.

"No."

Bai Jin's ears twitched, and he turned with a smile. "Young lady, you ask some direct questions."

Xiao Wu glared at him. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"You weren't exactly quiet."

"Then don't listen."

"My ears are attached to my head. That makes it rather difficult."

Xiao Wu had no answer. She turned away, cheeks puffed with indignation.

Tang San stepped half a pace forward, his tone still polite. "Since Sect Master Ning invited you, Senior, I trust you won't cause any trouble."

Bai Jin looked at him.

Tang San spoke with neither servility nor arrogance.

He neither fawned nor gave offense.

Not bad.

Bai Jin suddenly raised a hand.

An invisible force lifted a pebble from the ground and held it in midair.

"Tang San."

Tang San's gaze shifted. "You know my name, Senior?"

"I just heard it."

Bai Jin flicked a finger, sending the pebble toward Tang San.

It was not fast.

At least, not to Tang San.

Blue Silver Grass sprang from his palm, wrapped around Xiao Wu's wrist, and drew her gently half a step behind him. At the same time, he turned sideways, caught the pebble with another strand of Blue Silver Grass, then pulled and deflected it in midair.

The pebble fell to the ground.

No one was hurt.

Nor did it strike the children registering nearby.

The smile in Bai Jin's eyes deepened.

He had not rushed to retaliate.

He had a sense of restraint, too.

That made him far easier to like than those geniuses who threw every trump card they had at the slightest test.

Xiao Wu was not pleased. "What was that for?"

Tang San frowned as well. "What was the meaning of that, Senior?"

"To see how you'd react."

"And now you've seen?"

"I have."

Bai Jin walked into the academy, his tone light.

"Tomorrow morning at the hour of the rabbit, gather on the training grounds."

Flender's eyelid twitched. "Mr. Bai, are you..."

"Sect Master Ning paid."

"So?"

"I'll help train your students while I'm here."

Flender fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he felt this money might not be so easy to earn.

Watching Bai Jin's retreating back, Dai Mubai asked quietly, "Everyone?"

Bai Jin did not look back.

"Everyone."

Ning Rongrong immediately protested, "Not me!"

"You get an extra lap."

"Why?"

"Because you're loud."

Ning Rongrong stamped her foot in anger.

Xiao Wu quietly asked Tang San, "Brother, are we really going tomorrow?"

Tang San watched the direction Bai Jin had gone and considered for a moment.

"We are."

"Why?"

"He's strong."

Tang San paused, then added one more thing.

"And he held back just now."

He was not defending Bai Jin.

Tang San was simply in the habit of seeing danger clearly. If the man had truly wanted to hurt someone, that pebble would not have given him a chance to act, much less avoided Xiao Wu's vital points.

Xiao Wu snorted. "At least he knew better."

In the distance, Bai Jin seemed to have heard her. He raised a hand and waved.

"Young lady, talking behind someone's back earns you an extra lap too."

Xiao Wu: "..."

Flender looked over the chaos at the Gate and adjusted his glasses.

After all these years of poverty, Shrek Academy had, for the first time, gained a Soul Saint it did not have to pay—one who might even cover his own meals.

By rights, that was a good thing.

Yet for some reason, he had a feeling that, starting tomorrow, the academy grounds might not survive.