The Month Was Up, the Dragon King Returned

Meanwhile, in a small town far away, a short-haired boy with pinkish-blue hair sneezed. The sound startled the little goldfish that had been about to bite his hook, sending them scattering through the water.

Wang Dong cried out in frustration. Who was secretly badmouthing her behind her back? It had cost her a little goldfish.

"Young master, we should set off. If we delay any longer, we'll miss the start of term at Shrek Academy."

A Clear Sky Sect disciple dressed as a guard stood nearby. With a wry smile, he urged Wang Dong to get moving.

"I know. Will you stop nagging?"

Wang Dong rolled her eyes, put down her little fishing rod, and planted her hands on her hips, her voice full of resentment.

"I have no idea what my first and second fathers were thinking, sending me all the way to Shrek Academy to study."

And making me dress as a boy, too.

Wang Dong kept that part to herself. It was absurd: they were worried her looks would attract admirers like bees to flowers, so they had dressed her as a boy and arranged for her to share a dorm room with one. She could barely stand it.

Her eyes darted about, and inspiration struck. She turned to the guard beside her.

"I'll leave, but I want to take a different route."

Perhaps to vent some of her resentment, Wang Dong had decided not to follow the route they had originally planned to Shrek Academy.

The guard's vision nearly went dark when he heard that. What was this little ancestor up to now? She had already played her heart out in every city they had passed through.

"Don't worry. I swear on my first and second fathers that I'll reach Shrek Academy on time."

Wang Dong did not want to make things too difficult for the guards, lest they be punished when they returned.

"Very well. After you, young master."

The guards breathed sighs of relief and drove Wang Dong's carriage along the route she had chosen.

Elsewhere, a small figure was pressing steadily onward.

Time flew. The month was up, and the Dragon King returned.

With a pack on his back, Tang Wulin was escorted by Mu En, Niu Tian, and Tai Tan to Shrek Academy to register.

After a month of hard training, Tang Wulin had mastered the common characters used on the Douluo Continent. His Soul Power had reached level seventeen, and he had become thoroughly proficient with his First Soul Ring.

No one expected Tang Wulin to raise his Soul Power quickly. For him, the sixteen seals remaining within his body were what mattered most.

Tempering his body and Spiritual Power, steadily building a firm foundation for his Soul Power, and successfully absorbing the Golden Dragon King's power would be enough.

However dangerous the continent became, Tang Wulin's safety could be assured with a healthy Mu En and two Divine Beasts able to unleash their full strength watching over him.

The three of them hovered in the air, silently watching Tang Wulin join the registration line outside the East City Gate.

"I don't know what Tang San was thinking."

Tai Tan gritted his teeth, his eyes full of resentment.

"That strange order of his sent Wutong to Shrek Academy, and now Wulin has to hide his identity and temper himself in the Outer Court."

"With their backgrounds, why should they have to suffer like this?"

Mu En did not dare say a word. Life in Shrek Academy's Outer Court was rather hard.

"Perhaps Tang San has his reasons."

Niu Tian quietly watched Tang Wulin's head amid the surging crowd below. He did not understand Tang San's thinking either, but they had not understood Sister Xiao Wu's decision to take human form back then. They could simply follow his wishes; after all, they could protect both children if things went wrong.

Besides, he knew a position as a Second-Level God had already been arranged for Little Seven. Though Wulin had been forced into his circumstances, he still had the legendary Golden Dragon King's power to fall back on. They could treat it as a chance for the children to experience ordinary life.

In the line, Tang Wulin looked helplessly at the people standing a head taller than him. He was only six, after all, while they were twice his age. So what if he was short? He would grow.

"Little brother, are you here to register at Shrek Academy too?"

Some girls noticed the adorable little boy and crowded around to tease him.

"That's right. I'm here to register too."

Hemmed in by the scent of perfume and powder, Tang Wulin instinctively hunched his shoulders. He remembered his mother's warning: "Women outside are tigers."

They really are as frightening as tigers.

"Little brother, how old are you to be registering already? Have you reached level fifteen?"

A boy watched Tang Wulin surrounded by girls and ground his teeth, his words sour with envy.

"Sorry, big brother. I'm level seventeen."

Tang Wulin was not about to let the boy's remark pass. He raised his voice slightly and stated his current Soul Power Level.

He had done nothing to provoke the boy. The thought left him feeling rather wronged. He had only been standing quietly in line; they were the ones who had come over to bother him.

"How—"

The boy broke off when he saw all the girls around Tang Wulin glaring at him. He did not want to ruin his chances of finding a girlfriend for the next six years.

Besides, everyone registering would undergo a simple test. There was no point in lying.

The child before him was probably a genius, while he himself had only just reached level sixteen. He slunk away.

Tang Wulin was surrounded by perfume and powder once more.

By the time his turn came, Tang Wulin had finally wriggled free of the girls. Flushed red, he approached the senior student conducting the interview.

They're terrifying.

"Tang Wulin, seven years old, level seventeen."

Remembering that his sixth birthday had passed, Tang Wulin gave his details the way the person before him had.

"Seven years old!"

The senior student stared at Tang Wulin in shock. Tang Wulin looked young, but he had not expected him to be only seven.

Shrek Academy was an advanced academy. Its age limit was twelve, so seven was eligible, but no one so young had ever come to register before. His Soul Power Level met the requirement, though.

After confirming Tang Wulin's Soul Power, the senior student hesitated before speaking.

"Show me your recommendation letter."

A recommendation letter?

What recommendation letter?

Tang Wulin froze. Did registration require a recommendation letter? Mu En had never told him that.

"Why does registering at your Shrek Academy involve so much trouble? What recommendation letter does he need?"

Tai Tan glared at Mu En beside him.

What kind of job had he done? They had finally steeled themselves to let Tang Wulin attend the Outer Court, only for him to be stopped at the gate.

"Well—"

"It should be a Main City Recommendation Letter."

Mu En's voice grew quieter and quieter, betraying his guilt. He had not concerned himself with such matters for years. How could he remember that enrolling from scratch required a recommendation letter? He had joined through his sect back then and never dealt with any of this.

"You little..."

Tai Tan was so angry he laughed. Mu En was far too unreliable.

"Let him in. I'll vouch for him."

A gentle male voice suddenly sounded beside them. Tang Wulin turned toward it.

Three boys and a girl stood before him. The speaker was the smiling boy at their head, whose short hair was dark blue.

(More writing to come)