The Last Two Monsters Join

"Hahahaha! Good, good!" Zhao Wuji strode over to the three of them and clapped Qin Muchu hard on the shoulder. "You little rascal, you're even more ruthless than I am. If you hadn't stopped, I'd have had to step in and stop you myself."

"Ow, Teacher Zhao, go easy." Qin Muchu grimaced.

Zhao Wuji laughed again. He looked at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, his satisfaction plain on his face. "I never expected you two to be so tenacious. You held out against this kid for so long. Not bad—truly not bad. Aside from him and Xiao Wu, you're the students who've impressed me most in all these years. Welcome to Shrek."

Qin Muchu chimed in, "Zhu Zhuqing, Rongrong, Teacher Zhao hardly ever praises anyone like that. It shows how exceptional you are. Welcome to Shrek."

Zhu Zhuqing's fighting spirit had faded. Her large eyes were now full of gratitude and admiration. "We have Qin to thank for holding back. He didn't use a single Soul Skill in that fight. Otherwise, we'd probably have lost long ago."

Only then did Ning Rongrong realize that Qin Muchu had not used a Soul Skill from start to finish. He had merely blocked their attacks with the simplest moves. She stuck out her tongue and said sheepishly, "Oh, right. I thought you were being so harsh, but you were holding back all along! Hehe, Qin, you're such a nice person."

"Uh, you could've left out that last part." Qin Muchu rubbed his nose. What was with getting called a nice guy out of nowhere?

"And," Zhu Zhuqing said, as understanding dawned on her, "I don't think Qin was simply testing us. Fighting him showed me so many problems with myself that I'd never noticed before. My attack rhythm, the timing of my dodges—there's so much I need to refine. I gained more from that fight than I would have from a month of training alone."

Ning Rongrong nodded eagerly. "Yes, exactly! I feel like I've gained a new understanding of when to apply my boosts, too."

Qin Muchu smiled and waved it off. "That's because you're quick to grasp things."

He could not help marveling inwardly. Geniuses really are geniuses. You barely need to say a thing; one hint and they understand. An ordinary person would probably just think I was bullying her.

Zhao Wuji rubbed his chin and laughed. "Just what I'd expect from Shrek Academy's Little Monsters. Muchu, take Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing to the dorms. I'll have Oscar prepare some Recovery Sausages for them."

Qin Muchu nodded. "Come on, Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing. I'll show you to the dorms." He took two gleaming gold badges from his Soul Tool and handed them over. "These are the academy badges. They prove you're students here."

The badges looked nothing like they had when Qin Muchu first entered the academy. He simply could not stand Flender's peculiar taste. After much coaxing, pestering, and persuasion backed by the power of money, he had finally convinced Flender to let him redesign them himself.

Of course, Qin Muchu paid the entire production cost.

With Qin Muchu leading the way, Ning Rongrong linked arms with Zhu Zhuqing and followed him toward the Dormitory Area, chattering nonstop. They already looked like the best of friends.

Of course, Ning Rongrong did almost all the talking. Zhu Zhuqing only answered now and then.

Qin Muchu watched them with amusement. Friendships between girls really are lovely—as long as both girls are lovely people to begin with. Those militant feminists from my previous life certainly didn't count.

"Qin... um, can I call you Brother Qin?" Ning Rongrong asked. When Qin Muchu nodded, she went on, "Brother Qin, how come we haven't seen any other students along the way?"

She had asked the same question Xiao Wu had back then.

Qin Muchu's expression stiffened. He suddenly understood Dai Mubai's embarrassment that day. "Ahem. As you know, our academy only accepts monsters, so naturally we don't have many students. Including you two, there are only seven of us."

"Seven?" Surprise flashed through Ning Rongrong's eyes, then she nodded as if it made perfect sense. "Well, even I had such a hard time getting in. It would be strange if the academy had crowds of students."

As the Little Princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had a good sense of how rare geniuses were across the continent. Xiao Wu, on the other hand, had grown up in the Star Dou Great Forest and knew little about the human world.

"What about the other three students?"

"The other three are Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Xiao Wu. Dai Mubai is the oldest student. We usually call him Boss Dai. He's fifteen and a rank-thirty-nine Battle Soul Elder. He should be administering the third test up ahead, but we didn't pass that way, so you haven't seen him."

At this point, Qin Muchu paused and glanced at Zhu Zhuqing. She lowered her head and said nothing, her thoughts unreadable. She had noticed his look, of course, and figured he had probably guessed who they were. But she was not surprised. He even knew some of Spirit Hall's secrets; it was hardly strange that he could work out her identity.

"You've already met Oscar. He's fourteen, a rank-thirty-two Food-System Soul Master. We usually call him Little Ao or Sausage Shop. Ma Hongjun is our age—twelve. He's the headmaster's disciple, and the student I told you about whose Innate Soul Power was rank eight. He's currently rank twenty-nine. We all call him Fatty."

"And then there's Xiao Wu." As he spoke of Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong caught a flicker of tenderness in Qin Muchu's eyes. "She's our age too, though she's a few months older than you, Rongrong. We call her Xiao Wu; Fatty and Little Ao call her Sister Xiao Wu. As for her rank, you'll find out when you meet her. Right now, she's probably still asleep."

Qin Muchu smiled to himself, remembering how Xiao Wu had insisted on going with him to the entrance to welcome the new students. She had been so excited that she stayed up all night, only to be too sleepy to get up in the morning. He had not been able to wake her at all.

Ning Rongrong's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Brother Qin, it sounds like you and Xiao Wu are rather close. Your whole expression and tone changed when you introduced her, and you're even keeping her rank a secret from us."

Even Zhu Zhuqing looked up at him.

Qin Muchu rubbed his nose. "Well, Xiao Wu and I have known each other since we were six. We grew up together. Haha."

"Brother Qin, you really like rubbing your nose, don't you?"

"Uh, do I?"

"See? You're doing it right now."

Before long, Qin Muchu brought them to the Dormitory Area and pointed at the wooden cabins ahead. "These are the academy dorms. Xiao Wu, well, she's staying with me for now. You two can share a room."

At the sight of the ramshackle cabins, Ning Rongrong's pretty brows drew together. "Huh? Can anyone live in those?" She looked around, hoping to find a more normal-looking building. Then she spotted an elegant two-story house.