Before he knew it, five years had passed at Nuoding Academy, and Tang San and Xiao Wu were nearing graduation.
On graduation day, a thin veil of morning mist shrouded Nuoding Academy's main gate.
Tang San stood on the left, Xiao Wu on the right.
Both youngsters had changed into clean, neat outfits, one quiet and elegant, the other lively and adorable.
Yet compared with the changes in their appearance, their increase in soul power level was far more striking.
Tang San, a level 35 Control System Battle Soul Elder.
Xiao Wu, a level 33 Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder.
In tiny Nuoding City, announcing their ages and levels could frighten a whole crowd half to death.
Even the academy administrators who had spent half their lives barely reaching the threshold of Soul Elder greeted them with ingratiating smiles and flattery.
Li Hanqiu stood behind his two disciples, his blue robe swaying gently in the breeze.
Over the past few years, his fame had long since spread beyond Nuoding Academy.
A year earlier, several intermediate soul master academies had sent representatives offering generous sums to recruit him as a theory instructor.
One dean of studies from Barak had slapped an appointment letter onto his desk, offering two thousand Gold Soul Coins a year, with meals, lodging, and even matchmaking included.
Then, six months earlier, even Heaven Dou Royal Academy had sent word through an intermediary.
"If Teacher Li is willing to come, name your terms."
Of course, Li Hanqiu had turned them all down.
He knew his fame came from raising disciples like Tang San and Xiao Wu, while his own talent and cultivation also made him worth investing in for the major powers.
But searching his heart, he knew that without the [Manga Grandmaster System], his martial soul, Holy Light Ao, could never have broken through the "Radiant Sacred Dragon" genetic limiter.
No matter how much "Sub-Dragon Soul Beast meat" Li Hanqiu fed Holy Light Ao, or how pure the dragon-type Soul Rings he added were.
Without breaking through the bloodline's upper limit, everything he did would be futile.
To climb higher, he had to take his disciples with him and recruit more gifted disciples.
Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy could no longer contain them.
As he pondered this, a rustling came from the mountain path behind him.
Li Hanqiu looked up.
He saw a dusty gray figure huffing and puffing up the slope.
The man carried a towering pile of things: oil-paper packages, wooden boxes, and several bulging cloth bundles stacked so high that his chin disappeared behind them.
The visitor still wore his greasy, filthy gray robe. He had shaved his stubble, though badly, leaving streaks of blood across his cheeks.
"Teacher Li! Teacher Li!"
Yu Xiaogang climbed up the mountain, still struggling to catch his breath, and set everything on the stone table with a thump.
"I came to see you... no, I mean, to see you, little San, and Xiao Wu!"
He plastered a smile across his face, squeezing his wrinkles into a chrysanthemum.
Li Hanqiu watched Yu Xiaogang with mild interest, unsure what medicine Gangzi was selling in his gourd.
Over the years, as Li Hanqiu's cultivation advanced, Yu Xiaogang had completely abandoned any thought of competing with him for disciples.
Obviously. Tang San and Xiao Wu now had higher soul power levels than Gangzi. No matter how shameless he was, he could hardly approach them and offer to take them as disciples.
Li Hanqiu glanced at Yu Xiaogang's ingratiating smile, then at the pile of goods. "What's all this?"
"Just a little token, a little token." Yu Xiaogang rubbed his hands. "I remembered Xiao Wu likes sweets, so I bought some osmanthus cakes. Yes, yes, carrot-flavored ones, too.
"And doesn't little San like tinkering with those strange little contraptions of his? I bought some refined iron sand..."
As he spoke, his eyes kept sliding toward Tang San, and his smile grew even wider.
At Yu Xiaogang's sleazy smile, Tang San frowned slightly, his lips instinctively pressing together as a trace of distaste flickered in his eyes.
So he shifted half a step behind Li Hanqiu.
"If you have something to say, say it." Li Hanqiu poured him some tea. He vaguely remembered it had expired about two weeks earlier. He had meant to throw it away, but then Gangzi had turned up.
All he could say was, "A crooked pot for a crooked stove-a perfect match."
"Straight to the point, Teacher Li!" Yu Xiaogang sat on a stone stool, accepted the tea with both hands, took a sip, and heaved a long sigh.
"Over these years... I've finally thought things through."
He set down the cup and looked at Li Hanqiu, his expression so earnest it was oily. "I was wrong before. I was jealous, foolish, blinded by lard over my heart."
"Now, I truly regret it."
"Oh," Li Hanqiu said, pouring Yu Xiaogang another cup of expired tea without betraying any emotion.
"I thought I ought to make it up to you somehow." Yu Xiaogang leaned forward, exposing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Teacher Li, have you heard of Shrek Academy?"
"No."
"Then you've been missing out!" Yu Xiaogang slapped his thigh and declared passionately.
"Let me tell you, that academy may keep its mountains and waters hidden, but every teacher there is a formidable figure.
"For instance, its dean is called Flender. You may not have heard his name, but you must have heard his famous title, the 'Flying Horn.' Flender and I have a friendship forged through life and death!"
"And the vice dean, Zhao Wuji-heh, he's even more famous. He's the 'Immovable Wisdom King,' who once fought sixteen Spirit Hall Soul Emperors single-handedly! His name rings loud throughout the Soul Master World!"
He counted on his fingers, spittle flying:
"Little San and Xiao Wu have graduated, and they need a good academy with high admission standards. Shrek is a first-rate choice!
"Besides... Shrek Academy also wants to offer Teacher Li a handsome sum to join us. Name whatever terms you like!"
Li Hanqiu picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.
How could he not know the name Shrek?
But this fellow before him was hardly turning over a new leaf. If he truly had good intentions, the sun would have to rise in the west.
He clearly wants to lure me to Shrek, then trip me up step by step to avenge that business with the Farting Pig, the Gold Soul Coins he paid out, and his confiscated Soul Tool.
Still, even knowing Gangzi harbored ill intentions, Li Hanqiu intended to go.
In fact, he had to go!
The first mission issued by the [Manga Grandmaster System]:
Gather all the Shrek Seven Devils and guide them onto the right path. For this mission, Li Hanqiu had long been planning how to join Shrek Academy temporarily.
Once he took the remaining five youngsters as disciples and brought them away, he would make a clean getaway.
He had been worrying about how to join Shrek Academy without leaving any obvious traces of his intentions, only for Gangzi to show up!
Gangzi, oh Gangzi, you really are the kind soul who brings me a pillow just when I'm getting sleepy.
But he could not show too much interest. Getting overly excited about an obscure little academy would clearly look suspicious.
So Li Hanqiu set down his cup, his expression indifferent.
"Shrek Academy? Never heard of it."
He glanced at Yu Xiaogang and said unhurriedly:
"You just mentioned my reputation yourself. I can take my pick of intermediate academies, and Heaven Dou Royal Academy has approached me, too.
"Why should I pass up a plum position to follow you to some little place tucked away in a forgotten corner?"
Yu Xiaogang grew anxious, shifting twice on his stone stool. "Don't say that! Teacher Li! It's different!"
"How is it different?"
"Well, well..." Yu Xiaogang's eyes darted around before he squeezed out a few words. "It's... close!"
Li Hanqiu nearly laughed aloud.
"Close? Heaven Dou Royal Academy would hire a carriage specifically to fetch me. Isn't that more convenient than your place?"
Yu Xiaogang hemmed and hawed for ages, sweat appearing at his temples.
"Teacher Li, name your price! As long as you go, I'll take care of whatever terms you set!"
Li Hanqiu said nothing, merely tapping the stone table now and then with a finger.
Only after a long while did he sigh, as though "reluctantly agreeing."
"All right. For the sake of your repeated visits, and your 'turning over a new leaf.'"
He paused, counting on his fingers. "First, I want a formal appointment letter and a monthly salary of five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
"Second, I want a shipment of forging materials.
"Every month, deliver twenty jin each of dark iron and fine gold, five jin of stardust, and three sets of superior mother-and-child iron. If even one item is missing, forget everything we've discussed."
In all fairness, this price was already higher than Heaven Dou Royal Academy's offer.
A monthly salary of five thousand Gold Soul Coins was even higher than that of a Heaven Dou Grade teacher-a level 60 Soul Emperor-at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
And those forging materials were all rare, expensive varieties. Li Hanqiu intended to give them to Tang San to make hidden weapons.
After all, hidden weapons were still extremely powerful in combat on the Douluo Continent.
When Li Hanqiu finished, Yu Xiaogang's face twitched with the pain of parting with money.
Li Hanqiu looks so handsome and respectable, but damn, he's utterly shameless inside, asking for such a high price.
Knowing how his friend Flender loved money as dearly as life itself, Yu Xiaogang was certain he would never agree to this request.
But once he thought of tricking Li Hanqiu into Shrek, wouldn't he then be free to manipulate him however he pleased?
He gritted his teeth and steeled his heart. "Done! Everything as you say!"
Then he plastered on another smile. "Teacher Li, it's settled, then? After the graduation ceremony, we'll head to Suotuo City.
"I, the Grandmaster, will personally cover the carriage, provisions, and lodging along the way!"
"Fine." Li Hanqiu rose. "As long as the salary is paid, arrange the rest yourself."
Yu Xiaogang answered with a string of eager affirmations, lifted his emptied teacup to drain the last drops, and headed merrily down the mountain.
Halfway down, he looked back toward the Back Mountain.
Li Hanqiu still stood beneath the pagoda tree, tall and straight. Holy Light Ao lay nearby, golden scales glittering in the setting sun.
Yu Xiaogang turned away, and the smile on his face instantly chilled.
"Li Hanqiu..." he murmured. "Once we reach Shrek, I, the Grandmaster, have a hundred ways to make you spit out everything you've swallowed, with interest."
He touched his bare waist, remembered the confiscated "Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges," and felt his teeth itch with resentment.
"And Tang San..."
"Sooner or later, he'll be my disciple!"
Night deepened over the Back Mountain.
Li Hanqiu inspected everything Yu Xiaogang had brought.
The pastries were fine, and the refined iron sand was decent enough. But as for any "repentance and reform," Li Hanqiu would not believe it even if someone beat him to death.
"Teacher, are we really going to Shrek?" Tang San approached from behind, his voice gentle.
"Yes." Li Hanqiu brushed the dust from his hands. "It's time to leave."
"But Yu Xiaogang..."
"He's desperate to get me there." Li Hanqiu smiled. "If I don't go, how will he finish performing this little play?"
Tang San gazed at his profile, only half understanding, but still nodded softly.
"Wherever you go, Teacher, little San will follow."
Xiao Wu bounced out of the doorway, half an osmanthus cake still stuffed in her mouth. "I'm going too, I'm going too! I heard Suotuo City has a huge Soul Fighting Arena!
"I'm going to blast my opponents off their feet with my adorable Mitu Shockwave in front of tens of thousands of people!"
"Wipe your mouth first." Li Hanqiu tossed her a hand towel.
Xiao Wu reached for it but missed, and the towel landed on her face with a slap.
The two youngsters dissolved into laughter.
Li Hanqiu raised his head and gazed at the field of stars to the north.
Shrek Academy, huh.
Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong.
He thought over the names of the remaining five Shrek Seven Devils, and the corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
"Come to think of it, my disciples seem to be all girls. Does this count as starting a girl group on the Douluo Continent?"
Li Hanqiu mused softly.
Before you continue