How about I come in after you're done talking?

"Master... from now on, can I never go to the Soul Tool Department again?"

Before returning to her dorm, Huo Yudie looked intently at Chu Ge and spoke with utter seriousness.

An expectant look rested on her adorable face as she obediently waited for his answer.

Although her master said she could be a little airheaded sometimes, her little brain was not stupid at all. The people in the Soul Tool Department had treated her badly and even done something like this. How could she accept that?

She was no fool. There was absolutely no way she would join them!

She never wanted to go to that Soul Tool Department again.

"Yudie..."

Ma Xiaotao actually wanted to put in a good word for the Soul Tool Department, but after thinking it over, she decided against it.

After all, judging by everything that had happened, the Soul Tool Department had thoroughly wronged little Yudie. If she spoke up for those people, what would Yudie think of her?

"All right."

"We won't go. No more visits to the Soul Tool Department."

With a smile on his face, Chu Ge patted her little head and agreed.

The Soul Tool Department had never been among the places he wanted his little disciple to join. Huo Gua in the original story had been utterly penniless and had to fight for every scrap of resources.

But things were different now. If she absolutely had to learn about soul tools, why not go to the Sun Moon Empire?

As he remembered it, Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo were only Level 8 Soul Engineers at this point. The Sun Moon Empire had over a hundred people at that level, yet at Shrek, they were already the ceiling.

Shrek lost to the Sun Moon Empire on every front.

Besides...

Perhaps it would not be long before he could personally teach his little disciple.

"Yay!"

Huo Yudie giggled, her face beaming.

Only after he nodded did she truly relax. Whatever her feelings toward soul tools themselves, there was no question about how she felt toward the Soul Tool Department as a whole.

As far as she was concerned, she had firmly declined it.

Dai Huabin, Zhou Yi, Fan Yu... in her heart, these people already belonged in the same category. She did not want to be around them, so naturally, she wanted to stay as far away from them as possible.

"Master, Sister Xiaotao, I'll head back first, then."

"Bye-bye."

With a happy expression, Huo Yudie waved and slowly walked away under Chu Ge's gaze.

"I didn't even do anything special."

"And she's already this happy..."

Seeing how adorably silly she looked, Chu Ge felt his heart practically melting and could not help saying with a smile.

But...

Why did this feel so strangely like raising a daughter?

"Chu Ge, are you heading back now?"

Just then, Ma Xiaotao, who stood beside him, looked at him, blinked her large eyes, and asked curiously.

"Not yet."

"I'm going to see Dean Yan Shaozhe. There are a few things I need to talk to him about..."

Chu Ge smiled calmly.

He looked forward to making his God Level soul engineer talent shine, but right now, he knew absolutely nothing about the subject. At the very least, he needed to learn some relevant basics.

He did not have any of the necessary tools either. He would see whether he could discuss it with Yan Shaozhe. No, that was not quite right. Going straight to Xian Lin'er seemed like the better choice...

"Ah, okay, I..."

"Never mind. I'll head back first, then. My dorm is over in the Inner Court, so if we meet again, we can meet there."

Hearing that, Ma Xiaotao immediately nodded and spoke with a bright smile.

After waving goodbye to him, she quickly vanished from the spot with astonishing speed.

I live in the Inner Court too. We'll be seeing each other often.

Chu Ge smiled without saying anything. Apparently, Ma Xiaotao still did not know where he lived. It was no big deal; she would find out soon enough.

Afterward, he headed to Yan Shaozhe's office again. Having been there several times already, he was now thoroughly familiar with the route.

"Young friend Chu Ge, you're here."

"You've come at just the right time."

Inside the office.

Upon seeing him arrive, Yan Shaozhe immediately sat up and spoke with a kindly smile.

"The homeroom teacher position for Class One of the first year was vacant, wasn't it? I've assigned another young teacher to fill it. His name is Wang Yan. I'm sure he'll do a good job."

Yan Shaozhe picked up the new appointment list and said with a smile.

Wang Yan was a Soul King. He was an excellent theoretical soul master at the academy, but unfortunately, his cultivation was not particularly strong. His lifetime ceiling would probably be Soul Saint.

Even so, his talent was still far, far better than that of a certain Grandmaster.

"Wang Yan, huh?"

"I'm sure he'll be quite good."

Hearing this, Chu Ge nodded.

He was not merely humoring him; he meant it. He remembered quite a bit about Wang Yan.

In the original story, he had been one of the few normal people in Shrek's gang of scammers. With him now teaching Yudie's class, there should clearly be no trouble.

Although the man also had a strong sense of pride in Shrek, that was practically unavoidable at Shrek. It was no big issue.

"Also, young friend Chu Ge, since you're a teacher in the Inner Court, you could spend the next couple of days getting to know its students and seeing whether there are any you'd like to teach..."

"Observing some of the other, slightly older students could also help you teach your disciple better, couldn't it? For instance, this generation of the academy's Shrek Seven Devils."

Something occurred to Yan Shaozhe, and he spoke with a broad smile.

Shrek Academy never lacked geniuses. After all, it did not admit anyone who was not a genius. But a genius still growing and a genius who had already matured were two different things.

Chu Ge clearly belonged to the latter category now. Even Ma Xiaotao was nothing more than a small fry before him at this point.

Interacting with someone so powerful would surely benefit those geniuses greatly.

"Hmm... all right."

Chu Ge did not refuse. Since he held a nominal position at the academy, he would inevitably interact with the students. It was only a matter of sooner or later.

"Good."

Yan Shaozhe replied with a chuckle.

"Elder Yan, I've been wanting to do some research on soul tools lately. Could I get access to a workshop in the Soul Tool Department?"

Having agreed to his request, Chu Ge smiled faintly, looked at the man before him, and voiced his own needs.

"A workshop in the Soul Tool Department?"

"I didn't expect you to work on soul tools as well, young friend Chu Ge. I'm afraid I can't help you with that. The Martial Soul Department and the Soul Tool Department are separate, after all. I don't have the authority to allocate anything over there."

"But you can go straight to Dean Xian Lin'er. She won't refuse."

Upon hearing the question, Yan Shaozhe visibly fell silent. A thoughtful expression crossed his face before he answered seriously.

He truly could not help with this.

His relationship with Xian Lin'er was absolutely terrible. Add to that the jealous streak of the tigress at home... ahem. In short, he could not go.

Besides, Chu Ge was a Titled Douluo with immense talent and potential. He was only asking for a workshop; she would not refuse.

"Hmm..."

Looking thoughtful, Chu Ge nodded.

There was already a rift between him and the Soul Tool Department because of Zhou Yi's incident. If he went over now, Xian Lin'er would have no reason to refuse.

"All right."

"I'll be going, then, Dean Yan."

"We've offended a powerful expert for no good reason."

"Qian Duoduo, oh, Qian Duoduo. If Fan Yu hadn't come here today, were you planning to keep hiding this from me forever?"

Xian Lin'er was deeply irritated and distressed, and she could not help speaking out.

She had never been some gentle girl; that much was obvious from the way she played around with soul cannons. And now, they had offended a powerful expert without her even knowing...

Why should I have to deal with this?!

Beside her, Fan Yu remained silent, standing there at a loss like an idle NPC. Ultimately, this had happened because of him, and his teacher had been dragged into it too.

In truth, he himself had been dragged into it! How could he have known that the wife he had married was such a brain-dead piece of work?

"Elder Xian, how about I have Zhou Yi apologize to His Excellency and his disciple tomorrow? At the very least, we can't leave relations this strained..."

Fan Yu sighed.

They all belonged to the same academy and were bound to run into each other regularly. Things could not go on like this.

"That works. I'll invite him to our Soul Tool Department next time, too. We can't just leave this matter as it is."

"What Zhou Yi did was utterly disgraceful. Merely removing her from her position lets her off far too lightly. He must still be very dissatisfied, so on top of that, we at least need an apology that shows further sincerity."

Xian Lin'er nodded, her tone thoughtful.

"Hmm..."

Fan Yu nodded with some difficulty. For some reason, worry had already begun to stir in his heart. Would something go wrong with this solution?

"I think, at the very least, we should..."

As for how exactly to carry it out, Xian Lin'er was brainstorming, considering what would count as swift and decisive action.

Just as she was about to discuss more of the details with him, a figure appeared at a rather inopportune moment.

"Did I come at a bad time?"

With a thoughtful expression, Chu Ge looked at the two people before him, who were currently "conspiring" about how to befriend him, and spoke instinctively.

"How about..."

"I come in after you're done discussing?"

(End of chapter)