Shrek Academy

The next day,

On a country path through the fields south of Suotuo City, two boys and a girl were making their way along. More precisely, one boy was carrying the girl on his back up ahead, while the other boy trailed slowly behind. These three were Tang Xuan, Tang San, and Xiao Wu, on their way to register at Shrek Academy.

Watching the two ahead, Tang Xuan thought, As the saying goes, when a man pursues a woman, only a layer of gauze stands between them-one poke and it tears. When a woman pursues a man, there's a mountain between them that she can never push over. Xiao Wu's already made it so obvious, but Little San's still kept in the dark, completely clueless. He really thinks her feelings for him are just a sister's affection. And Xiao Wu, that hundred-thousand-year-old rabbit spirit, honestly! What's she being so shy for? She's lived for a hundred thousand years. Can't she be a little more fearless-or grow a thicker skin? Honestly, I just don't understand what's going through these men's and women's heads. But whenever he remembered Tang San solemnly explaining that Xiao Wu was only his younger sister, not his girlfriend, and Xiao Wu's furious expression beside him, Tang Xuan couldn't help wanting to laugh. In fact, he laughed out loud.

Hearing Tang Xuan's laughter, Xiao Wu turned around. "Brother Xuan, what are you giggling about all by yourself back there? Hurry up! Stop dragging your feet. At this rate, we'll miss registration at Shrek Academy!"

"Xiao Wu, you've got the nerve to say I'm slow? We'd barely left the city when you climbed onto Little San's back. You've been stuck to him like glue the whole way and haven't come down once. I've walked all this way, and you have the nerve to criticize me? Hmm, you lazy little rabbit?" Tang Xuan's retort was plainly teasing. Stung by his words, Xiao Wu immediately jumped off Tang San's back.

"Hmph! It's just walking. What's so impressive about that? It's not like I, Sister Xiao Wu, don't know how to walk!" Xiao Wu said defiantly, then marched ahead with her chin raised.

"True enough. We've been traveling so long that Shrek Academy should only be a few steps away. About time you got down and walked a little, wouldn't you say, Xiao Wu?" Tang Xuan continued.

"Hmph!" Xiao Wu angrily turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

Seeing this, Tang San said helplessly, "Brother, can't you go easy on Xiao Wu? Stop picking on her." The constant bickering between Tang Xuan and Xiao Wu left him feeling helpless too.

Tang Xuan kept teasing. "All right, all right, Little San. Your big brother will listen to you. I'll stop talking about your little wife. Happy now?"

"Ah, get yourself a wife and you forget your brother. Once a boy grows up, there's no keeping him at home!" Tang Xuan put on an utterly earnest expression. His words flustered Tang San, who hurried to explain, "Brother, Xiao Wu is my younger sister, and she's yours too! You can't say that!" Tang San spoke with complete seriousness, but the more serious he became, the harder Tang Xuan found it to hold back his laughter.

"Haha, I know, Little San. I won't tease Xiao Wu anymore."

"Hahahaha!" Tang Xuan genuinely couldn't hold it in any longer. A certain rabbit's face was probably turning green with anger by now. Sure enough, amid his laughter, Xiao Wu, who had been walking ahead with her head down, abruptly stopped. She turned and walked over beside Tang Shan, gave Tang San a vicious pinch on the waist, then strode quickly ahead without looking back.

"Hiss!" Tang San sucked in a sharp breath at Xiao Wu's pinch. Between her actions and Tang Xuan's laughter, he stood rooted to the spot in bewilderment. He scratched his head. "Why did Xiao Wu pinch me? And what's Brother laughing about? Those two are so strange." His thoughts were a tangled mess. Seeing Xiao Wu getting farther away, he hurried after her...

A dozen or so minutes later, the three finally reached a village. Its entrance was crowded with people waiting in line. A striking sign hung above the gateway behind the entrance-there, make your decision-with the five large characters for Shrek Academy clearly visible on it. A table stood in front of the queue, and an old man dressed like a farmer sat behind it, pointing and gesturing at those waiting. Dai Mubai, whom they had met before, stood beside the old man like a guard. He seemed to have spotted Tang Xuan and the others as well, but his gaze kept darting away, as though he felt embarrassed.

Just then, a parent somehow angered the old man, who immediately released his Soul Rings. Six rings appeared around him: one white, one yellow, three purple, and one black. The four colors-white, yellow, purple, and black-made for a powerful visual impact. Who would have imagined that this utterly unremarkable-looking old man was actually a Soul Emperor? A Soul Emperor carried considerable weight in a small place like Suotuo City.

"Brother San, look! Even the gatekeeper at Shrek Academy is a Soul Emperor. This academy looks really strong!" Xiao Wu said excitedly to Tang San.

"Yes. Teacher wouldn't recommend the wrong place."

Tang Xuan looked at the old man who had released his Martial Soul and thought, That must be Li Yusong, a teacher at Shrek Academy-a level sixty-three tool-type Soul Emperor with the Dragon Pattern Staff. His Soul Ring combination isn't optimal, but judging by his presence, his combat strength should be pretty good. With my current strength, I could definitely fight him on even terms, or even defeat him outright. Tang Xuan made a quick comparison between himself and Li Yusong. He was still very confident in his current strength. Although Li Yusong was getting on in years, he was no opponent an ordinary Soul Elder could match. But Tang Xuan was hardly an ordinary Soul Elder. In both Soul Ring Configuration and strength, he dared say he was more formidable than an average level-sixty Soul Master.

Li Yusong addressed the crowd coldly. "Shrek Academy only accepts Soul Masters aged twelve or younger with Soul Power above level twenty-one. We do not accept ordinary people. Anyone who fails to meet these conditions should leave immediately and stop obstructing registration. All registration fees are nonrefundable." Some people wanted to protest, but remembering his strength, they could only abandon the idea and slink away. The crowd at the village entrance thinned considerably, leaving only a few people behind. Li Yusong withdrew his Soul Rings and sat down.

"If you lot want to register, hurry up. If not, leave at once," Li Yusong said, pointing at Tang Xuan and the others. If nobody registers, I can finish work early. That miser Flender hasn't paid our wages for months. If he won't pay me, I'm in no mood to work, he thought. Hearing him, Tang Xuan placed a bag of gold coins on the table. "These are the registration fees for the three of us." He pointed to himself, Tang San, and Xiao Wu beside him. Li Yusong then checked their bone ages one after another. Finding that they met the requirements, he let them through. While checking Tang Xuan's bone age, the old man added meaningfully, "Young man, what profound Soul Power!" After the three of them were tested, a girl in a fitted black outfit and another in a sky-blue dress went next. Both passed as well.

Looking at the two girls, Tang Xuan thought, Those two should be Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing! The main story has finally begun. Li Yusong told Dai Mubai to take Tang Xuan and the others straight to the fourth trial. This put enormous pressure on Dai Mubai, who had been doing his best to blend into the background and make himself invisible. I only got beaten up yesterday, and now we're meeting again today. Isn't this a little too awkward? He could only keep his head down and lead them toward the fourth trial, not daring to look Tang Xuan in the eye.

"Brother Dai, I told you we'd meet again." Tang Xuan went over to greet Dai Mubai and gave him a pat on the shoulder. Already feeling nervous, Dai Mubai staggered under the pat and grumbled inwardly, Who wants to meet you again? And that slap nearly knocked me apart! Still, he forced a smile. "Yes! Here we are again. Since all of you have Soul Power above level twenty-five, you can go directly to the fourth trial. So I'll take you there first." Dai Mubai steered the conversation back to the entrance examination. With that, he led the way without daring to turn around again. Seeing that Dai Mubai scarcely responded to him, Tang Xuan muttered, "Am I really that scary?"

Hearing Tang Xuan's question to himself, Tang San and Xiao Wu walked ahead, suppressing their laughter. You beat him up that badly. He's probably still traumatized. It's already good enough that he didn't run away at the sight of you.

"Dai Mubai really can't take much psychological pressure," Tang Xuan said, shaking his head with a sigh as he surveyed the surrounding buildings. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong followed behind the group as well.

Tang Xuan examined the academy buildings. The fence looked as though it had been renovated, the few small buildings had all been repaired, and the stone paths had been laid flat and even. Even the Shrek Academy sign over the gate earlier seemed to have been refurbished. Only a few days had passed, so Flender had worked quite quickly. But was all this really worth over a hundred thousand gold coins? Tang Xuan had given Flender a total of a hundred and thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins, enough to rebuild Shrek Academy from scratch. Yet all he had done was patch things up; he hadn't even built a small wooden building. I told him to build up the academy, and he's really stingy enough to do this. That eternal old bachelor isn't just a little tightfisted. He hasn't bought a single new thing. His stinginess reaches the heavens!

Ah, forget it. A lonely, devoted middle-aged man probably has no hobby left besides making money. Tang Xuan continued inwardly complaining about Flender as he walked.