You Call This a Library?

Chen Ping had successfully slipped into Shrek, but rather than the grandeur and solemnity he had imagined, Shrek Academy offered beautiful surroundings filled with lush, abundant vegetation.

As he walked along the broad avenue, he could see at least ten kinds of plants in any direction he looked, all clearly tended and pruned with care.

Two hundred meters farther on, several enormous statues blocked his view.

There were ten statues in total, each ten meters tall and carved from the hardest granite.

Three statues stood in the front row. The one in the center depicted an elderly man wearing glasses, a genial smile on his face. He was of average height and slightly plump, looking every bit the affable fellow.

Bei Bei told Chen Ping, "The man in the middle is the founder of our Shrek Academy, and its first headmaster, Flender..."

Chen Ping naturally knew everything Bei Bei was telling him. The Four-Eyed Cat Owl-a fellow that stingy had actually managed to build Shrek into something this big. It was nothing short of a miracle...

But where was old Zhao?

Chen Ping was a little stunned. Even if Zhao Wuji's achievements counted for nothing, surely his hard work counted for something.

He had handled the entrance assessments for new students, and afterward, he was the one who took a beating when Tang Hao came to retaliate.

When they went hunting for soul rings, he helped lead the group. When they encountered the Titan Giant Ape, he was the one who activated his Martial Soul Avatar only to get swatted away with a single slap.

Calling his service arduous and meritorious would hardly be an exaggeration.

Besides, Zhao Wuji had been Shrek Academy's deputy headmaster, after all. Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang had statues here, yet Zhao Wuji did not?

A chilling suspicion flashed through Chen Ping's mind.

Could Zhao Wuji have been denied even a statue after his death because he had beaten up Xiao Wu?

Holy shit, man. Surely not?

Chen Ping's expression darkened almost imperceptibly. Now he was genuinely starting to believe what his system had told him. Become Tang San's dog?

That still depended on whether Tang San thought you were worth keeping!

More often, he might simply crush you outright, or kick you aside once he had finished using you!

If you really offended Tang San, he might still be all smiles to your face, but when he actually came for you, his methods would be more vicious than you could imagine.

Bei Bei did not notice Chen Ping's expression. He continued explaining, "The road branches here. To the left is the Martial Soul Division, and to the right is the Soul Tool Division."

"These are our Shrek Academy's two main divisions, both part of the Outer Court."

"Relatively speaking, the Martial Soul Division is larger, while the Soul Tool Division is smaller. The Martial Soul Division is further divided into many departments."

"Generally, new students must at least pass their first freshman assessment before they're eligible to apply to the Soul Tool Division."

They headed left from the statues. The road remained broad enough for four or five carriages to travel abreast, and a roadside sign read "Lakeside Path."

Through the shady green trees on their right, they could just make out a broad expanse of water.

In other words, a huge lake lay behind the ten statues of the Golden Iron Triangle and the Shrek Seven Devils.

Perhaps noticing where Chen Ping was looking, Tang Ya said with unmistakable pride, "This is Sea God Lake. It was built to commemorate Tang San, the forefather of our Tang Sect. This lake..."

By now, Chen Ping was a little allergic to the name Tang San. He merely listened with his lips pressed together, the joy he had felt upon entering Shrek rapidly cooling.

Although Zhao Wuji's statue was absent, that absence had a far greater effect than its presence ever could have.

The nerves in Chen Ping's mind, which had begun to relax, tightened again at that moment.

A statue that did not exist had ignited a rising sense of anxiety.

Sea God Lake was indeed enormous. They followed the lakeside path south for almost a quarter of an hour before turning west.

After another quarter of an hour or more, the path finally curved inward, and a broad rectangular square came into view.

Beyond Shrek Square stood towering teaching buildings in different colors, primarily white, yellow, purple, and black.

Looking into the distance north of Shrek Square, he could make out what seemed to be another cluster of gray teaching buildings.

Bei Bei pointed to the teaching buildings across the square. "The colors of the buildings represent different year levels, following the colors of soul rings."

"White is for the freshman teaching building, just like the lowest-ranked ten-year soul ring. Yellow buildings are for the Outer Court's second- and third-year students, and purple buildings are for fourth- and fifth-years. Black buildings are for sixth-years."

"If you can make it out of the black teaching building, you can earn your graduation certificate from the academy's Outer Court."

"Those gray teaching buildings in the distance belong to the Soul Tool Department."

"Besides these teaching buildings, there are plenty of specialized facilities farther back, such as the Soul Fighting Arena, the assessment area, the dormitory area, and the teachers' offices."

Hearing this, Chen Ping recovered a little from his anxiety.

The truth was that Chen Ping really had been frightened. There was no denying it.

Only when someone was truly dropped into another world and told that its god could kill them at any moment would that fear, like a festering sore clinging to the bone, truly haunt their heart.

Being afraid was normal, but he could not remain afraid forever. If he did, he would really just be waiting to die, without the slightest chance left.

Discreetly covering his heart with a hand, Chen Ping took several deep breaths.

The ample oxygen rushed into his brain, carrying away some of his anxiety and allowing his sharp intellect to reclaim the high ground.

The path he had chosen was correct, the difficulties along it were real, and the route forward was winding.

But this was already the best path for growth he could chart for himself. Whatever happened, he had to keep walking before he could know where it would lead.

"The teachers' offices?"

Chen Ping looked toward Bei Bei, a questioning expression on his face.

Bei Bei naturally understood what Chen Ping wanted to ask. He smiled. "Teacher Wang won't be in the offices right now, unless Xuan Zi has called him in to work overtime."

"Otherwise, come rain or shine, Teacher Wang is always in the library at this hour."

This was the second time Bei Bei and the others had mentioned a library to Chen Ping. But as far as Chen Ping remembered, did Shrek even have a library?

Apart from the buildings Bei Bei had already introduced, there should only have been Shrek's Inner Court and the Shrek beast pens overseen by Elder Gong. Where was this library?

Soon, Chen Ping got to see Shrek's library-a library housed inside the sixth-year teaching building.

Yes, Shrek's library was not a separate building. It was housed on the ground floor of the sixth-year teaching building, occupying just that single floor.

At the sight, Chen Ping almost laughed in exasperation.

This was Shrek, the most badass academy on the entire continent, bar none!

Your library was just one floor?

And it shared a building with the sixth-year classrooms?

Looking at the "library" before him, which probably measured only two thousand square meters, Chen Ping fell silent.

"What do you think? Pretty impressive, right? Our academy's library has the largest and most comprehensive collection of books of any soul master academy on the continent."

Before Chen Ping could say anything, Bei Bei had already lowered his voice and spoken, the pride in his tone utterly genuine.