A Light in His Eyes-Too Soon

Although Wang Yan's movement had been discreet.

Chen Ping keenly noticed the detail of Teacher Wang Yan stroking his Storage Ring.

After all his years of scraping by, Chen Ping could hardly be called a smooth operator, but he was certainly worldly-wise.

One glance from the corner of his eye told him that Wang Yan was checking whether he had enough money on hand to pay for the meal.

Why?

Because whenever Chen Ping went out to buy something, he often stroked his own Storage Ring with that same anxiety.

Wang Yan was a purely scholarly Soul Master. His avenues for making money were limited, and he was not a Soul Engineer either, so it was perfectly normal for his purse to be light.

Other combat-oriented Soul Masters could take private jobs, and Soul Engineers could sell Soul Tools. Wang Yan alone really did live on a fixed salary.

Still, counting the days, Chen Ping could guess that Shrek's payday would probably fall sometime in the next couple of days.

Given Wang Yan's current situation, his salary probably had not arrived yet.

Whether or not Wang Yan had enough money on hand for a meal, Chen Ping could not possibly let him spend it at a time like this.

"Teacher Wang, I've heard the food in our academy's dining hall is really good, but there are still two months before next year's enrollment. Could you take me there for a meal first?"

Chen Ping spoke with a touch of embarrassment, a hint of longing in his eyes, as though everything about Shrek inspired an endless torrent of admiration in him.

Even Chen Ping himself wanted to give his performance ninety-five points.

Yet Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Wang Yan all looked embarrassed at the same time.

There it was! That familiar look of yearning for everything about Shrek!

Bei Bei had once had that look in his eyes. Tang Ya had too. Even Wang Yan's eyes had once held it.

"Well, Chen Ping..."

Wang Yan reached out awkwardly and rubbed Chen Ping's head. "You don't need to save me money. We can just eat out. You probably don't know this, but our academy's dining hall-has no stools."

The longing in Chen Ping's eyes froze instantly.

Right... right, that did seem to be a thing.

Bei Bei sighed as well, walked over, and patted Chen Ping on the shoulder.

Already disillusioned with Shrek?

Then you'll have to be disillusioned all over again when school starts. After all, our Shrek dormitories are the real heavyweights.

How do you like our mixed-gender Shrek dormitories, sweetheart, with four hundred people on one floor fighting over two toilets?

"All right, don't worry about whether Teacher Wang Yan has enough money. Our academy has always paid treasured scholars like him very well."

"Teacher Wang Yan only dresses simply and uses plain things out of habit. He doesn't have much desire for material comforts, so he spends his salary on books, that's all. Come on."

In the end, Chen Ping went along with Wang Yan and the others.

They had barely walked any distance after leaving Shrek Academy before stopping outside a restaurant called Hongyue Tower.

Wang Yan had eaten at this restaurant quite a few times, but usually someone else had treated him-for instance, when the year director hosted a meal at the end of a semester, or when the higher-ups rewarded him for some achievement.

Paying out of his own pocket to treat others for the first time felt rather good to Wang Yan. It gave him a satisfying sense of lavish generosity for no particular reason.

As a restaurant in Shrek Academy's city, it certainly was not cheap, but fortunately, since it catered to students, its portions were generous.

Once the four of them sat down, Wang Yan wanted to ask the three youngsters more about the whole story.

But whether it was Bei Bei, Tang Ya, or Chen Ping, their eyes had already gone fixed, never once straying from the delicious food on the table.

The three of them had eaten a little on the return trip from Star Dou Forest, but they had only just finished fighting then. Their blood had been surging, and they really had not felt hungry.

After that, they had circled almost halfway around Star Dou Forest's outer region before returning to the academy. Combined with the tremendous physical exertion of battling the Touch Dragon King, it left all three of their stomachs growling with hunger.

"All right, all right, eat first. We can talk once you're full."

As gentle as ever, Teacher Wang Yan simply smiled and let the youngsters pick up their chopsticks.

"Long live Teacher Wang!"

Tang Ya cheered. Bei Bei and Chen Ping did not stand on ceremony either, picking up slices of beef and stuffing them into their mouths.

The three of them tore into the meal in a headlong rush.

Tang Ya was relatively restrained and ate more delicately, but Bei Bei and Chen Ping completely let themselves go.

They only stopped when one had eaten until his belly was round and the other was burping, stuffed to the throat.

Wang Yan nodded inwardly. A hearty appetite was a talent for Soul Masters too, especially those of the power attack system.

Seeing that all three had more or less finished eating, Wang Yan finally spoke at an unhurried pace, asking about Chen Ping.

Chen Ping let out another sudden burp. Just as he was about to answer, Bei Bei and Tang Ya began chattering away.

That worked out well enough. Chen Ping hurriedly grabbed a teapot and poured several cups of tea down his throat before his burping finally stopped.

"Your Martial Soul devours soul bones to evolve?"

When Wang Yan heard Bei Bei describe the part about Chen Ping's Martial Soul Evolution.

Chen Ping almost had the illusion that Wang Yan's eyes were shining.

The way Wang Yan looked at him now was like a wolf maddened by hunger on the wasteland. His eyes practically glowed green.

Only after hearing the entire story from Bei Bei and Tang Ya, from their first encounter with Chen Ping to their return to Shrek together, did Wang Yan smack his lips.

Even he had to admire Chen Ping's courage, while also feeling a little sorry for him.

If they had not truly reached the end of their rope, how many people would dare raid the Touch Dragon King's lair without even their first soul ring?

Chen Ping had not come to him immediately. Instead, he had obtained his first soul ring himself, leaped four levels, and only sought him out after reaching level fourteen. His meaning was already perfectly clear.

Although Chen Ping had come to him for help through a difficult time, he had absolutely no intention of clinging to him.

Only for something he could not possibly accomplish through his own efforts, such as obtaining a recommendation for admission to Shrek, would he ask Wang Yan for help.

What a kid-he has backbone and knows where to draw the line.

There was now a little more approval in Wang Yan's gaze as he looked at Chen Ping.

For a teacher, nothing brought greater pride than nurturing a few outstanding students, and the prerequisite for that was finding promising seedlings.

The look Wang Yan gave Chen Ping now clearly belonged to someone who had found a promising seedling.

"There are still more than two months before the new students enroll. Chen Ping, how about staying at my place for now?"

After thinking for a moment, Wang Yan said, "Don't be embarrassed. Every inch of land in Shrek City is worth its weight in gold. A room that costs a few silver coins a day elsewhere costs several Gold Soul Coins a day here."

"Although my place is staff housing assigned by the academy, it has two bedrooms, so I can spare one for you."

"If you don't mind, you can move in today. I happen to be very curious about that Willow Wood Staff Martial Soul of yours that can evolve on its own. I just don't know whether you'd be willing to let me study it."