The Coiling Dragon Sect's inherited teachings

What did it mean to be considerate? This was considerate!

What did it mean to be a warmhearted man? This was a warmhearted man!

At that moment, Chen Ping practically wanted to drop to his knees and kowtow to Wang Yan.

If he had shared a dorm with someone like this back in college, that man would have been his bona fide godfather.

If Chen Ping really had to find a way to scrape through the next two months or so by himself, then wait until Shrek started classes before moving into a dorm, he would definitely have changed classes to vagrant on the spot.

He would open treasure chests in Shrek City during the day, then leave the city at night and find a wall to lean against while he slept.

With rooms costing several Gold Soul Coins a day, he couldn't have afforded one even if he were slaughtered and sold for meat.

Seeing the excitement written all over Chen Ping's face, Wang Yan merely smiled gently. "We're relatives, after all. There's no need to keep thanking me."

"Even without that connection, I couldn't possibly let you go hungry. Once you're at school, keep calling me Mr. Wang."

"As for in private, I'm the second-oldest in my family, so you can call me Second Uncle. Going home to check the family genealogy now would be far too much trouble."

Chen Ping sprang to his feet and cupped his fists, his voice brimming with heartfelt emotion. "Second Uncle!"

As the saying went, a half-grown boy could eat his father out of house and home.

Wang Yan had never understood what that meant until he settled the bill and discovered just how much weight those words carried.

He and that girl Tang Ya hadn't eaten much, but Bei Bei and Chen Ping had eaten a great deal, with Chen Ping eating the most of all.

The feast hadn't even included any soul beast meat, yet they had still managed to eat their way through more than twenty Gold Soul Coins.

After seeing Tang Ya and Bei Bei off, Wang Yan took Chen Ping shopping for some everyday necessities before returning to the staff dormitory.

Chen Ping still carried his bamboo basket on his back. It was the tool of his trade, after all.

He had unfastened it and tossed it aside in the Centipede Cave before ambushing the Lesser Touch Dragon King, but afterward, he had picked it up again and carried it all the way here.

Chen Ping felt bad about living entirely off Wang Yan for the next two months or so.

Although becoming a One-Ring Soul Master meant he could receive a monthly stipend from the Three Great Empires, it amounted to only one Gold Soul Coin a month.

Truthfully, for a soul master like Chen Ping who relied on potions, that money was just a cup of water thrown onto a burning cartload of firewood. Besides, he had to register and enroll at Shrek before he could even collect it.

Unless he came up with a good way to earn some money, he couldn't even scrape together the ten Gold Soul Coins needed for Shrek's enrollment fee. He would probably have to trouble Wang Yan again.

But how should he earn that money?

Back when he was out traveling, he could pose as a top student from Shrek Academy, helping people devise this plan or put together that combination to earn a little money for his trouble.

But now that he was actually at Shrek, top Shrek students were everywhere. That money wouldn't be so easy to earn anymore.

While Chen Ping agonized over how to make money, Wang Yan had already opened the door.

"Come in, Chen Ping. The little bedroom on the right is yours from now on."

Wang Yan snapped his fingers, and the several Unranked Soul Guidance Lamps in the room immediately lit up.

The staff quarters assigned to Wang Yan weren't large, but though the sparrow was small, it had all its vital organs.

There was not only a private bathroom but even a little kitchen, which gave Chen Ping an idea.

He planned to go out and buy some ingredients tomorrow, then make Wang Yan a late-night snack when he came home that evening.

If his cooking skills hadn't deteriorated, perhaps he could enter the same line of business as Huo Gua.

How much could Huo Yuhao earn from grilled fish? Chen Ping had worked at an open-air food stall during his summer and winter breaks, even manning the wok.

He could buy ingredients later in the day, cultivate and read during the daytime, then run a food stall at night.

If he could also negotiate one or two supply channels for drinks, wouldn't the damn money just keep rolling in?

Chen Ping was considering how feasible this idea really was, and whether it would take up so much cultivation time that he would end up falling short of Shrek's minimum enrollment requirements.

He was also pondering practical matters, such as whether he could afford to rent a stall in Shrek City and whether Shrek allowed outdoor barbecue stalls, when Wang Yan's puzzled voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hm? Chen Ping, what have you got in this bamboo basket?"

As Chen Ping took the various necessities Wang Yan had helped him buy out of his bamboo basket, Wang Yan caught sight of several thick stacks of manuscripts inside it out of the corner of his eye.

"Ah... these..."

Chen Ping immediately grew awkward, unsure what to say. He couldn't just bluntly tell Wang Yan that these were the evidence of his past swindles while posing as a top Shrek student, could he?

Wang Yan gave them a few casual glances, his eyes growing brighter the more he looked. "May I take them out and have a look?"

Faced with his second uncle's eager gaze, Chen Ping could only nod awkwardly.

[Common Martial Soul Parameter Reference Table]

[Shrek Academy Student Training Manual]

[Methods for combining soul ring and soul bone skills without diluting damage]

[...]

Wang Yan picked up the manuscripts and skimmed them at first. Then his gaze sharpened, and he began reading carefully.

In the end, Wang Yan simply sat down on Chen Ping's little bed, his eyes burning as he studied the stack of manuscripts from the bamboo basket.

Never mind anything else-the Common Martial Soul Parameter Reference Table alone had already stunned him.

Every kind of martial soul, whether tool martial soul or beast martial soul, low-grade or high-grade, had all its parameters clearly transcribed into the tables.

The growth curve after every ten levels was explicitly explained, and the growth coefficient for each attribute was crystal clear. Wang Yan had never seen such a detailed parameter reference table.

It was fair to say that if a soul master obtained a parameter reference table corresponding to their own martial soul, they couldn't possibly choose the wrong growth path. All they had to do was follow the table, and their development would never go astray.

Carefully setting the parameter reference table aside, Wang Yan picked up the Shrek Academy Student Training Manual. After reading a few pages, he was even more bewildered.

What on earth were these planks, pull-up walks, and resistance-band crunches?

And what were these deadlifts, clean and jerks, and dumbbell flyes?

Shrek Academy had training exercises like these?

How come I, a Shrek teacher, knew nothing about them?

The more Wang Yan read, the more astonished he became.

This so-called "Shrek Training Manual" in Chen Ping's possession recorded detailed training methods for every part of the human body, and even included ready-made training plans.

It explained how to improve core strength and strengthen the upper body, and even labeled the strengthening effects of different exercises on each body part. It practically spoon-fed everything straight into the reader's mouth!

How the hell was this a training manual for Shrek students?

All we fucking did at Shrek was run and run with weights! Don't go giving us credit we don't deserve!

Wang Yan hurriedly put those manuscripts down and picked up the stack on combining soul ring and soul bone skills without diluting damage, feeling somewhat hesitant.

By now, he had already guessed where these manuscripts came from, but he still couldn't resist wanting to read a little more.

"Chen Ping, these manuscripts must be the Coiling Dragon Sect's inherited teachings, right?"

"I'm sorry. Strictly speaking, I shouldn't have intruded by reading your family's teachings like this, but I really couldn't help myself..."

"I promise you that unless I have your permission, not a single word of what I saw today will pass my lips."

Chen Ping, who had still been trying to think of an explanation for where these manuscripts came from, suddenly brightened.

"Ah-yes, yes. These are indeed the Coiling Dragon Sect's inherited teachings."

Chen Ping discreetly wiped the sweat from his forehead.