The next afternoon.
In the square at the center of Shrek Academy.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the other three students had arrived early and stood waiting.
"Third Brother, I'm so bored. What do you think Teacher Changsheng will teach us? Will it be another Self-Created Soul Skill?"
"Well, I think it should be something more interesting."
Tang San did not know what Li Changsheng had planned either, but he had always followed his arrangements unconditionally.
Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing, on the other hand, stood silently in place.
Before long, Flender and Li Changsheng finally arrived.
Li Changsheng and Flender walked toward them, chatting and laughing, seemingly discussing something interesting.
Behind them, two figures, one plump and one thin, followed closely.
"Ahem, class is starting."
Flender gave a light cough, then turned and beckoned the two to join the group. "Oscar, Hongjun, join the others first!"
Afterward, he made a point of introducing them to Tang San and the others.
"Ma Hongjun, a rank twenty-eight Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Evil Fire Phoenix.
39
A plump boy waved at them. He had fluffy, fiery-red short hair, a round face full of youthful innocence, and a hint of curiosity in his emerald-green eyes.
Dressed in a green-and-white hooded jacket over a white T-shirt, he looked like quite a trendy little chubby boy.
"Oscar, a rank twenty-nine Food System Soul Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Food God! As for everything else, you can get to know one another in private!"
"That's Oscar?!"
Before him, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong all froze. Why did this Oscar look so different from before?
He had short, silvery, pale-gray hair, delicate, gentle brows and eyes, and emerald-green pupils now brimming with laughter. His features were refined and handsome; in terms of looks, he was even prettier than some girls.
He wore a white inner layer beneath a deep-purple outer garment edged in black, with a folded collar and a loose hem.
He looked like an entirely different person!
If they had not seen his old-man appearance yesterday, Tang San and the others would never have been able to connect the Oscar before them with the one from yesterday.
Adjusting his glasses, Flender looked calmly at everyone and said evenly, "All right, quiet down. This is your future teacher, Li Changsheng. His theoretical knowledge is extremely extensive, and I'm sure it will be helpful to you!"
"Changsheng, would you like to say a few words?"
At this, Li Changsheng nodded and stepped forward. He first glanced at Tang San and Xiao Wu, giving them a faint smile before beginning his speech.
"Apart from Little Ao and Hongjun, the other five students already met me yesterday, so I won't say much. I hope you'll cooperate with my training. At the same time, in my eyes, regardless of your backgrounds or affiliations, you are all my students, my disciples!"
Li Changsheng's words sounded perfectly normal, but Ning Rongrong, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing grew thoughtful. Was Teacher Changsheng referring to them?
"I hope you can set aside some of your airs here and trust one another. The heart of a team isn't how outstanding your individual abilities are, but whether you can trust and understand each other!"
Only after saying this did Li Changsheng step back a few paces and leave things to Flender. His words just now were meant to keep Ning Rongrong from being as temperamental as she had originally been.
She was the princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, so having a bit of a temper and putting on airs was perfectly normal. But what Li Changsheng needed was an Auxiliary System Soul Master who could truly think of the team.
So if things could improve without any conflict, that would be the best outcome.
"All right, Teacher Changsheng will oversee today's training."
"Also, training will take place at dusk. Remember not to eat too much!"
After giving these instructions, Flender headed toward the office building with Li Changsheng.
It was only the first day, after all. Letting these Little Monsters get to know one another first was fine!
As the two strolled down an academy path, Li Changsheng casually caught a falling leaf, looked at Flender beside him, and said, "Flender, from what I know of you, shouldn't you also be saying something about charging a hundred Gold Soul Coins?"
"Ahem, well, you really do understand me, Changsheng! But I figured you wouldn't want to see that. Hehe."
Flender put on a fawning smile, making Li Changsheng laugh.
Smiling helplessly, he took two sheets of finely made white paper from his storage space. They were labeled "Soul Master Academy Operating Permit" and "Pending Renovation Certificate," respectively.
"Take these. I hope you'll put the Gold Soul Coins toward the academy's food and cultivation facilities. The students can't go without a good place to cultivate. They're geniuses, and they deserve better!"
Really?
Changsheng, you fellow, you'd go this far for the students?
After hearing Li Changsheng's words, Flender took the two sheets and examined them.
When he saw the descriptions on them, he froze.
"I can take the renovation certificate to mean you have plenty of funds, Changsheng, but how did you get this operating permit!?"
An operating permit!
He had gone all over Suotuo City seeking connections and still failed to get one! Changsheng had obtained it less than two days after arriving?
"Ahem, we men have our little secrets too. Don't worry, it came from a perfectly legitimate source!"
"Hahaha, I get what you mean!"
Although Flender had no idea what he meant, he still played along with Li Changsheng.
But he really was deeply moved. The appearance of these two sheets meant that his Shrek Academy was no longer some backwoods academy.
It was legitimate and officially recognized!
Even Old Zhao, Old Li, and the others now held proper, established teaching posts!
"Don't worry, Flender. When has your good brother ever lied to you?"
[Detected: the Shrek Seven Devils have formally met. The seven-person team has been successfully formed.] [Rewards: increased template progress, Self-Created Soul Skill Fragment ×1, Soul Tool Version Pistol Blueprint ×1!] [Self-Created Soul Skill Fragment: collect all fragments to obtain a Self-Created Soul Skill. This Soul Skill will compensate for a weakness in the Soul Master's abilities!] [Soul Tool Version Pistol Blueprint: assemble to obtain a revolver. Can be mass-produced. Its power meets Douluo standards!]
Li Changsheng: ?
When a question mark appeared over Li Changsheng's head, he was not the one with a problem.
"System, was that reward deliberate or accidental?"
[----]
The system did not answer, clearly unwilling to give Li Changsheng the time of day. But as he looked at the blueprint in the system space, he sank straight into thought.
I'd better give this to Tang San and let him study it.
The Self-Created Soul Skill Fragment did interest him quite a bit, though. My weakness?
Wouldn't that be my lack of close-combat ability? Luo Sanpao could now be said to hold his own, but I'm still a glass cannon!