"Don't let it happen again!"
"Right, Xiao An, what exactly did you want me to help you do?"
Xiao Wu chose not to quibble and very cleverly changed the subject.
Chen An was a little confused and asked, puzzled, "You mean that ice lotus seed?"
Xiao Wu nodded.
She took the ice-blue flower tied to her hair off and very carefully sprinkled clean water over it.
"Ah!"
"Let's talk about that later. I haven't thought it through yet."
Chen An kept feeling that the ice lotus seed wasn't much use. Aside from looking pretty and giving off a delicate fragrance, it had none of the abilities an immortal herb ought to have.
"Xiao An, do I look pretty?"
Xiao Wu tied the ice lotus seed back into her hair.
She swayed, her dancing hair giving off a faint fragrance.
For some reason.
A wave of heat stirred inside Chen An.
He felt that Xiao Wu had become much prettier overall.
"Pretty. Really pretty!"
Chen An swallowed, a trace of desire flashing through his eyes.
"Hmm?"
"Really? Then do you want to..."
Xiao Wu blushed, her body involuntarily tensing up.
"Yes!"
"I even dream about it!"
The moment Chen An said it, he felt deeply ashamed.
He remembered once swearing to become a gentleman and a good person, yet now he couldn't resist even this little temptation. How hypocritical.
Xiao Wu covered her lips, disbelief in her eyes. "Xiao An, you... how could you be like this?"
Chen An gritted his teeth and lowered his head without a word, like a child who had done something wrong.
"Come on, then."
"That's what I get for having you as my big brother!"
Xiao Wu gently let her long hair down and sat by the bed, holding the ice lotus seed.
Chen An froze.
Isn't this a little too fast?
Noticing that Chen An still hadn't made a move, Xiao Wu urged impatiently, "Hurry up and brush my hair! I still want to get some rest!"
"Huh?"
"So you meant brushing your hair?!"
Chen An wanted to find a hole in the ground and crawl into it. How could his head hold such dirty thoughts?
It must have been Xiao Wu's Soul Skill, Charm!
It had to be!
Although having desires was normal, what Chen An wanted was to get Xiao Wu to take the initiative.
After all, a forcibly plucked melon wasn't sweet. He also deeply despised forcing himself on someone, or even deceiving them emotionally.
Chen An wanted to improve his strength first, then help Xiao Wu take revenge. Once everything weighing on her mind was gone, wouldn't he be able to win her over completely?
"Hey!"
"Xiao An, what on earth are you doing?"
Xiao Wu was on the verge of erupting. The anticipation she had finally managed to build up had come to nothing just like that.
"Sorry, sorry! My fault!"
Chen An snatched the comb from Xiao Wu's hand and began working clumsily...
After a day's rest.
The three set off for Shrek Academy.
Because the academy was so remote, they nearly got lost out there.
Seeing no end in sight, Xiao Wu couldn't help grumbling, "The road is long and awful. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were visiting relatives in some village. What kind of trash academy is this? Could Grandmaster have made a mistake?"
Looking at the map, Tang San was also a little bewildered. "Hiss... it should be just ahead. Trust Teacher. There's absolutely no mistake!"
Chen An secretly shook his head, thinking that the bond between God King Tang and Gangzi really was the deepest.
If Tang San learned that Gangzi was coming to Shrek Academy, wouldn't he be over the moon?!
"Xiao An, I'm so tired!"
"Could you carry me on your back again?"
Seeing Tang San go ahead alone to scout the way, Xiao Wu grew bolder.
Chen An gently stroked Xiao Wu's long hair. "Sure, but I can't keep getting the short end of the stick, can I?"
"Then what do you want?" Xiao Wu regarded Chen An with a peculiar look.
He said nothing and pointed at his cheek.
"Hah!"
"In your dreams!"
Xiao Wu knocked on Chen An's head. She glanced around, and after finding no one nearby, secretly...
"No, too old!"
"Old? My child is only fourteen, and his Soul Power has already reached rank twenty-three, far beyond his peers!"
At the entrance to Shrek Academy, an old man sat beneath a large tree, conducting basic age and Soul Power tests for the children applying.
"Sigh!"
"I'll emphasize this once more. Shrek only accepts monsters, not ordinary people. Under thirteen, with Soul Power no lower than rank twenty-one. You must meet both requirements. If you don't, get lost yourselves. Don't waste your time or mine!"
The old man's words made many of the parents in line impatient, and there were even quite a few complaints and curses.
"What a lousy academy! Your requirements are even higher than those noble schools in the empire. We're done. Give us back the application fee!"
The parents of the rejected children shouted angrily. In their eyes, this was outright robbery.
"Hmph. Once the application fee is paid, there are no refunds!" The old man's voice was as steady as Mount Tai, as though he felt no pressure at all.
"This is blatant robbery! I'm going to expose you and let everyone in the city know about your trash academy!"
The protests grew louder and louder, seriously disrupting the application process.
The old man sighed, left with no choice but to display his strength to put an end to this farce.
With a leap, he easily landed before the parents.
Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet: white, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black.
"A Soul Emperor?"
"This old man is actually a Soul Emperor?!"
When had the troublemaking parents ever seen anything like this? They were commoners to begin with and had only come to try their luck because Shrek looked so remote and run-down.
Who could have known this dilapidated place concealed crouching tigers and hidden dragons? Even more shocking, a Soul Emperor was actually just the gatekeeper?!
Then wouldn't the teachers and headmaster be Soul Saints or above?
"Xiao An, I didn't expect Shrek to have something going for it!"
Having witnessed the whole thing, Xiao Wu's eyes were filled with surprise.
Isn't this just standard stuff?! Chen An thought.
Gangzi aside, of course. Everyone else was reasonably strong.
He felt that even if Gangzi's attitude had changed somewhat over the past six years, it still couldn't erase labels such as useless, double-dealing, arrogant, and shameless.
Following that show of force, everything returned to peace.
"Hiss..."
"Monsters! Twelve years old, with a Soul Power Level of twenty-nine!"
After a simple Soul Power test, the old man was deeply shocked by Chen An and the other two.
"None of you lied about your ages?" the old man asked, still unwilling to let it go.
Without waiting for the three to answer.
He reached out to check their bone ages himself. After all, important things had to pass through his own hands.
"Good. It's actually true!"
"Release your Martial Souls. Let me see whether you have the optimal Soul Ring Configuration!"
Having confirmed that they met both requirements, the old man's anxious heart finally settled. If they all had the optimal Soul Ring Configuration too, then they truly were monsters.
With that said.
Tang San was the first to activate his Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, and two yellow Soul Rings slowly rose.
"Good, good. Just as I thought!" The old man nodded.
Next, Xiao Wu displayed her Martial Soul, Rabbit, likewise with a configuration of two hundred-year yellow Soul Rings.
"All right!"
"That's enough. I can tell you're together!"
The old man seemed to have noticed that the three shared an unusual relationship. Besides, when geniuses like these came to Shrek, they most likely had some connection behind them offering guidance.
"Wait!"
"Why do those two get to show off, but it ends when it's my turn?"
"And who said we're together? It's clearly just Xiao Wu and me, all right?!"