Shrek, an academy without a license

Old Jack lay on the ground, in too much pain to get back up.

The villagers around him, still shaken, immediately erupted in an uproar at the sight.

Several young, able-bodied men hurried forward and clumsily helped Old Jack up.

Looking at their old village chief groaning in pain, then at Tang San standing there with an indifferent expression,

the villagers' fear instantly turned to indignation, and they pointed at Tang San and berated him:

"Little San, how could you lay hands on Chief Jack?"

"Exactly! Search your conscience! That drunkard father of yours never takes care of anything.

If Chief Jack hadn't helped you out every few days these past few years, looking after you since you were little,

how could you have grown this big?

How could you attack him?"

"Your father just fought someone and destroyed so many houses in the village.

We all saw you were a child and didn't give you so much as a harsh word,

yet you took your anger out on the village chief!"

The overlapping accusations rose wave after wave.

Already seething with pent-up viciousness over his father's capture, Tang San listened to the noisy scolding around him,

and a sinister, icy gleam suddenly flashed through his eyes.

In his eyes, these villagers had all knelt and trembled when facing Spirit Hall.

Now, scarcely had Spirit Hall's people left before they dared surround him and point fingers at him.

They were simply going too far!

"Shut up!"

In his fury, Tang San barked coldly, abruptly shifting his feet.

His entire body became a bizarre afterimage as he instantly closed in on the front of the crowd!

It was none other than the Tang Sect Secret Art, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

The villagers saw only a blur.

They could not make out how this five-year-old child had moved at all,

before Tang San's palms, infused with the internal power of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, struck their chests one after another with fierce gusts of force!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several dull thuds erupted in succession.

The first few villagers at the front did not even have time to scream

before those palm strikes knocked them to the ground on the spot, blood spilling from their mouths and noses, visibly at death's door!

Deathly silence once again enveloped the village entrance.

Every villager froze in place, the indignation instantly stiffening on their faces.

They stared at Tang San with wide eyes, as though they had seen a ghost.

No one had imagined that this child, usually so quiet in the village,

had secretly harbored such ruthless, terrifying skills!

Tang San slowly withdrew his palms and swept a hateful gaze over the crowd, silent as cicadas in winter, with nothing but a cold sneer in his heart:

These hidebound villagers blindly worshipped Spirit Hall. Pathetic.

Now that Father had been captured and the smithy destroyed,

and matters had come to this, Holy Soul Village was clearly no longer a place he could stay.

Tang San had always had backbone. He would never stay here and swallow the indignities these mediocrities dealt him!

Without another glance at the villagers on the ground or Old Jack,

Tang San flicked his sleeves and turned to leave without hesitation.

His small figure soon disappeared beyond the mountain path at the village entrance.

Heaven Dou City, a commoner's courtyard.

Leaning against a soft pillow, Xu Fan was completely unaware of the upheaval that had occurred in Holy Soul Village a thousand miles away,

and continued telling his older brother with relish about God King Tang's early path of growth.

"After Tang San and Xiao Wu graduated from Nuoding Academy, under Yu Xiaogang's guidance,

the two went together to a place called Shrek Academy."

At the mention of Shrek Academy, a strange expression appeared on Xu Fan's face, and he began by exposing its shady admissions practices:

"Brother, you have no idea how crooked that academy was!

They set up a battered table at the entrance and called it an admissions office.

Anyone who wanted to apply had to pay a registration fee of ten Gold Soul Coins first!

Only after you registered did they tell you that applicants had to be no older than thirteen, with Soul Power of twenty-one or above.

Even if you didn't meet the requirements, they wouldn't refund a single copper of that fee!"

Qian Renxue paused, then frowned slightly.

Ten Gold Soul Coins were enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for more than half a year.

Checking bone age and Soul Power took no more than a little effort.

What justification was there for charging ten Gold Soul Coins first and refusing all refunds?

This was plainly using admissions to rake in money.

Moreover, after carefully searching her memory, she could find no impression of it at all, and could not help asking in puzzlement:

"Shrek Academy? I've never heard of it."

She had grown up in Spirit Hall, and the records it held on sects and academies throughout the continent

were documents she had read countless times.

Later, during her years undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire, she had become thoroughly familiar with every Soul Master academy within its borders, large and small,

yet she had never heard the name Shrek Academy.

Why did it sound like some diploma mill without a license to operate?

Xu Fan spread his hands and enthusiastically complained:

"The academy's dean was called Flender. Because he was incredibly stingy and greedy,

he wouldn't even buy proper school grounds. He simply rented a little village outside Suotuo City,

put up a ring of wooden fencing, and dared to hang out a sign and open an academy!

And the whole academy barely had any students, with only six teachers in total!

There were only three students enrolled in the entire school!

Only after Tang San and Xiao Wu went there did they get seven students together and dub themselves the Shrek Seven Devils.

It was their biggest class since the academy's founding!"

The corner of Qian Renxue's mouth twitched.

It wasn't even officially registered with the Heaven Dou Empire or Spirit Hall, and it nearly had more teachers than students.

No matter how she looked at it, it was a thoroughly makeshift outfit.

She truly could not understand, and could not help pressing further:

"Who were the other students?"

"Heh, the others had some impressive backgrounds!"

Xu Fan shifted into a comfortable position and introduced the key points:

"First, Ning Rongrong. Her Martial Soul was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and she was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects!"

Qian Renxue's gaze sharpened slightly.

Ning Fengzhi's cherished daughter had actually gone to that shabby village too?

Xu Fan immediately revealed two more names:

"The eldest was Dai Mubai, whose Martial Soul was the Evil Eye White Tiger. The youngest was called Zhu Zhuqing, whose Martial Soul was the Hell Spirit Cat.

Those two were a prince and a prince's consort of the Star Luo Empire!

As for the remaining two, one was called Oscar, a rare food-type with Innate Full Soul Power and a Sausage Martial Soul.

The other was called Ma Hongjun, whose Martial Soul was a mutated Evil Fire Phoenix."

Qian Renxue was inwardly shaken as she listened.

A prince and a prince's consort of the Star Luo Empire, and the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect

had all crowded into one obscure academy?

"Since the academy's facilities were so crude, what backgrounds did its teachers have?" Qian Renxue asked, deeply puzzled.

At her question, a mocking smile appeared on Xu Fan's face again:

"Yu Xiaogang, of course."

Xu Fan said it without the slightest surprise.

"He'd finally managed to take in a genius disciple. How could he possibly let go so easily? Naturally, he followed him there.

The dean, Flender, happened to be an old acquaintance of his. After he arrived, he stayed on as the core theory teacher!"

At the name Yu Xiaogang, a trace of disgust flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes.

But on second thought, since Tang San had ultimately emerged from that place,

could the academy truly have had some unique approach to teaching?

She gathered her thoughts and asked:

"Then how did they train?"

Xu Fan blinked and uttered a few words in an utterly flat tone:

"They ran carrying rocks."

The room instantly fell silent.

Qian Renxue wondered whether she had misheard:

"What?"

"Each person carried a bamboo basket full of big rocks on their back, without using Soul Power,

and ran back and forth between the village and Suotuo City under the blazing sun!"

"..."

The corner of Qian Renxue's mouth twitched violently, and for a moment she was utterly speechless.