After a hot shower to clean himself up—and after burning last night's clothes to ash and flushing them away as if disposing of incriminating evidence—Yunchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Pulling on fresh clothes and straightening his appearance, he felt like a new man.
Today was Shrek Academy's official enrollment day.
He'd already spoken with Flender in advance—the final test would be handled by him as the "examiner." That meant he had to head to the academy now.
He stepped out of the Rose Hotel, glanced back at the building that had "claimed his first" in more ways than one, and thought briefly about the dream from the night before. The feelings it stirred were… complicated. With a small shake of his head, he set off.
Leaving by the south gate of Soto City, he followed the main road toward his destination. Shrek wasn't located in the city, but outside it.
The road wound through vast farmland on either side; Soto was known as the Granary of the Balak Kingdom for good reason.
But apart from endless fields, there was no sign of any campus-like building within sight. Without having been led there once by Flender—and without his knowledge of the original story—he never would've guessed where Shrek Academy was hiding.
Up ahead, two familiar figures came into view.
Tang San, carrying Xiao Wu on his back, was walking slowly ahead. The way they looked together was like some lovestruck couple, and even from a distance Yunchuan swore he could smell the "dog food" they were scattering along the road.
'Tch… daring to flaunt your relationship in front of a single man, are we? Oh, Tang San, you're feeling bold? Fine—later I'll make sure to give you special attention.'
His temple twitched, but outwardly his expression didn't change. Picking up his pace, he called out, "Hey, you two up ahead! Headed to Shrek Academy to register?"
Hearing the voice, Tang San stopped and turned. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the white‑robed, black‑haired youth striding toward them. Remembering Dai Mubai's sorry state yesterday, his first instinct was to avoid any entanglement.
But Yunchuan came right up beside them without hesitation, falling into step as if they were old acquaintances. "What a coincidence—I'm headed to Shrek too. Let's walk together."
Tang San really wanted to refuse, but under the pressure, he chose silence, just shifting Xiao Wu on his back and moving on. Even Xiao Wu was uncharacteristically quiet, letting Tang San carry her without a word.
Seeing their obvious disinterest didn't bother Yunchuan—he just smiled faintly and kept walking. 'Plenty of time to deal with you later.'
After a while—
"Brother, look! There's a little village over there."
Xiao Wu suddenly pointed ahead. Following her finger, Tang San saw it too—a tiny settlement about a li away. With the eyes of his Purple Demon Eye, he could clearly make out no more than a hundred households, even smaller than Holy Soul Village. A wooden fence encircled it, likely to keep out wild beasts.
By the entrance to the village, a small crowd seemed to have gathered. Something was going on.
Tang San smiled. "Let's go ask. Maybe someone here knows the way to Shrek Academy. A soul master academy should be famous enough."
"No need," Yunchuan said from beside him without slowing. "That is Shrek Academy."
"What? You're saying that little village is Shrek Academy?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened. "You're not lying to us, are you?" Even Tang San was frowning, clearly skeptical.
Yunchuan only shrugged. "Don't believe me? Come along and see for yourself."
"Fine! We'll see." Xiao Wu sniffed, then patted Tang San's shoulder. "Brother, faster!"
Am I your horse now? Tang San thought wryly, but he lengthened his stride anyway.
Soon they drew near enough for Tang San and Xiao Wu to see the truth—and realize something was off. The crowd at the edge of the village was indeed mostly young teens like themselves, many accompanied by parents.
A table sat by the gate. Behind it was an elderly man, perhaps in his sixties. Above them, nailed to a crude wooden archway, hung a somewhat tattered sign carved with five simple characters—Shrek Academy.
Above the words was a green caricature of a humanoid monster's head. The same emblem, in a round badge, was pinned to the old man's chest—it had to be the academy's crest.
Yunchuan recognized the old man immediately as one of Shrek's teachers, a Soul Emperor‑level expert.
Shrek's faults were many, but their teaching staff was undeniably strong. Unfortunately, genius wasn't made by guidance alone—resources mattered. Without facilities, training grounds, and a steady supply of cultivation materials, even the best instructors couldn't mass-produce prodigies. If all it took was good teachers, the world would be overflowing with elite academies.
Shrek, in truth, was half‑baked—without Tang San's protagonist halo in the original story, they'd have closed their doors long ago.
"No way…" Xiao Wu hopped down from Tang San's back, staring at the sign, then back at Tang San. Neither could hide their shock. Even the junior academy at Nuoding was bigger than this, and here the "gate" was a wooden arch less than a third the size, leading into what looked like an ordinary rural village.
"Brother, did Master get it wrong? This doesn't look like an academy at all—more like a scam." She glanced sidelong at Yunchuan, begrudgingly admitting he'd been right.
Tang San smiled bitterly. "We're here now. Let's at least see."
Ahead of them, roughly a hundred prospective students waited in line, many wearing the same doubtful expressions.
Directly before Tang San and Xiao Wu was a youth flanked by his parents. "Is this really the soul master academy they promised would make graduates Viscounts of the Empire?" his mother asked.
His father looked uncertain. "That's what the Spirit Hall official said. But… it does look run-down."
The boy pouted. "Dad, I don't want to study here. It's embarrassing. I'd rather go to Soto Intermediate Soul Master Academy. Back in primary I was considered a genius."
His father frowned. "We're here now—maybe it's a test. The real school might be elsewhere."
Similar murmurs of doubt passed between other families; disappointment was written on many faces.
Tang San's gaze swept past them to the very front where registration was happening. With the enhanced vision and hearing granted by his Mysterious Heaven Technique, he could just make out the exchange.
Behind the desk, the old man in plain clothes—plainer than the village head back in Holy Soul Village—sat with a lazy air.
A local boy stepped up for his turn. "Registration's ten gold soul coins," the old man said. "Put it in the box."
The boy's father hurried to drop in the coins. "Hold out your hand."
The boy obeyed. The old man pinched his hand, then shook his head. "You're too old. You can leave."
The boy froze, looking to his father. The man said with forced politeness, "Teacher, my son just turned thirteen—you could make an exception?"
"Don't hold up the line. The rules are thirteen and under—one day over and we don't take you. You can go."
"Our fee then—"
"Once you register, no refunds."
Even a clay figurine has some temper, and the father snapped, "This is blatant robbery! Refund us or we won't leave. If we'd known Shrek was this shabby, we'd never have come."
The old man didn't bat an eye. "Mubai, someone wants their fee back. Take care of it."
From nearby, a figure sprang up. "You want your fee back? Fine—beat me, and I'll return the full amount."
It was Dai Mubai. Hidden by the crowd earlier, Tang San hadn't noticed him, and now, unlike the overindulged look he'd had when they first met, his color looked surprisingly good.
Without another word, Dai released his martial soul and all three of his rings—two yellow, one purple—glowed around him as his soul power flared, pressing invisibly against the pair he faced. The cold light in his evil eyes flickered sharply.
Watching from the side, Yunchuan shook his head. 'You've really dragged the soul master's name through the mud. What's so glorious about scaring ordinary folk? Is bullying the weak really that satisfying?'