454. Gathered

“Hmph! How dare you leave Sister Xiao Wu in that kind of place? What use are you?”

Xiao Wu dusted herself off, finally feeling a sense of relief after venting her frustration.

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at the bloodstains on the ground, her expression a mix of curiosity and amusement.


Does that guy recognize the plank crystal?

Her gaze then shifted to Xiao Wu, particularly the rabbit ears on her head.

Hidden weapons… and a rabbit.

Seems like all the pieces are falling into place.

“Hey! What are you staring at?”

Xiao Wu quickly raised her hands, grabbing her rabbit ears and bending them down, crossing her arms protectively over her chest.

She warily eyed the "fat cat" standing before her.

“Nothing,” Zhu Zhuqing replied, shaking her head.

With that, she turned and left without a second glance.

Whether or not Xiao Wu was her mission target didn’t matter—it wasn’t time to act yet.

“How strange,” Xiao Wu muttered, letting go of her ears, which popped back upright.

She placed her hands on her hips and looked down at Tang San, who was sprawled on the ground.

“Hey, Tang San, hurry up and get up!” she scolded, disdain evident in her voice.

“Xiao Wu, I’m so sorry! I’ll get up right away!”

Tang San, his face bruised and bloodied, clutched his nose as blood trickled down his hands.

“Wait, you’re bleeding this time? Are you okay?” Xiao Wu asked, her tone softening slightly.

“I-I’m fine. The ground here is just harder than in Notting City. I’ll get used to it.”

“Haha! You’re such a weirdo,” Xiao Wu laughed.

“...”


---

Meanwhile, in a Secluded Alley of Soto City

At the same time Tang San was face-planting, a series of agonized screams echoed through a desolate alley.

Moments later, the air filled with groans of misery.

It was a dead-end alley.

Several figures lay sprawled across the ground in disarray. Most were clutching either their groins or heads, rolling around in pain and sobbing uncontrollably.

At the entrance to the alley stood a girl with pink hair and a white dress.

Her oval-shaped face was fierce, her beautiful eyes glinting with mischief.

Clang!

A heavy wooden club fell from her hand.

“Hmph!”

Ning Rongrong snorted as she dusted off her delicate hands, her posture exuding arrogance.

“Serves you right!” she declared haughtily.

“How dare you try to mess with me? You deserve to lose everything!”

Her eyes sparkled with a playful and devious light as she retrieved a pouch of powder from her soul tool. Picking up the wooden club again, she cautiously stepped forward.

Approaching the heap of bodies, Ning Rongrong opened the pouch and sprinkled the powder over them.

“Hehe, this is the itching powder my brother Holy Son gave me,” she giggled.

“Let me help you absorb it better!”

After scattering the powder, she raised the wooden club once more and started whacking heads again, one by one.

“Aaaah—hahaha—aaaaah—”

The dead-end alley filled with eerie, mixed cries of pain and uncontrollable laughter.

Amid the cacophony, Ning Rongrong’s gleeful laughter rang out.

“Haha! I’ll beat you to a pulp!”

“Stupid brother holy son, it’s all your fault for not coming to see me! I’ll teach you a lesson by beating these fools!”

“Take that! And that! It’s all your fault!”

“...”



————————


The dawn broke, and the sun rose high in the sky.

Not far south of Soto City, in a run-down village, Shrek Academy had begun its enrollment process.

At the entrance of the village, a dilapidated arch stood tall with an old, crooked sign hanging from it. The five big words carved onto the sign were barely legible, and the top of the arch featured the head of a green humanoid monster, looking garishly out of place.

Beneath the arch sat an elderly man wearing a green badge on his chest—Li Yusong, who was responsible for checking the ages and spirit power levels of applicants.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Xiao Wu stared at the rundown village in front of her, stunned. Unable to hold back her disbelief, she turned to Tang San.

“Tang San, this is the academy your teacher recommended?”

Even though Xiao Wu was usually carefree, the sight of this shabby academy was enough to make her want to complain.

Was that one-eyed pig’s other eye blind?


Could this place seriously call itself an advanced spirit master academy?

“Uh—”

Tang San scratched his head awkwardly, his bruised and battered face flushed with embarrassment.

“Well, maybe there’s more than meets the eye. Remember that guy, Dai Mubai, and the strength we saw from him two days ago?”

“Hmph! It’d better be worth it!” Xiao Wu huffed, clearly unconvinced.

Tang San smiled awkwardly. “Well, since we’re already here, let’s at least check it out.”

At that moment, commotion erupted from the front of the line.

A familiar voice boomed from ahead:

“If you want a refund, no problem. All you have to do is beat me, and I’ll return every single coin!”

In an open area near the line, Dai Mubai suddenly stepped forward, the yellow, yellow, and purple of his three spirit rings glowing beneath him.

His evil eyes flashed with cold light as he stared down at a father and son who had demanded their money back.

“Hmph! What a show-off.” Xiao Wu curled her lip, unimpressed.

Tang San, however, looked on with admiration. His two spirit rings didn’t even add up to a hundred years combined.

Unsurprisingly, a third of the applicants immediately gave up and left.

Before long, Li Yusong summoned his martial spirit and loudly declared the academy’s enrollment requirements:

Only monsters accepted!

Applicants must be no older than 13 years old.

Spirit power must be above level 20.

A non-refundable registration fee of 10 gold spirit coins.


After the announcement, nearly 80–90% of the remaining applicants withdrew.

“Only monsters? Xiao Wu, I think we came to the right place!” Tang San’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

Even the teacher handling enrollment was at the Spirit Emperor level!

Whoever said Shrek Academy was lousy? This place was incredible!

“It’s… alright, I guess,” Xiao Wu replied nonchalantly. She was, however, a little curious to see just how strong the academy’s so-called “monsters” really were.

Before long, it was Tang San’s turn at the registration table.

Just as he reached the front, Dai Mubai, who had just finished escorting some applicants, noticed him and Xiao Wu.

Dai Mubai gave Tang San a friendly nod before his eyes landed on the people standing behind them.

His expression suddenly froze, a glint of hunger flashing across his gaze before being replaced by surprise and disbelief.

“What is that lecherous tiger staring at?” Xiao Wu frowned.

Curious, Tang San followed Dai Mubai’s line of sight and turned around. His eyes widened in shock before lighting up with joy.

Now, including Tang San and Xiao Wu, there were only four people left in the line.

Behind Xiao Wu stood a stunning young girl in a white dress, her short hair framing her beautiful, noble features.

At the very end of the line was a tall, curvaceous girl with a cold, aloof expression—it was none other than Zhu Zhuqing, who had bought the plank crystal earlier!

Both Tang San and Dai Mubai’s gazes fell squarely on Zhu Zhuqing.

However, Zhu Zhuqing remained calm and composed, unfazed by the attention.

Standing ahead, Ning Rongrong, nibbling on a candied hawthorn skewer, frowned.

Dai Mubai’s wolfish gaze made her uncomfortable.

This young lady already has someone special!

If she had the chance, she’d happily deliver a few bone-crushing strikes to teach that pervert a lesson!

She’d make sure he left this world with a smile.

Suppressing her annoyance, Ning Rongrong’s soft, melodious voice broke the silence:

“Are you signing up or not? If not, could you step aside for a moment? Thank you~”

“Oh, sorry! Please, go ahead,” Tang San stammered, quickly stepping aside. He didn’t mind waiting; after all, they’d be classmates soon enough. That would make it easier to negotiate for the plank crystal later.

“Are you sure you’re not brain-damaged from that lecherous tiger’s punches?” Xiao Wu asked, exasperated.

“Xiao Wu, I’m fine,” Tang San said with a helpless smile, unable to explain his thoughts to her.

Dai Mubai, meanwhile, frowned and shot Xiao Wu a cold glare, clearly displeased with how she referred to him.

When his gaze met Zhu Zhuqing’s, and he saw her indifferent expression, Dai Mubai cursed inwardly.

At the registration table, Li Yusong raised his eyebrows, then suddenly gasped in shock.

“You’re actually a Spirit Elder?!”