Outside the south gate of Soto, a wide official road stretches out.
On both sides of the road are vast stretches of farmland.
On this road, a girl with long hair reaching her waist and a girl with long pigtails were walking together.
As she walked, the ends of Dongfang Yao's hair swayed gently with her steps.
A clear look of confusion appeared on her fair and delicate face, which was as smooth as fine porcelain.
"Rongrong, are you sure the academy is heading in this direction?"
Although Soto is known as the "Granary City," the area outside the city is nothing but farmland.
Looking around, there was no trace of any academy building in sight.
"I think... that's right?" Ning Rongrong's tone was also a little uncertain.
After all, she only heard about Shrek Academy from the disciples in her sect.
After walking a short distance, they still couldn't find the academy, but they did discover a small village.
There seemed to be quite a crowd gathered at the village entrance.
The two approached to inquire, only to find that most of those gathered there were teenagers of similar age to them, most of whom were accompanied by their parents.
They looked up and gazed at the sky, and couldn't help but slightly part their soft, pink lips in surprise.
At the entrance of the village, a tattered wooden archway hung above a plaque with five large characters engraved on it: 'Shrek Academy'.
Before these five characters, there is a circular, poop-green pattern, which should be the college's emblem.
"Rongrong, let's go." Dongfang Yao felt cheated. How dare this run-down village call itself an academy?
Ning Rongrong was also a little apprehensive, but since she had already come all this way, she couldn't let it all be for nothing: "Don't rush, let's see how things go first."
"Alright," Dongfang Yao replied helplessly.
Subsequently,
They saw the lazy-looking old man at the village entrance who was in charge of registration.
He collected a teenager's registration fee, touched his wrist to measure his bone age, and finally announced, "Unqualified!"
The boy's father became anxious and wanted to repay the tuition fee.
Unexpectedly, the old man was extremely shameless. Not only did he refuse to return the money, but he also called over a handsome young man with blond hair, heterochromatic eyes, and a sinister air.
That person was Dai Mubai.
Without saying a word, Dai Mubai activated his soul power, and three soul rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose from beneath his feet with a hum, encircling his body.
He crossed his arms, his voice tinged with coldness: "Beat me, and I'll refund your registration fee in full."
Upon seeing this scene, the boy's father turned pale and quickly grabbed his son, leaving in a hurry.
Dongfang Yao gently tugged at Ning Rongrong's sleeve and whispered, "Rongrong, let's leave quickly! This place is simply a ruthless academy!"
Ning Rongrong's gaze, however, was fixed on the people who went to register next: "Really? But think about it, the fact that they dare to do this shows that the academy does have some confidence and strength, right? And look at that handsome blond guy, he doesn't look much older than us, yet he's already a three-ring Soul Master! Of course, he can't compare to you, Yao'er~"
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up when she saw the handsome boy.
Dongfang Yao frowned slightly: "Rongrong, there's something wrong with your views."
"Huh?" Ning Rongrong was stunned, never expecting her good friend to criticize her so bluntly.
If this had happened before, she would have immediately retorted.
But after so many years together, she knew Yao'er's temper and personality all too well.
So she simply asked hesitantly, "What's wrong?"
Dongfang Yao pulled her aside, her expression serious and her tone becoming serious: "As Soul Masters, as strong individuals, it's normal to fight for our own interests within the bounds of the rules. However, we must never bully the weak for no reason just because we are strong."
She stretched out her finger and pointed in the direction of the academy:
"They are all Soul Masters, they have plenty of ways to make money! Why would they use such despicable means to swindle money from applicants? Ten gold Soul Coins! This amount of money is nothing to us, but what about ordinary families? What if it's the hard-earned money they've saved by selling their pots and pans and scrimping and saving, just to send their children to school and hope that they can become Soul Masters and have a good future!"
After being pointed at by Dongfang Yao, Ning Rongrong finally realized the problem.
Seeing her friend's serious expression, Ning Rongrong quickly grabbed Dongfang Yao's arm, gently shaking it while soothing her in a coquettish tone:
"Oh dear, my good Yao'er, don't be angry~ I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Please smile, okay? You look the prettiest when you smile."
Seeing her like this, Dongfang Yao could only sigh helplessly.
However, Ning Rongrong's previous statement was not wrong. Shrek Academy dared to do this because their dean, Flander, was a Soul Saint-level powerhouse.
This strength is indeed not to be underestimated in the entire world of Soul Masters.
Moreover, he is one of the Golden Trio, and has quite a reputation.
Just then, Dongfang Yao sensed a fluctuation of soul power.
She looked up.
The lazy old man from before suddenly stepped forward and spoke with great enthusiasm, saying a lot of things like "Shrek only accepts monsters, not ordinary people."
Immediately afterwards, a long staff with an ancient design and intricate dragon-shaped patterns on its surface appeared in his right hand.
At the same time, six spirit rings—white, yellow, purple, purple, purple, and black—rose from beneath his feet, radiating powerful spirit energy fluctuations!
This old man is named Li Yusong, and his martial soul is the Dragon Pattern Staff. He is a Soul Emperor level expert!
"Yao'er, look! Even the teacher in charge of registration is a Soul Emperor!" Ning Rongrong said with some surprise and excitement.
Seeing her expression, Dongfang Yao knew that she was still thinking about joining Shrek Academy, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Honestly, Dongfang Yao really wanted to sneak away while the guards sent by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School to protect them weren't paying attention, and go directly to Gengxin City to find her brother.
But during the years she spent at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, both her elders and her good friend Ning Rongrong treated her very well and took care of her in every way.
Dongfang Yao felt really bad about leaving Rongrong behind without a word.
With that thought in mind, she temporarily abandoned the idea of running away.
But it's good, it's a good opportunity to see just how good Shrek Academy really is.
Perhaps there was some unavoidable reason behind the previous act of forcibly seizing registration fees?
But if it's simply because the school's atmosphere is terrible...
Dongfang Yao silently calculated in her heart:
Then the only option is to find an opportunity to knock Rongrong unconscious and forcibly take her away from here.
As for where to go next
You could go to the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy and find Sister Yanzi and Sister Lingling.
(End of chapter)