Chapter 31: Shrek Academy

The next day,

Zhou Yi and Zhu Zhuqing left the hotel.

Walking out of Soto City, in a vast field of golden wheat, they saw a village; if their guess was correct, Shrek Academy was inside.

On the way there, Zhu Zhuqing noticed Zhou Yi was somewhat excited; she asked him what happened, but he wouldn't go into detail, only saying she would know in a moment.

It left her looking puzzled.

In truth, Zhou Yi felt expectant whenever he thought about what might happen later; a free Spirit Saint sparring partner—he could finally have a full-power battle after a long time, as he could never fight to his heart's content against the two Title Douluo in his daily life.

As they walked, the two of them arrived at the grounds of Shrek Academy.

Zhou Yi whistled, and before long, Jin Ling descended from the sky.

"Jin Ling, Rongrong is alright, isn't she?"

"Ying."

"Mm, she's already been inside for a while. Then let's go in too."

"Okay."

Once they entered, they found only a few scattered people left at the registration desk.

"Next."

Zhou Yi didn't want to waste time waiting in line, so he used Mirage to bring Zhu Zhuqing directly in front of the old man, while the people behind them didn't notice at all.

"Hm?" Seeing the unusual aura of the few people behind Zhou Yi, the old man took a deep look at him.

"Registration fee is 10 Gold Spirit Coins."

"We are together." As he said this, he put down 20 Gold Spirit Coins, and the two of them reached out their hands together.

The old man first squeezed Zhu Zhuqing's hand, nodded, and said, "Your age is appropriate." When his hand moved to Zhou Yi's, the previous sound of surprise could not help but appear again.

The old man seemed unwilling to believe it, squeezing his hand and arm a few more times; the expression on his face suddenly became strange. He looked up at Zhou Yi and exclaimed in wonder, "Your physical body is actually this formidable; from the tendons and bones to the skin and flesh, all contain an explosive power."

Zhou Yi felt very awkward; you, an old man, had been touching his arm for so long, and you even revealed a weird smile—it gave him goosebumps.

He hurriedly pulled his hand away.

"I say, old man, that's enough touching, can I go in now?"

"Of course you can." Hearing this, Zhou Yi hurriedly pulled Zhu Zhuqing away.

After the two left, the old man stroked his beard and smiled, "What kind of great luck have I run into this year, to have 5 Little Monsters appear. And this kid's physical fitness just now was like a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast, and he even has a Soul Beast pet on his shoulder; not simple, truly not simple."

After entering,

they walked for a while and discovered Dai Mubai coming over.

It looked like he was specifically there to lead Zhou Yi and the others to the next round.

Seeing Zhou Yi, he was surprised for a moment; this person was extraordinary from appearance to temperament, and he even had a Soul Beast standing on his shoulder. Someone who could keep a Soul Beast likely had a background that was not simple.

But when he saw Zhu Zhuqing behind him, Dai Mubai's gaze changed; he stared straight at her, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

Sensing Dai Mubai's gaze, Zhu Zhuqing walked out from behind Zhou Yi, moved closer to him until their shoulders touched, and then took the initiative to hold Zhou Yi's hand.

Zhou Yi felt very strange; why was the meeting between these two filled with such a weird feeling?

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing take the initiative to hold Zhou Yi's hand, Dai Mubai's expression was full of confusion, complexity, and even a trace of jealousy and anger. However, he immediately regained his composure and said indifferently.

"The two of you follow me, I will lead you to the next round."

Although Zhou Yi felt puzzled, it didn't matter; he would listen to their business when Zhu Zhuqing was willing to talk about it. As for now, he also gripped her hand tightly, moved forward together, and said to Dai Mubai with a smile.

"Thanks, brother, I thought I'd have to find the way myself."

Just like that, they followed Dai Mubai, and suddenly discovered someone selling roasted sausages in front; Tang San was even planning to buy one.

"Tang San, what are you doing?" Seeing Tang San wanting to buy, Dai Mubai stepped forward to stop him.

As soon as Oscar saw Dai Mubai, he immediately put on a bitter face, "Boss Dai, do you want to eat a sausage?"

"Go to hell." Dai Mubai glared at him irritably, "You really bring shame to the academy. I think I've warned you more than once not to sell sausages inside the academy. Do you want to make everyone vomit? Tang San, you can't eat this sausage."

Tang San asked puzzledly: "Why?"

The expression on Dai Mubai's face became a bit strange, "Little Ao, bring out a new sausage."

Oscar's expression suddenly became awkward, "Boss Dai, no need, right? We've been schoolmates for years, you doing this will make the new little juniors hold a grudge against me."

Dai Mubai snorted coldly and said, "I'm just giving Tang San a reminder. Tang San is my brother; he can't fall for your tricks. Hurry up, don't make me do it myself."

Oscar clearly couldn't afford to offend Dai Mubai, so helplessly he extended his right hand, and with a somewhat lewd, soft voice, called out, "Laozi has a big sausage."

Yellow light suddenly condensed in his palm, two yellow spirit rings rose from Oscar's feet, and immediately after, a sausage exactly the same as the one in Tang San's hand appeared in his palm.

"Uh..." When Tang San heard Oscar's line 'Laozi has a big sausage', his whole person froze. This sentence was simply too ambiguous. Not to mention the quality of this sausage or whether it could be eaten, just based on this sentence from Oscar, he didn't dare to eat it. Especially since this sausage was meant to be bought for Xiao Wu.

At this time, Zhou Yi and the others also slowly followed over, and Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but chuckle when she saw this kind of martial soul.

Zhou Yi was also amazed; it was his first time seeing someone fourteen or fifteen years old who could grow such dense hair. Honestly, it was a bit creepy.

"Yo, Xiao San, buying a big sausage? Who are you buying it for?"

Tang San, who was originally planning to greet Zhou Yi, quickly put the sausage in his hand back onto the charcoal grill, "Your sausage, you'd better keep it for yourself to eat. Big Brother Dai, thanks for the reminder."

"Tang San, you two know each other?" Seeing the familiar way they acted, Dai Mubai asked.

"Of course, his name is Zhou Yi, my brother since childhood. Big Brother Dai, Brother Yi is much, much stronger than me; you might not be his match either."

"Is that so." Hearing this, a trace of gravity flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes. Tang San was a rival he acknowledged; if he could be described like that by Tang San, he must be truly strong.

"Hmph! It's just that you're too weak, only knowing how to fall in love for 5 years." Whenever it was brought up, Zhou Yi was somewhat dissatisfied; he had high hopes for Tang San, hoping for one more rival.

"Brother Yi, Xiao Wu and I don't have that kind of relationship..." Tang San scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

At this time, Oscar said somewhat innocently.

"Pity my delicious sausage, actually no one is eating it. Sigh."

"Forget it, I reckon we'll have plenty of chances to eat your sausage in the future, and it'll probably be free, right, Brother Dai?"

Hearing this, Dai Mubai looked at Zhou Yi in surprise. He was worthy of being someone Tang San held in high regard; to be able to think of so much in such a short time—if he were truly as super strong as Tang San said, plus his temperament, this person was absolutely very dangerous. He was deep and calculating, strong in ability, and his background might not be simple; this person could not be easily provoked.

Dai Mubai nodded, then glared at Oscar, "You better be careful, go sell your sausages outside the academy. Tang San, Zhou Yi, I'll take you to pass the exam."

Several people returned to the queue. Xiao Wu saw Zhou Yi and the others and greeted them with surprise, then looked at Tang San's empty hands, "Where is my sausage?"

Hearing this, several people couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Dai Mubai also explained Oscar's martial soul to everyone.

After listening, Tang San couldn't help but ask Zhou Yi.

"Brother Yi, why did you say just now that we would have plenty of opportunities to eat his sausages in the future?"

"Think about it, if he is a student, won't you all have to eat his sausage during training or cooperation in future classes? Otherwise, if others don't eat it, what difference is there between him and an ordinary person? Just wait, you'll have plenty to eat in the future~"

"Ah? Brother Yi, don't lie to me!" Clearly, Xiao Wu couldn't accept it. Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San were alright, though they still had to prepare themselves mentally in advance.

"Why would I lie to you? Just ask Brother Dai and you'll know, won't you?"

Xiao Wu looked at Dai Mubai again, and saw him nod slowly. Watching her conflicted expression, Zhou Yi couldn't help but chuckle; it seemed Xiao Wu would have to go through a long period of internal struggle.

For Zhou Yi, this thing of Oscar's was not a big deal at all. In his past life, during lunch breaks in elementary school, because he ate slowly and his bad friends couldn't wait to go to the playground to play with him, they would disgust him right next to Zhou Yi, describing the food as all sorts of unspeakable things. Slowly, he got used to it; even if they were saying all kinds of disgusting things beside him, he could still finish his meal with an expressionless face.

Compared to this, Oscar's big sausage was simply a drop in the bucket. However, he wouldn't buy it either; there would be plenty of free ones in the future, so why buy them?

But after coming to Shrek, he found that the most interesting person was actually Dai Mubai. His evaluation of Dai Mubai was that he was very good at assessing the situation, and in this regard, even the simple-minded Tang San might not be able to compare to him.

Combining this with the original work, this Dai Mubai really had something to him. Thinking carefully, although he often caused trouble, he only provoked people he could handle, yet he was obedient to his teachers' words. When facing people he recognized, such as Tang San, he would show an extremely magnanimous side.

This pride hidden in his bones, his fondness for making friends with the strong, and his style of being good at assessing the situation and hiding his inner emotions were likely caused by the excellent yet cruel royal education of Star Luo.

Looking at him in the original work, it was clear that this person was also extremely good at seizing opportunities. Once Tang San arrived, the geniuses of Shrek became seven, and with six partners of extraordinary talent, he might have seen a chance for rebellion, changing his past laziness to work hard, and even extending an olive branch to Tang San in the middle of the competition.

However, although his befriending of Tang San and the others might have had ulterior motives, he could still step forward when facing the Titan Giant Ape, disregarding the danger to his life to stand with everyone, and could insist on protecting Tang San when facing the pressure from Chrysanthemum Douluo during the tournament. It could be seen that he was fully qualified as a brother.

Of course, when it came to relationships, he was indeed someone who couldn't control his lower body.

It could be said that he would be a good brother and a good student, and could also become a good emperor, but for a woman, he was definitely not a good match.

Moreover, the strangest point in the original work was that after Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing defeated Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun, they both lived well after returning home, and their power didn't disappear. The idea that one would be erased after failing a family struggle was never seen at all.

Zhou Yi even guessed that it was likely the two families lying to the children; only they, the young people, would take it seriously. The older generation was likely just using this scam to put pressure on the younger generation to make them better.

Besides, take the Zhu family for example; if it were really true that the winning direct descendant became the empress and the loser was erased, how would this family be passed down? Could you still count as part of your family after becoming empress? If the talented direct descendants were all gone, would you let the less talented branch pass it on? Stop joking, wouldn't the family become more and more declining like that?

And it was likely that even the marriage between the two families wasn't mandatory. Two families with martial souls that could form a Spirit Fusion Skill had been intermarrying for so many years; could there be no mutated or evolved martial souls among the descendants?

Therefore, it was likely that the "erasure" stuff was just a setup by the elders of the two families for the younger generation. Otherwise, in the original work, could Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing have escaped so easily? Perhaps Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi were both people who saw through it, and then Dai Mubai, like Xue Beng, acted weak in front of his older brother.

Looking at these four people now, only Zhu Zhuyun was truly taking it seriously.