"You three little punks! Instead of training properly at the academy, where did you run off to and goof around this time?"
Flender's face was grim as he glared at Dai Mubai and the other two hiding behind Li Yusong. His tone was laced with disappointment and anger.
Honestly, he already had a good idea of where they had been "fooling around." It wasn't anything new—he usually turned a blind eye. But doing the same thing in front of Qi Lin and his companions? That was a different story. Flender couldn't help feeling that they were making him lose face.
Behind Li Yusong, Ma Hongjun and Oscar shrank back in fear the moment Flender's scolding reached their ears.
One of them was short and chubby with a pair of small mustaches on his lips, eyes darting toward Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu with a sneaky gleam—he looked completely untrustworthy.
The other had wild white hair covering most of his eyes and a long scruffy beard, making him look more like an old man than a student.
Neither of them gave off the impression of being decent students.
As for the third—Dai Mubai?
At least he looked proper on the surface. But the arrogant air around him was unmistakable, and the smirk tugging at the corner of his lips made him seem just as unserious. Strangely enough, with the other two as comparison, he almost looked like the most normal one of the bunch.
His eyes, however, were fixed unblinkingly on Zhu Zhuqing, who was sitting with Xiao Wu in the shade of a tree.
Though he didn't immediately recognize her, he could sense a strong soul power resonance between them—an unmistakable sign of a shared martial soul lineage.
Noticing Dai Mubai's gaze, Xiao Wu leaned over and whispered, "Zhuqing, that spoiled noble kid keeps staring at us. Do you think he recognized you?"
Zhu Zhuqing replied calmly, "I don't think so. He probably just sensed the soul connection between us and got curious."
Their quiet exchange didn't escape Flender's ears, and he frowned ever so slightly.
It looked like there was trouble brewing between Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
Just then, Qi Lin gave Flender a teasing look. "Dean Flender, your Shrek Academy students really are something else, aren't they?"
Flender could only chuckle awkwardly and shot a vicious glare at Dai Mubai and his friends.
At that moment, Ma Hongjun and Oscar kept their mouths shut tightly. Only Dai Mubai, completely unfazed, stepped forward and said calmly, "Dean, we weren't goofing off. We were helping Fatty with his Evil Fire problem."
Flender snorted coldly.
"If Fatty needs help with that, he could go alone. What about you and Oscar? You expect me to believe you were just being helpful?"
He pointed sharply at them. "If you spent less time fooling around and more time meditating, your soul power wouldn't still be this low."
Dai Mubai waved dismissively at the reprimand. "Dean, when did you become so naggy?"
"With our talent, even if we train a few hours less every day, we're still not people ordinary soul masters can compare to."
"After all…"
"We're monsters."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned icy, while Xiao Wu couldn't hold back a snort of laughter.
She didn't know how talented these so-called "monsters" really were, but Dai Mubai's self-satisfied boasting made him sound like a frog bragging at the bottom of a well.
His prideful words, however, didn't sit well with Dai Mubai, especially when he heard Xiao Wu laugh. His brows furrowed slightly, and though he wanted to lash out, he had to swallow the urge. The dean and teachers were still present, after all.
But in his heart, he was already thinking about teaching that bratty girl a lesson after today.
He'd already figured out who the three newcomers were—just some new students who would soon be his juniors.
What better opportunity to show off his authority and scare them a little?
As that thought passed through his mind, his gaze once again drifted to Zhu Zhuqing.
Her cool expression and curvaceous figure stirred a flicker of lust in his eyes.
Just then, Zhao Wuji finally got up and clapped his hands.
"Alright, Flender, everyone's here now. You gonna finally tell us who these three kids are? You've been all mysterious about them—it's not like you to keep secrets."
Hearing this, the other teachers also turned their attention to Flender.
As for Dai Mubai and his two companions, they remained casual, clearly unimpressed.
In their minds, no matter how talented the newcomers were, how different could they be from themselves?
Flender cleared his throat and stood with Qi Lin and the other two.
He first pointed to Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu.
"These two are our newest Shrek Academy students—Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu."
"Zhu Zhuqing is a Level 27 Agility-Type Battle Soul Master. Her martial soul is the Netherworld Civet."
As he introduced Zhu Zhuqing, Flender glanced subtly at Dai Mubai.
As expected, the moment Dai Mubai heard her name, his entire body stiffened, his expression filled with disbelief.
The others didn't react much. A twelve- or thirteen-year-old at Level 27? Impressive, but not unheard of.
But then Flender turned to Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu is a Level 37 Agility-Type Soul Elder. Her martial soul is the Soft-Boned Rabbit."
"Oh, and by the way… she's twelve."
The moment he finished speaking, everyone gasped in shock.
"Twelve years old? Thirty-seven levels?!"
"That's impossible!"
"Flender, are you kidding us right now?"
Zhao Wuji stared at Flender in disbelief, trying to read his face for signs of a prank.
The other teachers were equally stunned.
But Flender only shook his head, secretly amused.
This is just the beginning. If you're shocked now, what will you do when I reveal Qi Lin's details?
Once everyone was sure he wasn't joking, a collective breath was sucked in.
Still, Zhao Wuji asked, "Flender, that little girl's talent is crazy, sure. But did you really need to call everyone just for this?"
"Wait… don't tell me that boy has talent even scarier than hers?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone's eyes shifted to Qi Lin.
Qi Lin responded with a warm and friendly smile.
Even Dai Mubai and the others were visibly shaken.
Xiao Wu's talent was already terrifying, and now… there was someone even more terrifying?
Compared to them, their own "genius" seemed laughable.
Dai Mubai finally understood why Xiao Wu laughed when he called them monsters.
So they… are the real monsters.
But the next words Flender spoke shocked him even more.
With a calm smile, Flender said, "You guessed right. Qi Lin's talent far surpasses Xiao Wu's—by more than just a little."
"But that's not even the main reason I called you all here."
"What's more important is his upcoming role."
Everyone looked at him with renewed curiosity.
Qi Lin had another identity?
Wasn't he just a student?
Then Flender proudly announced:
"Qi Lin is a Level 48 Support-Type Soul Ancestor. His martial soul is the Four-Leaf Clover. After receiving my sincere invitation, he has agreed to join Shrek Academy… as a teacher."
You had to admit—Flender really knew how to talk.
Sincere invitation?
Just those words alone made Qi Lin feel great.