Although writing stories brought the best rewards on a weekly basis, it wasn’t impossible to do it multiple times a week—only that the rewards would be reduced.
Xu Fan planned to test just how much worse the rewards would be.
If they were still usable, he could make good use of them.
Of course, creation required inspiration.
He couldn’t write every single day.
Write whenever possible.
[Shrek Academy has begun recruiting students, and I saw Dai Mubai.]
[Dai Mubai is the third prince of the Star Luo Empire.
Everyone on the continent knows how brutal the Star Luo succession system is.
This guy is a coward—he abandoned Zhu Zhuqing and fled the empire, indulging himself in debauchery with no ambition whatsoever.]
[Even if someone like this became emperor, he’d never be a good ruler.
In fact, he might be even worse.]
[He clearly has decent talent, yet at his age his soul power is still only at the Soul Master level.]
No wonder he joined Shrek Academy.
This so-called “monster academy” with no real reputation relied entirely on hype to attract students—claiming they only accepted monsters, not ordinary people.
Anyone over thirteen or below level twenty-one soul power was rejected outright.
Ridiculous.
If you really had that kind of talent, which academy qualified for the Soul Master Competition wouldn’t take you?
Why come to a trash heap like this?
[The teachers here are passable—at least they’re all Soul Emperors—but their talent is mediocre at best.]
[That Soul Emperor at the entrance has one white, one yellow, three purple, and one black soul ring.
The worst Soul Emperor I’ve ever seen.
He probably couldn’t even beat a Soul King.]
If it were me, even a Soul Master could crush him.
[The vice principal of Shrek Academy is Zhao Wuji, a wanted criminal of Spirit Hall.
This place has nothing going for it, and Yu Xiaogang will even be teaching here in the future.
It’s practically an academy of all vices combined.]
[This academy is completely incapable of producing true geniuses.
Even Qin Ming—their strongest student—doesn’t have an optimal spirit ring configuration.
He was ruined by Shrek Academy.
If Spirit Hall had nurtured him, he would at least be one of their future pillars.]
[A trash academy naturally produces trash students.]
The women listening could clearly feel how deeply Xu Fan despised Shrek Academy.
They felt a faint sense of disgust as well.
“Teacher, should we go check out Shrek Academy?” Hu Liena’s eyes sparkled.
“Zhao Wuji is there—we could catch him on the spot.”
Bibi Dong glanced at her.
“You just want to see Xu Fan, don’t you?”
Bibi Dong shook her head.
“Now isn’t the time.
According to Xu Fan, Tang San will be his biggest rival in the future, so Shrek Academy is likely important as well.”
“Besides, Shrek Academy isn’t going anywhere.
We can deal with it whenever we want.”
“You’re right, Teacher.”
Heaven Dou City.
Ning Rongrong’s face was filled with revulsion.
“Am I crazy?
How could I possibly go to a place like this?!”
“Damn it.
I, Ning Rongrong, would rather die than attend Shrek Academy.”
A hundred meters away from Shrek Academy, Xu Fan and Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly, watching Li Yusong threaten the parents of prospective students.
Zhu Zhuqing disliked the academy, but she didn’t comment.
This was someone else’s territory—saying too much could bring trouble.
Xu Fan glanced around but didn’t see Ning Rongrong.
Looks like she made the smart choice and didn’t come after reading my story.
I just don’t know where she went instead.
[Huh… Rongrong isn’t here.
It seems my appearance really did change things.]
[Shrek Academy won’t even be able to gather seven students in the future.
Does an academy like this even want to participate in the Soul Master Competition?]
[In the end, they could only participate by attaching themselves to other academies.
They first tried Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but after being beaten up by Avalanche, they were kicked out.]
[Then they wanted to join Blue Tyrant Academy.
But at the time, Erlong and I were on good terms, and I had no interest in dealing with Flender and the others again—especially with Yu Xiaogang there—so I kicked them out.]
[What a complete farce.]
[Forget it.
This place is boring.
I should head to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well as soon as possible.
I only became a Great Soul Master a few days ago.]
Ning Rongrong smiled faintly.
“I, Ning Rongrong, am not stupid.
An academy like this isn’t worth my time.”
Zhu Zhuqing was slightly shocked.
Was Xu Fan going to acquire another spirit ring?
His very existence was already a massive secret.
Seeing nothing more of interest, Xu Fan and Zhu Zhuqing quietly turned to leave.
Just as they did, a gaze locked onto them—especially onto Zhu Zhuqing.
Her temperament and stunning figure were impossible to forget.
“Hey, wait a moment!”
Dai Mubai’s voice rang out as he strode over.
His evil eyes lingered on Zhu Zhuqing, a trace of confusion flashing through them.
She felt inexplicably familiar, yet he couldn’t recall where he’d seen her before.
He shifted his gaze to Xu Fan and asked bluntly, “Are you here to enroll in Shrek Academy as well?”
Xu Fan stopped, turned around, smiled politely, and shook his head.
“No.
We’re just passing by.
We have no intention of joining.”
Li Yusong, seated behind the table, had already noticed them.
With his Soul Emperor–level perception, he could easily tell that despite their youth, both of them possessed considerable soul power.
Especially the girl in black—her level clearly met, or even exceeded, their standards.
Talents like these shouldn’t be let go so easily.
Li Yusong stood up and walked over with a smile.
“Young friend, since fate has brought you here, why not consider Shrek Academy?
Though our conditions may seem simple, we only accept true monsters.
Our faculty is extraordinary, and our dean is a Soul Saint-level expert.
With his personal guidance, your future would be limitless.”
Xu Fan’s lips twitched slightly.
Fate?
A Soul Saint is that impressive?
The way he spoke, one might think he was one of the Two Saints of the West.
He complained inwardly, but outwardly remained calm.
He reached out and gently wrapped an arm around Zhu Zhuqing’s shoulder.
Her body stiffened for a moment, but she didn’t dodge.
A faint blush appeared on her cold, beautiful face.
Dai Mubai, standing nearby, felt a surge of jealousy.
He had never laid his hands on such top-tier quality before.
Xu Fan said mildly, “Senior Soul Emperor, I’m very sorry.
We’re already students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
This is my girlfriend—she accompanied me to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain her second soul ring.
We were merely passing by and grew curious.”
“Heaven Dou Royal Academy?!”
Li Yusong’s smile froze instantly, his pupils shrinking sharply.
As a veteran Soul Master, he knew exactly what that name represented.