The smile on Dai Mubai's face vanished. Everyone else looked at Su Xiaoqi as if he were an idiot. Zhu Zhuqing instinctively took a step back, shaking her head furiously, her face full of resistance.
Su Xiaoqi looked at Oscar and said, "Oscar, right? Your sausages taste pretty good. Keep going. You still owe me quite a few."
"Alright! I'll make more right away!"
After a brief moment of shock, Oscar's face lit up with joy. It was the first time someone hadn't shown disgust after hearing his chant.
However, his smile didn't last long. His face soon turned pale.
"Here, this is the last one. I really can't make any more," he said, handing the final sausage to Su Xiaoqi before collapsing on the ground, completely drained of spirit power.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Thanks. I'll be back again next time," Su Xiaoqi said, satisfied as he looked at the dozen or so sausages in his hands. With these, he could soon "cheat the system" with some risky power leveling.
He took out one sausage, turned to Ning Rongrong with a smile, and said, "Right, I said earlier I'd treat you. Want one now?"
"N-No thanks, I'm not hungry anymore," Ning Rongrong replied with an awkward but polite smile.
Zhu Zhuqing, noticing Su Xiaoqi turning toward her, said coldly, "Don't look at me. I'd rather die than eat that."
Su Xiaoqi chuckled. "I'll remember you said that."
Afterward, the group followed Dai Mubai to the second exam site. Because of the earlier incident, the place was nearly empty now, so they didn't need to wait in line.
As in the original story, the second round tested spirit power. Everyone passed easily—except Su Xiaoqi.
Tang San and Xiao Wu were at level 29, Ning Rongrong at level 26, and Zhu Zhuqing at level 27.
They skipped the third round entirely and proceeded to the fourth. On the way, Dai Mubai began to recount the "glorious history" of Shrek Academy.
"Wow, truly worthy of the Shrek name. Impressive," Su Xiaoqi exclaimed, praising the academy exaggeratedly.
Both Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, having experience with his antics, could already tell he was about to stir up some trouble again.
And sure enough, the next second, Su Xiaoqi began his performance.
"Zhuqing, you need to study hard here, okay? Even us country bumpkins know that to become an elder in the Spirit Hall, the minimum requirement is reaching Title Douluo."
"Shrek Academy has only been around for 20 years and has already produced a Title Douluo. Let me think… they only accept students under 13, right? So by under 40, they're already Title Douluo? Goodness, I've lived this long and haven't even seen a Soul King in person."
"Maybe we should just get married right after you graduate. I'm worried that once you become a Title Douluo, you'll think I'm beneath you. You know I'm good for nothing except spending money and eating."
He ended with a playful wink at Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing struggled to keep a straight face. Su Xiaoqi was really something—but his words were effective. Sure enough, Tang San and Xiao Wu had already started asking Dai Mubai about Su Xiaoqi's name.
What surprised her most, though, was that last part about marriage. Thinking about Su Xiaoqi's earlier proposal, Zhu Zhuqing blushed and whispered:
"I wouldn't look down on you. If you want… we can get married after I graduate."
Su Xiaoqi praised her performance silently in his heart, then continued:
"Zhuqing, meeting someone as wonderful as you is the greatest blessing of my life. Don't worry—I'd never do something scummy like abandoning you. Only lowlifes do that. I'll protect you with my life."
"I get it! Enough already—so many people are watching!"
Zhu Zhuqing was overwhelmed by the cheesy words. She knew Su Xiaoqi was saying it to disgust Dai Mubai and take her side, but it was still a lot to handle.
Dai Mubai, who was still brushing off Tang San and Xiao Wu's questions, turned dark-faced after hearing all that.
But Su Xiaoqi didn't care how Dai Mubai felt. His performance wasn't over yet.
He turned to Ning Rongrong and said, "Ning Rongrong, right? Since fate brought us together, let me give you a kind reminder. Earlier, your senior said Shrek Academy has had 62 students in total, but only 14 graduated. You know what that means?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head. "What does it mean?"
Su Xiaoqi replied, "Let me put it this way—Shrek Academy has incredibly high admission standards. Talents like you would be top students at any other academy. So I really don't get it—how come none of these geniuses can reach level 40 before age 20?"
"Could it be laziness? I doubt it. Geniuses usually have pride. But your senior also said that some died while hunting spirit beasts. I don't know how many of the 48 who didn't graduate died that way, but I'm guessing it wasn't a small number."
"So be careful. Even we country folk know your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is a support-type Martial Soul. Hunting spirit beasts is especially dangerous for you."
Ning Rongrong's expression changed dramatically. She hadn't thought about that before, but now that he said it, it made sense.
She herself was only 12 and already at level 26. Even with some slacking, it should be possible to hit level 40 within eight years. So what happened to all those geniuses from Shrek Academy who never graduated?
She now suspected most of them probably died while hunting spirit beasts.
And as a support-type spirit master with no combat ability, what would her own fate be?
The thought terrified her. She hadn't run away from home just to die out here.
"Su Xiaoqi, thanks for the warning. I don't think I want to study here anymore. Why don't you and Zhu Zhuqing come with me? I can take you both back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."
Xiao Wu added, "Brother, I think Su Xiaoqi has a point. Maybe we should switch academies. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"This..."
Dai Mubai was speechless. One after another, they all wanted to leave Shrek Academy.
He wanted to say Su Xiaoqi was stirring up trouble—but those were his own words earlier. He couldn't find a single fault in Su Xiaoqi's reasoning.
Tang San was also starting to hesitate. Dai Mubai's earlier words had left a strong impression on him, and he'd believed that Shrek Academy really was different from the others. But now, after Su Xiaoqi's logical breakdown, he wasn't so sure anymore.
He had asked Dai Mubai for the name of that Title Douluo alumnus earlier, but the guy just mumbled and dodged the question.
Also, hunting spirit beasts was indeed dangerous, but Shrek's death rate seemed absurdly high.
"Teacher… could you have been wrong? Maybe Shrek Academy isn't as great as you said..."
For the first time, Tang San began to doubt Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's decision to send him here.
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