Chapter 67: The first collection

When Oscar finished speaking, he noticed that Xiao Wu's ears twitched. He then vaguely felt a chill run down his spine, as though countless eyes were staring at him from behind.

"Ahem, strong… I mean a strong body?" Oscar pretended to cough, trying to regain his composure, and then asked in a quieter tone.

"Strong body? That's simple—just run more often," Qin Feng replied nonchalantly. Oscar didn't notice the wave of relief that washed over Qin Feng's face. Thankfully, the kid had the sense to stop his questions in time. How could he bring up something like that here? If he wants to ask again, it'll have to wait until we're alone.

The meal ended on an awkward note, but at least everyone ate to their heart's content. When it was time to leave, Qin Feng handed Cuihua three copper coins. The entire meal had cost less than a single copper coin, but he gave her extra as a tip. Not only did he appreciate her cooking, but he was also nostalgic for the taste that reminded him of a food stall back on Earth. For someone as wealthy as he was, this amount was trivial.

"Hmm, what's that sound?" A faint noise came from the direction of the academy.

"Isn't Mr. Zhao on leave today? Why would there be a bell calling everyone to assemble?" Ma Hongjun, his stomach full and content, looked around in confusion. The others who heard the noise were equally puzzled.

"Quick! We need to get back, fast!" Dai Mubai shouted urgently, a serious expression on his face.

"What's going on? What does that signal mean?" The freshmen, who weren't familiar with Shrek Academy's rules, were visibly confused.

"That's the academy's assembly bell. It means everyone has to gather within one minute. If we're late, we'll be punished!" Oscar explained as he took off running, the urgency in his steps clear.

Even though they ran as fast as they could, they were still some distance from the academy. By the time they reached the campus square, two minutes had already passed.

Standing in the center of the square, a tall, burly man dressed in a brown suit had his back turned to them.

"It's the headmaster!" Oscar's voice was filled with despair. If it had been Mr. Zhao Wuji, being a bit late wouldn't have mattered much. After all, Mr. Zhao was often late himself. But with Dean Flender in charge, they were in for some serious trouble!

A group of eight people stood in front of the square.

"Wait… isn't that the profiteering uncle we met the other day?" Xiao Wu and Tang San's eyes widened in shock when they recognized the man.

It was the same person who had tried to swindle them when they were buying supplies earlier.

"What uncle? He's the dean of our Shrek Academy—Flender, a rank seventy-eight Soul Sage," Oscar explained in a low voice, his expression filled with dread.

"Flender? The dean of Shrek Academy?" Xiao Wu's mouth twitched slightly. Just a few days ago, she'd been bad-mouthing him. Was he going to hold a grudge?

"You don't think Dean Flender will retaliate, right? After all, he's the head of the academy… He should be above holding grudges, right?" Xiao Wu looked worriedly at Qin Feng and Tang San.

"I don't think so," Tang San reassured her. He believed that anyone who became a dean would have a broader perspective and wouldn't stoop to petty revenge.

"Oh, don't be so sure about that," Qin Feng interjected with a sly smile.

"Brother Feng is right. You don't know Dean Flender like we do. He's notorious for holding grudges, and he's incredibly greedy too!" Oscar whispered cautiously.

"You're one minute late!" A deep voice boomed across the square, making everyone flinch.

"Dean Flender, we were having lunch at Cuihua's place over in Houshan. That's why we were a bit slow," Dai Mubai explained, his tone almost pleading.

"Late is late. Stop making excuses! All of you, twenty laps around the academy as punishment!" Flender's voice carried a stern, unyielding authority.

"Wait!" Just as Dai Mubai was about to lead everyone off for their punishment, Flender suddenly stopped them.

Everyone looked at him, puzzled, wondering what else the dean had to say.

"The new semester is starting soon. You can complete your punishment run later. But first, I have a few things to announce," Flender said, his tone shifting to something more formal. Every semester at Shrek Academy began with a speech from the dean, and this year was no exception.

"Why do you all look so worried?" Tang San and Qin Feng exchanged confused glances with Dai Mubai and the others.

"Brother Feng, you'll see soon enough," Oscar muttered, sighing deeply.

"First of all, I'm pleased to welcome five new students to Shrek Academy this year," Flender said, his voice echoing across the square. "I am Flender, and on behalf of Shrek Academy, I welcome you."

A round of applause erupted as Flender continued.

"The first thing I need to address is that all new students are required to pay their tuition and uniform fees. Please head to the Finance Room on the left after this meeting. Each student must pay a hundred gold coins. Only those who have paid will officially be recognized as new students of Shrek Academy.

"The second point is that Shrek Academy is an elite institution. We train soul masters to strengthen their weaknesses. As part of this training, Oscar and Ning Rongrong—both from the support department—will run an additional ten laps."

Flender glanced at Oscar, who looked utterly defeated. He regretted bad-mouthing the dean earlier. It was all over for him now.

Ning Rongrong, hearing the dean's words, looked troubled as well. She wasn't good at running to begin with, and now she had to run even more laps.

"As for the third point," Flender's gaze shifted to Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, "the older students of Shrek Academy must set an example for the new students. Therefore, you'll be running twenty extra laps."

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's faces turned ashen. But the one who looked most devastated was Oscar. He was already supposed to run ten laps for being in the support department, twenty more for being an older student, and now the standard twenty laps for everyone else. Did that mean he had to run fifty laps in total? Could he even survive that?

"Dean, please have mercy. What if we get heatstroke under this blazing sun?" Ma Hongjun pleaded, looking utterly miserable.

"You have a point. If Oscar gets heatstroke and no one's around to help, it could be dangerous. Ma Hongjun, you'll run ten laps with Oscar to keep him company!" Flender said with a hint of amusement.

Ma Hongjun's face turned pale. He wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to open his mouth in the first place?

With that, the group headed to the Finance Room to settle their fees. Soon after, under the scorching sun, a group of figures could be seen running around the academy grounds.

Leading the charge was none other than Qin Feng himself, his pace only getting faster and more energized as time went on.

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