Part 5 - A Fangirl

The three of them are seen strolling around Soto City, with Xiao Wu hugging Su Fan's arm and Tang San following behind. His appearance looks pitiful, as if the difference between him and Su Fan and Xiao Wu is like heaven and earth. Not to mention, his obvious worried expression makes him look even more miserable. The people around him sympathize with him, but unfortunately, Tang San doesn't realize it because his mind is occupied with strange fantasies. Maybe if he saw the way people were looking at him, he would have punched them all due to his high pride.

Despite that, he occasionally glances around until he notices an antique shop that catches his attention.

"Su Fan, Xiao Wu, do you want to take a look at this antique shop?"

Su Fan and Xiao Wu look at the antique shop Tang San is referring to. They glance at each other, then look at Tang San and nod. The three of them enter the shop and begin looking around.

They see the shopkeeper, an old man with glasses. His appearance seems ordinary, but Su Fan, who activates his Sharingan, sees that the old man in front of him is a Soul Douluo, a level-80 spirit master. With this, Su Fan confirms that the man in front of him is Flender, the headmaster of Shrek Academy.

Meanwhile, Tang San and Xiao Wu casually browse through the items until a particular stone catches Tang San's attention.

"This is a crystal stone!" Hearing Tang San's excitement, Xiao Wu approaches him and looks at the stone he is staring at.

"Tang San, do you really want to buy this ugly stone?"

"Yes, but I don't know the price yet."

"It's not expensive, just 100 gold coins."

"What?! A hundred gold coins for an ugly stone?! Tang San, are you sure you want to buy it?"

"Yes. I want to buy it."

Xiao Wu looks at Tang San as if she is looking at an idiot, then distances herself from him and walks toward Su Fan.

Tang San nods at the shopkeeper and takes money from the spirit tool given to him by Yu Xiaogang, then hands it to Flender.

"Your money isn't enough. The price is actually 200 gold coins."

Tang San's face turns sour at Flender's behavior.

"Alright, 200. Are you sure you won't change it again?"

"500 gold coins. I won't change it again."

Tang San's face darkens even more upon hearing Flender's words. He really wants to buy the stone, so his attention shifts to Su Fan. Su Fan understands what Tang San wants and takes out 300 gold coins, tossing them to Tang San.

"Su Fan, thank you."

"Just pay me back later."

"Of course."

Tang San hands the money to Flender. As Flender looks at Tang San, his eyes focus on the spirit tool hanging from Tang San's waist, the one given by Yu Xiaogang.

"Where did you get that?"

"This spirit tool was given to me by my teacher."

"So, you're his disciple. In that case, just take the crystal stone."

"Alright, here's the money."

"Just take it for free. It's not worth much anyway. Now leave quickly and don't disturb my sleep."

"Uncle, it's better if you just state the price."

But Flender doesn't respond, so Tang San places the money on the table where the stone was and then leaves the shop with Su Fan and Xiao Wu.

"Master... You're finally not avoiding me anymore."

"And that quiet guy earlier really seems like a better version of you. I wonder why you chose someone else as your disciple."

After exploring the city, they return to the hotel to rest. Su Fan and Xiao Wu share a bed, with Xiao Wu secretly curling up on Su Fan's lap without him knowing as he sleeps. Meanwhile, Tang San, following Xiao Wu's orders, is forced to sleep on the sofa. Being outside the room, he truly can't sleep due to the constant worry weighing on him. Every half an hour, he secretly listens in on the room to check if anything unusual happens.

The next morning, they walk toward Shrek Academy. Su Fan looks fresh, and Xiao Wu appears cheerful. In contrast, Tang San looks utterly exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and a body that seems ready to collapse at any moment. However, since this is the enrollment day, he has no choice but to push himself forward.

Not long after, they finally see an entrance gate with an old plaque that has ugly handwriting spelling out "Shrek Academy" alongside a green monster head. Su Fan already knew Shrek was a shabby academy, just like in the stories, but seeing it in person makes him truly reconsider whether he should enroll.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu, seeing Shrek Academy, feels completely deceived by Tang San. Because of this, both Su Fan and Xiao Wu glare at Tang San. However, the exhausted Tang San is tired to even think about what they might be thinking.

"Brother Fan, Shrek Academy is so terrible. Even Notting Academy looks better than this! I think Tang San's teacher is really blind in his judgment. Yesterday, his friend was a scammer, and now this awful academy!"

Even though Xiao Wu is complaining, Su Fan can't be angry at her because he himself is questioning the same thing in his mind. He then pats her head.

"It's fine. We've come all this way. Let's at least check it out before deciding."

With that, they start queuing in the rather long line. The first person in line pays 10 gold coins to the old man handling the registration but fails to meet the requirements. Since the registration fee is non-refundable, the applicant becomes furious.

"This is clearly a scam!"

"Move along quickly. Don't hold up the line."

"No way! Give back my registration fee, or we won't leave!"

"Mubai, someone wants a refund. You handle it."

"You want your registration fee back?"

A familiar voice comes from atop a tree, catching the attention of the three. They turn their heads and see Dai Mubai lounging in the branches. He then jumps down and approaches the applicant demanding a refund.

"If you can defeat me, I'll return the full registration fee."

Dai Mubai activates his martial soul, revealing his yellow, yellow, and purple spirit rings.

"Yesterday you played around with women and now you're playing the role of a robber. You really enjoy acting like a villain huh loser?"

Hearing this familiar voice, Dai Mubai turns his gaze, but the moment he does, he is greeted with a punch to the face. Su Fan follows up with another strike, and Dai Mubai tries to block it by crossing his arms in front of his face. Unfortunately, Su Fan, being more experienced, lands an uppercut on Dai Mubai.

After that, Dai Mubai struggles to defend against Su Fan's relentless punches. His face gets pummeled more than 20 times in a row until Su Fan finishes with a final kick to his stomach, sending him flying and crashing into the tree he had just been resting in. He passes out immediately while Su Fan stands tall, his hair swaying in the wind.

The girls watching the scene have hearts in their eyes, especially one special girl who will become a core member of Shrek—Ning Rongrong. Seeing his impressive presence and handsome face, she feels herself falling in love for the first time.

'He's so handsome!'

To Be Continued...