After a hearty meal, the group returned to Shrek Academy.
Situated within Heaven Dou City, the academy was conveniently close to the Soto City Grand Soul Arena.
With no match scheduled for Shrek Academy the following day, everyone indulged in a bit of drinking, celebrating the highlight of the day: Tang San's spectacular beating!
In Shrek's Dormitories
Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai shared one of the rare double-occupancy dorm rooms at the academy.
Given that many students were in their twenties, the academy didn't prohibit relationships, and such dorm arrangements naturally came into existence.
"Why do I feel like you've been avoiding Dean Flender and Teacher Liu Erlong recently?"
Zhu Zhuqing, slightly tipsy, voiced her suspicions.
A woman's intuition was rarely wrong. She had noticed that Dai Mubai seemed off whenever he spoke to Flender lately. While their conversations seemed normal on the surface, his gaze always wavered, as though hiding something.
Liu Erlong's behavior was similarly peculiar—her glances at Dai Mubai carried an inexplicable awkwardness.
As Dai Mubai's partner and rightful "queen," Zhu Zhuqing's perception was razor-sharp.
Hearing her question, Dai Mubai's expression stiffened, and his slightly inebriated mind instantly sobered up.
After some thought, he decided to come clean about what had happened that day. There wasn't much point in hiding it, after all.
Once Dai Mubai finished recounting the story, Zhu Zhuqing was left completely dumbfounded. She hadn't expected the situation to be so absurd!
Apparently, Dai Mubai had been looking for Flender or Liu Erlong to arrange extra training for Tang San and the others. Unable to find Flender, he stumbled upon Liu Erlong drinking. What followed… was sheer madness.
"You really just lingered at the door and didn't go in?"
Zhu Zhuqing blushed slightly as she asked, embarrassed by the details.
"Of course! Don't you trust me?"
Dai Mubai thumped his chest in assurance.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. While Dai Mubai's reputation wasn't exactly pristine, he had never lied to her. If he said he hadn't gone in, then he hadn't gone in.
"No wonder there's such an awkward vibe whenever you're near them," Zhu Zhuqing muttered under her breath.
Dai Mubai scratched his head. Awkward? How could it not be?
He didn't even know how to act around them anymore!
"Forget it. I won't nag you about it. Just handle it properly!"
"Don't worry, Zhuqing. I've got it under control!"
"Under control?"
Zhu Zhuqing shot him a sidelong glance, her cool voice cutting through the room.
"'Under control'? Want me to count how many 'under control' situations you've had?"
Dai Mubai's smile froze, and he quickly waved his hands in denial.
"No need, no need."
"Go to sleep, Zhuqing. Tomorrow we—"
"No matches tomorrow."
"Oh, well… The day after tomorrow, we have matches!"
Zhu Zhuqing chuckled at Dai Mubai's nervousness, finding it amusing. After giving him another playful glare, she snuggled against his arm and closed her eyes.
Time flowed on, and the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Fourteen matches had already taken place in the preliminaries, and Shrek Academy, with Dai Mubai leading the charge, had secured flawless victories in every one.
Most of their opponents so far had been too weak to pose any real challenge, leaving the team bored and uninterested.
"Today's opponent is the Blazing Fire Academy, a relatively strong team. Do you all…" Flender paused mid-sentence, shaking his head. "Never mind. It's just the Blazing Fire Academy—they can't stir up much trouble."
Originally intending to ask if his team felt confident, Flender gave up halfway. With their lineup boasting more Soul Kings than the Blazing Fire Academy had Soul Ancestors, losing was almost impossible!
"Teacher, why do you seem a bit down these past few days?"
Ma Hongjun scratched his head, puzzled by Flender's mood.
Their streak of victories was surely a cause for celebration, yet Flender seemed distracted and somber.
Hearing Ma Hongjun's question, Flender forced a smile, but it lasted barely a second before fading.
"I'm fine. Just focus on your match. Follow Mubai's arrangements. I'll step out for a bit."
With that, Flender vanished on the spot.
The group exchanged confused glances but didn't know what to say.
Dai Mubai, however, had an inkling of what was troubling Flender.
Most likely, Liu Erlong had rejected him again.
Liu Erlong saw Flender only as an older brother. The idea of them being together was out of the question.
And Dai Mubai was right—though the reality was even more complicated.
Two days prior, Flender had once again confessed his feelings to Liu Erlong, only to be directly rejected.
"Boss Flender, I really like someone else. It's not that short-haired guy—I swear!" Liu Erlong had said.
"Stop pursuing me, or I'm afraid he'll misunderstand."
Her words had left Flender utterly dumbfounded.
Good grief! He had barely exposed Yu Xiaogang's true nature, and now Liu Erlong had fallen for someone else?
She even swore it wasn't Yu Xiaogang!
Flender tilted his head back, gazing at the sky, teary-eyed. He desperately wanted to know who the scoundrel was that had so quickly stolen Liu Erlong's heart.
Whoever it was, they'd better hope Flender never found them!
Fortunately, Dai Mubai wasn't privy to these details. Otherwise, he might have gone out of his way to avoid Flender altogether.
"Tang San, any thoughts on this match?" Dai Mubai asked.
If he directly assigned Tang San to the lineup, Tang San might accuse him of trying to sabotage him. After all, the Blazing Fire Academy was composed entirely of fire-element specialists, making them a nightmare matchup for plant-based spirits like Tang San's Blue Silver Grass.
Sure enough, sending Tang San in would practically guarantee another beating!
To Dai Mubai's surprise, Tang San nodded earnestly, interpreting the question as recognition of his importance to the team.
It seemed even Dai Mubai understood Tang San's critical role. Despite the unfavorable matchup, Dai Mubai must have asked for his input because the team couldn't do without a control-type spirit master.
Winning against a counter-element opponent would only highlight Tang San's greatness!
"Boss Dai, I'm ready. I can fight!" Tang San declared confidently.
Everyone else: "???"
The others exchanged glances, contemplating whether to warn Tang San. In the end, they decided against it. With Dai Mubai leading, they couldn't lose anyway.
"Alright. For this match, the lineup will be me, Tang San, Fatty, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, and Yanzi…"
"I… I want to fight too!"
(Chapter End)