is a bit worthless.

Soto.

It was just past noon, and the sun was blazing.

Since the Kingdom of Barak borders the Province of Fasno, and Notting City and Soto City are not far apart, the three carriages carrying Ouyang Ling and the others arrived here in just a few hours.

"Soto..."

Qin Ming stepped down from the carriage, a hint of lingering affection flashing in his eyes.

"What's wrong? Mr. Qin, are you homesick?" Ouyang Ling got out of the car and, seeing Qin Ming's expression, teased him, feigning ignorance, "Looks like your home is in Soto City now?"

"oh--"

The unrestrained chatter was quickly heard by the rest of the Royal Fighting Team. Yu Feng was the first to speak up, "Teacher Qin, could it be that you have ulterior motives for bringing us to Soto City?"

Immediately, the others also cast mocking glances at him.

"nonsense."

Knowing that these guys were joking, Qin Ming wasn't annoyed.

"My home isn't in Soto. I was just thinking about the happiest and most cherished time of my life as a student."

Students?

This immediately piqued everyone's curiosity.

They didn't know where Teacher Qin graduated from, so they were very curious to know which college could produce such a student.

But since it's been brought up...

That must mean it's related to Soto.

So Dugu Yan, who was holding Yu Tianheng's arm, asked:

"Professor Qin, did you graduate from Soto City?"

Yu Feng asked in confusion, "But is there an academy here?"

Oslo stroked his chin and guessed:

"Could it be Barak Advanced Soul Master Academy?"

No, none of those are true.

Qin Ming's smile revealed a hint of nostalgia and pride. "I graduated from Shrek Academy."

Shrek Academy?

The members of the Royal Fighting Clan exchanged glances, then decisively communicated with their eyes.

Dugu Yan: [Have you heard of this academy?]

Oslo: [No recollection.]

Yu Tianheng: [There isn't a single advanced Soul Master academy with that name. Could Teacher Qin have just graduated from a mid-level Soul Master academy?]

Yu Feng: [It should be.]

He paused, then blinked again:

After all, it can't be a diploma mill.

Ouyang Ling suddenly interjected, a hint of amusement in his eyes: "Congratulations, you guessed right."

"Who!? Me?!" Yu Feng exclaimed, attracting Qin Ming's attention. He frowned in confusion. "Yu Feng, why are you so startled?"

"Uh, well, this..."

Seeing his hesitant manner, it was clear he was deliberately hiding something. This made Qin Ming shake his head. "Just say what you have to say. Do you think I'm going to eat you?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Feng tentatively asked:

"Teacher Qin, you're the one who told me to say this."

Qin Ming: "...Speak."

"Teacher, Shrek Academy isn't some dubious school, is it?" After saying that, Yu Feng retreated and hid behind Ouyang Ling, his eyes saying, "Ling, protect me!"

Snapped--

After Yu Feng finished asking his question, Yu Tianheng and the others wanted to slap themselves hard on the forehead.

What kind of question is that?

Don't you even know what it means to ask a question tactfully?

You blockhead!

"pheasant…"

Hearing this assessment, and recalling the academy, Qin Ming's lips twitched. He gave a wry smile, "Actually, you're right. Shrek Academy is just a small mountain village near Soto City; it's not a proper academy. Although 'wildcat' sounds awful, it's true..."

Qin Ming then recounted the founding of Shrek Academy and its general circumstances, "...When I left, the academy had been established for nine years and had only enrolled 19 students in total. I wonder what the academy is like now?"

"42. Shrek Academy admitted a total of 42 people."

Upon hearing this, Yu Tianheng and the others looked at Ouyang Ling in surprise. "No, do you know so much about this?"

Qin Ming was also surprised by this.

"Ouyang, you also know about Shrek Academy?"

"I know." Ouyang Ling nodded.

"I met Senior Flander when I went to hunt for my second spirit ring. After learning about the potential of the Shrek students, I reported this to Brother Xue."

"Your Highness!?"

This time, Qin Ming wasn't the only one who was surprised.

They never expected that news from an unofficial academy would reach the Crown Prince's ears.

"And then? What happened next?" Since it concerned his alma mater, Qin Ming was naturally extremely concerned.

In response, Ouyang Ling offered words of comfort:

"Teacher Qin, this is a good thing."

He then briefly informed Qin Ming of the support the Crown Prince was providing to Shrek Academy.

Of course, Qian Renxue's support didn't come without benefits for Shrek Academy. For example, all the commoner soul masters who graduated from Shrek Academy in recent years were brought under Qian Renxue's command.

While these individuals may not possess top-tier talent, comparable to Oscar and Ma Hongjun, they are still considered first-rate. With proper training, they all have the potential to become legendary players.

In Qian Renxue's words: It wasn't a waste of money.

"That's good."

Qin Ming smiled slightly and breathed a sigh of relief.

He wanted his alma mater to improve more than anyone else.

"I really want to go back and see it."

"Then let's go back and take a look."

The Royal Fighting Team, now intrigued, urged them on.

To be honest, they became interested in this bizarre... no, this monster academy. In any case, they wanted to see what was going on.

Yu Feng urged them on even more desperately.

"Teacher, don't you want your teacher to see what you've accomplished? You need to go back and show off!"

"vulgar!"

Oslo rolled his eyes at him, and then said, "Teacher Qin, returning home in glory is like wearing fine clothes at night."

Yu Feng flashed his crescent-shaped eyes: "..."

You bastard, that's not what I meant at all!

But at this moment, Qin Ming was genuinely tempted.

Seeing this, Ouyang Ling went along with it, "Teacher Qin, I can guarantee you that Shrek Academy is definitely better now than when you left. After all, Brother Xue has provided a lot of financial and resource support."

He wasn't exaggerating at all when he said that.

Although he hadn't seen what Shrek Academy looked like after receiving Qian Renxue's support, he figured that with money, it would be better than before!

It can't still be dilapidated, can it?

Right?

……

"No, why is it so dilapidated?"

Yu Feng stared at the plaque, stunned. Of course, the others weren't much better off than him.

Yu Tianheng, who happened to be standing next to Ouyang Ling, nudged him with his elbow and asked in a low voice:

"Has this been improved?"

"Of course...no."

Ouyang Ling gritted his teeth.

Shrek Academy is exactly as described in the book, no, it's even worse! He's starting to wonder if Flander is so stingy that he can't even bear to spend the money he's given as a grant.

More importantly,

I was proven wrong!

"Ahem—, Teacher Qin…"

Just as Ouyang Ling was about to say something, Qin Ming said with a nostalgic tone, "It's still the same as before."

He then turned around and smiled at Ouyang Ling.

"Don't worry, I know Dean Flander. He'd be much more willing to use that money where it's needed than to improve the academy's appearance."

As he spoke, he was about to lead everyone into the academy.

Just then,

"Hey, who are you people?"

A soft, gentle voice rang out.

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the soft voice came not from a woman, but from a middle-aged man with a thick beard. He was even pushing a small cart, seemingly on his way to sell something.

"This gentleman."

Qin Ming smiled slightly at the wary look in the older man's eyes. He stepped forward and explained, "I am a graduate of Shrek Academy. I'm here today to pay my respects to Dean Flander and Vice Dean Zhao Wuji."

The seller's eyes lit up when he heard that.

"So you're the senior here."

"Yeah, senior... wait, senior?" Qin Ming was taken aback when he was addressed like that.

Behind him, Yu Feng spoke up directly.

"Uncle, are you addressing me by the wrong name?"

"Uncle?"

The seller's expression suddenly stiffened.

"What did you call me?"

"Uncle," Yu Feng said matter-of-factly, his gaze lingering on the beard, the implication of which was self-evident.

"But I'm only 13 years old!"

The seller broke down!

He chuckled wryly as he tugged at his beard.

"I'm a Shrek Academy student too! You can't call me 'uncle' just because I have a thick beard!"

"Huh!?" x8

This time, there were more than one person who exclaimed in surprise.

The other seven, including Qin Ming, were all taken aback by him. Only Ouyang Ling pretended to just recognize the man and said, "13 years old? So you're Oscar, right?"

Oscar was taken aback by what he heard and looked at Ouyang Ling.

If you're not my buddy, then who are you?

How did you know my name?

"Who are you…"

"My name is Ouyang Ling."

"what!"

On second thought, Oscar suddenly realized.

"So you're the guy the fat man was talking about, the man the dean mentioned who contacted the sugar daddy!"

No…

What kind of weird address is that in the second half of the sentence?

Ouyang Ling was speechless, but too lazy to argue. He took out Flander's keepsake, "Please inform Senior Flander that I'm here to visit, and also..." He glanced at Qin Ming.

Qin Ming understood and clasped his hands in greeting:

"Student Qin Ming also returned to the school for a visit."

"Okay, wait for me a moment."

Oscar didn't even glance at the token in Ouyang Ling's hand, and ran straight towards the village. Perhaps because he was in such a hurry, he even abandoned his cart.

But as soon as you could still see his figure, you heard a voice from afar, "I have some grilled sausages in my car! Feel free to grab some if you want!"

"Hey, this kid's not bad."

"You're so sensible!" Yu Feng grinned.

He had smelled the aroma of meat long ago, and it was even of good quality, so he had been craving it for a while.

He had just stepped forward, picked one up, taken a bite, and before he could even swallow it all, offered one to Oslo. Then, another wafted from afar:

"Five copper soul coins each! Thank you for your patronage!"

Oslo silently withdrew his outstretched hand.

"no!"

Yu Feng stared in disbelief, his mouth agape, the piece of sausage still in his mouth. He yelled at the vanished Oscar, "You want money?!"

"How novel!" Yu Tianheng patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Paying for food is only right. Besides, you're not short of copper soul coins."

"that is."

Dugu Yan stepped forward and smelled the grilled sausage. "For this quality, five copper soul coins wouldn't be a bad deal."

"It's definitely worth it."

Ouyang Ling picked up eight sausages and put down four silver soul coins. After giving one to everyone except Yu Feng, he took a bite and said, "This isn't an ordinary sausage; it was made by a food-type Great Soul Master."

"What!?" ×N

Before it could even bite down, everyone was stunned.

Qin Ming stared at the sausage in shock. "You mean, my junior is a Food-type Soul Master!?"

"Only 13 years old," Yu Feng replied, then added reluctantly, "Truly a genius."

"The title of genius goes far beyond that." Ouyang Ling said in the calmest tone, uttering the most astonishing statement: "He is also a person with innate full soul power."

At that moment, everyone fell silent.

Another one with innate full soul power!

What's wrong?

Does that mean innate full soul power is worthless?!

not to mention,

13 years old, a great soul master, a food-type, and born with full soul power—each word alone is understandable, but put together... how to put it?

"monster!"

I don't know who spoke first, and then...

"Another huge monster!"

"..."

Words came in fits and starts, accompanied by resentful gazes fixed on her. Ouyang Ling suppressed the upward curve of her lips and shrugged with an "innocent" expression.