"Oh?"
Upon hearing that the two were planning to enroll at Shrek Academy tomorrow, Flender immediately perked up.
It was true that Flender was notorious for ripping people off, but if these were his own students, he wouldn't dare overcharge them—it would tarnish his glorious image in the eyes of his students, wouldn't it?
Of course, glorious image or not, he didn't actually have one, but that didn't stop him from thinking this way.
"It's not the enrollment period for Shrek Academy right now, and their admission requirements are quite high. They might not even accept you."
Flender sized the two up and spoke indifferently.
Shrek Academy was indeed run-down, but they weren't desperate enough to accept just anyone. If these two lacked the necessary strength and failed to meet the admission standards, he'd feel no guilt about overcharging them!
'What's going on? How can I, a seven-ring Soul Sage, fail to see through these two brats?'
Flender thought to himself, feeling frustrated.
In theory, with his seven-ring Soul Sage-level strength, it shouldn't be difficult to discern the soul power levels of two young soul masters.
However, these two seemed a bit unusual. Under his mental perception, it was as if they were shrouded in a layer of mist, making it impossible for him to gauge their soul power.
"Huh? Boss, do you know about Shrek Academy? Could you tell us what their admission requirements are?"
Chu Chengzhou feigned confusion and asked.
"I do know a bit. If you're older than twelve or your soul power level isn't at least 21, then there's no point in going."
Flender looked at the two with an inquisitive gaze.
"That's good. I'm a 29-level Soul Grandmaster, and I'll only turn thirteen next month."
As he spoke, Chu Chengzhou activated his soul power, materializing his gray flag martial soul adorned with a tree and lion design. Two disguised hundred-year spirit rings appeared around him.
"Huh? Twelve years old, 29-level Soul Grandmaster?"
Flender's spirits lifted instantly.
A twelve-year-old 29-level Soul Grandmaster? Goodness~! This had to be a genius with full innate soul power!
"What about you, little girl?"
After discovering a wild prodigy, Flender was overjoyed and immediately turned his attention to Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu glanced at Chu Chengzhou, puzzled as to why Little Chu Trash would mention her soul power level to this shady shopkeeper.
But after catching Chu Chengzhou's meaningful glance, Xiao Wu realized that Little Chu Trash probably had some mischievous plan in mind.
"Hmph~, Sister Xiao Wu is much stronger than Little Chu!"
Proudly raising her head, Xiao Wu manifested her Soft Boned Rabbit martial soul, revealing three disguised spirit rings—yellow, yellow, and purple.
"Three-ring Soul Elder?"
Flender's eyes widened. He had thought a twelve-year-old 29-level Soul Grandmaster was impressive enough, but now there was also a three-ring Soul Elder by his side! And judging by their appearances, the two seemed to be about the same age.
"Of course!"
Xiao Wu was very pleased with the shock evident in Flender's eyes.
"Boss, can you sell me this crystal at a discount?"
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou brought up the topic of the crystal again.
"Kid, how many gold soul coins do you have in your pocket?"
After pondering for a moment, Flender asked Chu Chengzhou.
These two promising talents were too good to pass up.
Chu Chengzhou didn't speak but simply raised one finger.
"A thousand?"
Flender stroked his chin and guessed.
Chu Chengzhou shook his head.
"A hundred?"
Flender's eyes widened.
"Nope, ten gold soul coins!"
"Kid, are you pretending to be poor in front of me? With just ten gold soul coins, you think you can enroll at Shrek Academy? That won't even cover your registration fees, let alone tuition."
Flender almost laughed out loud. Pretending to be poor? Really?
Do you really think wearing glasses makes me blind?
Pretending to be poor is fine, but at least change into patched-up clothes, will you?
"Not enough to enroll at Shrek Academy with ten gold soul coins?
Xiao Wu, maybe we should go to Tian Dou City instead. I heard the Tian Dou Imperial Academy is the best advanced soul master academy in our empire. With our talent, they probably won't charge us tuition."
In front of Flender, Chu Chengzhou said to Xiao Wu.
His tone made it sound like they were definitely enrolling at the Tian Dou Imperial Academy.
"Hmph~, I told you we should've gone to the Tian Dou Imperial Academy, but you insisted on coming to this so-called Shrek Academy. Now you regret it, don't you?"
Although she didn't understand what Chu Chengzhou was up to, Xiao Wu played along perfectly, acting out their scripted exchange.
'Oh no!'
Upon hearing this, Flender inwardly panicked.
As the principal of Shrek Academy, who dreamed of making the academy great, how could he allow such talented individuals to go to another academy?
"Kid, I've heard that if a student has exceptional talent, Shrek Academy might waive their tuition fees."
Isn't it just a hundred gold soul coins per year for tuition? Forget it, I won't take it! Do you really think this Soul Sage cares about a hundred gold soul coins?
"Really?"
Chu Chengzhou blinked suspiciously.
"Probably~!"
Flender reluctantly replied, wincing at the thought of losing money.
"Alright, we'll check it out tomorrow. By the way, boss, can you give me a discount on this crystal?"
Chu Chengzhou pointed at the crystal.
"Get out, get out! Take it for ten gold soul coins!"
Flender waved dismissively.
I'm not even going to charge you two hundred gold soul coins for tuition, so why should I care about this broken crystal I bought for a single silver soul coin?
"Hehe~, thank you, boss!"
Seeing this, Chu Chengzhou nodded in satisfaction and promptly stored the crystal in the spatial jade stone around his neck. He then handed over ten gold soul coins to Flender.
"Huh? You have a storage-type soul tool? Damn it! You have a storage-type soul tool and still pretend to be poor?"
Upon seeing Chu Chengzhou's storage-type soul tool, Flender immediately realized that the kid had been putting on an act all along!
You see, storage-type soul tools were valuable items. Even one with just one cubic meter of internal space was worth tens of thousands of gold soul coins!
But something still didn't add up. Where did this kid get the confidence to make him sell things so cheaply?
*'Could it be that this kid found out I'm the principal of Shrek Academy?'*
Flender speculated inwardly.
"This soul tool was something I won in a bet—it wasn't bought with money. I really don't have much gold on me."
Chu Chengzhou quickly shook his head in denial.
But since the transaction was complete, he wasn't worried about Flender changing his mind.
Besides, Flender knew they were planning to enroll at Shrek Academy. As the principal, he still had to maintain some dignity.
"Hmph~, I'd have to be blind to believe you! Get out, get out—I'm annoyed just looking at you."
Not believing a single word from Chu Chengzhou, Flender immediately began shooing them away, clearly displeased.
Chu Chengzhou: "…"
To be honest, scoring a bargain from Flender, the miser, was truly a satisfying experience!
------------------------------------------------------
Double Chapters Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)