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"Phew~!"
After all the effort, the problem was resolved, and Chu Chengzhou finally let out a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but feel grateful that the Dragon Whisker Needle had only pierced his buttock. If it had hit Chu Jr. instead, his life would have been ruined!
Although Xiao Wu didn't mean it, why was a child playing with such dangerous things? She definitely needed to be disciplined!
Pulling up his pants and wearing a black expression, Chu Chengzhou walked out of the bathroom.
"Brother, how are you feeling? Does it still hurt?"
As soon as Chu Chengzhou stepped out of the bathroom, Xiao Wu immediately rushed over with a concerned look on her face.
Seeing Xiao Wu with tears in her eyes like pear blossoms in the rain, Chu Chengzhou's anger diminished by half.
After all, it was partly his fault for bumping into her accidentally—it wasn't entirely Xiao Wu's fault.
"Brother, I really didn't mean it. Can you forgive me, please~"
Xiao Wu clung to Chu Chengzhou's arm, her voice trembling with a hint of crying.
"Hmph~, if I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll never learn..."
Just then, a knock on the door suddenly sounded, followed by the voice of a Rose Hotel staff member: "Respected guest, sorry to disturb."
Chu Chengzhou was momentarily surprised but quickly realized that his earlier heartbreaking scream must have drawn the hotel staff's attention.
"Is something wrong?"
"Respected guest, we heard your scream just now. Do you need any assistance?"
Chu Chengzhou's earlier scream, which could make listeners cry and observers shed tears, had been quite loud. The hotel manager was worried that a murder might have occurred in the room, so they sent a staff member to check.
"It's nothing. We were just fooling around. There won't be any more noise like that!"
Finally, Chu Chengzhou added a reassurance.
After all, the only people staying at the Rose Hotel were him and Xiao Wu. Aside from certain peculiar sounds, no other noises should arise.
"Respected guest, if you need any help, feel free to come to the front desk."
The staff member outside didn't ask further and left after saying this.
After dismissing the staff member, Chu Chengzhou turned to Xiao Wu.
"Brother, you just said we were fooling around, so can you not be mad anymore?"
Seeing Chu Chengzhou's gaze turn dangerous, Xiao Wu trembled and immediately put on a pitiful expression.
"Hmph~, come here!"
With a cold snort, Chu Chengzhou walked into the bedroom first.
"Oh~"
Weakly responding, Xiao Wu followed behind.
Soon, loud slapping sounds echoed from the room.
Don't misunderstand—Chu Chengzhou didn't eat the little rabbit. He simply gave her a spanking on the butt.
Considering her young age, if she were four or five years older, he would have certainly taught her a harsher lesson today.
---
Early the next morning, the two tidied up and left the Rose Hotel. Exiting through the south gate of Suotuo City, they headed toward Shrek Academy outside the city.
After leaving the south gate of Suotuo City and following the road southward, fields stretched endlessly on both sides of the road.
But aside from the vast fields, there was no sign of any structure resembling a soul master academy within sight.
"Little Chu, is there really a Shrek Academy around here?"
Xiao Wu asked Chu Chengzhou, puzzled.
"What did you call me?"
Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow.
After last night's "spanking feast," this little rabbit had been sweet-talking him, calling him "brother" every chance she got, even adding a cutesy tone. And now she was back to calling him "Little Chu"?
"Aiya~, Big Brother, isn't calling you 'Little Chu' more affectionate? Look, I'm Xiao Wu, and you're Little Chu (Xiao Chu)—it sounds so smooth!"
Blinking innocently, Xiao Wu explained.
Upon hearing this, Chu Chengzhou rolled his eyes and said, "There's only one road outside the south gate. Just follow it, and we'll get there."
Chu Chengzhou naturally knew where Shrek Academy was. The reason they hadn't seen anything resembling a soul master academy yet was because Shrek Academy was "hidden" within an ordinary village.
"By the way, prepare yourself mentally. I've heard that Shrek Academy is incredibly run-down."
Chu Chengzhou gave Xiao Wu a heads-up in advance.
Whether in the original story or the anime, Shrek Academy wasn't just slightly run-down—it was downright shabby. Though called a soul master academy, it was no different from an ordinary village. No, it wasn't just similar—it was one.
"Run-down? Don't tell me this Shrek Academy is worse than Nuoding Academy?"
Blinking, Xiao Wu felt a sense of foreboding.
Nuoding Academy was a junior soul master academy in a remote small town. Surely Shrek Academy wasn't worse than that?
"Well… It doesn't matter if the academy is run-down as long as the teachers inside are strong enough to help me obtain soul rings."
Chu Chengzhou chuckled awkwardly.
Honestly, Shrek Academy's teaching environment was undoubtedly the worst among soul master academies on the continent.
However, it couldn't be denied that Shrek Academy still had some strength.
Though it couldn't compare to the first-tier Tian Dou Imperial Academy or the second-tier Five Elements Academy, based solely on Flender and the others' abilities, it could rank near the bottom of the third-tier advanced soul master academies.
There was no way around it—one of the prerequisites for establishing an advanced soul master academy on the continent was having at least one seven-ring Soul Sage-level soul master.
Tian Dou Imperial Academy had three Soul Douluo-level instructors on its board, and the Five Elements Academy had at least one Soul Douluo.
As for other advanced soul master academies within the Tian Dou Empire, they might not necessarily have eight-ring Soul Douluo-level masters, but they definitely had seven-ring Soul Sages—and likely more than one.
However, it was worth noting that Shrek Academy had a food-system seven-ring Soul Sage named Shao Xin.
Before Oscar, who had full innate soul power, there had been no recorded cases of food-system Title Douluo in the history of the continent. Currently, the highest-ranking food-system soul master on the continent was only an eight-ring Soul Douluo.
In other words, if Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Shao Xin were sold as a package deal, Shao Xin, as a food-system Soul Sage, would definitely be worth more than Flender and Zhao Wuji combined!
"Little Chu, you're so cunning! No wonder you wanted to come to Shrek Academy now."
Xiao Wu suddenly understood. She had previously wondered why Chu Chengzhou didn't wait until she officially graduated from Nuoding Academy before coming to Shrek, but now she got it.
So this was all about freeloading for a third soul ring!
"Cunning? Xiao Wu, watch your words! Isn't helping students hunt spirit beasts part of a soul master academy teacher's job?"
Chu Chengzhou tapped Xiao Wu's head and spoke with slight dissatisfaction.
If the academy couldn't help students hunt spirit beasts, why bother enrolling in a soul master academy?
Wasn't tuition free? Did they think gold soul coins grew on trees?
Hmm, speaking of which, he really didn't plan on paying tuition for this trip to Shrek Academy.
A genius student like him, plus an even more talented Xiao Wu as a bonus, surely deserved a tuition-free special recruitment offer, right? How could Flender live with himself otherwise?
Chu Chengzhou: That's right, I'm a freeloader!
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