The students of the first grade were divided by gender for the body searches. Most of the students had nothing to hide, but a few tried their luck at smuggling things out. However, one teacher’s martial soul was his eyes, and with his soul skills, he could see through every kind of deception the students tried.

  A cold gust of air blew in through the gates. Although none of them truly felt cold, a few still shivered from the wind chill.

  “That search was so thorough!” a student exclaimed as they shuffled through the gates.

  “I’ll see you in fifteen days, Class President.” Luo Guixing waved to Tang Wulin as he left.

  “Good luck everyone. Do your best to avoid getting eliminated. I’ll start forging for you guys next semester, so get the materials and your payment ready.”


  The shivering students cheered. Tang Wulin was the only person in their grade who had a piece of battle armor at the moment. Even considering the fact that they chose to use ordinary metals for theirs, the rankers were still far behind in that regard. Making battle armor wasn’t an easy task after all.

  Using spirit alloys may have made the crafting process harder for Tang Wulin, but the results were worth it. He could spirit refine it in the future and upgrade it. Crafting battle armor like this was practically unheard of in the outer court. Therefore, the only way to get spirit alloys or spirit refined metal was to request it from the Blacksmith’s Association at a high price.

  Tang Wulin’s promise was enough to buy the hearts of all his classmates. However, he only made this promise now because his alloy forging success rate had risen to forty percent recently. It was good enough for him to start profiting off of it.

  After a semester at Shrek Academy, Tang Wulin had formed clear plan for his cultivation path.

  It could be summed up in three words.

  Forge, eat, and battle!

  Blacksmithing would make him money. With money he could buy food. With a full belly he would have the energy to fight!

  Eating had already been incorporated into his daily cultivation routine. Shrek Academy’s food was highly nutritious. This fueled his powerful blood essence, which in turn led to faster soul power cultivation.

  In truth, anyone could eat nutritious food to cultivate as well. The only problem was digestion! This path was only viable to Tang Wulin because his stomach had amazing digestive capabilities. In spite of this, the amount he could grow through eating ordinary meals still had its limits. If he wanted to improve his soul power and blood essence, he would need even more nutritious food! The food had to be packed with the natural energies of the world until it was fit to burst. Then it wouldn’t be ordinary food, but spirit food! It was spirit food that had helped him break his third seal.

  Tang Wulin was confident that if he could eat one or two spirit foods a month, his cultivation level would quickly surpass that of his peers. However, to do so required tremendous amounts of money, and the best way for him to earn money was to forge!

  On top of all of that, Wu Zhangkong had also told him there was only one true way to get stronger. Battle!

  So Tang Wulin had come to that conclusion. He would do three things: forge, eat, and battle!

  The students left one after another. Fifteen days seemed like a long while, but they had lots to do in that time. They had to earn some money immediately. Without any, they wouldn’t be able to advance!

  “I’m going to go find some people to pamper me.” Xu Xiaoyan waved goodbye to her friends as she walked back toward Shrek Academy.

  “I’m going too. If you guys hear about a Shrek student doing street performances later, don’t find it too weird!” Xie Xie took off running.

  Xu Lizhi walked over to the side. He took off his coat and lay it on the ground, then he began conjuring up buns.

  Tang Wulin turned to Gu Yue and Ye Xinglan. “So are you two really going to……?”


  The girls smiled at him and nodded.

  Tang Wulin sighed and facepalmed. He didn’t have the guts to look them in the eye. “Then I’m going to head out first.”


  He needed to pay the Blacksmith’s Association a visit.

  As soon as Tang Wulin left, Ye Xinglan turned to Gu Yue. “Who’s going first?”


  “You can go,” Gu Yue said.

  Ye Xinglan nodded. “Alright.”


  ☀

  It was still early in the morning. Classes had yet to start, and students trickled through the gates in twos and threes. Not all of the students lived on campus. Some came from wealthy families that bought houses in the city for them to cultivate in.

  But today was different from usual.

  Someone was peddling goods right at the entrance. “Don’t miss your chance to buy a bun! A single Recovery Pork Bun will fill you with vigor and make your body healthier! An Agility Soup Bun will make you as lithe as a swallow! Or get a Bloodthirst Bean Bun and instantly double your fighting strength! It’s always good to be prepared! All buns stay fresh for a day.”


  A boy about sixteen or seventeen years old instantly recognized that person as he walked through the gates. “Woah! Aren’t you the fatty from the first grade? Junior Brother, why are you selling buns here?”


  Xu Lizhi chuckled. “I have no other choice! I need to make some money for this semester’s final exam. How about, Senior Brother? You want some buns? They’re cheap and delicious!”


  “I’m good. I don’t have any use for your buns. They only last a day anyway. Welp, I’ve gotta get to class. Good luck.” The student waved goodbye and continued walking through the gates. However, before he could go much farther, he was stopped.

  Two girls stood in the way. The gate was very wide though, so they couldn’t block the entire path. The second grade student tried to walk around them, but someone moved in front of him to bar his path.

  “This mountain is mine. These trees were planted by me. Uh…… Hey Gu Yue! What was the last line?”


  Gu Yue rolled her eyes. “‘If you want to pass, you must pay the mountain toll.’”


  What’s going on?The second grade student stared at them with in utter stupefaction. “Junior sisters, there’s no mountain here,” he said monotonously. “And there aren’t any trees either! Even if there were, they wouldn’t belong to you two!”


  “Pay up.” Ye Xinglan held out her hand. “The toll is one hundred thousand Federal credits.”


  The boy was stunned. “What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to rob me?”


  “No. We’re borrowing money from you. We’ll pay you back twice as much later on,” Ye Xinglan answered.

  “What if I don’t lend you money?” The corner of the boy’s mouth began to twitch. Ye Xinglan was a pretty girl and he didn’t want to make a bad impression on her, but there was a limit to his restraint when she was being so demanding.

  A few other students had arrived by then and now watched from the side. One of them was a student who looked to be about twenty years old. He was clearly from one of the upper grades.

  “Alright!” Ye Xinglan took a step forward, three soul rings appearing beneath her. Her Stargod Sword manifested in her hands, shining radiantly. “You don’t have to pay the mountain toll if you can beat us!”