Chapter 79: Mu En
The afterglow of the setting sun draped Shrek Academy in a veil of gold. Furina and Huo Yuhao bid farewell to Bei Bei and Tang Ya, then made their way slowly along the flagstone path.
The teaching buildings on either side cast long shadows in the deepening dusk. The pristine white of the new student building and the somber black of the second-and-third-year building stood in stark contrast, as if mirroring the vastly different mindsets and experiences of the students within.
Passing through the teaching district, an imposing structure came into view. The dormitory building covered an enormous footprint, its six full stories looming vast and bulky beneath the fading light—and yet, precisely because of that, it exuded a faint, oppressive weight.
"The design of this dormitory truly leaves one speechless." Furina halted, planting her hands on her hips with a slight frown. "Co-ed dorms, and their idea of separation is just... upper floor and lower floor? This is absolutely absurd!"
Huo Yuhao tilted his head in confusion. "Sister Furina, what's wrong with it?"
"Tell me—is Shrek Academy poor?" Furina turned around, her long blue hair stirring gently in the evening breeze.
Huo Yuhao considered the question seriously for a moment. "It shouldn't be. As the foremost soul master academy for ten thousand years, just the tuition alone is ten gold soul coins per person—and that doesn't even include meal fees. Plus, look at the furnishing and decoration of these buildings. They're all quite luxurious."
"Exactly!" Furina snapped her fingers. "So if they're this wealthy, why cram everyone into a single building? No matter how large the footprint or how many floors it has, it can't compare to the practicality of simply building a few more dedicated dormitories. Women above, men below—this design isn't just strange, it's thoroughly inconvenient."
Huo Yuhao nodded slowly, understanding dawning. "Now that you mention it... it really is odd. Sister Furina, I remember that for your Canaan Academy, you're planning to build separate dormitory buildings, aren't you?"
"Naturally." Pride colored Furina's voice. "Male and female dormitories must be separate. It's the most basic form of respect and practicality. My Canaan Academy will absolutely never copy Shrek's approach to this. A true foremost academy shouldn't cut corners on such fundamental infrastructure."
She let out a soft sigh and continued, "Think about it. One single entrance and exit for the whole building. The number of bathrooms must be extremely limited. Is it reasonable for over a thousand students to share these facilities?"
As the two walked and talked, Furina's thoughts gradually drifted further afield. Ten thousand years ago, Shrek might indeed have been strapped for funds. But ten thousand years later, the academy was clearly flush with wealth—yet on so many details, they stubbornly clung to excessive frugality. Could it be a tradition left behind by the founding dean, Flender? But ten thousand years was more than enough time for any tradition to evolve with the times. Unless...
Furina mused inwardly. Unless it was the deep-seated conservatism and inertia of the Douluo Continent's people at work. From the development of martial souls to soul tool technology, the pace of progress on this continent was indeed maddeningly slow. On Earth, two industrial revolutions had been separated by a mere hundred years. Here, millennia could pass without any visible breakthrough. Even ten thousand years later, in the Douluo 3 era, humanity still hadn't broken through the sky. It wasn't until the Douluo 4 era that interstellar colonization was finally achieved. This rate of development wasn't unrelated to the soul masters' collective contentment with the status quo.
What puzzled her even more was this: two full ten-thousand-year spans had passed, yet the population hadn't experienced any explosive growth. There were still new continents to be discovered and developed. Perhaps... the existence of evil soul masters had indeed, in some sense, "kept the population in check." That thought...
"Ah, forget it." She shook her head as if to cast off these weighty musings. "This isn't our concern. Let Shrek do whatever it wants. The main purpose of our visit here is talent recruitment."
Huo Yuhao couldn't suppress a soft laugh. "Sister Furina, is it really a good idea to say that so bluntly?"
"I've already said it—can I take it back now?" Furina winked mischievously. "Besides, I'm only speaking the honest truth."
As they chatted, the two had already arrived at the entrance of the dormitory building. An old man with snow-white hair and beard sat on a long bench before the door, his hunched, frail figure looking particularly aged in the twilight. Furina recognized him at a single glance—Dragon God Douluo Mu En, Master of Shrek Academy's Sea God's Pavilion, one of the mightiest existences on the entire continent. A pity that after his battle with the Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Bi Si, he had been left with hidden, incurable injuries. He was now a candle guttering in the wind.
"Is that old grandpa the dormitory manager?" Huo Yuhao asked quietly.
"Let's go and greet him." A complex, unreadable light flickered through Furina's eyes.
Approaching the old man, Huo Yuhao bowed politely. "Hello, Grandpa. We're new students here to check into our dormitories. Would you like to see our new student badges?"
Mu En slowly raised his head. His clouded, rheumy eyes lingered on the two of them for a moment. Then he extended a wrinkled right hand, his voice hoarse and low. "Your badges and dormitory keys. Let me see them."
Huo Yuhao and Furina handed over their documents as instructed. The old man brought the badges close to his face and examined them with great care, his gaunt, withered fingers tracing lightly over their surfaces. Then he returned the documents to Huo Yuhao.
"Go on," he pointed with a trembling hand toward the interior of the building. "Dorm 108—first floor, third room on the left. Dorm 404—fourth floor, fourth room on the left." His voice suddenly hardened with gravity. "Remember—starting from the fourth floor, it's the female dormitory. Male students are strictly forbidden from going upstairs. Anyone caught will be expelled immediately."
"Thank you," the two said in unison.
Just as they were about to leave, Furina suddenly turned back. She retrieved an object from her storage ring. "Venerable elder, please accept this small greeting gift. It may be of some help to you."
Resting in her palm was a crystalline, translucent creature—a gu worm—gleaming with a soft, gentle radiance beneath the dying rays of the sun. It was a five-year Longevity Gu that she had exchanged from the system shop, costing a staggering forty-nine thousand points. The price had been breathtaking, but in any world, treasures capable of extending one's lifespan were worth their weight beyond measure.
"A worm?" Mu En's voice carried a note of puzzlement.
"Strictly speaking, it is a 'gu'—and a beneficial one at that," Furina explained patiently. "You need only refine it with your soul power to absorb it."
Then she produced something else—a Golden Doughnut Vanilla Cake, the product of her fourth soul skill. "And this cake as well. I'm not sure how strong your teeth are, or whether it will suit your palate. But regardless, there's no harm in trying."
"A cake? This is... a soul skill?" A flicker of astonishment crossed Mu En's eyes.
Furina only answered with a mysterious smile, offering no direct reply. She inclined her head slightly toward the old man, then walked with Huo Yuhao into the dormitory building.
Just as she stepped through the doorway, Furina couldn't resist glancing back. Mu En was looking down at the Longevity Gu resting in his hand, the sunset's afterglow gilding his aged silhouette with a golden edge. This man, who had once commanded the winds and clouds of the entire continent, was now left to pass his remaining days before this very dormitory gate.
"Sister Furina, what is it?" Huo Yuhao asked with concern.
"Nothing," Furina shook her head, a smile blooming anew on her face. "I was just thinking—perhaps we really can find like-minded companions here after all."
The hallway within the dormitory stretched long and dim, the doors on either side arrayed in orderly rows. A few early-arriving students were bustling about the corridor, hauling luggage. The sounds of conversation and footsteps echoed through the cavernous space. Furina and Huo Yuhao followed the directions to seek out their respective dormitories.
For Furina, this was more than the beginning of a period of study—it was the start of a great and far-reaching plan. Here, in the fertile soil of Shrek, she would sow the seeds of change. Perhaps, one day, those seeds would grow into towering trees that reached the heavens, breathing new life into this long-stagnant world.