Ning Rongrong coquettishly clung to Luo Yu all the way to the Shrek Cafeteria.
It was less of a cafeteria and more of an enlarged farmhouse.
In the center of the room stood a large mahogany round table with bowls and chopsticks on it, surrounded by more than a dozen square wooden stools, which looked somewhat crude and shabby.
Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Oscar had arrived early.
They were laughing and joking but when they saw Luo Yu enter, they immediately shuddered and their necks stiffened.
They had yesterday's events fresh in their minds; Luo Yu's ferocity had deeply imprinted in their bones, and each one silently prayed, "You can't see me," fearing that Luo Yu would settle scores with them.
However, they might have been overthinking it; Luo Yu didn't even spare them a glance.
He found a wooden stool and directly sat down.
His sitting down startled the likes of Dai Mubai, scaring them not a little, their hearts suddenly skipping a beat.
Only after cautiously stealing glances and seeing that Luo Yu had no intention of settling accounts did they pat their chests and secretly heave a sigh of relief.
"Are we really going to eat here?"
Ning Rongrong's disdain could not be hidden, and she stood upright, her little behind stubbornly refusing to sit down on the stools.
Luo Yu chuckled, "Now that we're enrolled, if not here, where else shall we eat?"
"Do we have to eat out?"
"Yeah, we could go out to eat," Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up as she tugged on Luo Yu's sleeve, inviting, "Let's go out for food, how about it? We can go to Soto City, my treat!"
Luo Yu shook his head, "No need, I think the environment here is quite nice, quite pastoral."
"What's nice about it? It's falling apart, there's dust everywhere." Ning Rongrong pinched her nose, "Why did Shrek have to build the academy in a place like this?"
"What do you think?" Luo Yu asked in return.
Ning Rongrong pondered for a moment, "Is it to make us train better in a harsh environment?"
"No, it's not as complicated as you think, it's simply because… they're broke!"
Zhao Wuji had just pushed the food cart from the kitchen when he heard Luo Yu's words and felt a stab in his heart.
You know it's the truth, but why say it so bluntly?
Do we have no dignity at all?
If any other student dared to openly criticize the academy like this, Zhao Wuji would have already taught him the reason why the flowers are so red with Martial Spirit Possession.
But when Luo Yu made such remarks, he didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
"Dai Mubai, you three come here and help set these dishes on the table."
"Coming!" The three, led by Dai Mubai, quickly responded. Luo Yu dared to disregard Zhao Wuji, but they didn't dare; Zhao's fists, big as sandbags, were not for show.
As the dishes were set out one by one.
Xiaowu and the Zhu Zhuqing Sisters also entered the cafeteria one after another.
Each of them had dark circles under their pretty little faces, and as they looked at Luo Yu, their eyes involuntarily dodged, their cheeks hiding a red blush.
They hadn't forgotten what happened the previous night.
Despite their embarrassment, the three girls, true to their feelings, all chose to sit close to Luo Yu, keeping a big distance from the three men like Dai Mubai and ignoring them entirely.
The Zhu Zhuqing Sisters' indifference filled Dai Mubai with a sense of defeat and a broken heart.
He felt incredibly downcast but dared not show it.
As for Ma Hongjun, his lustful nature was lively; a few stunning beauties sat before him, but his small eyes dared not wander.
These were women associated with Luo Yu.
He wasn't ready to die yet, so he didn't dare to provoke.
His will to live perfectly overcame his lustful instincts.
Just as the dishes were served and everyone was about to start breakfast.
"Ptui ptui ptui, this is disgusting! Are these supposed to be buns or bricks?" Ning Rongrong, looking at the hard bun in her hand, found it absolutely inedible—she couldn't swallow a single bite.
"No way, I'm going out to eat."
Without any hesitation, Ning Rongrong got up and left.
"Wait for us, we'll go out and eat with you!"
Dai Mubai and the other two had been on pins and needles sitting here, just lacking a good reason to leave. Seeing Ning Rongrong taking the lead to depart, they immediately followed suit, fleeing Luo Yu's sight.
Zhao Wuji's face turned ashen, but he was lost for words.
Being disliked was unavoidable; that was the condition of Shrek's tight budget.
He forced a smile at the remaining Luo Yu and the three girls, "Just wait a little longer, the headmaster has gone out to get sponsorship, once he comes back there will be funds to improve everyone's food."
"Whoosh!"
Luo Yu casually tossed a dark shadow that flew over.
Zhao Wuji caught it and found it was a black purse.
Upon opening it, his eyes were dazzled by the glittering golden soul coins inside—at least a few hundred.
"This?" He looked at Luo Yu, surprised and delighted.
Luo Yu said with disdain, "If you could be rich, wouldn't you have been already? How come you've fallen to this level? Take this money; start making good meals from noon today."
"Okay! We'll start improving by noon! Just tell me what you want to eat, and I, Zhao, will make sure you're satisfied."
Zhao Wuji agreed with a smile, secretly thinking, this wasn't attracting a student; it was more like finding a sugar daddy.
It had to be said, the food at Shrek really was hard to swallow – not just because they were poor, but probably also because the chef's skills weren't up to scratch.
Just as Luo Yu was about to take the three girls out for a meal, a rich aroma of meat suddenly wafted in from outside the door.
A gorgeous woman in palace attire came in carrying a brown clay pot, from which the rich scent of meat emanated.
"Here, I was afraid you might not like the food here, so I especially made you a meat soup," she said.
Luo Yu felt a touch of sentimentality—it was always the mature women who knew how to care for someone.
The young girls only knew how to act cute and whine, "Yingyingying." That was the difference!
Seeing Luo Yu slurping soup there, Zhao Wuji and the other girls felt as if their steamed buns had suddenly lost their flavor.
"Mom, I want some meat too." Xiaowu sidled up to the cauldron, bowl and spoon in hand, hoping to scoop some out.
"Smack."
"Why did you hit me?" Xiaowu rubbed her reddening little hand.
The regal-looking woman glared, "You don't get any, go gnaw on your steamed bun."
Xiaowu was stunned, as if struck by a bolt out of the blue.
It must be a joke.
Is this really my mother?
Could she have picked me up somewhere?
The beautiful woman didn't care about Xiaowu's resentful gaze; all she knew was that this girl had stolen her man last night.
"Alright, everyone come over and have some soup."
Luo Yu called out, unable to bear eating meat while the Zhu Zhuqing sisters and Xiaowu watched eagerly.
"Here I come, here I come!" Xiaowu exclaimed joyfully.
The Zhu Zhuqing sisters also wore warm smiles, for they all noticed that the man had them in his heart.
Just as Zhao Wuji was getting excited and about to come over for some soup, he was outright sent back by A Wu.
"They may have some, but what are you trying to drink? Go gnaw on your steamed bun."
Zhao Wuji, eying the woman's dangerous gaze, immediately shut up.
He bit furiously into the steamed bun that was hard enough to crack teeth and took a sip of his watery porridge.
This is too bullying.
His own status as a teacher was worse than that of his students.
"Swoosh!"
Suddenly, the screeching of an owl came from outside the cafeteria.
A sturdy figure in his fifties appeared at the door, wearing glasses and whose face betrayed a cunning air.
The Four-eyed Cat Eagle Martial Spirit on his back was slowly fading away.
"Headmaster Flander!"
Zhao Wuji put down his chopsticks and quickly went to greet him at the door.
As soon as Flander spoke, he asked, "Wuji, have the new students been recruited this year, and have we got any good prospects?"
"Uh..."
Zhao Wuji hesitated for a moment, the situation this year was a bit complicated, and for the moment he really didn't know how to explain it clearly to Flander.
"What's with that look on your face, is this year's recruitment not going well?" Flander frowned.
Zhao Wuji forced a smile, wondering to himself, should he say it went well or not?
He couldn't quite tell if he had recruited a genius student.
Or had he brought back an ancestor.
"I'm asking you a question, why can't you even fart out an answer?" Flander cursed.
Zhao Wuji scratched his head, "The recruitment situation this year is okay, I guess, and it's better than previous years."
"Better than previous years?" Flander's eyes twinkled behind his black-rimmed glasses, "Where are they then?"
Zhao Wuji pointed inside, "They're all in there having a meal."
Flander immediately flared up, "These newcomers are really lacking in discipline, aren't they aware that they should come out and greet the headmaster personally when he returns?"
"Cough cough, the students we recruited this year are a bit... special," Zhao Wuji hinted.
"Special? Since when can talent exempt them from greeting the headmaster?" Flander huffed, marching straight into the room, "I want to see for myself just what kind of talent dares to be so arrogant."
"Hey, slow down, listen to me first!"
Zhao Wuji reached out to pull him back but missed.
Flander walked into the cafeteria and approached Luo Yu and the others.
Without a second word, he reached out with his spiritual power to probe.
As he noticed the cultivation levels of the Zhu Zhuqing sisters and Xiaowu, his spirits were lifted.
"I didn't expect to find such promising newcomers here this year,"
Noticing Luo Yu, Flander began to shake his head, commenting, "Soul power is meager, this one's quite ordinary."
The girls inside and Zhao Wuji, who had caught up, immediately looked at each other, their expressions growing strange.
Flander then turned to A Wu, just in time to see the beautiful woman wearing a cooking apron.
After his probe found nothing, he turned back and glared at Zhao Wuji.
"Do you have money to burn, hiring such a beautiful maid for what?"
"Just for a delightful view?"
"A... maid?" Zhao Wuji's lips trembled, cold sweat dripping, "You mustn't talk nonsense, please."
"What, am I wrong?" Flander glared back.
He turned and snorted at the new students, "It seems you all do have talent indeed, and you're surely promising, but I would advise you against being arrogant."
"After all, there are skies beyond our skies, and people beyond our people."
"Just take for instance, I've heard a rumor outside that will surely startle you all."
"What rumor?"
Zhao Wuji quickly asked, while Luo Yu and the others also showed a keen interest.
Recalling the rumor he had heard, Flander's eyes widened with shock.
"This rumor is about a peerless genius that suddenly emerged from the Martial Soul Hall..."