"Mas-Master?"
Xuan Zi stammered.
"Is there something you need?" Su Wen reclined lazily on a wooden chair, enjoying the massage from the golden ancient wood, giving a sidelong glance at Xuan Zi, who stared at him with big, pitiful eyes.
"Can you remove me from that dungeon?" Joy flashed in Xuan Zi's eyes as he rubbed his hands together.
"I can." Su Wen nodded slightly.
Xuan Zi was even more overjoyed, slapping his thigh hard. "I knew it! Brat — cough, cough, Master is still the most upright, even taking care not to embarrass me."
"So when do you think you can do it? That group of kids has been spreading rumors, saying I'm not reliable as the top in the inner court or whatever."
"Mm, sure." Su Wen flipped through the papers on his desk absent-mindedly.
Xuan Zi froze for a second, looking somewhat hesitant. "Um… I remember that this simulated divine test is under your charge, designed by Big-Eye, your pet beast. I know you've been busy, but could you maybe give it a word to change it now?"
Su Wen continued nodding leisurely. "Okay."
But he remained sitting on the wooden chair, lazily enjoying the treats being fed to him by Nana.
Xuan Zi: "…"
"Um… could you let it know right now? It's rather urgent." Xuan Zi swallowed his annoyance and continued, forcing an awkward smile.
"Fine!" Su Wen nodded again, still never lifting his gaze from the scroll.
"Hey, are you actually going to do it or not?!" Xuan Zi eventually lost composure.
"I can!" Su Wen nodded.
"You're sick in the head, brat! I—dammit—" Xuan Zi was finally pushed to the limit.
"Hey! Why are you cursing at me!" Su Wen, who had been glued to the scroll, suddenly looked up with a trace of anger in his eyes.
"I'm doing you a favor by changing it, and yet you dare insult me!"
"Forget it! Not changing anymore!"
With that, his figure disappeared from the wooden cabin.
Only Xuan Zi was left, a mess in the wind, almost on the verge of tears.
"Every single one of these dungeons, every challenge, contains my blood, sweat and tears, created through endless days and nights of hard work, and you want me to change? Change my ass!"
Big-Eye complained in his spiritual sea.
A smile crept up Su Wen's lips.
Clearly, this wasn't about the dungeon itself at all — Big-Eye was simply pissed at being called "Big-Eye" by Xuan Zi, and was now taking it out on him.
Xuan Zi had no idea he'd unknowingly stepped on Big-Eye's sore spot.
"Don't worry, no way it'll be changed…"
Su Wen drawled out.
Shrek Inner Court.
The atmosphere was still as vibrant and bustling as ever.
For most of the outer court students, the inner court of Shrek used to be merely the gateway to truly integrating into Shrek, becoming part of the surveillance squad, or simply a badge of honor. Aside from that, there was nothing particularly desirable.
Many disciples would graduate even after gaining the qualifications for the inner court, choosing to return home, serve their family clan, and so on.
The so-called resources of the inner court didn't hold much allure for these elite disciples.
After all, anyone who could get into the inner court of Shrek, given their talent, already had deep backgrounds — who would care about those little perks?
But now things were different.
With the rise of the mecha (battle armor) concept, the Forging Division had soared, and the students who joined early had become hot commodities throughout the continent. Add in the Pokéball-style pet beasts...
The two combined.
All of these had turned into exclusive benefits for inner court students. In other words, only by joining the inner court could you get these two things.
As a result, countless outer court students were fighting tooth and nail to get in, the competition fiercer than ever.
"It's been a long time..."
A woman in a pale blue skirt, her long black hair bound with an ice-snow hairpin, wearing glasses, and exuding a new air of intelligence and maturity, was now gazing at Su Wen intently, eyes sparkling.
"Luochen-senior, what brings you here?" Su Wen was a bit surprised.
He hadn't expected to run into his former ice beauty senior — Ling Luochen — in the inner court staff cafeteria.
"Such a familiar address, but I'm not your senior anymore~"
Ling Luochen's eyes gleamed with joy as she pulled Su Wen to sit with her.
Though it was noon, there weren't many inner court staff around.
The simulated assessments had proved popular not just among inner court students, but even among inner court faculty — even Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi would drop by to try their luck for rewards.
The prizes rivaled those of the God Trials, minus the crushing punishments for failure.
As Ling Luochen sat beside Su Wen, a faint refreshing aroma wafted, like proud plum blossoms.
"Master Su, you're a busy man! In these two years, aside from that one time at the Poseidon Fate matchmaking event, you've been nowhere to be seen."
The look Ling Luochen gave Su Wen was enough to thicken gravy, her tone tinged with playful grievance.
Hard to resist — especially for a woman who'd already tasted the forbidden fruit.
That sense of nostalgia for the flavor is hardest to bear.
"Er…"
Su Wen rubbed his nose, a little apologetic.
To him, it had been more than two years — perhaps two or three times that much, considering the time lines a millennium before and after, splitting his sense of time with the rest of the continent.
"Luochen-sister, what are you doing now?" Su Wen took a deep breath, changing the topic casually.
"I'm an inner court teacher; you really need to ask?" Ling Luochen grew more aggrieved.
"You never cared about me at all."
"…"
Su Wen sweated awkwardly, knowing more talk would make it worse, so he quietly ate staff food he got from Aunt Lu.
The taste was decent — familiar flavors, still the mark of Lu Xiaoxiao, the inner court's top nutritionist. Every teacher and student recognized her cooking.
"Whenever you hit a tough question, you clam up again," Ling Luochen muttered, sipping soup and propping up her chin, her eyes burning as she studied Su Wen, snorting lightly: "Men. Hmph!"
Su Wen looked more awkward.
But then, he suddenly felt something odd on his thigh.
When he looked up, Ling Luochen was already sitting across from him again, her beautiful gaze fixed on him. Her delicate feet, having slipped off her professional high heels, now pressed on his leg under the table.
"Tss…"
Su Wen's pupils contracted.
This—
"Luochen-senior, isn't this a bit… much?" Su Wen took a deep breath, gently holding that slender foot.
"If I don't do something else, you'd forget about me entirely within two years, wouldn't you?"
"Don't worry, there's no one else around…" Ling Luochen said with a teasing smile.
"I'm off shift. You two tidy the place up before you leave, okay?"
A lazy voice echoed from the back kitchen.
Ling Luochen trembled. She'd clearly noticed Aunt Lu Xiaoxiao had already left…
"Got it, Aunt Lu."
Su Wen replied with a smile and nod.
As the kitchen door closed, Ling Luochen's face went crimson, her head drooping, the pale tips of her ears tinged red.
"So then…"
Suddenly, she felt his large hand wrap around her foot.
Su Wen's strong breath pressed close. "Luochen-jie, you haven't forgotten what happened in the library years back, have you?"
"N-no…"
Ling Luochen's mind went fuzzy, her whole body seeming to melt.
The famously icy inner court teacher was now nowhere to be found.
Her heated gaze locked right on Su Wen.
"Come on, let Senior fly…"
...