The morning after the entrance exam, the sun rose over Shrek Academy with a stubborn insistence. Li Wei woke up on a bed that was essentially three wooden planks held together by hope and rusty nails. For a man who owned forty percent of the Heaven Dou Empire's logistics and three luxury hotels in Soto City, the "aesthetic of poverty" was starting to wear thin.
He sat up, his head nearly brushing the thatched ceiling. At 6'7", he felt like a giant in a dollhouse. He looked over at Tang San, who was already sitting cross-legged, purple light flickering in his eyes as he practiced the Purple Demon Eye.
"San," Li Wei rumbled, his voice still thick with sleep. "I've decided. We're not just students here. We're investors. I'm going to buy this Academy some decent mattresses before my spine decides to retire."
"Dean Flender might take the money, but he'll probably make you sleep on the floor anyway to 'toughen your spirit,'" Tang San joked, a rare smile breaking his disciplined facade.
Meeting the Full Team: The Shrek Nine
The group gathered in the central clearing of the village. This was the first time the entire "Shrek Nine" stood together. The air was thick with the competing auras of geniuses: Dai Mubai's golden aggression, Tang San's calm control, and the flickering agility of the girls.
Oscar, a handsome boy with a silver beard he was far too proud of, stared up at Li Wei. "Whoa. I heard about the giant who punched Teacher Zhao, but I didn't realize you were a literal tower. Want a sausage? First one's free for the guy who can carry the whole team on his shoulders—literally."
"I'll pass on the sausage for now, Oscar," Li Wei laughed, clapping the boy on the shoulder. The force nearly sent the food-system master into the dirt. "But keep 'em coming for the girls. They'll need the stamina."
Ma Hongjun, a stout boy with a mohawk and a fiery aura, squinted at Li Wei. "You're the rich guy Mubai was talking about? The 'Speed Force' Syndicate? Does that mean you can get me high-grade fire-attribute poultry? I'm starving."
"Kid, I can get you a farm in the Star Luo Empire by noon if you play your cards right," Li Wei winked.
The First Lesson: Flender's Greed
Dean Flender walked into the clearing, his hawk-like eyes scanning the group behind his square glasses. He looked at Li Wei, then at the expensive silk duster Li Wei was wearing—which had been hastily patched with Speed Force energy.
"Welcome to Shrek," Flender said, his voice dry. "Here, we don't care about your family name or your gold. We care about your potential to survive."
"Is that so, Dean?" Li Wei stepped forward, his 29% Fusion making the air shimmer around him with static. "Because I noticed the roof of the girls' dormitory is leaking, and the training ground looks like a plowed field. As a gesture of goodwill, I've already sent a shipment of construction materials and ten thousand gold spirit coins to the Academy's account."
Flender's glasses glinted. He coughed, trying to maintain his stoic expression, but his lip twitched at the mention of the coins. "Ahem. While we value... self-reliance... a donation to the 'Academic Improvement Fund' is acceptable. However! That does not exempt you from the first lesson."
Flender pointed toward the distance. "Oscar! Ma Hongjun! Take them to the Soto City Great Spirit Arena. Today, you won't be fighting each other. You'll be fighting for the reputation of Shrek."
The Walk to Soto
As the nine of them walked toward the city, the dynamic began to settle. Tang San and Dai Mubai led the front, discussing tactics. In the back, Ning Rongrong was eyeing Li Wei's silver ring.
"That ring," Ning Rongrong said, her voice dripping with the pampered curiosity of a Seven Treasure clan member. "It's a high-level spatial tool. My father has one, but it doesn't pulse with that kind of energy. How much did it cost?"
Li Wei looked down at her. "You can't buy this, Rongrong. It grew with me. Right now, it's got enough room to hold a few small stars. By the time I'm done, it'll hold the multiverse."
Rongrong scoffed. "Stars? You're a big talker, Li Wei. But in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, we value reality. Money is power, but it isn't everything."
"You're right," Li Wei replied, his expression softening as he glanced at Xiao Ling, who was walking silently beside him. "Gold is just paper and ore. True power is being fast enough to be wherever the people you love need you to be."
Xiao Ling reached out and caught Li Wei's hand. Her hand was tiny compared to his, but her grip was firm. "You're getting philosophical again, Wei. Save the 'multiverse' talk for when we aren't walking through a forest full of bugs."
The Great Spirit Arena: The Silver Flash
The Soto Spirit Arena was a colosseum of noise and blood. Li Wei signed the registration form with a flourish: Silver Flash.
Because he was Level 29, he was placed in the Grandmaster bracket. His first opponent was a man known as "Iron Wall," a Level 30 Spirit Grandmaster with a Shield Martial Soul. As Li Wei stepped onto the sands, the crowd went silent. At 6'7", with glowing white-silver hair and the Godspeed suit manifesting in a faint, crackling aura, he looked like an apex predator.
"Begin!"
Iron Wall roared, slamming his shield into the ground. "First Spirit Ability: Unmovable Mountain!"
Li Wei didn't even use a spirit ability. He simply lowered his center of gravity and tapped into his 29% Mass Strength. To the crowd, it was a literal flash of orange light. To Iron Wall, the world simply exploded. Li Wei didn't punch the shield; he walked through it. The sheer kinetic energy of his mass moving at three hundred miles per hour turned his body into a living wrecking ball.
CRACK.
The shield—a tool spirit—shattered into a thousand shimmering fragments. Iron Wall was launched out of the ring, skipping across the stone floor like a pebble across a pond. The referee stared, his whistle hanging limp in his mouth.
"Winner... Silver Flash. Time: 0.8 seconds."
Nightfall: The Bond Tightens
After a day of sweeping victories, the Shrek Nine sat at a small tavern in Soto. Li Wei had bought the entire place for the night so they could speak freely.
"I take it back," Oscar said, stuffing his face with chicken wings. "I don't want a sausage. I want whatever Li Wei is eating. Did you see the way that shield broke? It looked like glass!"
Zhu Zhuqing, usually silent, looked at Li Wei with sharp intensity. "Your speed... it's different from mine. Mine is agility. Yours is... a fundamental violation of space. How does your body handle the heat?"
Li Wei leaned back, taking a sip of a drink he'd fortified with a drop of cosmic energy. "It's the 29% fusion, Zhuqing. My body is constantly vibrating. It creates heat, yeah, but the Speed Force acts as a heat sink. The problem is when I hit 100%. At that point, I won't be a person anymore. I'll be the energy itself."
Xiao Ling looked at him, her eyes clouded with sudden worry. "You'll... you won't be a person?"
Li Wei saw her expression and immediately softened his tone. He leaned in closer, his natural charm turning into genuine warmth. "Hey. That's a long way off. Level 100 is a lifetime away. For now, I'm just a guy who's too tall for his bed and really, really likes winning."
He raised his glass. "To the Shrek Nine. We're the monsters the world wasn't ready for."
"To the Shrek Nine!" they roared in unison.