"Big Brother Sieg, wake up! You said we'd train today!!"
I groaned, rolling over and shoving the pillow over my head, trying to tune out the voice. That didn't last long. A second later, someone jumped onto my bed—and suddenly, it felt like I'd been tossed into a furnace.
"…Alright, you can stop now, Hongjun," I said calmly, letting out a sigh.
When I sat up, the first thing I saw was the grinning face of the red-haired boy perched at the edge of my bed, his hands still glowing faintly with heat.
It pissed me off. Slightly.
Without a word, I grabbed his ear—an all-too-familiar motion at this point—and yanked, dragging him to the door. Then, with a quick kick, I launched him out of my room. Literally.
Oscar was standing outside, smiling as usual.
"You should learn to wake up earlier, Big Brother Sieg."
"It's not even dawn yet, you freak," I muttered, still half-asleep. "Just give me a couple of minutes to get my brain working. Go warm up at the training grounds—I'll join you."
"Yes!"
I couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. As I started closing the door, my eyes landed on the ashes near the hinges.
…He burned my door.
Again.
I'm gonna kick his ass.
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I dodged to the right as a beam of fire scorched the ground where I'd stood just a second earlier.
Without looking back, I lifted my arm, caught Oscar's incoming kick, and flung him straight into the charging phoenix. The two crashed into each other, tumbling into the dirt in a tangled heap.
I let them get up again, silently waiting for their next move.
The redhead glanced at his friend, then nodded. A moment later, he activated his first spirit skill—but instead of aiming at me, he directed it at the ground.
Smart.
He's improving. Using the terrain to create a dust cloud and obscure my vision. A clear contrast to the one-track simpleton he was just a few weeks ago.
Before the cloud could fully settle, a figure burst through the haze—fist aimed straight at my face.
I tilted my head to the right, narrowly avoiding the punch, and grabbed his extended arm. I moved to throw him again—but Oscar surprised me, raising his knee and aiming it toward my stomach.
More flexible than before. Good.
Sensing a buildup of spirit power behind me, I quickly blocked the knee with one hand, using the impact to pivot backward—dragging the silver-haired boy along with me.
I spun, light on my feet, as if dancing, and positioned Oscar right in front of the incoming fire projectile.
It hit.
Oscar yelped in pain, causing Hongjun to freeze in panic and cut off the skill entirely.
Wrong move.
Still a long way to go.
I sighed, then used the same move again—flipping Oscar into the air and launching him straight at the redhead. Hongjun instinctively tried to catch him… and ended up pinned on the ground beneath him.
Again.
"You're both getting better," I said, walking toward them as they struggled to untangle themselves.
"This isn't fair! Why do we always end up on the ground?" Hongjun whined, trying to stand up—only to trip over one of Oscar's limbs.
"You're still kids. Neither of you have even broken into the Spirit Grandmaster level yet. Did you really think you could beat a Spirit Ancestor?" I raised a brow.
"Nooo, but—"
"There are no 'buts.' Even if you had the strongest techniques in the world, they wouldn't help you bridge the kind of gap that exists between us right now," I cut in. "I've told you this before. Work on your foundation. Go cultivate. I'll be here if you need help."
The two nodded and shuffled back toward the dorms.
"The two of them really admire you," said a voice from behind me.
I turned to see Shao Xin, who had shown up halfway through the training session.
"I know. But remind me again why I'm the one doing this? Isn't that supposed to be your job?"
"Haha. And yet, you still do it," he chuckled. "We never asked you to train them. That was your choice."
"That's still not a good reason for you and Old Man Zhao Wuji to sit on your asses while I handle your responsibilities."
He said nothing to that—just smiled calmly and walked off.
He still didn't give me an answer.
These bastards…
Sigh.
As I began practicing some of Fafnir's self-created techniques, my mind started to wander.
It's only been a month since I got here.
And yet, so much has changed.
I've got two juniors who treat me like a teacher already.
…I've got mentors now. Of sorts.
I'm getting used to being human again.
My days are filled with training, sparring, and guiding those two idiots. I didn't plan on it, but here I am, helping them improve.
Basically, make sure they don't turn into a bootlicker and a brothel-addicted playboy.
For Oscar, I'm still debating whether I should share my body self created techniques. They'd let him fight more effectively even if he is a food type spirit master. But I'll wait until I can fully trust him. For now, I'm helping him in spirit power control and teaching him how to use it to strengthen his body as well as developing combat instincts like mine.
As for Hongjun, I'm teaching him how to control and vent his evil fire properly. It has an evil attribute, after all—even if just a trace. Besides Master, no one's more qualified to guide him than me.
I'm proud of their progress.
Honestly, I just hope I can keep them on the right path.
Which is probably why Zhao Wuji doesn't like me.
Sigh
I was just about to finish a sequence when Li Yusong strolled over—the man had practically become my sparring partner at this point.
"Back for another beating, old man?"
"Brat! Show some respect for your elders!"
"You'll have to earn it. What's the record again? Seven to zero? Maybe I should be the one doing the teaching."
He scoffed, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. He summoned his martial spirit and took position.
I grinned and summoned my halberd from my storage ring.
The ring was just a decoy for the Violet Sun Necklace. It was easy to make it look like I was pulling out stuff from the ring if I place it in front of my chest every time and use my own spirit power to make it hard for others to notice.
As for the halberd? I saved up for it during my time in the Star Dou Forest. I've been playing it off as a gift from my Master—he supposedly saw my talent in armed combat and encouraged it.
Yusong's spirit rings lit up as he charged, battle intent flaring.
I lowered my stance, a grin stretching on my face as I met him halfway.
And just like that, we clashed.
Another regular day.
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Suotuo City.
A rather unremarkable place in the Barak Kingdom—its only real claims to fame are the Great Spirit Arena… and its booming hotel business.
In other words, a perfect location for anyone wanting to remain anonymous.
Probably why Flender and Zhao Wuji chose it for Shrek Academy. They're not Titled Douluo, but Spirit Saints are still well-known in the spirit master world. If they'd set up shop in Heaven Dou City, they'd have been crushed—either by the Strength Clan or Spirit Hall.
But Suotuo had one more attraction, though far less reputable.
Its red-light district.
And the perfect place to begin implementing my plan.
I already had the outline—what I needed now was a base.
Since I'd be staying in Suotuo City for the next few years, its inconspicuous nature made it the ideal location to start spreading faith.
Another benefit was the lack of high-level spirit masters, which meant that someone like me—barely a Spirit Ancestor—could still wield significant influence.
Hopefully, this stays secret. I won't hear the end of it when I go back if it doesn't.
With those thoughts in mind, I entered the red-light district and headed toward the Red Rose, the largest brothel in Suotuo City—and soon, the foundation of my future organization.
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Author's Note:
Not too much to say about this chapter—this was more of a slice-of-life segment, meant to flesh out the MC's growing bonds within Shrek Academy.
Oscar and Hongjun's development is something I plan to build on gradually, and this chapter helps lay the groundwork. You also got a glimpse of his dynamic with Flender and Zhao Wuji, who—let's just say—won't exactly be sending him gift baskets anytime soon.
The final part introduces something that'll become slightly relevant to the broader story. The MC needs faith to assist the Evil God, and the most efficient way to gather it is by building a small organization—think Spirit Hall, but scaled down. That said, kingdom-building will not be a major theme. At most, half a chapter per volume will focus on it, and the organization will eventually be managed by someone else. The MC just uses it as a kind of battery.
Now, I'll be real—this chapter felt a bit bland, and I'm not totally happy with it. Writing slice-of-life in first person is something I still struggle with, and I was honestly running low on energy this week. So yeah… not my best work. But next chapter? That one's going to hit way harder. Promise. Just bear with me.
Couple of quick questions for you guys:
Are my chapters too short?
If you'd prefer longer chapters, I could do that—but it would mean fewer releases per week (likely 2 instead of 4). Let me know what you'd prefer!
Self-Created Skill Count Update:
I've revised my original idea. Instead of 25 skills, Fafnir will now have 5 unique techniques, including an ultimate defensive one (the Armor of Fafnir, still incomplete for now). Body techniques will be limited to 3, since they won't be used by the MC directly, but they'll serve a purpose later.The halberd retains its 10 core self-created skills, and those will be augmented by its spirit ring abilities, bringing the total to around 13.
Mini spoiler: The first skill, Flash, pairs perfectly with the halberd's first spirit ring ability, which enhances speed. Combining the two leads to a much more devastating attack output.
Thanks again for sticking with the story and supporting it. I really do appreciate every comment and bit of feedback.
I'm eager to get to the Tang San arc, and I know the next chapters will be stronger. I just need to take my time and do them right.
Take care, and see you in the next one.