After Three Years
After three long years of traveling across the continent, Dave finally returned to the Academy. He had almost completed the entire journey around the known world—and now, he was headed to Shrek Academy.
Initially, he traveled only with ilin. But over ti, Dugu Yan and La Signora joined them. Later, even Shui Xinxue beca part of the group. Her joining caused quite a stir, especially back at Tianshui Academy, where she was once hailed as the pride of the institution. In fact, her departure had forced their headmaster to launch a desperate search party just to find her. But she had made her decision. She stood with Dave now—and after many seasons together, the bond between them could no longer be ignored.
And so, with the group finally complete, they now made their way toward Shrek Academy in Tian Dou City.
"Now that’s sothing I didn’t expect to see," ilin muttered, standing at the gates of Tian Dou City.
Many passerby looked at the handso young man with soft blue hairs, flanked by four breathtaking won. The group had drawn more than a few curious glances, but what truly caught their attention was the large notice board by the city wall.
Pasted front and center were two familiar faces—Tang San and Yu Xiaogang. Their nas were printed clearly, but what shocked everyone were the words stamped beneath them:
"WANTED – for theft and desertion from Shrek Academy."
"It says they stole from the Academy, vanished without permission... and there’s an official bounty on their heads now," ilin read aloud, her brows furrowed in disbelief.
She stared at Tang San’s picture for a long mont before shaking her head. "How could that guy have ended up like this?"
La Signora scoffed but said nothing. Shui Xinxue’s gaze lingered on the poster in silence, unreadable as ever.
Dave didn’t comnt at first. He just stood there, looking at the photo of Tang San—He knew this guy had stolen from his won sect in hsi previous life and now he did it again.
After a few quiet seconds, he finally spoke, voice low.
"...I guess he really did end up stealing, huh."
"Next ti we et, I don;t have to show rcy then" Dave said as others nodded too.
With that, the group turned and made their way toward the gates of the Shrek Academy in Tian Dou City.
As they stepped through the massive archway of Tian Dou City’s inner district, the majestic silhouette of New Shrek Academy ca into view.
The academy’s grandeur far surpassed that of its old Soto City counterpart. Towering spirit pagodas glowed with refined formation arrays, skybridges stretched between buildings layered with inscriptions, and powerful spirit beasts—fully tad—road the outer training fields under the watch of elite students and instructors.
Dave’s return didn’t go unnoticed.
The mont they crossed the warding field, dozens of spirit detection arrays flickered softly in response. Within monts, a few patrolling disciples halted in their tracks upon seeing the group approach.
"Wait a second... isn’t that—?"
"Yes! That’s the number one ranked Senior!" several students exclaid, eyes wide with disbelief.
Dave’s face still adorned the top spot on the Academy’s fa rankings. It hadn’t changed in years. Many had questioned why his na remained there—especially since no one had seen him in so long. So even believed that if they could just defeat the other ranked students from positions two to ten, they’d claim the top rank.
But every attempt had failed.
He had beco a living legend.
As whispers and awe spread through the crowd, Dave rely waved a hand, as if brushing off the attention.
"You cause quite the stir just by showing up," Shui Xinxue comnted calmly beside him.
Dave gave a small shrug. "Well, That’s what you got for being a number one rank guy."
She nodded silently, understanding without needing to ask more.
Soon, they reached the inner courtyard—specifically, the core disciple sector, where Dave had been assigned his own private quarters. Just outside his room stood a familiar group, already waiting for him.
Tony, Steve, Shuri, Bruce, Natasha, and Hawkeye were all there—each of them older, stronger, and bearing the confident aura of seasoned warriors.
Dave smiled. "Huh. Long ti no see."
"Yeah," Steve said, stepping forward with a smile. "TThree years to be exact."
"Your group clearly have grown bigger," Natasha added, crossing her arms with a smirk while looking at the three new won with him.
Tony tapped Dave’s shoulder. "By the way, you’ll want to see what I’ve been working on. I got bored training spirit techniques, so I focused on soul guidance tech instead."
Shuri grinned. "And guess what? and Tony—we built sothing new."
"What did you two make this ti?" Dave asked, curious.
Tony smirked. "Glad you asked." He tapped his ring, and with a soft chanical hum, a hidden compartnt opened on his chest, revealing a sleek core orb that pulsed with refined energy. Within seconds, tallic plates extended, linking together and forming a full-body suit.
It was clearly inspired by Eastern aesthetics, forged with soul tal—and heavily modified for spirit-based combat.
Dave blinked. "Wait... You made an Iron Man armor here too?"
Tony and Shuri both nodded proudly.
"Yup. We’ve been integrating tech into the academy’s systems," Shuri said. "Now it’s not just New Shrek Academy—it’s also Shrek Techland."
Tony added, "We’ve set up research branches for all kinds of soul guidance devices. Custom modules. Armor. High-frequency blades. Portable shields. Mobility enhancents. You na it."
Dave chuckled as he took it all in.
Everywhere he looked now—glowing signs, floating platforms, automated spirit testers, even the instructors’ gear—it all bore the logo of Shrek Techland.
With their inventions backed by the academy’s power and resources, and now protected under its reputation, no rogue faction dared to challenge them. Most could only watch... and try to catch up.
Dave nodded, then gestured to the three won standing beside him.
"By the way," he said, "they are Dugu Yan, La Signora, and Shui Xinxue."
He introduced each of them with a calm poise, and as their nas were spoken, the won offered polite nods—each carrying a distinct aura and elegance that didn’t go unnoticed.
"They’re my girls I t on my journey," Dave added. "We’ve been through a lot together."
*******
if you like my fanfic, and want to support and read advance chaps, checkout my fanfic on Patreon :-
There are regular updates too.
patreon/FantasyLi
***
Reviews
All reviews (0)