"Why didn't you test his soul power level?" a parent standing behind Ning Tianchen couldn't help but shout.
"Exactly! This is clearly shady business. I strongly suspect he's someone you planted as a decoy!"
As soon as those words were spoken, many other parents began to chime in.
The parents who had stayed to register even after being scolded by Li Yusong had already mentally prepared themselves to lose their ten gold soul coins. But if someone could skip the line through backdoor connections, wouldn't their money be completely wasted?
Who could tolerate that?
Ning Tianchen remained calm. The Seven Kill Sword Martial Soul appeared in his hand, its sharp blade gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
Yellow, yellow, purple—three soul rings shone dazzlingly beneath his feet.
"Is this sufficient now?"
"A three-ring Soul Elder!" Xiao Wu covered her mouth, her face filled with amazement.
Tang San's brows furrowed. He had thought Ning Tianchen's strength was close to his own, but it turned out the other had already broken through to Soul Elder.
Ning Rongrong crossed her arms proudly over her chest, glancing arrogantly around the crowd.
As if to say, "See? This is my Tianchen-ge."
"Only the weak cling to trivial rules," Dai Mubai snorted lightly, then led the four of them toward the academy.
On the way, Tang San couldn't shake the feeling that the Seven Kill Sword Martial Soul looked familiar.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Martial Soul—his teacher Yu Xiaogang had told him—was the inherited Martial Soul of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
As for that Seven Kill Sword...
Tang San suddenly raised his brows, a trace of envy in his voice. "His Martial Soul is actually engraved on the Pope's Decree. If only my Martial Soul were that hammer depicted on it."
Truly, comparisons are odious—people can be maddeningly different.
Of course, Yu Xiaogang had never told him that his second Martial Soul was related to the hammer symbol on the Pope's Decree.
Regarding the affairs of the Clear Sky Clan, with Tang San's current level of strength, knowing too much would do him more harm than good.
…
Upon entering the academy grounds—
Xiao Wu was the first to lose her patience and asked, "Is this really the campus of Shrek Academy?"
Dai Mubai saw through their thoughts and smiled. "No need to guess—this has always been the Shrek Academy campus. Oh right, there's still one more test you must pass before you're officially accepted."
As they spoke and walked, the group soon arrived in front of two queues.
The two lines were for testing soul power level and Martial Soul quality, respectively. Only those who passed both could qualify for the final assessment.
Instinctively, Ning Rongrong walked forward to line up, but Dai Mubai stopped her. "You don't need to take these two tests—follow me directly to the final stage."
After Dai Mubai's explanation, the group finally understood just how demanding the entrance requirements for Shrek Academy truly were.
Only soul masters with power above level 25 could skip straight to the final stage. Those below level 25 had almost no chance of passing these two assessments.
Under thirteen years old and already past level 25—that meant only someone with innate soul power of level seven or above could possibly achieve such a feat.
Earlier, Ning Rongrong had done the math in her head: in the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, fewer than forty individuals per year met the qualifications to even pass Shrek Academy's entrance tests.
Among them, those with innate soul power above level seven would sharply decrease to around ten people.
By this calculation, even a powerful clan like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan only has about ten individuals each year who can successfully enroll in Shrek Academy.
Thinking of this, Ning Rongrong felt somewhat dissatisfied.
Why should the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan hand over their top talents to be trained by Shrek Academy? Moreover, the campus here was utterly dilapidated.
If it weren't for the fact that they had sneaked out already, Ning Rongrong probably would have turned back home long ago.
…
Dai Mubai led the four to the testing location, then quickly left the academy.
"Brother Tianchen, I'm a bit hungry," Ning Rongrong rubbed her stomach.
The four had set out early that morning, and there were no places selling breakfast along the way. So they were all still empty-stomached.
Just then, a vendor's shout rang out: "Come take a look, don't miss out! Freshly made big sausages, affordable price—only five copper soul coins each!"
"Third brother, shall we get one?" Xiao Wu asked tentatively.
Tang San nodded, then also asked Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong.
Not long after, he returned holding four sausages, handing one to each person.
"That sausage vendor doesn't look like a good person," Ning Rongrong said warily, not daring to eat the sausage in her hand.
Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu eating with relish, Ning Tianchen felt a bit mischievous.
He walked up to the stall and asked, "Boss, how do you make your sausages?"
At this moment, Oscar's face was covered with stubble, hardly looking like a young boy anymore.
"That… that's not really appropriate to say," Oscar hesitated.
Xiao Wu, chewing on her sausage, laughed and said, "What's inappropriate about it? I'm still not full—give me another fresh sausage."
Seeing that the invitation was hard to refuse, Oscar made another sausage right in front of the four of them.
Tang San and Xiao Wu, who were halfway through eating the sausage, suddenly felt nauseous and vomited it all out.
"Damn old man, I knew you had no good intentions," Ning Rongrong angrily threw the sausage to the ground and stomped on it several times.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Food-type soul masters' food not only fills hunger but also replenishes energy and stamina," said Ning Tianchen, and surprisingly, he started eating the sausage.
"Damn, how can you eat that? That uncle is way too creepy, I just feel…"
Mid-sentence, Xiao Wu couldn't help but gag.
"I'm not an uncle! I'm only fourteen years old!" Oscar shouted angrily.
Tang San calmed himself and quickly asked, "Are you really only fourteen?"
Oscar said proudly, "What else could it be? I'm a student here, you can ask around if you want."
While speaking, he kept sneaking glances at Ning Rongrong out of the corner of his eye.
Ning Rongrong snorted coldly and immediately hid behind Ning Tianchen.
Seeing Ning Tianchen, Oscar knew he had no chance. He was only a support-type soul master, how could he compete with a battle soul master?
For some reason, an inexplicable sense of loss suddenly rose in his heart, as if something that rightfully belonged to him had suddenly disappeared.
Before long, Dai Mubai returned, accompanied by a striking young girl dressed in black.
Seeing Ning Tianchen happily eating the sausage, he hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. "You can't eat that sausage."
"Dai Big Brother, you're just jealous that I can make a sale. Good brother, with your performance, there will be plenty of sausages for you in the future," Oscar said slyly, hooking his arm around Dai Mubai's shoulder.
Dai Mubai was about to persuade him again, but Ning Tianchen said, "Food-type soul masters' sausages have quite a few benefits after consumption. Since there's still testing ahead, it's perfect for replenishing some stamina."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is a sect of support-type soul masters, and they have many records about food-type soul masters.
If possible, Ning Tianchen hoped to recruit a food-type soul master like Oscar back to their sect.
Ning Rongrong hesitated for a moment, then asked Oscar for a sausage.
After all, she was very hungry now, and if she didn't fill her stomach, she might falter during the upcoming tests.
"Xiao Wu, we…" Tang San also wanted to replenish some strength.
But since Xiao Wu really felt nauseous, he could only go hungry along with her.