Shrek Academy, Part Two

The Outer Court senior in charge of testing picked up the information Ji Lin had filled out and saw that his age was listed as twelve, with a Soul Power Level of thirty-nine.

Staring at that outrageous level, the senior blankly looked at Ji Lin and nodded repeatedly. "Passed, passed. After the test..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Lexuan beside him took over. "Leave the rest to me. Continue receiving the other new students who have come to register."

She then turned to Ji Lin. "Let's go, Xiao Lin. Didn't you want me to show you around the academy?"

After Ji Lin and Zhang Lexuan left, a heated discussion erupted among those registering.

Zhang Lexuan led Ji Lin into Shrek Academy. Unlike the grand and solemn academy Ji Lin had imagined, Shrek Academy was beautifully landscaped, with abundant, lush vegetation. Walking down the broad avenue, no matter which direction he looked, he could see at least ten kinds of plants. They had clearly all been meticulously trimmed.

After proceeding two hundred meters, several enormous statues ahead blocked their view. There were ten statues in total, each ten meters tall and carved from the hardest granite.

There were three statues in the front row. The one in the middle was an elderly man wearing glasses, with a smiling face and a medium, slightly plump build. He looked like a kindly old gentleman.

Zhang Lexuan introduced them to Ji Lin. "The one in the middle is the founder of Shrek Academy and its first headmaster, Flender. The one to his left is Yu Xiaogang, known as the Master. He established the foundation for the teaching of the various Martial Soul Department branches at Shrek Academy today, as well as the Ten Core Competencies of the martial soul world.

"The woman on the right is Liu Erlong, and she is also the Master's wife. Together with Headmaster Flender, they were known as the Golden Iron Triangle. If Headmaster Flender created Shrek Academy, then the Master was its true soul. It was also he who personally trained the Shrek Seven Devils behind them."

The Master's statue depicted a somewhat thin middle-aged man, while Liu Erlong was a graceful middle-aged woman.

Behind them stood seven more statues.

Among the seven statues, Tang San was the most handsome. His long blue hair fell loose behind him, and he wore simple fitted clothes. Rings of blue vines coiled around the statue, clearly representing his Blue Silver Grass martial soul. A faint smile rested on his lips, while his lifelike gaze was directed at the woman with a scorpion braid, standing fifth among the seven.

Seeing Ji Lin looking at Tang San's statue, Zhang Lexuan explained, "That is Thousand Hand Douluo Tang San, one of the Shrek Seven Devils. The one he is looking at is Soft Bone Douluo Xiao Wu, who was also his wife."

The seven statues of the first-generation Shrek Seven Devils all had different forms. The fact that all of them had become Titled Douluo alone showed just how powerful they had been.

Zhang Lexuan said to Ji Lin, "This is where the paths split. To the left is the Martial Soul Department, while to the right is the Soul Tool Department. They are Shrek Academy's two major divisions, and both belong to the Outer Court. Comparatively speaking, the Martial Soul Department is larger, while the Soul Tool Department is smaller. The Martial Soul Department is further divided into many branches. We'll register at the Martial Soul Department first. Only after passing the freshmen's first assessment will you be qualified to register with the Soul Tool Department."

Though both were divisions, one was large and the other small. This alone showed how little importance Shrek Academy placed on the Soul Tool Department.

They headed left from the statues. The road remained broad enough for four or five carriages to travel side by side, and a sign by the road bore the words "Lakeside Path."

Through the lush green trees on their right, they could vaguely see a broad expanse of water. In other words, behind the ten statues of the Golden Iron Triangle and the Shrek Seven Devils lay a massive lake.

Noticing Ji Lin's gaze, Zhang Lexuan explained, "That is an artificial lake built to commemorate Thousand Hand Douluo Tang San. It is called Sea God Lake because, according to legend, Thousand Hand Douluo Tang San inherited the Sea God's divine position. Sea God Lake is extremely vast and is fed by underground water. Shrek Academy's Inner Court is located on the island at the center of the lake. Every Outer Court disciple takes pride in being able to set foot on that island."

Sea God Lake truly was enormous. They followed the Lakeside Path south for nearly a quarter of an hour before turning west. After walking for another quarter of an hour or so, the path began to curve inward, and a broad rectangular plaza appeared in their view. A sign beside it read "Shrek Plaza."

Behind Shrek Plaza stood rows of tall teaching buildings. These buildings came in different colors, mainly white, yellow, purple, and black. Looking north beyond Shrek Plaza, there seemed to be a cluster of gray teaching buildings in the distance.

Zhang Lexuan pointed at the teaching buildings on the other side of the plaza. "The colors of the teaching buildings represent different grades, distinguished according to the colors of soul rings. White is for the freshmen teaching building, like the lowest-level ten-year soul ring. Yellow is for the Outer Court's second- and third-year students, while purple is for fourth- and fifth-year students. Black is for sixth-year students. Once you graduate from the black teaching building, you can receive the Outer Court graduation certificate."

"The gray teaching buildings in the distance belong to the Soul Tool Department. Judging by the area, the Soul Tool Department occupies roughly one-third of the main teaching area, while the Martial Soul Department occupies two-thirds. Besides these teaching buildings at the front, there are many specialized training areas behind them, such as the Spirit Battle Arena, Assessment Area, dormitory area, teachers' office area, and so on."

Ji Lin had now truly experienced how little Shrek Academy valued the Soul Tool Department. Judging from the colors of the teaching buildings and the area it occupied, it was far inferior to the Martial Soul Department.

The white freshmen teaching building stood at the southernmost side and was also closest to the Lakeside Path. Ji Lin and Zhang Lexuan passed through the south side of Shrek Plaza and entered the building.

Since it was the period for recruiting new students, the freshmen teaching building was especially lively. Some freshmen who had already passed the assessment were registering here.

With Zhang Lexuan leading the way, Ji Lin's registration went smoothly. Ji Lin paid the tuition himself, and a single academic year cost as much as ten Gold Soul Coins. That did not even include meal expenses. If a student dropped out midway after failing an assessment, the tuition would not be refunded.

This Shrek tradition, which had begun ten thousand years ago, remained exactly the same even now.

After receiving his dormitory key, two sets of school uniforms, and a white freshman badge, Ji Lin followed Zhang Lexuan out of the freshmen teaching building.

As they passed a notice board, Ji Lin spotted the information posted on it.

The notice read: Freshman Class One Homeroom Teacher, Zhou Yi. Freshman Class Two Homeroom Teacher...

Ji Lin frowned. Since he had registered early, he had been assigned to Freshman Class One.

Remembering the original novel's description of Zhou Yi's personality and teaching philosophy, Ji Lin felt a headache coming on.

Forget it. As long as she did not deliberately make things difficult for him, he could not be bothered to interfere with anything else. Even Shrek Academy's higher-ups did not care, so why should he meddle in their business?