Divine Tree Martial Soul

Outside Suotuo City, Ning Rongrong said impatiently to the boy behind her:

"You, I already told you not to follow me anymore!"

The boy shook his head.

"Sorry, Rongrong. Teacher told me to protect you. I can't just leave."

Ning Rongrong grew even more impatient.

"Then stay farther away from me. And don't call me Rongrong!"

With that, Ning Rongrong quickened her pace and put some distance between herself and the boy.

The boy watched helplessly. Only after Ning Rongrong had gone some distance did he follow after her.

The boy's name was Mu Yuan. He was a transmigrator. After hitting the jackpot in his previous life, he had transmigrated to Douluo Continent, becoming an infant and ending up in the Star Dou Great Forest.

As an infant, Mu Yuan's chances of surviving on his own in the Star Dou Great Forest had been practically zero.

Fortunately, his luck was good. He happened to encounter Ning Fengzhi, who had entered the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Spirit Beasts, and Ning Fengzhi rescued him and took him in at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had always made a habit of adopting orphans.

At the age of six, Mu Yuan awakened his Martial Soul: the Divine Tree Martial Soul. He possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

The so-called Divine Tree came from a comic in Mu Yuan's previous life. It was a creature planted on a planet that could absorb the energy of the entire planet.

Although no one in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect recognized Mu Yuan's Martial Soul, his talent of Innate Full Soul Power was undeniable. Thus, Mu Yuan quickly gained the sect's attention.

He received vast cultivation resources, the finest cultivation environment, and even had a Spirit Sage expert from the sect personally lead him in hunting the Spirit Ring best suited for his first ring.

Mu Yuan also lived up to expectations. In the second year after obtaining his first Spirit Ring, he had cultivated to Level 20, breaking the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's record for the fastest advancement to Soul Grandmaster.

Ning Fengzhi immediately announced that he would accept Mu Yuan as his disciple.

It was also that year that Ning Rongrong awakened her Martial Soul.

Ning Rongrong's talent was quite good. With Innate Spirit Power Level 9, she could be called a genius. But even among geniuses, there were differences.

With Mu Yuan's brilliance before her, Ning Rongrong's talent no longer seemed so exceptional.

For that very reason, Ning Rongrong and Mu Yuan did not have a friendly relationship.

Even though Ning Fengzhi had secretly tried to foster their relationship, the results had ultimately been rather mediocre.

Mu Yuan did not think much of it.

In his eyes, Ning Rongrong was merely a little girl throwing a tantrum because he had stolen everyone's attention.

After walking for some time, Mu Yuan followed Ning Rongrong to Shrek Academy.

At the academy gate stood a battered, dilapidated signboard that looked thoroughly unprofessional.

And that was indeed the case.

Shrek Academy was a no-name academy that did not even qualify to participate in the Advanced Spirit Master Tournament.

But proud and willful young ladies were sometimes like that. They wanted to vent their emotions through this sort of rebellious act.

The academy happened to be recruiting students.

Mu Yuan spotted many characters from the original story among them.

Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and others.

After giving them a brief glance, Mu Yuan stopped paying attention.

To him, they were merely somewhat familiar characters from the original story. Whether Tang San was hypocritical or not had nothing to do with him. All he needed to do was follow Ning Rongrong and keep her safe.

The teacher responsible for admissions at Shrek Academy was an old man in his sixties named Li Yusong, an expert at the Soul Emperor level.

Although Shrek Academy was rundown, its admission requirements were extremely strict.

During the enrollment process, one student's parent could not help questioning Shrek Academy's admission rules.

Facing the challenge, Li Yusong offered no explanation. Instead, he directly unleashed his Soul Power. Six Spirit Rings—White, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Purple, Black—rose around him, stunning everyone present.

Of course, Mu Yuan was not among them.

To Mu Yuan, the quality of Li Yusong's Spirit Rings might not even have surpassed his own.

At that moment, Li Yusong spoke Shrek Academy's famous saying.

"Shrek is an academy for monsters. We only accept monsters!"

In the end, faced with Shrek Academy's harsh admission requirements, most students and parents chose to leave. Only a handful remained in line.

Among them, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong were exempted from the earlier rounds of testing due to their talent and advanced directly to the final test.

Mu Yuan followed behind Ning Rongrong at some distance, but just as he was about to enter, Li Yusong stopped him.

"Wait. We haven't tested your talent yet."

Hearing this, Mu Yuan pointed at Ning Rongrong and explained:

"I'm not here to enroll. I'm specifically responsible for protecting her."

Li Yusong had already seen during the talent test that Ning Rongrong's Martial Soul was the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. This showed that she was a direct descendant of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, so it was perfectly normal for someone to protect her closely. He therefore looked to Ning Rongrong for confirmation.

However, Ning Rongrong merely snorted. "I don't know him!"

Li Yusong froze for a moment before saying to Mu Yuan, "Looks like she doesn't know you. You can't go in."

Mu Yuan sighed helplessly.

"In that case, treat me as someone here to enroll as well. Test my talent."

As he spoke, Mu Yuan took out ten Gold Soul Coins as the registration fee.

Li Yusong then grasped Mu Yuan's wrist and checked his bone age. Shaking his head, he said, "You're a year too old. You don't qualify."

Mu Yuan explained, "Though I'm slightly older, my Soul Power Level is higher. That should be enough to make an exception and admit me."

But Li Yusong remained unmoved.

"How high can your Soul Power be? The students Shrek Academy accepts need not only good talent, but also sufficient potential for growth. You don't meet the standard..."

Mu Yuan said nothing further. He directly summoned his Martial Soul and let the facts speak for themselves.

The phantom image of an enormous tree appeared behind Mu Yuan, while four Spirit Rings—Yellow, Purple, Black, Black—appeared in the air.

Li Yusong was instantly so shocked that he stood there dumbfounded, barely able to believe what he was seeing was real.

A Level 40 Spirit Ancestor, with a Second Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, and Third and Fourth Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings!

The power contained within that fourth Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring was even stronger than the power of his sixth Spirit Ring!

This was simply unimaginable, completely beyond reason.

Mu Yuan asked, "I should be able to enter now, right?"

Li Yusong swallowed and nodded stiffly.

Mu Yuan quickly walked inside.

Tang San and the others inside looked curiously at Mu Yuan as he caught up with them.

They had gone ahead first and had not seen Mu Yuan's talent test, so they were merely curious now.

Mu Yuan had long black hair, clear eyes, and gentle features. From his appearance, he did not seem difficult to get along with.

After giving him a brief look, everyone politely withdrew their gazes.

Only Xiao Wu twitched her nose and looked at him a few more times. She seemed to sense a special aura of life from Mu Yuan, as though he were the Star Dou Great Forest itself.

But just then, Ning Rongrong said disdainfully to Mu Yuan behind her, "I told you, don't stand so close to me!"

Mu Yuan said nothing and merely stepped farther back.

Because of the distance, Xiao Wu could no longer sense the aura she had felt from Mu Yuan so clearly.

Dai Mubai gave Mu Yuan a somewhat sympathetic look, carrying the air of a fellow sufferer.