Volume One

Accompanying Zhu Zhuqing to the Scam Academy. "Your soul ring configuration is too poor. Eliminated." "Move aside quickly. Don't hold up the people registering behind you. Don't you know the academy's rules? We only accept children under thirteen. Anyone over thirteen is rejected." The old man spoke somewhat impatiently. These hired villagers all acted as Shrek Academy's plants, mingling among the registration crowd and constantly telling everyone how wonderful Shrek Academy was, how graduates could obtain the title of imperial viscount. In the end, they did not forget to add, "Spirit Hall said all this." ... The next morning, the sun shone brightly. Looking in the direction Dai Mubai had left, Tang San smiled faintly and said, "From the way that man spoke, he seems to be from Shrek Academy." Tang San said calmly, "Even if someone has to get out, it'll be me alone. That's why I didn't let you make a move. He was right—one soul ring apart means a huge gap in strength. After he uses his third soul skill, even if we join forces, we might not be his match. If he insists on making us get out, then I can only fight him to the death. In terms of strength, I may not be his equal, but if we fight for our lives, I have a seventy percent chance of taking him down with me." "Hold out your hand." The old man said softly. Hearing Tang San say this, Zhu Zhuqing, who was watching the battle from nearby, could not understand it. She thought, Was this guy brain-dead? He was willing to die together with someone over a room? At his words, the commoner father of the young man hurriedly took out ten Gold Soul Coins from his pocket and placed them into the wooden box beside him. Just as his words fell, a figure suddenly leaped down from a nearby tree. Three soul rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose around his body. "You... you're simply bandits! If you don't refund our registration fee, we'll stay here today and refuse to leave. And don't even think about recruiting anyone else!" Everyone had their limits, and the young man's father could not help shouting angrily. Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly. Then, the two of them accelerated toward the village. It had to be said that Shrek Academy's public relations were quite thorough. To dispel the concerns of those who came to register, they had specially hired some villagers from the surrounding villages to mingle among the applicants. Elsewhere, Dai Mubai wrapped his arms around two beautiful twins and laughed loudly. "Come on, I'll take you to another hotel. Tonight, I'll show you what it means to stand tall and proud." "Over thirteen years old. Unqualified. Eliminated!" After saying that, Tang San walked toward the counter. Su Xing smiled. "Let's go ask them whether they know where Shrek Academy is. This is my first time here too, so I don't know its exact location." "Privately giving the teacher a calendar as a gift. Eliminated..." Hearing this, Xiao Wu's rabbit ears drooped as she suddenly asked in a low voice, "Brother, if he had really beaten you just now, would we really have had to get out?" "Zhu Zhuqing, look. Right? Isn't it exactly as I said?" Su Xing patted Zhu Zhuqing on the shoulder, reminding her. After saying that, Zhu Zhuqing walked toward the registration line. The next second, Dai Mubai suddenly shuddered, and a surge of wicked fire rose from within him. Following the direction Zhu Zhuqing pointed, Su Xing saw a small village about a mile away. It had roughly a hundred households and was even smaller than Holy Soul Village. Suotuo City, Rose Hotel. "Incomplete bone development. Qualified. Eliminated." Zhu Zhuqing watched everything that happened here from beginning to end, her eyes filled with disdain. She could not help wondering: they said that one became like the company one kept. Was the current Dai Mubai truly still someone she could rely on? South of Suotuo City, vast farmland stretched along both sides of the official road. As the grain capital of the Balak Kingdom, Suotuo City's agriculture was extremely developed. A table stood at the village entrance, with an old man in his sixties seated behind it. On the archway beyond the entrance hung a somewhat tattered plaque, bearing several scrawled words: "Shrek Academy." Another uneventful night passed. The old man spoke without the slightest courtesy. Before long, a young man came to the table to register. The old man said lazily, "The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. Just put them in that box." "Look, there seems to be a village ahead." Zhu Zhuqing raised her arm and pointed forward. In short, the reasons for elimination were bizarre and varied. The old man smiled faintly and said disdainfully. "Soul Power has not reached level twenty. Eliminated." The parents and students were completely taken in by their words. "See? I didn't lie to you. Rather than an academy, this place is more like an extremely rundown rural village," Su Xing agreed. As soon as he said this, not only was the young man stunned, but so was his father. His father asked doubtfully, "Teacher, my child just turned thirteen. How does he fail the age requirement?" "This place is far too shabby!" When Su Xing and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at the entrance of Shrek Academy, they found over a hundred applicants ahead of them. Many frowned, clearly harboring numerous doubts. Seeing this, Su Xing followed her. After asking around in the village, the two learned that Shrek Academy was nearby, but registration would not begin until the next day. So they spent ten Soul Silver Coins to stay the night at a villager's home. The young man held out his hand before the old man. The old man gently squeezed it, shook his head, and said, "Your age does not meet the requirements. You may leave." "Really? Young Master Dai, don't be like last time and give out halfway through." Hearing this, one of the beauties suddenly reached out and grabbed Little Mubai. "Huh??? When did you ever say that you wouldn't accept children over thirteen? When you promoted your academy, did you post any notice telling people about this requirement? All you advertised was how wonderful your academy was!" the young man's father demanded. "Hey, young lady, you're here to register too, right? The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins. Just put them in the box." Seeing that Zhu Zhuqing was well-dressed and fairly attractive, the old man waved his hand and said. "These people are really strange." Zhu Zhuqing snorted lightly, then turned and headed toward the hotel's other exit. Zhu Zhuqing did not consider herself someone who judged by appearances, but Shrek Academy was simply too rundown, and she could not help complaining. Zhu Zhuqing shook her head, clearly deeply disappointed in Shrek. Then she sighed and said, "Since we're already here, let's register first and go inside to have a look." "Registration fees are nonrefundable once paid!" "Mubai, deal with these people."