Taken for a Ride

"Spirit Hall elders all had the cultivation of Titled Douluo at the very least?"

Hearing Ning Rongrong's words, Dai Mubai froze. He truly had not known that. After all, unless one deliberately looked into it—or had a Sword Grandpa like Ning Rongrong, who was an honorary elder of Spirit Hall—ordinary people would be doing well just to know how Spirit Hall's ranks were structured.

"That's right. So you say Shrek Academy's most outstanding graduate had now become Spirit Hall's youngest elder. Then let me ask you, which Titled Douluo came from Shrek Academy?" Ning Rongrong looked at him as though she were looking at an idiot.

Titled Douluo could be said to stand at the pinnacle of Soul Masters. Their numbers were so few that they could be counted on one's fingers without exaggeration!

They were basically all renowned figures whose backgrounds could be found with a simple search.

Naturally, certain Titled Douluo who had hidden themselves away were exceptions.

"..."

Dai Mubai was left speechless by her retort. Before this, he really had not known that Spirit Hall's elders were basically all Titled Douluo. He had thought that Soul Emperors or Soul Sages could become elders. As for Titled Douluo, he had never even dared to imagine it.

If Shrek Academy really could produce Titled Douluo, it would definitely be famous throughout the world. Countless people would probably be rushing to its doors with money, and it would not need to huddle away in this tiny village.

Was I scammed back then?

Dai Mubai's mouth twitched. He recalled how he had come to apply out of curiosity. Although the academy's environment had been utterly run-down, every teacher there had been a powerhouse. The weakest was still a Soul Emperor!

He had instinctively regarded the academy highly. Later, he met Flander Dean and listened to him boast endlessly about Shrek's "glorious achievements" and its rule of accepting only monsters. His blood had boiled, and in order to prove that he too was a monster, he had joined this academy—which did not even have a Martial Soul Simulated Cultivation Ground—in a moment of impulsiveness.

Now that Ning Rongrong had pointed it out, he thought back on the three years he had spent at the academy. Only then did he realize in astonishment that he seemed to have spent most of his time in the Soul Arena, tempering himself through battle. As for what he had actually learned at Shrek Academy... there really was nothing.

The only difference between this academy and other academies was that it had fewer students than teachers, and its teachers generally had higher ranks. Other than that, it did not even have a Simulated Cultivation Ground.

As for the teaching itself, no matter what school one attended, teachers taught nothing more than basic Soul Master knowledge, how to identify soul beasts, and how teachers and fellow students would help hunt soul beasts when one needed soul rings.

Therefore, Shrek Academy's advantage over other academies was, at most, that its teachers generally had high ranks and could better help students obtain suitable soul rings. That was all.

But other advanced academies did not lack that advantage either. Compared with Shrek, other advanced academies even had Simulated Cultivation Grounds, places that could help Soul Masters cultivate faster.

That was an advantage poor Shrek Academy did not possess.

And with Shrek Academy's admission standards, students qualified to enroll there would receive the same focused training if they went to other advanced academies. Simulated Cultivation Grounds could even speed up their cultivation... Hiss! Thinking about it this way, Shrek Academy really did not seem to have any advantages over other advanced academies!

The more Dai Mubai thought back, the more he felt that he had truly been taken for a ride back then.

Forget it.

Dai Mubai shook his head. He had already been here for three years. Since things had come to this, was there any point in dwelling on it? Although Shrek Academy's facilities were somewhat inferior to those of other advanced academies, its many Soul Emperor- and Soul Sage-level teachers undoubtedly made up for that.

Overall, Shrek Academy was not actually that bad.

After consoling himself like that, Dai Mubai felt much better.

"Let's go."

Dai Mubai did not pay Ning Rongrong any further attention, clearly not wanting to answer her question. He simply walked off on his own.

Seeing that she had rendered him speechless, Ning Rongrong did not kick him while he was down. She knew when to stop and resumed the appearance of a well-behaved girl. After all, no one would like a girl who seized every chance to argue with everyone and everything, then kept pursuing the matter even after the other person had admitted defeat.

Ning Rongrong was spoiled and willful, but she was not stupid.

Soon, Dai Mubai stopped.

"We're here."

At this moment, the three of them had arrived at another open area. It was much smaller than the one used for the Second Trial, only around two hundred square meters. A middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties was sitting in a chair, dozing.

As for Tang San, who had arrived earlier, he stood waiting off to one side. Clearly, he had not yet undergone the assessment.

"Teacher Zhao, I've brought more people for the Fourth Trial Assessment," Dai Mubai said.

"Hm? It was already rare enough for there to be one. There are actually another two taking the Fourth Trial? That makes three this year, doesn't it?" Zhao Wuji opened his bleary eyes and looked at Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong in surprise, as though he had encountered something unbelievable.

Dai Mubai said, "Not only are there three of them, but they all skipped the Second and Third Trial assessments."

Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up as he rose from his chair. He was not tall, and his features were ordinary. Yet he looked exceptionally solid. At just over 1.5 meters tall, he somehow gave off an imposing impression. His broad shoulders were like city walls, and his coat could not conceal his powerful muscles, as though they had been forged from steel. Although his expression was amiable, his burly build naturally exerted an intense sense of pressure.

"All three are above level twenty-five. Not bad, not bad. Looks like there are quite a few little monsters this year. I'm the final trial. If you pass my test, you can officially become members of Shrek Academy. However, my test will not be so easy to pass. Combat experience is something every Soul Master must possess to demonstrate their strength. What I will assess is your ability in that regard."

Only after his gaze swept over the three of them did Zhao Wuji introduce himself. "My name is Zhao Wuji. Since all three of you skipped the Second and Third Trials, I'll personally play with you a bit. I'll give you one incense stick's worth of time to get to know one another and discuss things. Once the incense burns out, the test will begin.

"The test is for the three of you to join forces and withstand my attacks for one incense stick's worth of time. As long as even one person can hold out until the end, all of you will pass.

"If you cannot pass, then I can only regretfully announce that you are unable to enroll in Shrek Academy."

Of course, Zhao Wuji was only trying to scare them. In truth, as long as they passed the first three trials, the Fourth Trial was merely a formality. Whether they won or lost, all three would be admitted.

The reason Zhao Wuji said this was mainly because he wanted to wait until they all lost, then announce that they had successfully enrolled. That would surely give them an enormous, shocking surprise and greatly increase their favorability toward the academy!

It could only be said that this was packed full of tricks!