Proctor

Shrek's entrance examination had a total of four stages.

The first stage: the most basic admission requirement was reaching Soul Power Rank 20 before the age of twelve. In other words, applicants whose Soul Power had not reached Rank 21, or who were already over thirteen years old, were disqualified. The threshold was extremely high!

The second stage: Soul Power assessment and Martial Soul appraisal. Even with the same Martial Soul, different development paths would lead to different future achievements. A person's potential was limitless, so powerful Soul Power alone could not prove one's future potential. One also had to consider the Martial Soul itself, as well as the chosen direction for developing Soul Skills.

The third stage: testing how well applicants could use their own Martial Souls. Although the second stage included Soul Power assessment and Martial Soul appraisal, that still was not enough, because it also required control over one's Martial Soul. Only then could one be considered a qualified Soul Master!

Of course, if an applicant's Soul Power exceeded Rank 25, then no matter whether they possessed a trash Martial Soul or any other kind of Martial Soul, they could directly pass the second and third stages. After all, reaching Rank 25 by the age of twelve was itself proof of genius.

For that reason, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong easily passed the second and third stages directly.

Then, led by Dai Mubai, they arrived at the fourth stage—the final stage.

Testing combat experience!

Talking strategy on paper was useless. One had to possess a certain amount of actual combat experience to pass this stage. Of course, that was what they said. Under normal circumstances, any applicants who made it through the first three stages and reached the fourth would basically already be admitted, provided they were not utterly hopeless.

After all, combat experience could be cultivated, while those who could pass the first three stages were undoubtedly true geniuses. Since they were geniuses, they naturally had value worth cultivating.

"We're here." Dai Mubai stopped and looked back at Tang San and the others behind him.

Ahead was an open space. It was much smaller than the area for the second stage, only around two hundred square meters.

A black-haired youth in white robes had already been waiting there for quite some time.

"Teacher Tang, these few are here for the fourth-stage assessment," Dai Mubai said.

"You? You're the examiner for the fourth stage?" Ning Rongrong looked at the youth smiling at her and could not help crying out in surprise.

"What? Is that so unexpected?" Yun Chuan replied with a smile. Then he turned to inspect the four youths before him and said, "My name is Tang Chuan. I am the proctor for this stage. You may call me Teacher Tang."

"This is the final stage. Once you pass my test, you will 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 be strong. What I am testing is your ability in this regard."

"Now, I will give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn to get to know one another and discuss things. Once the incense burns out, the test will begin. The test is for the four of you to join forces and withstand my attacks for one incense stick's worth of time. As long as even one of you can endure until the end, all of you will pass. I hope you understand that you should not try to exploit loopholes. No one can use speed to escape this area. At the same time, I can remind you that none of you can possibly block my attacks alone. Coordinating and working together is your only chance of success," he said calmly.

"Teacher Tang, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Dai Mubai said hesitantly.

Yun Chuan casually glanced at him and said, "What's inappropriate about it? Do you think I would actually go all out against these little fish and shrimp? Enough. I'm lighting the incense. You don't have much time, so prepare yourselves." After saying that, he took out an incense stick from his Soul Tool. With a swipe of his finger over its tip, he lit it. In the blink of an eye, the incense stick was embedded in the ground without the slightest tremble.

Tang San and the other three wore grave expressions. The conflict at the academy gate earlier had made them aware that this teacher with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul possessed the strength of a Soul Saint. One had to know that even when facing an army of ten thousand ordinary people, a Soul Master of the Soul Saint rank could come and go freely. It was easy to imagine how formidable such strength was.

Yet now, they had to endure beneath a Soul Saint's attacks for an incense stick's worth of time. This was simply making things too difficult for four little shrimps who had not even reached the rank of Soul Elder.

Dai Mubai also looked grave as he said to the four of them, "Come over here."

The four gathered around him.

Dai Mubai said solemnly, "Teacher Tang only joined the academy recently, so I do not know much about him. I only know that Teacher Tang is very young. He is only twenty-five this year, yet he is already a Rank 71 Soul Saint."

Twenty-five!!!

Tang San and the others' pupils nearly contracted at the same time. A Soul Saint at such a young age was simply inconceivable to them. Earlier, seeing Yun Chuan look only fifteen or sixteen while possessing the strength of a Soul Saint, they had assumed that this teacher had some method of preserving his youth, or that his Martial Soul's characteristics made him appear so young. In reality, they had thought he might already be over forty.

But now, hearing that this teacher's real age was only eight or nine years older than his appearance, that he was only twenty-five this year, they were so shocked that they began to doubt life itself.

With talent of this level, Teacher Tang Chuan was the real monster!

Xiao Wu said incredulously, "He really is only twenty-five? Seriously? How could someone reach the Soul Saint rank at such a young age? I think that even if he looks young, he must at least be in his forties."

Dai Mubai smiled bitterly. "Age has never been the issue. Talent is unreasonable by nature. Sometimes, the difference between people is even greater than the difference between humans and Soul Beasts. All right, there is not much time. Hurry and discuss your tactics. Otherwise, forget one incense stick—you'll be lucky if you can withstand his first wave of attacks."

Tang San and the other three immediately looked even more solemn. Facing a Rank 71 Soul Saint was no joking matter.

The Holy Soul Village where Tang San had grown up supposedly once had a Soul Saint, but that was only a legend. The Soul Saint before them, however, was right there—and he was about to become the examiner testing them. Life was truly unpredictable.

Dai Mubai continued, "Originally, Teacher Tang was only supposed to proctor the fourth stage. I was meant to be your opponent. As long as you could hold out against me for one incense stick's worth of time, you would pass. But who knew what got into him today? He actually wants to fight personally."

"Teacher Tang's Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, but you absolutely cannot view it as an ordinary Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. I do not know much either. In short, be extra careful." At this point, Dai Mubai sighed. Recalling how badly he had been beaten at the hotel not long ago, how could he not realize that Teacher Tang had merely been playing with him then? He had not used even a fraction of his real strength.

The four fell silent.

Very soon, Tang San realized that they did not have much time left. He was the first to recover and said, "Let's introduce ourselves first. State your names and abilities, then we can see how to coordinate and best withstand Teacher Tang's test."

After saying that, he spoke first. "My name is Tang San. My Weapon Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. I am a Rank 29 control-system Battle Soul Master."

Seeing Tang San speak, Xiao Wu spoke second. "Xiao Wu. My Beast Martial Soul is a rabbit. I am a Rank 29 assault-system Battle Soul Master."

When it was Ning Rongrong's turn, she hesitated before saying, "Ning Rongrong. My Weapon Martial Soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. I am a Rank 26 support-system Weapon Soul Master."

Finally, Zhu Zhuqing remained cool and indifferent as she said flatly, "Zhu Zhuqing. My Beast Martial Soul is the Netherworld Spirit Cat. I am a Rank 27 agility-attack-system Battle Soul Master."

After the four introduced themselves, everyone's gaze—including Dai Mubai's—focused on one person. Naturally, the one who had drawn everyone's attention was Ning Rongrong, who came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Tang San said in surprise, "Your Martial Soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Then that means you come from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul was passed down through a single lineage. Across the entire Douluo Continent, only direct descendants of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could possibly possess it.

Everyone's evaluation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, this Weapon Martial Soul, could be summed up in one simple sentence: the strongest support Martial Soul on the continent, and the best companion for all combat-type Soul Masters!

Among the six symbols on Spirit Hall's token, one was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. This showed just how renowned this sect was in the world of Martial Souls.

Seeing herself become the center of attention, Ning Rongrong stuck out her cute little tongue and said, "Stop staring. I'm no different from ordinary people. I snuck out of home. Let's get through the test in front of us first. My Martial Soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and I have two Soul Rings. I can increase everyone's speed and strength attributes separately. The boost is around thirty percent. Maintaining it for one incense stick's worth of time will be no problem at all."

A thirty percent boost was already quite impressive, but Tang San knew that the reason the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul was called by Grandmaster the strongest support-type Martial Soul was that every additional Soul Ring not only granted an additional attribute boost, but also increased the boost from all previous Soul Rings by another ten percent.

In other words, once Ning Rongrong's Soul Power reached Rank 30 or above, she would not only be able to boost one more attribute, but the effect of all attribute boosts would also become forty percent.

And so on. Upon reaching Rank 70, she could instantly increase seven attributes by eighty percent. What a terrifying effect that was!

With a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master like this providing support, one could almost instantly double one's own strength. The stronger the Soul Master, the better the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's boosting effect.

Anywhere in the two great empires, whenever a Soul Master from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect appeared, they immediately became the target of every Soul Master organization's efforts to recruit them. They were watched by countless people.

Fortunately, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's boosting effects could not stack. In other words, if there were two Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Soul Masters present, only the one with higher Soul Power could provide an effective boost. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul's greatest weakness was its lack of offensive power, requiring the protection of Battle Soul Masters. But there were certainly no shortage of people willing to become protectors of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Among them were at least two of the pinnacle figures among Soul Masters: Titled Douluo!