Scalpers Are Everywhere (Please Keep Reading)

"This is for you." Jiang Nannan handed Huo Yuqing and Wang Rui each a black-gold token. At the top of each token were three diamond-shaped gemstones—one gold and two red—while the center bore the emblem of the Golden Tree and the words "Jade City."

"These are Beast Sect disciple tokens. Since we haven't formed contracts with soul beasts, we can't yet be considered official Beast Sect disciples. Teacher has only lent these tokens to us for now. They emit a strange ripple that only soul beasts can sense. As long as you carry one in the forest, soul beasts won't take the initiative to attack you. So you absolutely must not let outsiders get hold of them." Jiang Nannan explained solemnly, "Also, the Beast Sect is special, after all. When you're out and about, try not to mention anything related to the sect. You can never be too careful around others—you must learn to protect yourselves."

"I understand, Sister Nannan." Huo Yuqing nodded earnestly.

"I'll take you to the entrance examination. I've already spoken to Teacher. I won't withdraw from Shrek Academy this year—I'll stay for another year to look after you." The girl winked at them. Whatever she recalled made an unhappy expression surface on her face. "A place like Shrek... it's always better to have someone looking out for you."

Huo Yuqing had finished packing yesterday. Her Storage Soul Tool was now crammed full of all sorts of training materials Lu Mingyou and Wen Qiang had given her, while basic daily necessities occupied only a tiny corner.

She had left Aunt Rat at Emerald Elixir Hall. After all, Huo Yuqing did not know the exact situation at Shrek Academy, and she did not dare casually bring Aunt Rat into an environment that would most likely be extremely unfriendly toward soul beasts.

After a simple breakfast, they set out. With the Beast Sect tokens, the three of them were able to pass directly through the Star Dou Great Forest, heading northwest toward Shrek Academy in a straight line.

Sure enough, no soul beasts attacked them along the way, allowing them to travel quickly. A few hours later, they saw the towering city walls of Shrek City.

Shrek City had a permanent population of around two million, so naturally it was far larger than Jade City.

Jiang Nannan introduced Shrek Academy and Shrek City to Huo Yuqing and Wang Rui. Her account was fairly impartial and not at all biased. Although she did not reveal Shrek Academy's less pleasant side, neither did she excessively praise it.

They made their way to the eastern gate, which was exclusively open to Shrek Academy. Though it was already the final day of admissions, the place was still packed with people. Many vendors around them were selling food and souvenirs, and business appeared exceptionally brisk.

Huo Yuqing paid a little attention to the food stalls. They all seemed to be doing very well... With so many people around, perhaps selling grilled fish could earn her some pocket money?

She could not possibly ask Teacher for money for every expense.

Jiang Nannan led the two of them through the crowd and headed straight for the registration area.

At that moment, a man in a dark gray robe, his face obscured, blocked their way.

"Need a letter of recommendation for Shrek City? I've got them from every country, guaranteed authentic, guaranteed usable. Several people have already successfully registered with them! Just fill in your personal information on the spot, and it's only ten thousand Gold Soul Coins!" The man spoke rapidly in a low voice. "I can tell you're all very strong. You'll definitely be able to stay at Shrek Academy. For just ten thousand gold coins, you can gamble on a future. As long as you graduate successfully, you won't have to worry about employment. Shrek graduates have limitless prospects!"

Huo Yuqing listened to his sales pitch in stunned disbelief. "You can just buy a letter of recommendation?"

"Of course you can. But getting one doesn't mean you'll definitely get into Shrek or be able to stay. You still have to meet the other requirements..."

Wang Rui, however, was not surprised in the least.

A Shrek Academy letter of recommendation was merely a special seal from a city lord, along with special letter paper. There were no further anti-counterfeiting measures, nor was there a limit on how many could be issued each year—it was perfectly normal for someone to profit from this.

In fact, the city lords of most major cities sold letters of recommendation privately. Shrek Academy had other assessments anyway, so neither side stood to lose out.

Of course, the city lords were not fools either. They still regularly invested in talented commoners who could not afford the cost. However, the requirements for commoner soul masters were far higher than Shrek Academy's own standards—they had to reach Rank 25 before turning twelve just to receive a free letter of recommendation.

Since it was the last day of registration, naturally many students had rushed over to Shrek Academy right after breaking through to Rank 15.

There were also plenty of people buying letters of recommendation directly on site. Many families lacked the connections to ask a city lord for one, but they had enough spare money to scrape together everything they owned and send their child to Shrek in hopes of a better future.

This fellow looked as though he had been selling them here for a long time, yet no one stopped him. Shrek Academy must have tacitly approved of it—perhaps he even had an official Shrek background and had to hand part of the proceeds over to the academy.

"No need. They both have letters of recommendation." Jiang Nannan stepped forward, shielding Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing behind her, and said with a smile, "I was just about to take them to register."

"Fine." The man in dark gray muttered a few auspicious phrases about bright futures before continuing on to find his next sucker.

"These people really make money easily." Jiang Nannan snorted.

"Hey, Nannan! Over here, Nannan!" Not far ahead, a round-faced girl with an approachable, pleasing appearance, dressed in a purple school uniform, waved vigorously at them. "Nannan, have you heard the good news?"

"What good news?" Jiang Nannan froze for a moment.

"Old Hag Zhou won't be teaching us anymore! Hehe, Old Hag Zhou is gone!" the round-faced girl said excitedly, as delighted as if the New Year had arrived early. "Everyone knows the good news now. You're the last one to return to school."

"What?" Jiang Nannan's face also lit up with surprise. "She's gone? That's wonderful!"

"This is the best news I've heard in the past month... Huh? Who are these two handsome little guys?"

"Oh, they're my junior brothers. Didn't I tell you I was studying at the medicine shop back home?"

"Your junior brothers are here to register for Shrek Academy too?" The round-faced girl hooked an arm around Jiang Nannan's neck, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Hey, Nannan, introduce us, will you? I like handsome junior students who are younger than me."

Jiang Nannan grinned and pinched the soft flesh at her waist. "Keep dreaming."

The girl smiled warmly at Wang Rui and Huo Yuqing. "All right, enough joking around. Take them to register. See you later!"

With that, the round-faced girl hurried away in a flurry.

After waiting in line for quite a while longer, it was finally their turn to register.

Huo Yuqing's Soul Power had already reached Rank 16, allowing her to pass Shrek Academy's requirements with ease.

As for Wang Rui... he was already a Rank 33 Soul Elder.

As the Imperial Auspicious Beast, his transformation naturally had special qualities.

Wang Rui could shift between human and beast forms. His Spiritual Power realm did not change, but in human form he had to cultivate all over again step by step. He could only use the abilities of his simulated martial soul and could not use the power he possessed in beast form.

It was a bit like a game account: after maxing out the first class, he picked up a new class and had to level it from the beginning.

He had roughly estimated that once he reached Rank 95, he should be able to use his beast-form power freely while in human form, just like the Fierce Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

All right, today was still pretty loooong! And it was two chapters again!

As for Shrek's letter of recommendation system, I personally think this kind of reselling is what makes sense.

Because a letter of recommendation is a threshold, not a ticket into Shrek. There are still many other requirements afterward, as well as eliminations in the freshmen entrance examination...

For Shrek Academy—a sect that has stood for ten thousand years—this is the way to maximize benefits.

First, divide prospective students into two categories: Rank 15–25, and above Rank 25 (the old Shrek standard from Soul Land 1).

Only those above level 25 at the age of twelve were more likely to enter the inner court and become true insiders.

Students between levels 15 and 25 fell into two categories: those from wealthy families with resources, and those from poor families.

Students from wealthy families had follow-up resources and better prospects, so they would naturally progress faster than those from poorer backgrounds and stood a greater chance of becoming inner court students. A solid family fortune also meant connections—what that meant to Shrek hardly needed explaining. When such students came to Shrek, even if they only lasted the bare minimum of three months before washing out, they could still bring Shrek considerable profits.

But civilian students who could not even scrape together ten thousand gold... First, they had little potential for development; second, they had no connections; third, there was not a drop of profit to squeeze out of them. They might as well not come at all.

Those with connections who could obtain a letter of introduction directly were another matter.

Emmm, maybe I was overinterpreting it, but I felt that was how it worked (:з"∠)