Warped Reasoning!

Xiao Wu also quietly complained to Yun Qi.

"These checkpoints were designed far too hard. If our talents weren't decent, these conditions alone would weed out ninety-nine percent of people."

Ning Rongrong also heard Xiao Wu's complaint and asked Flender.

"Dean, I'd like to ask: with Shrek Academy's conditions being so harsh, how many students does Shrek have in total? And how many new students enroll each year?"

Hearing Ning Rongrong's question, Flender could only reply with a bitter smile:

"Our Shrek Academy has existed for twenty years since I founded it, and we've accepted forty-two students in total. Five came this year, which set a new record! As for the students currently enrolled, there are three in total. You've already met two of them."

Yun Qi had known this for a long time, so he didn't show much surprise. Everyone else, including Zhu Zhuqing, was slightly astonished.

Looking at the group's exclamations, Flender once again wore a bitter smile.

"Throughout the entire Spirit Master world, ours may be the only academy with more teachers than students! And even with all of you included, the number of students still doesn't surpass the number of teachers!"

Ning Rongrong hit the nail on the head.

"With an academy like this, shouldn't it have gone bankrupt long ago?"

Little Cat added from the side:

"I know about this. The dean usually acts as a shady merchant in Suotuo City to earn money for the academy's operations. Collecting registration fees is also just a way to scam money from people who come to apply!"

Flender was covered in black lines. Clearly, his hidden thoughts had been exposed. Seeing this, Yun Qi shifted slightly in front of Xiao Wu, shielding her.

Seeing this, Flender changed his mind and pretended to sigh.

"Actually, we don't want to operate this way either. But to cultivate outstanding students, we have no choice! And to be honest, if Dai Mubai's family hadn't provided some funding, the academy would have closed last year. As for this year, we had no choice but to resort to this. If you hadn't come, the academy would have closed this year as well!"

Tang San and Ning Rongrong believed him, but Yun Qi, Little Cat, and Xiao Wu clearly didn't. They had already seen the true nature of this academy. Besides, even if it were true, none of them felt any sympathy for the academy.

Tang San, however, pitied them and asked Flender:

"Dean, if the academy is about to close, why not lower the requirements a little?"

Flender thought to himself, If I hadn't wanted to show off a little in front of Liu Erlong, I would have lowered them long ago. But after pretending for so many years, I've even started believing it myself. Still, he said with feigned sincerity:

"We would rather have no students than accept unqualified ones. Even if Shrek Academy is facing the danger of closure, we absolutely will not recruit trash!"

Tang San revealed a faint smile. Sure enough, Teacher didn't deceive me. This is the place I should have come to!

Seeing Tang San's upturned lips, Flender continued:

"Although our academy isn't an intermediate or advanced academy, do you know what our graduation requirements are? Before turning twenty, a student must have Soul Power above rank forty and reach the Soul Ancestor realm to graduate!"

"In twenty years, our academy has accepted sixty-two students in total, but only fourteen truly graduated! After leaving the academy, the most outstanding of those fourteen became the youngest elder of Spirit Hall!"

Hearing this, Tang San couldn't help feeling his blood boil. But to Yun Qi and the others, Flender's words sounded extremely grating. Without sufficient cultivation resources, without a Mimic Environment, they recruited nothing but geniuses—and only fourteen graduated! Who knew what they were thinking? They could credit this achievement to themselves, but why not consider all the geniuses they had held back?

Flender grew more and more excited as he spoke, but Yun Qi and the others all stared blankly ahead, clearly unwilling to listen to such nauseating words.

"We're here!"

After enduring Flender's incessant chatter along the way, Yun Qi and the others finally reached an open area. The testing grounds here were clearly much smaller. A burly, middle-aged man sat on a chair in the open space, dozing off.

Flender stepped forward and greeted him.

"Old Zhao, why are you sleeping here?"

Zhao Wuji opened his eyes groggily. After seeing that it was Flender, he asked:

"Dean, what brings you here?"

Flender was in an excellent mood as he said:

"We've got quite a few promising seedlings this year. That boy Dai Mubai has something to attend to, and his abilities aren't quite enough either. So this time, you'll conduct the assessment!"

Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up. With a sudden jerk, he rose from his chair. His appearance was ordinary, and he wasn't much taller than the barely five-foot-tall Tang San, but his entire body was extraordinarily muscular, bulging against his clothes.

His features gave off a fierce, intimidating air, and he radiated an extremely powerful sense of oppression!

"Fine, Dean. I was just about to rust from boredom. Let me show them what I can do!"

Flender smiled at this. He knew Zhao Wuji's strength, and he also couldn't let Yun Qi and the others develop the habit of looking down on everyone. After all, in barely ten minutes, Flender had inexplicably accumulated a bellyful of anger!

Zhao Wuji's fierce face struggled to force out a few traces of a gentle smile as he slowly said to Yun Qi and the others:

"My name is Zhao Wuji, and I'll be the group examiner for the five of you. Since the dean thinks Dai Mubai isn't enough to measure your level, I'll test your true strength instead! The five of you should get to know one another too, so no one can say I'm bullying the younger generation!"

Yun Qi and the others exchanged a look and winked. They had clearly discussed it beforehand: they would put in as little effort as possible and let Tang San take a beating first! As for Ning Rongrong, who had spoken up for Yun Qi and the others, she was a Support Spirit Master anyway. Once she finished applying her buffs, they could send her off the field.

Yun Qi and the others didn't discuss things for long. Most of them already knew the necessary information, so they only introduced themselves to Ning Rongrong individually. After announcing their Martial Souls and specialties, they settled on a battle plan and came to Zhao Wuji.

Yun Qi had also assigned himself a task.

(Task: Grievously Wound Zhao Wuji!)

(Reward: First Spirit Ring lifespan increased by one thousand years!)

Accept: Yes/No.

Yun Qi casually tapped Yes.

Zhao Wuji opened his half-lidded eyes and spoke casually:

"Your test is to last ten minutes against me. As long as one person makes it to the end, all of you will pass! Of course, don't try any clever tricks by simply running out of this open area. You won't be able to leave!"

Seeing how confident Zhao Wuji was, Yun Qi smiled and asked:

"Teacher Zhao, what if we defeat you?"

Zhao Wuji glared at Yun Qi with his beard bristling, looking at this youngster who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Clearly, he was both amused and angered.

"If you defeat me, I'll grant you one request—but it must be a request you all agree on!"

As he spoke, Zhao Wuji took out a stick of incense and casually tossed it away. It landed upright in the open ground not far away.