Exceptional Admission

"Brother Jie, where exactly is the Soul Guidance Department office area?" Huo Yuhao complained after following Xu Jie around in circles for over ten minutes.

Xu Jie stopped in front of a map by the roadside and checked their current direction. He had no time to pay attention to Huo Yuhao right now, for one reason only: they were lost.

Damn! He had clearly picked the right direction, yet they had still gotten lost.

"Brother Jie..." Seeing that Xu Jie said nothing, Huo Yuhao was about to speak again when a somewhat familiar voice suddenly sounded by his ear.

"Xu Jie, what are you doing here?" Zhong Sheng had just come out of the office building. Holding a token, he was about to head to the freshmen dormitory to find someone when, not long after setting out, he spotted Xu Jie and the other boy standing on the road.

"Hello, Teacher." Xu Jie turned and saw that it was the admissions teacher who had registered him earlier.

"My name is Zhong Sheng. What is the name of the child beside you?" Zhong Sheng glanced at Xu Jie, then at Huo Yuhao. He had not even asked the child's name earlier, which was rather discourteous.

"My name is Huo Yuhao." Before Xu Jie could answer, Huo Yuhao spoke first, his tone carrying a trace of displeasure.

"Huo Yuhao, is it? Do you want to join Shrek Academy?" Zhong Sheng did not mind the displeasure in Huo Yuhao's tone. In his view, it was no issue for a child to have a bit of a temper. Besides, he really had neglected Huo Yuhao earlier.

Huo Yuhao froze for a moment, unable to react. Xu Jie, however, caught on quickly and reached over to pat the dazed Huo Yuhao.

"Yes!!!" Prompted by the reminder, Huo Yuhao immediately came to his senses and answered. He truly wanted to join Shrek Academy, not because it was the number one academy on the continent, but simply because Xu Jie had joined Shrek Academy. He did not want to be separated from Xu Jie.

"Not bad. I can make an exception and let you join Shrek Academy, but you must pass a test."

"What test?" Huo Yuhao felt no aversion toward being tested. His cultivation was originally insufficient, so he was very happy to have an opportunity now.

After all, he had nowhere near Xu Jie's confidence in the plan to enter the academy through the Soul Guidance Department. Now that there was another way, he was naturally willing to give it a try.

"Come with me!" Zhong Sheng did not immediately tell Huo Yuhao what the test was. Instead, he turned and left without saying where they were going or caring whether Huo Yuhao followed.

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao hurried after Zhong Sheng, and Xu Jie immediately followed as well.

Zhong Sheng found an empty patch of ground where they would not be disturbed.

"I will use the Soul Power of a Level 20 Soul Master to suppress you. As long as you can endure for a quarter of an hour, you will have passed my test." Zhong Sheng clenched his right hand into a fist and extended his index and middle fingers, a thread of Soul Power circulating at their tips.

He had no intention of holding back. For a Level 13 Soul Master, the suppression of a Level 20 Soul Master was manageable as long as one had sufficient perseverance.

"Alright." The moment Huo Yuhao spoke, Zhong Sheng tapped a finger against his shoulder, and then... there was nothing more.

To be safe, Huo Yuhao had started circulating the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill from the beginning. Apart from a faint sense of pressure, he felt nothing else, leaving him with a somewhat stunned expression.

That was it?

Naturally, Zhong Sheng, who stood before Huo Yuhao, noticed it as well. His own thoughts nearly changed along with Huo Yuhao's expression, from astonishment to confusion.

When he realized that the boy before him was enduring it easily, he gradually increased the Soul Power flowing from his hand. Half a quarter of an hour later, Zhong Sheng looked at the sweat-covered forehead of Huo Yuhao, withdrew his right hand, and spoke.

"You've passed."

"Teacher Zhong, didn't you say a quarter of an hour?" Huo Yuhao was somewhat confused as the pressure suddenly vanished.

"No, this is enough. I believe you felt it yourself—I gradually increased the pressure I placed on you. By the end, it had already reached Level 32. You have the qualifications to join Shrek Academy."

Zhong Sheng spoke as he could sense that Huo Yuhao's limit was around Level 35. However, he did not push Huo Yuhao to his limit and instead chose to stop, because this was already enough.

After confirming that Huo Yuhao was qualified to join the academy, Zhong Sheng led the two of them through the registration process again. This time, he had Huo Yuhao pay the registration fee, and also made Xu Jie, who had forgotten to pay it earlier, pay up.

With one-fifth of his savings gone in an instant, Xu Jie could not help but feel a little regretful. Had he known, he would not have registered together with them. Still, Xu Jie was happy, of course. They no longer had to go to the Soul Guidance Department; otherwise, when they left the academy in the future, they would always feel somewhat sorry toward the Soul Guidance Department teachers.

When it came time to assign Huo Yuhao a dormitory, Xu Jie handed in the key to room One Zero Eight and briefly explained the situation to the teacher in charge of assigning rooms.

Seeing that the two were polite, the teacher did not say much. He took back Xu Jie's key to One Zero Eight and gave each of them a key to room Two Zero Two.

It did not actually matter whether Huo Yuhao and he shared a dormitory. Although he had taken the key to One Zero Eight, what if Wang Dong happened not to get the key to One Zero Eight and instead got the key to the same room as Huo Yuhao? Wouldn't that be completely screwed up?

So, just to be safe, he would share a dormitory with Huo Yuhao. After all, the two of them had slept in the same bed ever since they were children, so there was no problem. Living together would also make it easier for Xu Jie to guide Huo Yuhao's cultivation.

The two hurried back to the dormitory building, carrying their luggage to the second room on the right side of the second floor. The dormitory layout was similar to the one Xu Jie had known during university, with a communal bathroom at each end of the corridor.

They opened the lock with their key and pulled the door open. The dust that had settled over the past month was swept back into the air by the gust of wind from the opening door.

The two waited outside for a while before entering the dormitory. It was not large, only ten square meters. The two single beds took up most of the space, while a table and two metal wardrobes occupied part of what remained.

According to the freshman handbook, the lamp overhead should have been a Soul Tool that would light up when Soul Power was infused into it. Xu Jie tested it and found that it was quite bright.

Huo Yuhao used one of their dirty pieces of clothing to wipe a clean spot on the table. After setting down their luggage, the two took some money and bought two of the cheapest sets of bedding, along with some necessary and equally cheap daily necessities. After returning to the dormitory, they spread the bedding out on the balcony to air in the sun, then began cleaning the room with rags.

After spending nearly half an hour, the two finally cleaned the room. Xu Jie casually summoned his martial soul and dried the remaining moisture in the dormitory. Once Huo Yuhao brought in the bedding and made the beds,

the two took their newly bought meal bowls and headed straight for the cafeteria. There were not many people in the cafeteria at this time, making it seem quite spacious. On one side were the serving windows, with prices listed above them. From left to right, the prices gradually rose, and the most expensive window even listed its prices in Gold Soul Coins.

On the other side were sinks for washing hands and tableware.

The two indulged themselves for once, spending three Silver Soul Coins on a single meal. Although the cost made Huo Yuhao's heart ache a little, the food was truly delicious.