Directly to the Fourth Trial

Watching Ning Rongrong's retreating figure grow more distant, Ma Hongjun nudged Lu Yuan and jerked his chin.

"Follow her!"

Supporting her was one thing, but if something happened to that arrogant girl up ahead, Ma Hongjun had every reason to suspect that Master Flender would angrily knead him into a lump of dough and pound him back and forth on a board.

Being dragged here on short notice was miserable enough.

He did not want things to get even more miserable.

"Your Shrek Academy should have another rule, right?"

Another rule?

Shrek had a whole lot of rules. Who knew which one he meant?

Ma Hongjun turned around and looked at Lu Yuan in confusion.

Clearly, he was asking Lu Yuan to explain exactly which "other rule" he meant first.

"If one's Soul Power exceeds level twenty-five, they can skip the test and proceed directly to the Fourth Trial, right?"

Ma Hongjun nodded with a complicated expression.

"I didn't expect you to know that rule too."

Usually, only insiders at Shrek Academy knew about such a rule.

Of course, quite a few Shrek insiders did not know it either.

Originally, he had been one of those people.

But under the dual threat of Boss Zhao's and Master's iron fists, he had memorized every rule in a single day.

It had to be said, human potential was limitless.

The several students waiting behind them could not help but feel startled.

The admission threshold of level twenty-one Soul Power was already high enough, yet there was apparently even a way to skip a trial with level twenty-five Soul Power.

If that was the case, someone must have reached level twenty-five or above. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the academy to establish such an unused rule.

But this was level twenty-five at the age of twelve!

Level twenty-one at twelve and level twenty-five at twelve were absolutely two different concepts!

Once they entered the explosive period of strength growth, a difference of four or five levels of Soul Power could instantly widen into a gap of eight or nine levels, or even ten!

In other words, it meant having one more soul ring than peers of the same age!

Lu Yuan reached into his clothes, pulled out a white crystal, and tossed it to Ma Hongjun.

As a tool Soul Masters could use anytime and anywhere to test Soul Power, this kind of crystal was not expensive to produce.

Of course, that was for Soul Masters.

For some commoner families, it would likely take four to six months of savings, or even more, to obtain such a useless crystal.

Ma Hongjun caught it and injected his own Soul Power into it.

The crystal emitted a dazzling white light, but roughly one-fifth of its edges remained uncovered.

This proved that Ma Hongjun's Soul Power had not yet reached level thirty. He was most likely around level twenty-six.

Nodding inwardly, Ma Hongjun withdrew his Soul Power and tossed the crystal back to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan caught it, held it in his hand, and injected his own Soul Power into it.

The entire crystal instantly shone even more brightly than before, like a glowing orb. Amid a series of cracking sounds, the whole crystal seemed unable to bear the strain and suddenly exploded.

Ma Hongjun's face stiffened.

If he remembered correctly, this type of white crystal could withstand tests of Soul Power below level thirty.

For it to explode—

It could only mean that the tester's Soul Power was at least above level thirty.

Level thirty at twelve years old.

Ma Hongjun suddenly felt a trace of doubt about the results of all his years of cultivation.

What the hell was level twenty-six at twelve?

Same age, this little brother in front of him—

Pah!

Same age, this big brother in front of him was a full five levels ahead of him at the very least.

If this did not count as genius, then what did?

Too lazy to care about the girl who had just run off in a huff and was now nearly out of sight, or the newcomers who had just passed the assessment and were waiting nearby, Ma Hongjun honestly led the way ahead.

There might not have been many newcomers.

But even if there had been, it would not have stopped him from guiding this big brother who could proceed directly to the Fourth Trial.

Don't ask.

Because geniuses had privileges!

After passing through the sparsely populated Second Trial, then the completely empty Third Trial, Lu Yuan was led by Ma Hongjun to the equally deserted Fourth Trial.

"Normally, Boss Dai is responsible for the Fourth Trial."

"But since Boss Dai was injured recently, I don't know who'll be conducting the assessment."

"Of course, I don't know the specific rules either."

Ma Hongjun spread his hands helplessly.

To be honest, Shrek had never had a freshman like Lu Yuan before—someone familiar with the inside details and strong enough to skip straight to the Fourth Trial.

"I'm the examiner."

"The rule is that you must join forces and last one incense stick under me."

A deep voice carried over from afar.

Ma Hongjun's body stiffened, and the smile on his face became uglier than a grimace.

He swore he could never mistake that voice.

"Boss Zhao..."

With a guilty note in his voice, Ma Hongjun turned toward the newcomer and asked in a low, miserable voice:

"Why are you the one conducting the assessment?"

Others might not know, but Ma Hongjun knew exactly how strong the Middle-aged Man before him was, his muscles so massive that horses could race across his shoulders.

Immovable Bright King—Zhao Wuji.

A powerful Soul Saint.

Moreover, even among all Soul Saints, Zhao Wuji could not be considered Weakest.

And the assessment rule was—

To last one incense stick under him.

Although joining forces was permitted.

Even if several Soul Emperors came, they could only be kneaded flat, squeezed round, and beaten senseless by Zhao Wuji after he activated his Martial Soul Avatar.

Not to mention that in a normal assessment, very few people could pass the Third Trial.

Based on the records of those who had passed the Third Trial in previous years, even rounding up generously and making it a nice whole number—ten people.

Ten Soul Grandmasters lasting one incense stick under a Soul Saint.

This was not a matter of whether it was difficult.

It was a matter of whether Shrek Academy planned to recruit any new students this year.

"What, I can't conduct the assessment?"

Zhao Wuji sneered and clenched his fists, producing a crisp crack of bones.

"Of course you can."

Ma Hongjun's chubby face piled on a smile as he silently shot Lu Yuan a look that said, "Good luck."

Yet no matter how one looked at it, that smile seemed entirely driven by a desperate desire to survive.

Zhao Wuji glanced at the trembling Ma Hongjun, then at Lu Yuan standing all alone where he was, and scratched his head.

Wait—

This was the only seedling to pass the Third Trial and enter the Fourth Trial this year?

Then how much should he hold back?

Holding back had been discussed with Flender before the assessment even began. Freshmen who could reach the Fourth Trial were basically geniuses chosen from a hundred.

A little suppression of their arrogance would be enough; there was no need to get serious.

Of course—

That "hundred" referred to freshmen who passed the First Trial, the geniuses whom ordinary people considered to be "under thirteen years old, with Soul Power above Rank 21."

In other words, picking one "genius among geniuses" from a hundred ordinary geniuses.

But faced with this lone little fellow, deciding how much to go easy on him became a real problem.

Still—

Something felt off about the time it had taken him to clear the trials!

"Fatty! Get over here!"

Ma Hongjun lowered his head to look at his plump body, then turned back to look at Zhao Wuji, whose build was a whole size larger than his, and could not help grumbling inwardly:

Boss Zhao, your fists may be hard, but you can't just lie with your eyes open!

Could it be that having more muscles meant you didn't count as fat?

"What are you dawdling around for!"

"Coming!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Ma Hongjun scampered over to Zhao Wuji.

"Isn't this kid's clearance time wrong?"

"Because his Soul Power is above level twenty-five, I brought him straight to the Fourth Trial according to the rules."

Seeing Ma Hongjun's righteous expression, Zhao Wuji scratched his head in confusion.

"Our academy has a rule like that?"

Ma Hongjun's little face twitched.

A vice dean who could not even remember his own academy's rules—there might not be another like him in the future, but there had definitely never been one before.

No wonder Boss Zhao had been so excited when he made him memorize the rules back then!

So it was a case of sacrificing a fellow Daoist to save himself?

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