Arrogant Before, Respectful After—Laughable in Retrospect

After hearing Luo Ye's words, Zhao Wuji subconsciously glanced at the incense stick. When he saw that it had already burned to the end, he felt utterly stifled.

From beginning to end, he had only thrown two punches, and both had struck the ground. He had not caused Luo Ye's group any harm at all.

He had been led around by the nose the entire time, and just now, he had even been knocked unconscious. He had not regained his senses until the incense had finished burning.

As the dignified Immovable Ming King Zhao Wuji, a powerhouse at the level of a Seven-Ring Soul Sage, he had performed so miserably in this assessment that Zhao Wuji felt he had completely lost face.

With a livid expression, Zhao Wuji shouted.

"That didn't count! We're doing it again!"

In an instant, everyone was stunned by Zhao Wuji's shameless words. They all widened their eyes at him, hardly able to believe that he wanted a do-over.

It was one thing for a level-seventy-six Soul Sage like him to personally assess the candidates, but they had already passed the test, and he was saying it did not count?

Did he have no shame at all?

"Teacher Zhao, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

The smile on Luo Ye's face did not change as he looked at Zhao Wuji. At the same time, he rapidly wrote in his diary.

Sure enough, the shamelessness of these Shrek people never fails to exceed my expectations. They're all like this, from top to bottom, so it's no surprise they produced students like Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun.

More importantly, these people have never considered such behavior shameful. Instead, they take pride in it. They really are a rare breed.

No wonder Tang San got along so well with them. They were birds of a feather to begin with.

Even without Luo Ye's diary, Zhu Zhuqing and the others found Zhao Wuji's refusal to admit defeat extremely shameless. Now, their opinion of him had only worsened.

Zhu Zhuqing said coldly.

"We agreed that as long as we held out for one incense stick, we would pass the assessment. Are you planning to go back on your word now?"

Ning Rongrong spoke without hesitation.

"Teacher Zhao, it seems Shrek Academy doesn't want students like us. If that's the case, you might as well say so directly. It's not as though we have to attend Shrek Academy."

"With the talent the five of us possess, even if we went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, we certainly wouldn't be subjected to this kind of deliberate harassment."

Zhao Wuji was left speechless by their retorts, drenched in sweat.

Because he knew Ning Rongrong was telling the truth. All five of them were exceptionally talented, especially Luo Ye. At only twelve years old, he had already become a Three-Ring Soul Elder. Such a genius was rare even across the entire Douluo Continent.

If his deliberate harassment caused them to leave Shrek Academy, not only would Flender never forgive him, Zhao Wuji himself would never forgive himself either.

At that thought, Zhao Wuji forced an awkward smile onto his face and hurriedly explained.

"I was just joking with you. I now announce that you have passed the assessment and become members of Shrek Academy."

To change the subject, Zhao Wuji looked at Luo Ye and asked.

"Kid, that Spiritual Power just now was your doing, wasn't it?"

Luo Ye nodded, pointing at his eyes with a smile.

"My martial soul is my eyes, so my Spiritual Power is just a little stronger than that of Soul Masters at the same level."

Just a little stronger?

Zhao Wuji's expression turned rather complicated.

Was that merely a little stronger?

Even he, a Soul Sage, had been left mentally muddled for so long after being hit once. Though that was partly because he had been completely unprepared, it was still incredibly exaggerated.

Zhao Wuji smacked his lips and voiced another doubt.

"I want to know how you found the flaws in my defenses. Every move targeted my weaknesses, and your timing was so precise that I had no time to react at all."

Hearing this, everyone turned their gazes toward Luo Ye at once.

Seeing that, Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow and asked in a strange tone.

"You again?"

Luo Ye did not keep him in suspense. He once more used Mental Detection and Mental Sharing, establishing a link with Zhao Wuji.

"Don't resist, Teacher Zhao. You'll understand once you experience it."

When Zhao Wuji first sensed an unfamiliar Spiritual Power entering his mind, he had wanted to drive it out. But after hearing Luo Ye's words, he relaxed.

Once Luo Ye's soul skill linked with him, Zhao Wuji instantly discovered that, beneath his gaze, the flow of time seemed to slow. Everything around him became incomparably clear.

Wherever his gaze reached, a vast amount of information instantly appeared. Every minute detail was presented within his mind.

Even within a three-hundred-meter radius, he did not need to inspect anything with his eyes. Every scene appeared in his mind in three-dimensional form, and any change anywhere would be detected by him immediately.

"Fuck!"

After experiencing the effects of this soul skill, Zhao Wuji blurted out a curse. His eyes were filled with utter disbelief.

It was like someone who had been severely nearsighted and half-blind for decades finally receiving a pair of perfectly fitted glasses. The sheer exhilaration was simply beyond words.

Zhao Wuji's reaction did not surprise Luo Ye. Even Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and the others found it perfectly natural.

When they had received the enhancement from this soul skill earlier, they had been just as shocked.

It was no exaggeration to say that in a battle between Soul Masters, as long as one side had the help of this soul skill, it was no different from using cheats.

The others all knew what Luo Ye's soul skill did, but Dai Mubai had no idea.

Seeing Zhao Wuji react so dramatically, Dai Mubai felt like a cat was scratching at his heart. He desperately wanted to know what Luo Ye's soul skill was for, but he could not bring himself to ask. All he could do was stand off to the side and stew in silence.

And the better Luo Ye performed, the more stifled Dai Mubai felt. Snatching Zhu Zhuqing back was becoming harder and harder.

"Gulp."

Zhao Wuji swallowed, staring at Luo Ye with unconcealed delight.

"Good lad! With that soul skill of yours, even if you fail the assessment, I'll still let you join Shrek Academy!"

As a Soul Sage-level powerhouse, Zhao Wuji understood far better than Zhu Zhuqing and the others just how useful this soul skill was. In an instant, he realized Luo Ye's importance.

Put simply, as long as Luo Ye was around, Shrek Academy would be practically unbeatable in battles against opponents of the same rank.

X-ray vision, target lock-on, and the ability to spot the enemy's weakness at a glance—who could possibly withstand that?

Yet in the face of Zhao Wuji's praise, Luo Ye remained exceptionally calm. He even took the opportunity to continue making up his story in his diary.

Respectful afterward after being contemptuous before—thinking about it was laughable, but that was Shrek.