First Meeting Tang San

"Mom, what does 'top-grade' mean...?"

Slap!

A slap shattered the boy's fantasies.

"Dad, what does 'battle-hardened' mean?"

Slap!

Another slap snuffed out the girl's curiosity.

The boys and girls whimpered, huddling together for warmth. The adults' world was simply too cruel. How they wished they would never grow up.

Li Yusong, who had been drinking water behind them, nearly choked himself to death when he heard this.

Li Yusong knew about Dai Mubai's colorful romantic history. Seeing the battle before him gradually spiral out of control, with Dai Mubai's attacks growing noticeably heavier, he glanced at the still-grinning Ye Tianxing and shook his head. "Daring to expose Mubai's dark past in public? That kid's going to have it rough."

"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!"

A milky-white orb of light condensed and shot from Dai Mubai's mouth. Ye Tianxing swung the Seven Star Sword in his hand, and all seven stars on its blade lit up. With a single strike, he split the White Tiger Fierce Light Wave in two.

With the true combat strength of a Soul Ancestor, Ye Tianxing had never regarded Dai Mubai as a threat. Luring Dai Mubai into losing control and exposing even more openings—that was Ye Tianxing's real goal.

"Third Spirit Ability, White Tiger Vajra Transformation."

Dai Mubai's third spirit ability doubled his attack and defense for the next half hour, while also making him immune to all abnormal statuses.

Ye Tianxing's words had caused him to lose all face before everyone. His eyes slightly reddened, and Dai Mubai had only one purpose in mind: teaching the bastard in front of him a proper lesson.

Tiger claws tore through the air, carving deep grooves into the ground. From beginning to end, Ye Tianxing did not use a single soul skill, relying only on basic sword forms to block Dai Mubai's relentless attacks.

"It's time to end this!"

"First Soul Skill, Great River Flows East!"

The first Spirit Ring circling the Seven Star Sword lit up. Holding the Seven Star Sword, Ye Tianxing sent a surging river formed of sword qi crashing toward Dai Mubai.

In an instant, Dai Mubai was blasted backward. The Spirit Rings beneath his feet vanished, and he was forced out of Martial Soul Possession.

"Ye Ping'an wins this battle!" Li Yusong announced. He then looked at the somewhat disheveled Dai Mubai, who was climbing up from the ground, and said, "Mubai, your loss came down to psychological tactics. A few words from Ye Ping'an nearly made you lose your mind. Not only did several of your attacks miss, but you also exposed countless openings. Ye Ping'an saw that clearly, which was why he taunted you."

Ye Tianxing sheathed his sword and walked over to Dai Mubai. "Sorry about that. I didn't actually see anything. I only heard about it from someone else."

"Pfft!"

Dai Mubai spat out blood. Clutching his chest, he said in agony, "Stop talking. I'm begging you, stop talking."

"Did I pass?" Ye Tianxing asked.

"You made proper use of tactics and defeated a stronger Soul Elder despite being a Soul Grandmaster. Not bad! Very good! You may go in." Li Yusong nodded with a smile.

After Ye Tianxing left, Dai Mubai returned to stand behind Li Yusong and muttered, "That's not right. The day before yesterday, I clearly made plans with two pretty widows... Damn it! That brat played me!"

Li Yusong's hearing was sharp, and after catching Dai Mubai's muttering, he fell flat on his back, covering his face in embarrassment.

"Shrek Academy won't have a moment's peace from now on."

Just as Li Yusong had expected, Shrek Academy would no longer know peace from this day forward.

After Dai Mubai helped Li Yusong up, he somehow felt a chill run down his back, as though a pair of predatory eyes were watching him at every moment.

Within the line behind them stood a black-haired girl with long straight hair, her figure far too outstanding for someone her age. Her eyes were filled with coldness and disappointment, and the sky-high resentment radiating from her made several people who had wanted to approach and strike up a conversation retreat at once.

Only after entering the academy did Ye Tianxing realize that Shrek Academy's rundown state was not without reason. Its harsh requirements meant it could not even guarantee the most basic facilities.

Failing to recruit students meant having no funding.

He truly could not understand how it had still produced an outstanding student like Qin Ming.

Calling it an academy would be less accurate than calling it a small village. Wooden houses could be seen everywhere, and quite a few farm women were returning from the river with freshly washed clothes.

"So this is Shrek Academy? Why is it so different from what I imagined?"

Having just defeated Dai Mubai, Ye Tianxing was exempted from the second test, which measured Soul Power.

Reaching level twenty-five Soul Power by the age of twelve was the requirement for the second test.

This test once again eliminated ninety-nine percent of the candidates. Many children considered geniuses at ordinary academies gazed ahead at a delicate and playful young girl in a white dress, their eyes filled with admiration and envy.

"My Martial Soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda." The girl's playful cuteness immediately drew many gazes.

Not far away, an... uncle with a cart full of grilled sausages and a face covered in beard was staring blankly at her.

Oscar's eyes turned pink, and he looked as though he wanted to weld his gaze onto the girl's body.

The lively and adorable girl radiated youthful energy as she skipped toward the final testing ground.

"Ning Rongrong. So she's Ning Fengzhi's daughter." Ye Tianxing's eyes darkened slightly as he watched Ning Rongrong's departing figure.

For the sake of his sect, Ning Fengzhi did not want Ning Rongrong to face suppression from Spirit Hall when she succeeded him after his death.

Bibi Dong was a living example of just how great the potential of a Twin Martial Souls wielder could be.

To leave Ning Rongrong a peaceful environment, Ning Fengzhi began considering the sect's future. Tang Hao happened to come to him of his own accord, and that was how the current situation came to be.

Ye Tianxing had set out from Heaven Dou City and traveled thousands of miles to Shrek Academy. In a sense, he had willingly entered the game.

The Withered Wood Bow's guidance had not been wrong. The Blue Silver Emperor and the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone were currently within Shrek Academy.

Their exact location was still unknown. If he truly wanted to sneak around, he would first need to find out Tang Hao's whereabouts.

Before long, Dai Mubai approached with a strange expression. Someone followed behind him—the cold woman who had looked down on him within the group.

"Ye Ping'an, you defeated me, so you don't need to take the other tests. Come with me directly."

Displeasure was written all over Dai Mubai's face, and he was clearly in a foul mood. Ye Tianxing glanced at the cold girl behind him, whose figure was far too developed for her age, and understood what had happened.

Zhu Zhuqing's Husband Search—she had thought she would get to see Dai Mubai's hardworking side out in the world.

Who would have thought he was merely a Playboy Tiger who spent his days indulging in pleasure and his nights in revelry? Her disappointment was absolute.

Ye Tianxing smiled and shook his head. Shrek Academy was a little more interesting than he had imagined.

The final assessment site was an extremely spacious hillside. A short, robust man with bulging muscles stood before everyone with his hands clasped behind his back.

Behind the man, a girl in a small pink dress with a scorpion-tail braid was whispering to an exceedingly ordinary-looking boy dressed in fitted blue clothes. From time to time, she burst into laughter.

"Tang San, is it?"

Ye Tianxing's gaze was gradually drawn to Tang San.

Tang San casually sensed someone watching him. Their gazes met, yet neither saw the other.

"Strange." Tang San shook his head in confusion.