Because He Was Too Strong, It Was Inconvenient

"Is this Shrek Academy?"

Xiao Wu's mouth fell open as she stared in shock. "This is clearly just some rundown village!"

Ning Rongrong, standing beside her, found it equally unbelievable.

The reason she had run away from home to come here was because her father, Ning Fengzhi, had spoken highly of Shrek Academy.

But everything before her made her question her entire life.

"Since we're here, let's take a look first," Zhou Chen said calmly as he jumped down from the carriage.

Then he turned around and helped Zhu Zhuqing, who was having some trouble moving, down from the carriage.

Seeing this, Tang San's gaze suddenly turned strange.

His eyes shifted back and forth between Zhou Chen and Zhu Zhuqing, and an ambiguous smile appeared on his face.

When they approached, they found quite a few teenagers around their age gathered at the village entrance, accompanied by their parents.

Among the five of them, apart from Tang San, whose appearance was somewhat ordinary, the other four were all handsome men and beautiful women. Such a striking group instantly drew countless gazes from the crowd.

"That boy is so handsome!"

"Yeah, look at his skin. It's even better than a girl's—it practically glows."

"And that beauty in black has such a great figure."

"That girl with the rabbit-ear headband is so cute. She'd be perfect as my daughter-in-law."

"I choose the beautiful girl in the pale blue dress. She looks like a refined young lady at first glance..."

The teenagers waiting to register and their parents began whispering among themselves, and the atmosphere quickly became somewhat chaotic.

"Quiet, all of you! Cause any more trouble at the registration site, and get lost immediately!"

Suddenly, an aged roar filled with overwhelming force rang out, frightening the entire village into silence.

At the village entrance stood a table, behind which sat an old man in his sixties.

The old man was plainly dressed and looked like an ordinary village farmer. If not for the badge bearing a green slime head on his chest, no one would have taken him for a soul master.

"That old man sure has a big mouth," Xiao Wu complained indignantly.

"What did you say?"

The old man's gaze swept toward her, frightening Xiao Wu into hiding behind Zhou Chen and Tang San.

Seeing the unfriendly look in the old man's eyes, Zhou Chen stepped forward and smiled gently. "Why bother arguing with a child, sir?"

"Twelve years old isn't that young."

The old man smiled faintly, then waved his hand. "Still, I'm not so petty as to get angry over a single remark. Continue the registration."

With that, the old man sat back down.

Soon, the subdued crowd resumed registering. However, more than a dozen teenagers went up in succession, and every single one was rejected by the old man.

The key was that he did not return the ten Gold Soul Coin registration fee either!

That was enough to make the parents furious!

Ten Gold Soul Coins were enough for an ordinary family to live on for several years!

Refusing to accept students while keeping the fee—wasn't that a scam?

For a moment, the parents erupted into an uproar. Some of the more hot-tempered ones had already summoned their soul rings and squeezed toward the old man, preparing to use force!

"Impudence!"

The old man slammed his palm onto the table and sprang to his feet. An incomparably powerful wave of Soul Power suddenly erupted from his body.

Immediately afterward, a dense red light flared from his body, and a long staff engraved with countless intricate patterns appeared in his hand!

Most terrifying of all, six dazzling soul rings—one white, one yellow, three purple, and one black—slowly rose beneath his feet!

"Gasp—"

Instantly, sharp intakes of breath sounded out. Almost everyone stared in shock at the six soul rings around the old man's body!

A Soul Emperor! The old man was actually a Soul Emperor above level 60!

Such a powerhouse, capable of rivaling an army of a thousand men, was exceedingly rare even in the entire Balak Kingdom!

And yet even the person handling registration was a Soul Emperor. Just how powerful were Shrek Academy's teachers?

In an instant, nearly everyone fell silent as cicadas in winter!

Seeing that the crowd had been cowed, the old man finally said calmly, "Before coming to register, you should have learned the rules. Shrek Academy has never given refunds."

"Also, do you know what Shrek means? Shrek is a type of monster. Shrek Academy means Monster Academy. We only accept monsters here—that is, geniuses. Anyone over thirteen years old or with Soul Power below level 21 may leave!"

At those words, the vast majority could only sigh and leave. In the blink of an eye, only a few dozen applicants remained.

Before long, it was Zhou Chen's group of five's turn.

"You five are together, right? Show your soul rings, then come over here and test your bone age. You'll pass the first round," the old man said coldly.

Hearing this, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong stepped forward one after another to test their bone ages. After passing, they revealed their soul rings together.

Eight hundred-year soul rings instantly drained the color from everyone's faces.

Even the old man, who had remained calm all along, excitedly stroked his beard. "Not bad, not bad. Looks like Shrek Academy will finally recruit some students this year."

But the next moment, the old man noticed something was wrong. He looked at Zhou Chen and frowned. "Why aren't you showing your soul rings?"

"It's not very convenient."

Zhou Chen smiled. He did not dare release his three God-level Soul Rings in front of so many people.

Although most people would not recognize God-level Soul Rings and would only think they were dark yellow hundred-year soul rings, there could always be someone knowledgeable among them!

For example, Li Yusong, the level 63 Dragon Staff Soul Emperor before him, might recognize them.

If the old man accidentally let it slip in public and word spread, the Titled Douluo of Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire would probably come to assassinate him within days.

"Not convenient?"

Li Yusong frowned at those words and glanced at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing beside Zhou Chen.

When he had tested their bone ages earlier, he had also examined their martial souls. One of these girls was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, while the other was from the Star Luo Zhu Family. Both had extraordinary backgrounds.

Perhaps this handsome boy, like those two girls, possessed some powerful identity, and there was some secret about his soul rings that made it inconvenient for others to see them?

With that thought, Li Yusong nodded. "Fine. Then use the Soul Power Crystal to test your Soul Power level."

As he spoke, the old man took out a blue Soul Power Crystal ball from beneath him and placed it on the table.

"This..."

The corner of Zhou Chen's mouth twitched, and he said with some difficulty, "That isn't very convenient either."

What a joke. The last time he had used this kind of blue crystal to test his Soul Power had been six years ago.

Back then, he had nearly knocked out both Su Yuntao and Tang San inside the secret chamber.

Now, his Soul Power was even stronger and more condensed than before. If he tested it with a Soul Power Crystal, every soul master below level 40 within a hundred meters would probably drop instantly!