Shockingly Astonishing, First Display of Prowess

After Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing each revealed their Soul Power Levels, even Li Yusong was somewhat astonished.

"Monsters come every year, but this year there are especially many. Four all at once. Good, good, excellent! Looks like I finally have hope of getting that miser Flender to raise my pay. Hongjun, take the four of them to the fourth test together."

After saying that, he shouted at the people behind them, "See that? These are the monster geniuses we recruit, not the mediocre brats from your families. If anyone can do what they did, you can also go straight to the fourth test!"

At those words, the crowd instantly erupted.

Every family considered their child a precious treasure. How could they tolerate such slander? If they had not feared that he was a Soul Emperor, they likely would have already gone up to argue with Li Yusong.

Hearing this, Lang Lei stepped forward with Griseo in his arms.

"I think I can give it a try," Lang Lei said calmly.

"Oh? Has your Soul Power also reached level twenty-five?" Li Yusong asked with interest.

Lang Lei said nothing. He silently stepped forward, shifted Griseo to one arm, and exposed his other arm.

Li Yusong did not waste words. He immediately reached out to test him, then revealed a puzzled expression.

Then, unwilling to believe it, he continued holding on. After a long while, he looked at Lang Lei with a grave expression.

"Senior need not be puzzled. The result you tested should be more or less correct." Lang Lei withdrew his arm. Although Li Yusong had only shown confusion, Lang Lei still affirmed his answer. He more or less knew why Li Yusong was so puzzled.

Li Yusong was startled. He had not used much force just now, yet the other party had effortlessly broken free from his grasp. Was it some special innate talent?

"Little boy, don't joke with this old man. Come back when you're older." Li Yusong waved his sleeve, dismissing him.

"Oh? Does Senior not believe this junior?" An unreadable smile appeared on Lang Lei's face.

"More than seven years old, with a Soul Power Level above twenty-five?" Li Yusong rebuked him. "Even His Excellency Haotian, the youngest Titled Douluo on the continent, was not that fast!"

Those words shocked everyone present.

The young man before them was only seven years old?

Everyone began recalling what they had looked like at seven, then comparing themselves to the youth before them... How could that be possible?

And level twenty-five at seven? What kind of joke was that?

Tang San, Ning Rongrong, and the others also revealed suspicious expressions.

They considered themselves geniuses inferior to no one, but such talent simply seemed impossible.

Lang Lei could not be bothered to waste words on them. Their horizons were simply too limited.

Level twenty-five at seven was nothing remarkable for someone like him, who had cheats. Even in the original story, there had been such cases.

Qian Renxue had been born with Soul Power above level twenty. With her talent, cultivating five levels a year was absolutely no problem.

Even though her talent had later been delayed by her plan to usurp the throne, she was still unquestionably the number one genius on Douluo Continent.

So Lang Lei chose to directly summon his martial soul.

Two black and one red Soul Rings rose beneath Lang Lei's feet. The glowing golden Earth Dragon Dust floating around him made Lang Lei seem like a deity.

"Lang Lei, level thirty-six all-round Battle Soul Master. Any advice?"

"Any advice~" Griseo echoed cutely from Lang Lei's arms, hands on her hips.

For a moment, everyone present felt their worldview shatter, including Tang San, Li Yusong, and the others.

The common sense they had always accepted... had crumbled.

The absurd level and cultivation speed of level thirty-six at seven years old.

The shocking combination of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring as the first ring.

And that scarlet Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring...

Most commoners might not know what that red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring signified. They even believed that Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings were already the limit for Soul Masters.

Just now, Li Yusong had only possessed a single Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, yet he had scared everyone into silence. Now, the young man before them had two!

Moreover, according to the principle that Soul Rings increased in strength with each successive ring, that red Soul Ring was unquestionably even stronger!

Li Yusong, Ning Rongrong, and the others understood even more clearly what a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring represented.

Even the Soul Master secretly protecting Ning Rongrong, as well as Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao hidden in the shadows, nearly failed to restrain themselves.

Of course, the person with the strongest reaction was Xiao Wu, standing beside Tang San.

Xiao Wu stared fixedly at that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, her heart filled with grief.

She desperately wanted to beat the young man before her senseless, but she knew she could not possibly be his match.

Besides, according to the continent's common knowledge, possessing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring meant that he, or the force behind him, had the strength to hunt Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

But why had he not been blown apart by the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?

Xiao Wu could not figure it out no matter how hard she thought, yet she never considered the possibility of a Soul Beast sacrifice, much less something even rarer than a God-Bestowed Soul Ring: an Adaptive Soul Ring.

"So, does this count as passing?" Lang Lei smiled, breaking the silence.

"O-of course!" Li Yusong no longer put on airs. He even made a welcoming gesture. "Hongjun, hurry and take this student to the fourth test! Tell Zhao Wuji that if he doesn't let this student pass, this old man will fight him to the death!"

"G-got it..." Ma Hongjun swallowed. Although the youth before him was one level lower than his Dai Boss, Ma Hongjun did not doubt in the slightest that he could easily beat Dai Boss senseless.

Not to mention his age...

"I'm bringing my little sister in with me to take a look. That's fine, right?" Lang Lei asked.

"Of course it's fine. Let's go!" Ma Hongjun answered readily. With that kind of talent, even if he blew up a building, Headmaster Flender probably would not stop him. Probably...

Along the way, Tang San, Ning Rongrong, and the others kept glancing at Lang Lei from time to time. No one spoke to one another anymore.

So Lang Lei took the initiative to speak. "Classmate Ma Hongjun, what exactly are these four tests?"

Of course Lang Lei knew. He only wanted to break the silence. It was so quiet that even Little Griseo felt too embarrassed to speak.

"This? The first test was the one just now, testing your levels. You've all already passed it."

"As for the second and third tests, just listen. You've skipped them anyway."

"The second test assesses and evaluates the potential of one's martial soul."

"After all, having slightly higher Soul Power alone is not enough to prove one's future potential. Of course, Brother Lang Lei is an exception...

"This test mainly examines martial souls. Only Soul Masters whose martial souls have sufficient potential for growth, and whose prior cultivation has followed the proper direction, can enter the third test. Of course, those with exceptionally special or strange martial souls can also be accepted. We have a student named Oscar who was admitted to the academy that way."

"The third test examines how well examinees apply their own martial souls. Higher Soul Power and potential alone are not enough. They must also possess diligence and their own understanding of their martial souls—"

"Enough." Lang Lei interrupted him. The more he listened, the more he felt that Shrek Academy was just trying to pick up overlooked talents. If a Soul Master already knew everything and could do everything perfectly, why would they come to Shrek Academy?

If a Soul Master could truly pass the first three trials set by Shrek Academy, they could achieve no small success anywhere!

Besides, places like Spirit Hall Academy, Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and Star Luo Royal Academy offered better environments. Why not go there instead?

The others also wore strange expressions.

Xiao Wu directly jumped out.

"Are you picking students or picking wives? No wonder the teacher at the entrance said you only recruit monsters. Only freakish monsters could pass these three tests."

After speaking, Xiao Wu glanced at Lang Lei again.

"Rabbit!"

Griseo raised her head from Lang Lei's arms, spotted Xiao Wu at a glance, and could not resist pointing at her and shouting.

The entire place instantly fell silent.