Misfortunes Never Come Singly

Just like in the original storyline, Tang San and the others passed the earlier tests without incident.

Next came the familiar part: Zhao Wuji conducted the final test for Tang San and the others. This time, however, Tang San was beaten so badly that he could barely fight back.

His hidden weapons enraged Zhao Wuji. Though they did not cause the latter any substantial harm, Tang San still ended up bruised and battered.

If Dai Mubai and several teachers had not been nearby, Zhao Wuji might truly have lost control and slapped them to death.

That evening, Flender returned to the academy with a proud look on his face.

Excited, he asked Zhao Wuji, "Old Zhao, tell me, did several highly talented students come to the academy today?"

He had not told Zhao Wuji about meeting Shen Tianchen.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Wuji said, "There were a few promising seedlings, three of them in fact."

"Three?" Flender looked doubtful, then continued, "I heard one of them defeated Mubai at the Great Soul Arena—and completely crushed him at that."

Now Zhao Wuji was the one left confused. Tang San and the other two were indeed very talented, but he had not felt that they were particularly strong.

At this stage, Dai Mubai was already a three-ring Soul Elder. In terms of agility, he might not match Xiao Wu or Zhu Zhuqing, but in overall strength, he was definitely stronger than them.

That only left Tang San.

But Tang San had only just obtained his second soul ring. How could he possibly defeat Dai Mubai?

Still, seeing Flender like that, Zhao Wuji could not bring himself to dampen his spirits. He could only go along with it and praise them.

Then, the familiar plot unfolded.

Late at night, Tang Hao summoned Zhao Wuji to the woods outside, intending to spar with him.

At first, when Tang Hao released his soul rings, Zhao Wuji did not think much of it.

But as black soul rings rose one after another beneath Tang Hao's feet, he immediately lost his composure.

Especially that final blood-red soul ring, which left Zhao Wuji frozen on the spot.

Flender also sensed the disturbance outside and immediately rushed out.

He saw the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Hao's hand and heard him say that he had come to settle a score. After the younger one was beaten, the elder naturally had to come out and take a look.

Flender instantly understood what had happened. Still, he tried to plead on Zhao Wuji's behalf, only for Tang Hao to reject him outright.

In the end, adhering to the principle that it was better for a fellow cultivator to die than himself, Flender left the place.

Because Tang San had been beaten more severely than in the original timeline, Tang Hao, ever protective of his son, naturally would not let Zhao Wuji off lightly.

After Tang Hao left, Flender watched his departing figure and could not help sighing. "I never expected His Highness the Clear Sky's son to come here as well. It seems my old friend should be arriving soon too."

"By the way, Old Zhao, have the dormitories for those two new male students been arranged?"

Zhao Wuji, his face swollen and bruised from the beating, said softly, "When did I say there were two male students? There's clearly only one. The other two are girls."

Flender's body stiffened as he stopped in place.

Could it be that Shen Tianchen had not come to Shrek?

Without time to think further, he flew off in a hurry under Zhao Wuji's puzzled gaze, intending to ask Dai Mubai what had happened.

At that moment, Dai Mubai was still anxiously waiting at the academy entrance.

He was waiting there partly because he feared Shen Tianchen might not know the location, and partly because he wanted to quickly complete the enrollment procedures and bring him into the academy.

But no matter how long he waited, Shen Tianchen never appeared.

Who would have thought that the first person Dai Mubai would see was not Shen Tianchen, but Headmaster Flender?

"Mubai, what happened? Didn't that person come?"

Dai Mubai was equally confused. "Headmaster, do you think that guy might not know Shrek Academy is located in a village outside the city?"

Flender paused before saying, "That shouldn't be likely. Most ordinary people know Shrek Academy's reputation. As long as he asks around, he should be able to learn its exact location."

Suddenly, he thought of a possibility. "Perhaps he ran into trouble and is dealing with it, causing him to miss the registration time."

Dai Mubai lowered his head and pondered for a while. He too felt that the likeliest possibility was that Shen Tianchen had encountered some troublesome opponent.

After hesitating, Dai Mubai said, "Headmaster, I heard that kid often goes to the Great Soul Arena. Maybe there'll be news of him there."

"How about this? During the day, we'll ask around the streets for information about him, and at night, we'll try our luck at the Great Soul Arena. We can also use the opportunity to go out and gain some experience."

Flender pondered for a long time. Unable to think of any better solution, he could only agree to the proposal.

Before long, he asked again, "What are the names of those two girls?"

Dai Mubai thought for a moment. "One is called Zhu Zhuqing, and the other is called Xiao Wu."

"She didn't come?"

"Who, Headmaster?"

Flender did not answer.

After giving Dai Mubai a few instructions, he returned.

Not long ago, Ning Fengzhi had sent him a handwritten letter.

The letter roughly stated that he would send Ning Rongrong to Shrek Academy to study there and temper her temperament while she was at it.

Yet she had not come here now, so there was a high chance that something had happened.

He did not dare to be careless and hurriedly wrote a letter to send to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Elsewhere.

Shen Tianchen and the other person had long since returned to the hotel.

As soon as he entered his room, he shut the door tightly, sat cross-legged on the bed, and closed his eyes to meditate.

After several days of arena battles, Shen Tianchen's Soul Power cultivation had advanced at an astonishing rate.

The Wind God Pearl inside his body could not only increase his speed; it also possessed an exceedingly domineering ability. It automatically absorbed wind-element energy from heaven and earth, transformed it into Soul Power, and allowed Shen Tianchen to absorb it. It could be said that he was cultivating at every moment.

After more than ten days, he once again felt that familiar sensation of his Soul Power being on the verge of a breakthrough.

About two and a half hours later, once the Soul Power within Shen Tianchen's body had finished condensing, his aura suddenly surged.

Sensing this, Ghost Leopard Douluo hurriedly used his Soul Power to form a barrier around him.

Ghost Leopard Douluo was beginning to question his life. The key issue was that Shen Tianchen's cultivation speed was simply too fast.

Before long, the Soul Power turbulence caused by Shen Tianchen's breakthrough gradually subsided, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Level 59. It's been a long time since I've felt a breakthrough like this. Feels great."

"Looks like I'll need to visit the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow."

After speaking, he lowered his head and considered how the storyline would develop next.

Shrek Academy had begun classes. In about three days, Tang San, Oscar, and the others would successively break through to level thirty, after which Zhao Wuji would lead them to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain soul rings.

That was also where Tang San would obtain the opportunity that would eventually allow him to become a god—his External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances.

Unfortunately, the probability of an External Soul Bone appearing was far too low. He could not exactly kill every Man Faced Demon Spider he encountered. How long would that take?

Therefore, Shen Tianchen did not hold much hope of preventing Tang San from absorbing the Man Faced Demon Spider.

So what if Tang San obtained the Eight Spider Lances? His Ice Crystal Ancient Dragon Wing would only be stronger than the Eight Spider Lances! With it, Shen Tianchen was confident he could defeat him.