The crowd surged in front of Shrek Academy's gates.
Lu Lin tightened his bundle and ran to the back of the line.
Some older students wearing yellow uniforms with green patterns on their chests seemed to be in charge of maintaining order.
It was worth noting that these youths looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, yet judging by the fluctuations of Soul Power around them, they were all Soul Elders.
Fifteen- or sixteen-year-old Soul Elders were rare, at least at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
It really was worthy of being called Shrek Academy.
A little while later, Lu Lin finally reached the front.
The person handling registration was a girl with short red hair, around fifteen or sixteen years old.
Perhaps because there were so many people registering today, she looked a little impatient. When Lu Lin approached, she said without even looking up,
"The registration fee is one Gold Soul Coin. Give me your Recommendation Letter."
The girl finished speaking, but Lu Lin made no move. She raised her head slightly and said expressionlessly, "Could you hurry it up? You don't have a Recommendation Letter, do you? If you don't have one, don't waste—"
Before she could finish, she abruptly swallowed the rest of her words.
Then she fell silent.
Because Lu Lin had taken out three Recommendation Letters.
"Could you hurry up?"
Lu Lin placed a Gold Soul Coin on the table and asked with a smile.
Before the girl with short hair had spoken, Lu Lin's fingers had already touched the Recommendation Letter signed by the Frostwind City Lord. The other two letters weren't usually obtainable through normal channels. Since this was only an entrance examination, Lu Lin hadn't wanted to draw too much attention to himself.
But after hearing what the girl had said, Lu Lin immediately changed his mind.
He took out all three letters.
The girl extended her slender fingers and took the Recommendation Letters to check whether they were genuine.
The Frostwind City Lord... the Star Luo City Blacksmith Association...
Wait. When she saw the seal on the last Recommendation Letter, a mark unique to the Shrek Supervisory Team, and the signature inside, the girl's pupils shrank. Her face filled with disbelief.
"Could you hurry up?"
A handsome brown-haired boy with the air of a nobleman, standing behind Lu Lin, frowned as he spoke.
The girl came back to her senses and looked at Lu Lin with a complicated expression. Then she carefully stacked the three letters and set them in a corner. "All right. Your name and Soul Power Level?"
"Lu Lin. Soul Power Level, seventeen."
When the girl heard Lu Lin say his Soul Power Level was seventeen, an indescribable look flickered in her eyes.
But this time, she said nothing. She simply picked up her pen and scratched away on the registration sheet. "All right. Now go to the right to have your Bone Age, Innate Soul Power, and Martial Soul tested."
The Recommendation Letter was only one part of the process. Applicants still had to undergo several tests before officially enrolling.
Lu Lin nodded and turned to leave.
But after he had taken only a few steps, he suddenly heard the brown-haired boy say calmly,
"Dai Xichen. Soul Power Level, twenty-eight."
At that, Lu Lin furrowed his brow slightly.
Dai Xichen was probably the heir of this generation of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
He was only twelve, yet already at level twenty-eight. He still wasn't as strong as Ji Ming in his avatar form, but in this era, he was undoubtedly a genius.
As Lu Lin frowned and pondered, a boy of about twelve or thirteen suddenly darted over. He acted as if they were old friends and said,
"Hey, buddy, this way. Don't just stand there spacing out!"
The boy grinned as he came up beside Lu Lin. His bright, clear voice pulled Lu Lin out of his thoughts about Dai Xichen's strength.
He wore a neat black outfit, and his bright eyes and tidy black hair gave him a lively air.
"That was impressive, pulling out three Recommendation Letters like that! I'm Qin He, Soul Power Level twenty-six. I heard you register as Lu Lin, right?"
Lu Lin looked at the suddenly appearing, enthusiastic boy and nodded, a little surprised. "Yeah, Lu Lin."
Level twenty-six? Good grief. It seemed like anyone who showed up was a higher level than him.
Qin He chuckled and continued without a hint of reserve,
"You're only level seventeen? That Dai Xichen at level twenty-eight really is scary, but don't worry. Shrek's examination doesn't just look at Soul Power Level."
"From the fact that you had three letters, I bet you'll be no worse than him. Come on, let's go over together."
As he spoke, Qin He grabbed Lu Lin and tried to pull him toward the right. Apparently, he'd only just finished registering himself.
Lu Lin found him amusing. He instinctively avoided the hand reaching for him, but didn't refuse to go together.
"Sure. Um, are you familiar with the process?"
"I asked around a little before coming."
Qin He shrugged.
As they talked, the two reached the testing area on the right.
Another line formed there. A table stood at the front, with a Crystal Ball on top and a female Soul Master seated beside it.
The two joined the end of the line.
The earlier registration line hadn't been a single queue. After the delay, the brown-haired boy named Dai Xichen was now two or three people behind Lu Lin.
"Hey, Lu Lin, how much Innate Soul Power do you think Dai Xichen has?"
Qin He turned and leaned over to peer at Dai Xichen, lowering his voice.
Lu Lin thought it over and lowered his voice as well. "Hard to say, but probably at least seven."
Lu Lin remembered that even during the Absolute Tang Dynasty era, geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power were rare.
Normally, anyone with Innate Soul Power of eight or above could be considered a genius.
Ji Ming had been created by the Avatar Panel, so he couldn't be treated as a normal case.
It was only after the Dragon King Legend era that Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls became increasingly common, but that was also the result of the Douluo Plane gradually rising in level.
As Lu Lin finished speaking, Dai Xichen's calm voice came from behind them. "My Innate Soul Power is nine."
At that, Lu Lin and Qin He both froze slightly.
Innate Soul Power of nine was only one point short of Innate Full Soul Power. It was an absolutely top-tier talent.
"That's amazing!"
Qin He smacked his lips. He didn't look embarrassed at all to have been overheard by Dai Xichen himself. After a brief exclamation, he turned to Lu Lin with interest. "What about you, Lu Lin? Your Innate Soul Power must be pretty high too, right?"
Clearly, Qin He was just as curious about Lu Lin, who had managed to produce three Recommendation Letters.
My Innate Soul Power?
At that, Lu Lin's expression turned a little odd, but he didn't answer directly. "You'll find out in a moment."
"All right."
Qin He smacked his lips, sounding a little disappointed.
Just then, the female Soul Master seated at the table ahead shook her head at a small, thin girl with twin ponytails.
"Your Bone Age is already over twelve. Rules are rules. You don't meet the requirements. You can go home."
"Next."
A faint sob came from the front.
Lu Lin sighed softly. They really were strict.
And getting into Shrek didn't mean you could rest easy. The academy expelled a large number of students every year. Liu Yanchi was the best example.
In the blink of an eye, it was Lu Lin's turn.
Lu Lin stood calmly before the table. First, the woman passed a special Soul Tool over his wrist. She glanced at it and nodded slightly. "Bone Age is around eleven. You qualify."
With that, she pushed the Crystal Ball used to test Innate Soul Power toward Lu Lin. "Put your hand on it. We'll test your Innate Soul Power."
Lu Lin did as instructed. The Crystal Ball lit up at once, glowing with a gentle blue light.
The female Soul Master glanced at it, then furrowed her fine willow brows and said mildly, "Innate Soul Power: four."
Qin He's face was full of astonishment.
Although Lu Lin's Soul Power Level was only seventeen, he had three Recommendation Letters. Qin had expected his Innate Soul Power to be at least five or six.
Otherwise, how had he managed to get three Recommendation Letters?
Dai Xichen behind him also furrowed his brow slightly, a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.
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