After the tests for Bone Age, Innate Soul Power, and Martial Soul were over, Lu Lin silently moved to the side.
Naturally, when the female Soul Master in charge of admissions saw his Pure Fire Green Lotus Martial Soul, she could only give it an unremarkable assessment.
Lu Lin didn't mind. After all, his Innate Soul Power was simply too low.
In any case, Lu Lin still met the admission requirements for Shrek Academy's Outer Court.
The next person to be tested behind Lu Lin was Qin He.
As before, they started by testing Bone Age. Qin He held out his wrist, and the female Soul Master lightly swept a Soul Tool over it before nodding. "You're under twelve. You meet the requirements."
Her words finished, she pushed the Crystal Ball for testing Innate Soul Power toward Qin He. The moment he tested, blue light burst from the ball. It was only a hair's breadth away from filling the entire Crystal Ball!
This was... Innate Soul Power at level nine and a half.
Lu Lin was secretly astonished.
This boy named Qin He had half a level more Innate Soul Power than Dai Xichen.
At the back of the line, Dai Xichen furrowed his brow again.
This boy named Qin He, like Lu Lin beside him, was just as unexpectedly impressive.
The female Soul Master was also extremely surprised. Innate Soul Power at level nine and a half—he was a definite Inner Court Seed.
One had to admit, the students applying to the Outer Court this year were the strongest cohort in the academy's history.
She composed herself, put the Crystal Ball for testing Soul Power aside, and looked at Qin He. "Next, release your Martial Soul so I can see it."
Qin He grinned and opened his right hand. A pill about the size of a pigeon's egg appeared in his palm. It had a simple, understated shape, with mysterious black-and-white patterns etched across it.
"Teacher, my Martial Soul is called the Taotie Xuanwen Pill. I'm a Food System Soul Master."
Qin He released his Martial Soul, but saw that the other party was staring intently at it. He immediately grew nervous and asked, "Uh, Teacher, is there something wrong with my Martial Soul?"
He had no idea that she wasn't thinking there was anything wrong with his Martial Soul. She was thinking that a Food System Soul Master with nearly maxed-out Innate Soul Power had to be reported to the Inner Court right away—
"There's nothing wrong. Welcome to Shrek Academy."
The woman collected herself and smiled.
"Hey, my talent's pretty good, right?"
After the test, Qin He wandered over to Lu Lin, planted a hand on his hip, and asked smugly.
Lu Lin was utterly surprised.
It wasn't Qin He's talent that surprised him, but his attitude.
Now that Lu Lin's true circumstances had been completely exposed, Qin He still treated him exactly as he had before.
If it had been anyone else, they would have turned and walked away the moment they learned Lu Lin had only level four Innate Soul Power.
"Impressive. I'll have to rely on you to look out for me from now on!"
Lu Lin casually gave him a thumbs-up.
Qin He grinned and returned the gesture.
"You've got level four Innate Soul Power, yet you still managed to cultivate to level seventeen so quickly. You're way more impressive than me. Maybe I'll be the one relying on you someday."
At that, Lu Lin only smiled. He didn't take Qin He's words seriously.
As the two chatted, another wave of gasps came from the crowd.
Dai Xichen was up for testing now.
As he'd said, his Innate Soul Power was indeed level nine.
Combined with his outstanding bearing, handsome looks, and iconic White Tiger Martial Soul, he had the people around him bursting with astonishment.
But none of that had anything to do with Lu Lin.
In this era, getting into Shrek was both difficult and easy.
It was difficult because you needed all three of the following: a Recommendation Letter, sufficient Soul Power, and the right age.
It was easy because as long as you met those three requirements, with only a very few exceptions, you could enroll without a problem.
Lu Lin naturally had no trouble getting in.
What he didn't yet know was that the three Recommendation Letters he had submitted would soon be passed up to the Inner Court's higher-ups, causing quite a stir...
After registering for admission, all that remained were minor tasks like paying tuition, collecting uniforms, and getting dorm keys. The student dorms at Shrek were doubles, which pleased Lu Lin.
Qin He was devastated that they hadn't been assigned to the same room.
Lu Lin laughed and casually offered him a few words of comfort.
Perhaps because they got along, Qin He had dragged Lu Lin around with him throughout the first few days of enrollment, saving Lu Lin quite a bit of trouble.
One thing worth mentioning was that Lu Lin had been alone in the dorm every day.
His new roommate seemed to be an extremely mysterious person. Ever since Lu Lin moved in, he hadn't seen the man once.
Lu Lin found it puzzling, but didn't dwell on it.
Once admissions ended, classes officially began.
Shrek Academy's annual admissions period lasted several days.
The buildings in Shrek Academy's Outer Court were divided by grade according to Soul Ring color. Naturally, the white building was for first-year students.
With nine hundred to a thousand students enrolling each year, the sheer number meant that the first year had the most classes—ten in all.
This was the day of Lu Lin's first class at Shrek.
At the front of the room stood a middle-aged man about the same age as Liu Yanchi. Judging by the Soul Power fluctuations around him, he was at least a Soul Emperor.
That was the difference between graduating from Shrek and dropping out.
Lu Lin sat up straight below, though he couldn't help reflecting on it.
Beside him, a handsome, energetic-looking boy bobbed his head and looked all around, as if he had a hyperactivity disorder. He couldn't stay still for even a moment.
That boy was Qin He.
Dai Xichen was in the same class as Lu Lin, too. Lu Lin had no idea what he'd done to deserve studying in the same classroom as these two geniuses.
At the front, the Soul Emperor-level teacher wrote his name on the blackboard: Xiao Jin.
Then he turned around and said calmly, "My name is Xiao Jin. I'm your homeroom teacher. Welcome to Shrek."
After a brief pause, Xiao Jin continued:
"Since you've made it here, you probably know that Shrek is an academy for monsters. So today, I'll only talk about two things."
"First, I don't care what level your Soul Power is now. In six months, I expect you to reach level twenty."
"This place has the best resources on the continent. If you can't meet my expectations, then you're simply not suited to stay at Shrek."
As soon as Xiao Jin finished speaking, the room erupted into commotion.
Lu Lin didn't think much of it. As Xiao Jin had said, this was Shrek, after all. It bore the reputation of being the continent's top academy, so it was only natural that its requirements were strict.
But the others didn't see it that way.
Everyone who'd made it in had excellent talent, but quite a few had only just reached the minimum of level fifteen. To them, this demand was like a bolt from the blue.
Xiao Jin paid no attention to what they thought and continued:
"Second, our class needs to elect a class leader and a vice class leader."
"The selection will be through actual combat."
"I'll draw lots in a moment and pair you off. The winners will advance to the next round."
"The final winner and his opponent will become our class leader and vice class leader."
At Xiao Jin's words, some students could no longer sit still. "Teacher, that's not fair! I'm a support-type Soul Master. I can't fight."
Xiao Jin didn't even blink. He calmly replied, "On the battlefield, would the enemy spare you because you're a support-type Soul Master? Besides, who says support-type Soul Masters can't fight?"
"If anyone objects to this selection method, you can withdraw right now."
After Xiao Jin finished speaking, the class fell silent.
Only Qin He, beside Lu Lin, looked miserable.
He wasn't interested in being class leader, of course. The problem was, he was a Food System Soul Master with no combat ability at all.
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