Happy and Afraid

"Yo-ho!"

"Isn't this Little Scoundrel and Little Rabbit?"

When Li Xiaoyao arrived at the fourth test site, he spotted two familiar faces.

In an open clearing, Tang San and Xiao Wu were hiding beneath a tree, sheltering from the sun.

Not far away, beneath another large tree, the broad-shouldered Zhao Wuji sat in a chair, dozing off.

"Hello!"

"Little San, Little Rabbit!"

"We meet again!"

Arriving beneath the tree, Li Xiaoyao greeted them with a smile.

"Hmm???"

"Li Xiaoyao?"

"Why was he here?"

Li Xiaoyao's appearance puzzled Tang San.

Hadn't Shrek Academy said before—

That it did not admit overage students?

No matter how he looked at it, Li Xiaoyao had already exceeded the age limit.

It was... rather confusing.

"Damn it! Li Xiaoyao, why are you here?"

Unlike the scheming Tang San, Xiao Wu did not hide her emotions in the slightest. She immediately frowned, lightly tapped off the ground, and leaped in front of Li Xiaoyao.

"Shrek Academy clearly—doesn't admit students your age. Tell me, are you here to cause trouble?"

Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips, a trace of wariness in her crisp voice.

Clearly, she still had not gotten over Li Xiaoyao injuring Tang San at the Rose Hotel three days ago.

"Tch! What a Silly Rabbit!"

Li Xiaoyao rolled his eyes.

And she was talking about how they did not admit eighteen-year-old students?

Did this Hundred Thousand Year transformed old rabbit really have the nerve to pretend to be young?

She made it sound like she was so youthful herself.

Once they reached the Star Dou Great Forest, he would kill her outright and take her ring and bone.

"Brother Xiaoyao, do you know them?"

Ning Rongrong, standing nearby, grew curious.

So she walked over to them.

"Oh! Sister Rongrong!"

"These are Tang San and Xiao Wu, the ones I just told you about!"

Li Xiaoyao could not help but marvel.

In barely half an hour, Ning Rongrong had gone from calling him "Classmate Xiaoyao" to "Brother Xiaoyao." Her enthusiasm was outrageous.

He had no doubt that if Ning Rongrong learned about his Soul Power Level and Soul Ring configuration, the girl would probably cast aside the last of her restraint in an instant, eager to offer herself to him on the spot and give herself to him for free that very night.

Seeing Li Xiaoyao's large group, Zhao Wuji, who had been dozing in his chair, sprang over in a single bound and even sniffed around in front of them.

"One at level twenty-six, one at level twenty-seven, and two at level twenty-nine—four Soul Grandmasters. Not bad, not bad! It's rare for us to recruit four Little Monsters in one year!"

"Hm?"

"Why is there also a level forty-three Soul Ancestor?"

"Old Li, Mubai, who is this little brother?"

Zhao Wuji looked at Li Yusong and Dai Mubai beside him, his face full of confusion over Li Xiaoyao's arrival.

"Teacher Zhao, this is Li Xiaoyao."

"The one I told you about three days ago!"

"I invited him to visit Shrek Academy."

Dai Mubai spoke up and answered Zhao Wuji's question.

"What! Li Xiaoyao?"

Zhao Wuji was completely dumbfounded.

No, brothers, were they serious?

Was there really a young man who had reached the Four-Ring Soul Ancestor realm?

And whose Soul Ring configuration was Three Purple One Black?

Zhao Wuji immediately looked to Li Yusong beside him, wanting to confirm whether Dai Mubai was lying.

"Old Zhao, Mubai wasn't lying!"

"This is Li Xiaoyao. His Martial Soul is Chronos, he is a level forty-three Soul Ancestor, and his Soul Ring configuration is Three Purple One Black!"

Li Yusong gave a helpless bitter smile.

Let alone Zhao Wuji, even he would have doubted it like Zhao Wuji if he had not personally seen Li Xiaoyao's Soul Ring levels and configuration earlier.

Li Xiaoyao reaching level forty-three as a young man was one thing, but his Three Purple One Black Soul Ring configuration—before today, they had not merely never seen such a thing; they had never even heard of it in their entire lives.

Across the whole Douluo Continent, Li Xiaoyao's case was an unprecedented exception. Even Titled Douluo would probably have their jaws drop at such a heaven-defying Soul Ring configuration.

Li Xiaoyao's very existence had ruthlessly ground the Douluo Continent's tens-of-thousands-of-years-old understanding of optimal Soul Rings into the dirt—and done so over and over again.

"Good heavens!"

"There really was such a heaven-defying monster?"

Zhao Wuji's face was filled with excitement.

Who cared about Li Xiaoyao's identity or background?

They absolutely could not let such a heaven-defying monster get away!

Zhao Wuji stared at Li Xiaoyao with shining eyes.

"Kid Li, forget all those admissions rules!"

"As long as you're willing to join Shrek Academy, we'll provide food and lodging, and you can use the academy's cultivation resources as you please. Even if you want to spar with us old fellows every day, that's fine too. Hurry up and stay!"

Li Xiaoyao: "..."

Zhao Wuji's words made Li Xiaoyao's mouth twitch.

He opened his mouth slightly, wanting to say something, but stopped himself.

Food and lodging, plus unrestricted access to the academy's cultivation resources?

Food? White porridge?

Lodging? A shabby, rundown thatched hut?

Shrek Academy's cultivation resources?

Did that mean the Gold Soul Coins they had swindled and scammed over the years?

"Teacher Zhao, thank you for the invitation!"

"I'll tour Shrek Academy for a few days!"

"If it suits me, I'll consider staying!"

Li Xiaoyao did not refuse Zhao Wuji's invitation.

He had come for Xiao Wu in the first place. Until he found an opportunity to safely absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, he would never stray too far from his target.

Besides, before absorbing Soul Rings and reaching the seven-ring Soul Sage realm, he needed a hidden place to lie low. The obscure Shrek Academy happened to be able to help him temporarily avoid the prying eyes of outside forces.

"Good, good, good! Then it's settled!"

Zhao Wuji was in high spirits.

Li Xiaoyao not refusing outright meant there was a good chance he would stay. As long as they could keep him, why would Shrek Academy have to worry about not taking off in the future?

In any case, Dai Mubai had already spent quite a few Gold Soul Coins hosting Li Xiaoyao, directly raising the academy's lodging and meals by several grades.

The leaky, rain-soaked thatched huts had been replaced with small wooden cottages, the crude plank beds with cushioned beds, and even the usual bland porridge and pickles had gained plenty of meat dishes, all for fear of slighting this future "big shot."

"Oh! Right, Kid Li!"

"Take part in the fourth test's entrance examination later as well!"

The moment Zhao Wuji said that, Dai Mubai's expression changed drastically.

"Teacher Zhao, wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

Dai Mubai felt both happy and afraid.

He was happy because—

He might have a powerful supporter in the future.

He was afraid because—

Damn it, Dai Mubai himself was the examiner for the fourth test!

Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing joining forces already gave him a chance of losing.

And now Li Xiaoyao was joining them too. How was this a test? This was clearly making Dai Mubai embarrass himself!

Zhao Wuji's suggestion piqued Li Xiaoyao's interest.

He heard—