The air seemed to solidify in that instant.
Zhu Zhuqing's black leather boot touched the ground lightly.
"Boom—!"
Without warning, without any buildup.
The battered wooden table that had weathered countless storms and witnessed the enrollment of countless so-called "geniuses," along with the registration book atop it and the rotten wooden cash box, exploded into dust in an instant.
Amid the flying wood chips, a dark red aura, so dense it was nauseating yet so sacred it made one want to kneel in worship, surged outward like a tsunami from the center of the scene.
The people still standing in line instantly collapsed in droves.
Those parents with even a little Soul Power felt their knees give out and fell to the ground with a thud, cold sweat soaking through their clothes in an instant.
This was not Soul Power suppression.
This was rank suppression.
It was like a rabbit on the grasslands suddenly being snorted at by an ancient tyrannosaurus rex.
Li Yusong, standing at the front, nearly had his eyes pop out of their sockets.
He had seen the most absurd, outrageous, unreasonable sight of his entire life.
Light rings appeared beneath Zhu Zhuqing's feet.
The first ring.
It was not Ten Year White, not Hundred Year Yellow, nor even Thousand Year Purple.
It was a vivid red, as though fresh blood were flowing through it... red!
Hundred Thousand Year!
"Th-this..." Li Yusong's mouth fell open. A wheezing sound like a bellows came from his throat as his body collapsed backward uncontrollably, landing him in the muddy ground.
However, the nightmare had only just begun.
The second ring, red.
The third ring, red.
The fourth ring, red.
The fifth ring, red.
The sixth ring, red!
Six Blood Red Soul Rings hovered quietly around the cold and aloof maiden, pulsing with suffocating halos of light.
The world was dyed blood red.
The sunlight was blocked out, and birds fell from the sky.
Twelve years old.
Level 60 Soul Emperor.
All Hundred Thousand Year Configuration!
"No... no way! This is absolutely impossible!"
Tang San staggered three steps backward from within the crowd, his face Pale as Paper.
A rich violet glow filled his eyes as Purple Demon Eye activated passively to its limit, trying to see through what he believed was another kind of trick.
But the dazzling red light was like red-hot steel needles stabbing viciously into his retinas, causing severe pain in his eyes and bringing tears streaming down his face.
"Teacher once said... the limit for the First Soul Ring is 423 years..."
Tang San clutched his collar tightly, his knuckles turning white as his Worldview shattered into fragments of glass.
"The limit for the Second Soul Ring is 764 years... How could it possibly be a Hundred Thousand Year ring? How could a human body endure that?!"
"This is unscientific! It violates the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul!"
The system of knowledge he had been proud of, the Master's teachings he had regarded as absolute truth, had become the most laughable waste paper before this Black Clothed Maiden.
He glanced at the pitiful Blue Silver Grass in his palm, then at the maiden who could crush rocks with a mere wisp of her aura.
An emotion called despair began to grow wildly within his heart.
This was a monster?
Then what was I? Trash? Or dust not even worthy of being called trash?
"Brother..."
A trembling call with a crying tone came from behind him.
Xiao Wu had curled herself into a ball behind Tang San, covering her ears tightly with both hands as her body shook like a sieve.
As a Hundred Thousand Year Soft Bone Rabbit Transformation, she understood better than anyone what those six Soul Rings meant.
Every red ring represented the fall of an emperor of the Spirit Beast World.
Six...
Six of her own kind!
The lingering resentment and tyrannical aura of Fierce Beasts were no different from facing death itself for her, a transformed Spirit Beast.
"She... she's a devil... She's a devil..." Xiao Wu's teeth chattered as she did not even dare look at Zhu Zhuqing.
The scene fell into deathly silence.
Only the humming of the six Soul Rings remained, like death knells calling for their lives.
Zhu Zhuqing withdrew her aura, but the six Soul Rings remained dazzling.
She looked down at Li Yusong, who was sprawled on the ground with his crotch already soaked, her gaze indifferent as though she were looking at an ant.
"Is this your so-called monster standard?"
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly across the entire scene.
"Level twenty-one? Or some other exceptional trait?"
She shook her head disdainfully.
"Too low-level."
Li Yusong's lips trembled. He wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
He wanted to say this was cheating, that it was an illusion.
But his instincts as a Level 63 Soul Emperor told him that if the maiden merely moved a finger, his old bones would turn to ash in an instant.
Clap, clap, clap.
Crisp applause rang out.
A lazy smile rested at the corner of the mouth as Qian Mo slowly walked out from behind Zhu Zhuqing.
He did not even glance at the terrified crowd around him, merely straightening his slightly wrinkled sleeve cuff.
"Zhuqing, keep a lower profile."
Qian Mo spoke gently, as though teaching an unruly child. "Don't scare the little ones too badly. After all... they haven't seen much of the world."
Tang San: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Hadn't seen much of the world?
Who on the entire continent had ever seen something like this?!
"Since your Teacher's legs are too weak for him to stand, I'll take over."
Qian Mo stepped forward.
That single step shattered the void.
"Buzz—!!!"
If Zhu Zhuqing's aura was the deathly silence and chill of an abyss, then Qian Mo's aura was the tyranny and sanctity of a blazing sun.
Golden light erupted.
A massive phantom of a Twelve-Winged Angel appeared behind him with a thunderous roar.
The angel's face was blurred, yet it carried an indifference that looked down upon all living things.
Its twelve wings spread open, blotting out the sky and covering the entire Shrek Village.
Then.
Soul Rings rose.
Red, red, red, red, red, red!
Another six Hundred Thousand Year rings!
Moreover, the red rings around Qian Mo were deeper in color than Zhu Zhuqing's, faintly carrying a noble dark gold sheen.
Two All Red Soul Ring Soul Emperors!
Two entirely different yet equally terrifying pressures met and collided in the air, triggering a qualitative change.
"Crack—rumble!"
The ground split apart.
Shrek Academy's already dilapidated wooden fence collapsed instantly as if it were made of paper.
Even several distant thatched huts had their roofs blown away by the shockwave.
The entire village shook violently as though it had suffered a magnitude ten earthquake.
Deep in the Village.
Zhao Wuji, who had been taking an afternoon nap, was thrown straight out of bed. His head struck the bedpost, raising a large bump.
"Enemy attack!!"
Zhao Wuji let out an angry roar. Without even bothering to put on his shoes, he immediately activated his Martial Soul Avatar.
"Great Strength Vajra Bear!"
A huge phantom of a Yellow Earth Giant Bear shot into the sky. Zhao Wuji's muscles swelled all over, seven Soul Rings pulsing wildly beneath his feet as he charged toward the Village Entrance with a terrified expression.
"Who goes there?! How dare you trespass into Shrek!"
At the same time.
An Eagle Cry came from the sky.
Flender pushed up his crooked glasses, a pair of enormous Owl Wings growing from his back as his face turned ugly beyond compare.
This pressure...
This terrifying fluctuation...
Could it be that Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo had come as a group to tear the place down?!
"Old Zhao! Be careful! They're tough!" Flender shouted from the air, his voice cracking.
The Two Soul Saints, As If Facing a Great Enemy, rushed to the scene in a panic with the resolve to risk their lives.
Then.
They saw the youth and maiden standing amid the ruins, dressed in luxurious clothes and looking utterly calm.
As well as the two sets of Red Soul Rings, twelve in total, so bright they nearly blinded everyone.
"Caw—"
Flender forgot to flap his wings and nearly fell out of the sky.
Zhao Wuji's massive bear body slammed to a sudden stop, plowing two deep trenches into the ground and nearly wrenching his back.
The two remained frozen in their attacking stances, turning into two ridiculous statues.
What the hell was this?!
What were kids these days eating to grow up?!
Hormones mixed with nuclear waste?!
The smile at Qian Mo's lips deepened as he looked at the two middle-aged men before him, drenched in sweat and questioning their lives.
He raised a hand and flicked his finger lightly.
The Twelve-Winged Angel phantom behind him slowly dissipated, and the red light filling the sky withdrew as well, as though everything just now had merely been an illusion.
But the wreckage strewn across the ground and the suffocating lingering pressure reminded everyone that this horror had truly happened.
"You must be Teacher Zhao Wuji and Dean Flender?"
Qian Mo cupped his hands politely, his movements elegant and flawless.
"I heard Shrek has a rule."
Qian Mo's gaze swept across Zhao Wuji's trembling muscles, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery.
"As long as one can last a Stick of Incense under Teacher Zhao, they pass?"
Zhao Wuji swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
Last a Stick of Incense?
Big Brother, don't joke around.
With that pressure from earlier, forget a Stick of Incense—I'm afraid I couldn't even withstand one slap!
"Well... actually, rules can be changed..." Zhao Wuji Wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, trying to force a friendly smile. "Shrek has always put people first..."
"No need."
Qian Mo interrupted him.
He extended one finger and gently shook it.
"Changing the rules is too troublesome."
"Besides, I'm in a hurry."
Qian Mo turned around and took Zhu Zhuqing's hand, then looked back at the two Soul Saints who had once been so imposing in the Original Work.
"Since this is Monster Academy, then let's use monster rules."
"No Stick of Incense needed."
"And Teacher Zhao doesn't need to fight alone."
Golden Light flowed through Qian Mo's eyes. His voice was calm, yet tyrannical beyond measure:
"You two, come at me together."
"If you beat me, I'll pay ten times the tuition."
"If you can't..."
Qian Mo paused, his gaze passing over them toward the crooked sign reading "Shrek Academy."
"Let's take down this lousy plaque today."
Zhao Wuji: "..."
Flender: "..."
Everyone: "!!!"
He was beyond arrogant!
A twelve-year-old challenging two veteran Soul Saints?
And he wanted to take them both on alone?
Tang San stood in the distance. Hearing this, an inexplicable sense of absurdity suddenly rose within him.
He had originally thought he had come here to be a monster.
But now it seemed...
He had come here to be a spectator.
And the kind of spectator who couldn't afford a ticket and could only stand trembling in the corner.
"Good! Good boy!"
Zhao Wuji was enraged.
Even a clay figure had some temper, let alone him, the Chaos Demon King, the Immovable Ming King?
Even if your soul ring configuration was heaven-defying, you were still only a twelve-year-old child! Your Soul Power Level was right there—how much real combat experience could you possibly have?
"Since you want to play, then Grandpa Zhao will play with you properly!"
Zhao Wuji roared, and his third soul ring suddenly lit up.
"Gravity Boost!"
Earth-yellow light instantly enveloped the entire area.
A great battle was about to erupt.
Qian Mo watched Zhao Wuji charge toward him without the slightest panic.
Instead, he turned his head and said to Zhu Zhuqing:
"Wife, step back."
"Watch your husband perform a Bare-handed Bear Dismantling for you."
Before you continue