Taolangke's academy stood by the south gate of Soto City. It was no obscure little academy!
The academy's standards were hard to judge, but its location alone made it clear that it was far from an ordinary place.
It relied on its reputation for accepting only monsters, refusing to admit ordinary students. That was enough to attract a few young soul masters of unknown origins.
Whether in the teachers' ability or the resources it could provide, it was far behind the other academies.
Even so, when Huoyao and Zhu Zhuqing arrived, more than a hundred people were already lined up outside the gates of Shrek Academy.
Among them, those who met Shrek Academy's entry requirements could be counted on one hand. But since all the other academies had rejected them for being too old, they had no choice but to try their luck here.
Unfortunately, the academy's unusual admission policy had given them too much hope. They were probably going to be disappointed.
Zhu Zhuqing held up the broken wooden sign, on which the words "Shrek Academy" had been carved. Her heart was heavy with disappointment as she said in a low voice,
"Huoyao, I think I really might not be good enough for Shrek Academy."
After learning yesterday that Huohuo had taken Zhu Zhuqing to a hotel after she got drunk, Zhu Zhuqing had felt utterly hopeless. It didn't matter whether she got into Shrek Academy anymore. She had nothing left to care about.
Zhu Zhuqing had even considered taking the initiative and asking Huoyao to go to the Martial Soul Hall with her, so that he wouldn't be ridiculed at Shrek Academy.
But after learning that Huoyao had written in his diary that he wanted to take Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong to the Martial Soul Hall too, she gave up on that idea.
In fact, she was afraid she might already have fallen for Huoyao.
When she'd prepared herself mentally and seen the true state of Shrek Academy, Zhu Zhuqing was still quite disappointed.
She also wondered whether Huohuo would go crazy again today.
Back when he was the Star Luo Empire's crown prince, Dai Mubai had been a proud young master. But after fleeing to the Shrek Academy he'd described in his diary, he'd become a complete coward. He'd run away from his fiancée and even lost his confidence. Huohuo had naturally felt his spirits lift.
Faced with Zhu Zhuqing's teasing, Huoyao remained calm. It was as if he'd already expected this and was simply waiting to see what happened.
"It's okay. We can enroll first and take a look. If things don't work out later, we can always choose another academy."
Zhu Zhuqing stayed silent, wanting to say something, but before she could, a loud voice suddenly rang out ahead.
Zhu Zhuqing and Huoyao looked up at the same time. They saw a father and son arguing with the Shrek Academy admissions teacher.
"Why won't you let us in? I haven't even gone through your academy's entrance exam! You just grabbed my son's wrist and decided he was too old to enroll. Are you trying to ruin my son's future?"
"He's only ten! You clearly just want to cheat us out of our money!"
The argument drew a commotion. Everyone looked toward the front, wanting to see how Shrek Academy would handle the situation.
Huoyao watched the scene unfold, then quietly wrote in his diary.
``` [As expected, just like in the original story, Shrek Academy's admissions staff are practically dead set on rejecting people. They're only looking for an excuse to turn away the father and son, claiming that the boy is over the age limit and refusing to refund the ten gold soul coins.]
[In the original story, seeing this scene when I arrived at Shrek Academy left a very bad impression on me. Especially after learning how the teacher treated Zhu Zhuqing and her father, it only strengthened my resolve to leave.]
[That teacher who called himself a teacher was too cowardly to speak up when someone challenged him. Wasn't he just bullying students who couldn't fight back?]
[How could someone with no sense of justice and who didn't dare say a word in front of the strong be qualified to run an academy?]
[I thought that after being reborn, I'd be able to stay calm and keep my mind clear.]
[I didn't expect that after finding out I wanted to take Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong away, he'd actually dare to come after the academy I planned to establish.]
Zhu Zhuqing finally understood why Huoyao had left Shrek Academy in his previous life.
It wasn't that he thought Shrek Academy wasn't good enough for him. Rather, when he was there, he and the people at Shrek Academy simply didn't get along. They were entirely different kinds of people.
After listening to Huoyao, even Zhu Zhuqing felt that Shrek Academy had gone too far.
Ten gold soul coins might not be much to someone from a powerful clan, but to an ordinary soul master, it was a considerable sum.
As a result, Shrek Academy had swallowed the hard-earned savings of the father and son who had traveled all the way there.
Everyone understood that Shrek Academy wanted to take the money.
Faced with the father and son's furious accusations, the admissions teacher impatiently said,
"Huohuo, someone wants to challenge you. Deal with it."
Huohuo stepped forward from the side. When he saw the other party, his face immediately darkened. He was no longer as arrogant as he had been yesterday.
But Huohuo only glanced at the father and son. He didn't argue with them. Instead, he urged his soul power and released three soul rings.
"Want your money back? That's easy. Just defeat me, and I'll give it all back."
Faced with Huohuo's threat, the father and son didn't dare say another word. A moment later, they hurriedly left.
Their treatment served as a warning to the people still waiting behind them. One student after another left, and in the blink of an eye, only a few dozen people remained.
Knowing that Shrek Academy was a trap, Huoyao had no intention of letting the ten-gold-soul-coin admissions teacher bully them like dogs.
The crowd dispersed, and Huohuo looked back at Huoyao and Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing saw Huoyao smiling as if he were laughing at Huohuo. Huohuo's face darkened, and he looked at them with a displeased expression. His face was also beaded with cold sweat.
"Huohuo, what's wrong with you?"
The admissions teacher asked in a voice full of concern.
Huohuo straightened up and forced a smile.
"I'm... fine."
The admissions teacher kept his concern to himself. He took his leave, leaving Huohuo standing where he was.
He'd been struck by Huoyao's spiritual attack yesterday. Even now, he still felt a lingering ache in his head, and his legs trembled as though they might give way.
Especially the three purple soul rings Huoyao had released. They'd made Huohuo suspect that he was seeing things.
When he'd returned to Shrek Academy today, the dean had asked him about Huoyao. His answer had convinced the dean that he was sick and needed to rest.
A Soul Venerable with three ten-thousand-year soul rings—he might as well be a god. It was impossible for him to be a Soul Sage.
Huohuo hadn't said much about it either. He'd learned from his experience, and the three ten-thousand-year soul rings Huoyao had shown were probably fake, possibly linked to his soul skill.
If Huohuo challenged him again, he definitely wouldn't make the same mistake.
Thinking of this, Huohuo glanced at Huoyao, then steeled himself to see just how capable this supposedly talented student really was.
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