Revealing a Thousand-Year First Soul Ring

The people ahead in line began registering one after another.

One boy paid ten gold coins, but his bone age tested above twelve. He failed.

His parent tried to persuade the old man to make an exception, but the old man remained unmoved. Seeing this, the parent tried to get the registration fee back, only to be scared off when Dai Mubai revealed one yellow and two purple soul rings. They left with their tails between their legs.

The line instantly shrank by a third.

Next, another boy confidently paid ten gold coins. His age met the requirements, but when he released his martial soul, only a hundred-year soul ring appeared. The old man shook his head and rejected him.

His parent was baffled. "My son was a genius at his junior academy, and he even has a hundred-year soul ring."

The old man replied impatiently, "Shrek Academy only accepts monsters, not ordinary people. If you're older than thirteen, or your soul power hasn't reached level twenty-one or higher, don't waste your time."

A few more people left the line.

"Next."

The old man tapped the tabletop, completely unconcerned about the number of students.

Then another boy stepped forward with his head held high and paid the fee. His face shone with confidence, certain he would get into Shrek. He let the old man feel his bones to check his age, then released his martial soul. Two yellow soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.

Yet the old man shook his head. "You fail."

"Huh? Why?" The boy could not believe it.

"We at Shrek only accept monsters. We require a hundred-year first ring and a thousand-year second ring. Your second ring is only yellow, at the hundred-year level. You're not monstrous enough to meet our academy's requirements."

The old man's answer sent anger surging through the boy.

"Why didn't you say that earlier? And what does a thousand-year second ring have to do with being a monster? Isn't whale rubber all you need for that? The problem is how expensive whale rubber is now! How could ordinary people afford it? Are you accepting monsters here, or rich kids?"

Faced with the boy's challenge, the old man suddenly unleashed an overwhelmingly powerful aura.

"If you're coming to register at Shrek Academy, you should learn the rules first. Otherwise, you're simply handing over your registration fee for nothing. As for your claim that you can't afford whale rubber... sometimes you should look for the problem in yourself. Have you actually worked hard all these years?"

Su Mo: "???"

Well, well. Really makes you look impressive, doesn't it?

Do you dare show your soul rings?

Let me see that Soul Emperor cultivation of yours, with one white, one yellow, three purple, and one black ring.

Everyone else was speechless as well.

They had to swallow this treatment just to register? They might as well forget about attending!

At once, more people left the line. A queue that had originally numbered over a hundred dwindled to just a dozen or so applicants in the blink of an eye.

Su Mo and the other two reached the front without trouble.

Xiao Wu could not help grumbling, "So many requirements, and such a terrible attitude. No wonder this academy looks like a rundown dump on the verge of closing. They won't explain all the rules at once or even put up a sign. They're obviously trying to swindle registration fees to keep the academy running."

Su Mo gave Xiao Wu a surprised look.

Since when did the little bunny have brains like these?

Those who remained clearly met the old man's requirements. The next several applicants all passed without trouble.

However, the old man said this was only the first stage.

They would still have to undergo a second assessment inside the academy, and parents were not allowed to accompany the students.

Soon, it was the trio's turn.

"We're registering together." Tang San took out thirty gold coins, paying for Su Mo and Xiao Wu as well, then held out his hand for the old man to examine.

The old man first squeezed Tang San's wrist and gave a soft exclamation of surprise.

"Have you practiced some kind of soul skill on your hands?"

Tang San nodded, so the old man had him raise his lower leg for examination. After confirming that his bone age qualified, he checked Su Mo and Xiao Wu as well.

All three met the age requirement.

The old man looked at them appreciatively. "Your muscles and bones are all well developed. Now release your martial souls."

Tang San was the first to circulate his soul power, and a stalk of Blue Silver Grass appeared in his palm.

At the same time, two soul rings appeared, one yellow and one purple.

The old man exclaimed in surprise, "Blue Silver Grass? Even a trash martial soul can cultivate this quickly?"

Tang San said calmly, "There are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters. I should meet your academy's standard for monsters, shouldn't I?"

"You certainly are a little monster."

A faint smile appeared on the old man's face before he turned to the other two.

Taking the cue, Su Mo channeled his soul power. A metal gauntlet appeared on his right hand, and two purple soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.

"A purple first ring?"

The old man sprang from his chair in shock.

The onlookers gaped at the sight. What kind of freak was this?

Since the whale rubber body-tempering method had become public, thousand-year second rings were no longer especially uncommon. But a thousand-year first ring was still a rarity.

After all, the first prerequisite was thousand-year whale rubber.

Yet whale rubber was now selling like mad. Even hundred-year whale rubber had been bid up to thousands or tens of thousands of gold soul coins. The thousand-year variety could only be even more outrageously expensive.

Moreover, one had to find a soul master capable of melting thousand-year whale rubber, and the person taking it had to withstand its tempering. Most importantly, they also had to happen upon a soul beast just barely over a thousand years old to hunt for its soul ring.

Even a few dozen or a hundred extra years could leave the body unable to withstand it, causing it to explode and killing the person.

Dai Mubai gazed at Su Mo's thousand-year first ring with envy in his eyes.

He was not short of money, and he had even absorbed ten-thousand-year whale glue.

But the theory of tempering the body with whale rubber had emerged six years ago. By then, he was already nine and had long since absorbed his first soul ring.

Otherwise, he could have had a thousand-year first ring too.

"No! Your soul ring is more than a thousand years old!"

After studying the color of Su Mo's first ring for a while, the old man cried out, "Th-this... this is a soul ring at least two thousand years old!"

"What?"

"That's impossible!"

"Are you joking?"

"Who could withstand a soul ring over two thousand years old as their first ring?"

Hearing the old man's words, the people around them voiced their doubts.

The old man ignored everyone else, staring intently at Su Mo. "How did you manage to absorb ten-thousand-year whale glue while you were still a Soul Scholar?"

Everyone found this even more absurd.

How could a Soul Scholar possibly absorb ten-thousand-year whale glue?

People had tried absorbing ten-thousand-year whale glue as level-ten Soul Scholars before. Every one of them had died when the energy ran out of control. That enormous amount of energy was simply beyond what any Soul Scholar could withstand.

Dai Mubai was deeply shaken by the old man's words.

He trusted Teacher Li Yusong's judgment.

As such, he felt genuine admiration for Su Mo's feat of absorbing ten-thousand-year whale glue at the Soul Scholar stage. This guy was one hell of a daredevil.

He would never have dared do the same himself.

Su Mo shrugged. "Small portions, frequent meals. As long as you absorb little enough each time, theoretically, there's no risk of your body exploding."

Yes, theoretically.

Although he had digested it little by little back then, it had still triggered a chain reaction. In the end, he had only endured it because Tian Meng had called upon Ultimate Ice.

Of course, someone with a sufficiently strong physique could manage it too.

Xiao Wu, for instance.

The old man seemed to gain some understanding from his answer. Then he noticed Su Mo's second soul ring and exclaimed, "This soul ring is at least three thousand five hundred years old!"