Shrek Academy

Beibei was the first to recover. "Hello, I'm Beibei, and this is my girlfriend, Tang Ya. Are you new students here to register too?"

"That's right. Nice to meet you, upperclassman," Mo Yuan and the others replied.

Since this was their first time meeting, the three of them exchanged a polite greeting without getting too familiar, then went to wait near the registration desk. Huo Yuhao continued with his registration.

The teacher handling registration was a stern, meticulous-looking man in his thirties or forties. He asked Huo Yuhao for his information in a rather rigid manner.

"Name?"

"Huo Yuhao."

The middle-aged teacher wrote it down. After checking that Huo Yuhao's bone age met the requirements, he took out a blue crystal ball.

"Put your hand on it. We'll test your Soul Power Level."

At that, Huo Yuhao immediately grew nervous. He slowly placed his hand on the crystal ball, and about a third of it lit up.

The middle-aged teacher raised an eyebrow, then turned to Beibei, his tone displeased. "Beibei, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Since when could someone with Soul Power Level eleven get into Shrek Academy?"

The teacher was furious. He'd already been annoyed at being assigned the exhausting, tedious job of handling registration, and now some kid with Soul Power Level eleven was here to mess with him?!

Just as he was about to kick Huo Yuhao out of the academy, Tang Ya, who'd been chatting enthusiastically with Ning Tian, hurried over to explain.

"Teacher Feng, the academy gives the Tang Sect one exemption from the entrance exam each year. As the Tang Sect's current leader, I'm using this year's exemption for Little Yuhao."

"I almost forgot—you're the Tang Sect's leader, little girl. But you haven't used that exemption in years. Why use it now?" Teacher Feng said, suddenly understanding. The anger in his eyes faded as he looked at Huo Yuhao.

"Hehe, Little Yuhao is my new disciple. Of course I have to look after him!" Tang Ya said with a cheeky grin.

"Fine." Teacher Feng made a note of it, then looked at Huo Yuhao.

"I'll make this clear now. You may enter the academy through the Tang Sect's recommendation, but if you fail the New Student Assessment three months from now, you'll still be eliminated."

Huo Yuhao replied firmly, "I'll work hard to raise my Soul Power Level. I won't let you or Teacher Xiaoya down!"

When Ning Tian and Wu Feng heard that Tang Ya was the current leader of the Tang Sect, they couldn't help casting curious looks her way.

The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Tang Sect had both once been glorious powers. Ten thousand years later, for different reasons, neither remained as prosperous as before.

But compared to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, which was still fabulously wealthy and renowned across the continent, the Tang Sect—whose legacy had been snatched away by the obscure Iron Blood Sect—was little more than a nobody.

Those who failed to keep up with the times would eventually be crushed beneath the wheels of history.

Thinking of Huo Yuhao's Soul Power Level of eleven at the age of eleven, Teacher Feng, already in a bad mood, wanted to say something harsh. But when he saw Huo Yuhao's determined expression, he decided to say no more.

"Having a dream is a good thing." Teacher Feng then looked toward Mo Yuan and the others, who were waiting nearby. "Your turn. Names?"

Mo Yuan exchanged a look with Ning Tian and Wu Feng. In the end, Wu Feng went first.

After quickly recording her name and checking her bone age, Teacher Feng handed her the blue crystal ball.

Red Soul Power flowed into the crystal ball. In an instant, more than two-thirds of it filled with red light. The crystal ball could measure up to level thirty, which meant Wu Feng's Soul Power was around level twenty-five.

"Excellent, excellent! Soul Power Level twenty-five—not bad at all." Teacher Feng looked delighted, a complete contrast to his indifferent attitude toward Huo Yuhao.

That was the normal reaction from a teacher at Shrek Academy.

But the speed of that change, faster than turning a page, deeply stung Huo Yuhao's inferiority complex. If he hadn't known Sky Dream Ice Silkworm would comfort him, he couldn't imagine what repeated experiences like this might turn him into.

"I see the three of you came together, so I'll check your recommendation letters all at once later. Next."

Ning Tian stepped forward. She efficiently gave her name and had her bone age checked, then placed her delicate hand on the crystal ball. As its dazzling light flared again, Teacher Feng's delight turned to astonishment.

"Level thirty?! Excellent! Not only do we have a genius this year, but a true monster has appeared too!"

Beibei, Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao, who had been watching the whole time, were equally astonished when they saw the crystal ball filled with light.

They'd expected Ning Tian to have an impressive background and considerable ability, given her noble bearing and flawless beauty. But they hadn't expected her to have reached level thirty or higher at just eleven.

She was even stronger than the First Generation Shrek Seven Devils had been when they enrolled.

After quietly memorizing Ning Tian's appearance so he could report her to the academy for special attention, Mo Yuan began his registration.

As the last to step forward, he was the subject of everyone's curiosity except Ning Tian and Wu Feng. They wanted to see just how strong Mo Yuan, who'd come with two genius monsters, would turn out to be.

"Name?"

"Mo Yuan."

Teacher Feng noted down his name, then took Mo Yuan's wrist to check his bone age. After confirming he was under twelve, he handed him the crystal ball.

The same dazzling light flared once more. Looking at the refined, easygoing Mo Yuan, Teacher Feng jumped to his feet in excitement. "Excellent, excellent! Another monster with Soul Power above level thirty at eleven!"

Beibei, Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao were just as shocked. They'd known from the start that Mo Yuan and the others must have exceptional talent, but they hadn't expected them to be this strong!

Wu Feng was a level-twenty-five genius, while Mo Yuan and Ning Tian were both monsters above level thirty. In most years, Shrek Academy might get only one or two students this talented. But this year, these three alone included two monsters!

They'd heard that the White Tiger Duke's son was enrolling this year too. His Soul Power Level was probably above thirty as well.

Three! There'd be at least three monsters this year!

Looking at Mo Yuan and the others, Beibei felt he ought to get to know them better.

After his excitement subsided, Teacher Feng gave Mo Yuan a long look, fixing his strikingly beautiful, almost otherworldly face in his memory. "Let me see your recommendation letters."

At that, Ning Tian glanced at Mo Yuan, who wore a faint smile. When he showed no reaction to her gaze, disappointment flickered in her eyes. She then took two envelopes from her Soul Tool. A prestigious nine-colored seal adorned each one.

"You're from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?" Teacher Feng asked when he saw the seal. The delight in his eyes vanished at once.

If they were from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, then with talent like theirs, they were sure to hold high positions in the clan. Even if they studied at Shrek Academy, they'd eventually leave. It had nothing to do with the academy.

He even had to worry that Ning Tian might use all kinds of methods to lure talented students from the academy into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. That concern wasn't unfounded.

The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan sent students to Shrek Academy in almost every generation. And nearly every time, those students took a few geniuses with them when they left.

The academy's leaders were displeased, but there was nothing they could do. Shrek Academy was only a school and couldn't restrict where its students went after graduation.

All they could do was use every means available to recruit talented students themselves.

"Wow! Ning Tian, Wu Feng, you're both members of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan? I knew it! With your looks and bearing, you had to come from a great clan," Tang Ya exclaimed.

She'd wanted to add that Ning Tian and the others seemed to have a special connection with her, then bring up the relationship between the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Tang Sect over the past ten thousand years.

But when she remembered that the obscure Iron Blood Sect had snatched the Tang Sect's legacy, she didn't have the nerve to say it.

When Ning Tian confirmed it, Teacher Feng's excitement cooled completely. Even when Mo Yuan walked up holding an envelope of his own, he was no longer welcoming.

After all, Mo Yuan had come with Ning Tian. Ning Tian and Wu Feng were both from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Surely he was too—there was hardly any chance he wasn't.