The woman in black drew her sword and slashed forward. Though her blade cut through empty air, a clear, metallic clang rang out.
"Clang!"
A heaven-splitting sword beam streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire firmament,
as if that single strike had cleaved the sky open and let the light beyond pour in.
Who said the sky had always been bright?
Her consciousness returned to reality.
Ye Lin couldn't help swallowing. What a terrifying sword technique.
No wonder it cost ten thousand points to redeem.
Worth it.
It took only one strike to settle the contest, and that strike decided both victory and death.
The two spent a couple of days sightseeing in Suotuo City, then left through the south gate to look for Shrek Academy.
They followed a country road downhill, and soon a small village appeared before them.
A battered sign hung on the wooden arch at the village entrance. The words "Shrek Academy" were written on it in equally battered characters.
Below the sign stood a table with only three legs, apparently salvaged from some rubbish heap. A few bricks propped up the fourth corner.
An old man sat behind the table, processing applications for the long queue.
Ye Lin thought to herself, This must be Li Yusong, the Spirit Emperor-level powerhouse.
Xiao Wu frowned. "Sister Lin, this is the Shrek Academy you wanted to come to? It's way too shabby."
"Are you sure this is the right place?"
Ye Lin reached out and patted Xiao Wu's head. "Don't worry. We're in the right place."
Xiao Wu perked up and followed the queue with interest, watching what was happening up ahead. "Then I'll have to see for myself."
The queue looked long, with more than a hundred people, but it moved quickly.
The commotion at the registration table reached the two girls' ears.
"What kind of lousy academy is this? You're obviously just trying to scam us!"
"Give us back our application fees!"
Li Yusong lazily called out, "Mubai, take care of this."
Dai Mubai, who had been standing quietly to one side, reluctantly got to his feet. Three Spirit Rings—two yellow and one purple—rose and fell beneath his feet. A wave of pressure descended on the people demanding their fees back. "Beat me, and I'll refund every coin!"
"Just our luck!"
The father and son left those words behind and hurried away.
After that little incident, most of the people still waiting in line promptly left, and Ye Lin and Xiao Wu's turn came.
Ye Lin tossed twenty Gold Soul Coins into the wooden box. "We'd like to register together."
Li Yusong reached out and felt their wrists. "You're the right age."
"Release your Martial Souls."
The two quickly circulated their Soul Power. White and red light rose from them, one on each girl.
Ye Lin held the Immortal Sword, while Xiao Wu used Martial Soul Possession, taking on the form of a rabbit.
"Her Soul Power meets the requirements. Yours doesn't."
Li Yusong glanced at Ye Lin. "You can leave."
"I think my Soul Power is just fine."
Ye Lin smiled faintly and produced a pale-yellow crystal ball used to test Soul Power. Brilliant yellow light burst from it at once,
clearly showing that her Soul Power had reached level twenty.
"Level twenty Soul Power?"
Li Yusong murmured, "So you're just missing a Second Soul Ring. That's not a problem. I'll give you a chance, but whether you pass the later tests will depend on your own ability."
"Mubai, take them inside."
Dai Mubai walked over, surprise on his face. "You two are both beauties?"
"I didn't expect you to be applying to Shrek Academy too."
He looked Ye Lin up and down. "But if your Soul Power is only level twenty, then your talent clearly isn't good enough. You'll probably just be wasting your time in the later tests."
"What are you saying?"
Xiao Wu glared at Dai Mubai. "How dare you say Sister Lin doesn't have enough talent? She already had level twenty Soul Power when she was six!"
"What!" Dai Mubai exclaimed. "Level twenty Soul Power at six? Then why didn't you go get a Second Soul Ring?"
"I don't know either. Sister Lin told me she was waiting."
"She's been waiting for six years?"
Dai Mubai frowned. "Then she must have incredible talent, but those six years were obviously wasted."
Xiao Wu was about to say something more, but after giving the teacher at the Second Trial a few instructions, Dai Mubai had already hurried back to the village entrance.
There had been a lot of people at the first test, but hardly anyone remained at the Second Trial. Including Ye Lin and Xiao Wu, there were only six of them.
But the first four were quickly eliminated with ease.
The first thing they did at the Second Trial was measure their Soul Power.
When Xiao Wu showed that her Soul Power had reached level twenty-nine, the examiner was surprised.
"What a Little Monster! Someone like you can go straight to the fourth test. When Little Dai gets back, have him take you there."
Ye Lin spoke directly to the teacher.
"Teacher, there's no need to test my Soul Power. It's exactly level twenty."
"Oh? Only level twenty?" The examiner looked Ye Lin up and down. "Then release your Martial Soul. Let me take a look."
He didn't expect much from Ye Lin. She had only barely managed to cultivate to level twenty, so her Martial Soul was unlikely to be anything special.
But the moment the Immortal Sword appeared and its powerful pressure swept out, the examiner's attitude changed instantly.
He took out a piece of black Soul Beast hide of unknown origin and lightly scraped it against the Immortal Sword's edge. The hide was cut open at once, without the slightest resistance.
"Interesting."
The examiner immediately smiled. "That's a powerful Martial Soul. Your First Soul Ring has given you a strong attack. You pass."
Ye Lin had barely finished her test when Dai Mubai returned with three more people.
She spotted Tang San among them at once.
If she wasn't mistaken, the other two were Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.
Ning Rongrong had fair skin and wore a white princess dress. She was exceptionally beautiful.
Zhu Zhuqing wore a leather outfit, and her bust was strikingly prominent, nearly as full as Ye Lin's.
Both girls were instantly recognizable.
After the three had their Soul Power tested in turn, the examiner beamed. "Excellent! I didn't expect us to find five Little Monsters this year."
The moment Ye Lin had revealed her Martial Soul, the examiner had counted her among the monsters as well.
"I'll take the four of you straight to the fourth test."
After telling the other four, Dai Mubai turned to Ye Lin.
"But you'll have to pass the third test before you can go on."
"I didn't expect you to pass the Second Trial, but the next two will be difficult for you."
"It's fine,"
Ye Lin said calmly. She was still quite confident in herself.
Dai Mubai now hoped Ye Lin would pass the third test, because he was the examiner for the fourth test—the practical combat trial.
He wanted to see what was so impressive about someone who supposedly had level twenty Soul Power at six.
Before you continue