After hearing Yun Ze introduce himself, the two understood what he meant. Both felt relieved that they hadn't gotten into an even worse conflict with him earlier.
Yun Ze leaned against the wall nearby. He didn't keep watching the two, whose thoughts were in turmoil, but picked up the exam form and looked it over.
The tests were more or less the same as in the original story, just in a different order. The eating challenge was gone.
Yun Ze had no idea whether that test, which was purely about how much someone could eat, had been a backdoor Heavenly Dao's will opened for Tang Wulin. Either way, it was ridiculous.
Shrek Academy wasn't recruiting gluttons. What was the point of having them compete over who could eat the most every day?
If they wanted gluttons, why recruit people at all? They might as well hire four-legged ones. They'd be cheaper and easier to feed.
With the eating challenge gone, a team battle had taken its place. It seemed they would draw someone who had appeared in the past and have that person fight all three of them alone.
They would win by holding out for ten minutes, just like before. It was probably similar to the Tang Sect and War God Temple tests Yun Ze had faced.
Just then, someone knocked. All three looked toward the door.
A beautiful young woman with a slender figure and long, pale hair stood in the doorway.
She had a blue folder tucked under her arm. Smiling at the three of them, she said,
"Hello. I'm Shen Yi, your examiner. I'll be overseeing your tests. I'll take you to the first testing room now."
As soon as Shen Yi finished speaking, Yun Ze was the first to stand. Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui rose after him.
"Hello, Teacher."
Yun Ze greeted Shen Yi. She covered her mouth and chuckled, seemingly looking forward to something.
"All right, little Yun Ze. The tests ahead won't be easy, so don't let your guard down."
Seeing Shen Yi's expression, Yun Ze narrowed his eyes and said,
"Wait, what do you mean? Why do you look so suspicious, Sister Shen?"
Shen Yi only smiled before replying,
"The teacher told me to keep it mysterious. You'll just have to wait and see."
Shen Yi then turned her gaze to Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui behind him.
"You two are lucky, too. Following our little Yun Ze means you'll get to see things you wouldn't normally encounter at this stage."
Yue Zhengyu said helplessly,
"Teacher, why don't you take this good fortune instead? Can I switch groups now?"
Yuanen Yehui gave a disdainful snort, then looked at Shen Yi and said,
"Teacher Shen, please take us there."
Shen Yi nodded and turned around.
"Follow me."
Yun Ze and the other two followed Shen Yi into a room.
The room was entirely built of black stone. It seemed to block spiritual power to some extent, and Yun Ze found it difficult to project his spiritual power through it.
Shen Yi's figure flickered, then vanished.
At the same time, the surrounding walls shifted, and two dragon statues turned around.
The statues surrounded the three from either side. No matter how they moved, at least one dragon statue would always be facing them, directly or indirectly.
Yun Ze already knew what this test involved and was about to warn them when a wave of spiritual power struck his Sea of Consciousness.
He swallowed his warning and immediately focused, holding his breath as he concentrated on defending against the invading spiritual power.
Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui were hit by the spiritual assault at almost the same time.
The two reacted very differently. Yue Zhengyu staggered back, then dropped to one knee. He used the Angel Holy Sword in his hand to brace himself against the floor, barely keeping himself from collapsing completely.
Golden wings flickered in and out behind him. He was clearly struggling with all his might against the unknown spiritual assault.
This time, Yuanen Yehui didn't use her Fallen Angel Martial Soul. Instead, she summoned her Titan Giant Ape Martial Soul.
As her body grew larger, Yuanen Yehui simply covered her temples with both hands, doing her best to protect her Sea of Consciousness from the attack.
Watching the two grow increasingly bedraggled, Yun Ze raised a hand and sent a surge of spiritual power toward the dragon statues on either side.
After half a minute of resisting, both dragon statues cracked. The spiritual-power test ended with them.
Yun Ze reached out to Yuanen Yehui, who had bent forward, and said to the two,
"All right, let's go."
Yuanen Yehui used Yun Ze's arm to get back to her feet and nodded. Yue Zhengyu also managed to push himself upright.
"Is the very first test this hard? No wonder this is Shrek Academy."
Of the three, Yue Zhengyu was in the worst shape. The spiritual assault had left him bleeding from all seven orifices.
In the shadows, an old white-haired man stood beside Yun Ming and said,
"This child's spiritual power is much stronger than it was on the day he broke through to Soul Elder. These two statues contain the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King's pressure, specially compressed and then amplified through Soul Tools. It's twice the normal testing standard."
"On top of that, the two statues reinforce each other. Breaking them both at once with spiritual power is no easier than facing the real Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King."
"Of course, a five-thousand-year-old Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King."
Yun Ming nodded and watched Yun Ze's back with a troubled expression. He looked like a father watching his son grow more and more beyond his control.
The next few tests weren't difficult for Yun Ze. He even had enough strength left to help Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui get through them.
By the fourth test, Yun Ze was leading the way. He took a deep breath, preparing to open the door.
But the moment he pushed it open, his calm expression shattered.
More precisely, he froze in place, utterly stunned.
The test was supposed to let them demonstrate their strengths, but there were no three examiners working together. Only a young man stood proudly in the room.
This was the most bare-bones room in the entire examination. There wasn't even any furniture, just a large, empty space.
The young man standing proudly there was none other than Yun Ze's father in this life, the strongest man on Douluo Continent, and the Sea God Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy—Yun Ming.
"The fourth test is to demonstrate your strengths. Shrek doesn't accept mediocrity."
Yun Ming spoke calmly. Below him, Yun Ze nudged Yue Zhengyu and Yuanen Yehui and said,
"Kids, our big break has come."
Yun Ming paid no attention to Yun Ze's muttering and continued calmly,
"Normally, you would demonstrate your strengths yourselves in this test. But for certain special reasons, its difficulty has been increased. The test has now been changed: you must last more than one minute against me."
"Of course, that would be too much to ask of you, so I'll suppress my Soul Power to the Soul Emperor level..."
Before you continue