Cai Yue'er's Recruitment

The Sea God Pavilion Meeting ended, and everyone left.

Cai Yue'er opened the Genius Youth Ranking released by the Spirit Pagoda.

She glanced over it and immediately spotted several candidates of the right age.

The Wu Family of Star Luo City.

The Wu Family's ancestors were descendants of the Dai Family of the Star Luo Empire and the Zhu Family.

Ten thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Empire, predecessor of the Federation, had sought to annex the Star Luo, Dou Ling, and Heaven Soul Empires.

Its goal had been to unite the Douluo Continent.

And it had been only one step away from succeeding.

Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao had appeared out of nowhere and stopped the Sun Moon Empire.

Later, Sea God Tang San had descended to the mortal world and forcibly named the two great empires Heaven Dou and Star Luo.

But, as the saying went, the heavens were high and the emperor far away.

The gods above ultimately had no way to control the people below.

The Sun Moon Empire had refused to accept becoming Heaven Dou. After the Abyss invasion, it had once again unified the continent.

It had also established the Sun Moon Federation.

And since it was situated on the Douluo Continent, after several thousand years of development, it could also be called the Douluo Federation.

However, at the time, some Star Luo people who had refused to become slaves in their own land, along with several former aristocratic families from the Dou Ling Empire, had chosen to cross the seas in search of a new home.

These were the present-day overseas Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Empire.

Still, some people had chosen to submit to the Sun Moon Empire.

The Wu Family was the best example. To show that they had severed their ties with the Star Luo Empire,

they had changed both the men's Dai surname and the women's Zhu surname to Wu.

Cai Yue'er looked at the Wu Family estate. Though somewhat dilapidated, it still retained a hint of its former grandeur. She shook her head.

Not every person or family could be like Shrek Academy.

With that thought, Cai Yue'er strode into the estate, full of pride.

The moment the servants at the entrance saw the Shrek Academy uniform, they didn't dare so much as breathe.

Their eyes were filled with reverence.

Cai Yue'er made no effort to conceal her aura. The moment she entered the Wu Family estate, the family head sensed her presence and came out to welcome her.

"For a Shrek elder to visit my Wu Family is truly an honor that brings glory to our humble home!"

The Wu Family head hurried over and bowed to Cai Yue'er.

Cai Yue'er stood there and accepted the greeting calmly, returning it with only a simple nod.

"I heard the Wu Family has a young phoenix. Since Shrek Academy has something to take care of, I thought I'd come by and see her in advance."

The Wu Family head was overjoyed. He quickly called for his daughter.

"Siduo, come show this senior your Martial Souls."

The young Wu Siduo obediently displayed her Hell Spirit Cat and White Tiger Martial Souls one after the other.

The White Tiger Martial Soul had no Soul Rings, while the Hell Spirit Cat had two purple Thousand-Year Soul Rings.

"This child has an extraordinary gift. She inherited two top-tier Martial Souls and has Innate Full Soul Power."

"As you can see, her primary Martial Soul is the Hell Spirit Cat."

"She's already at level twenty-nine. She's just one step away from level thirty."

Cai Yue'er's face broke into a smile, and she exclaimed in praise, "Not bad, not bad."

"Elder, that's not all."

Hearing the Shrek elder praise his daughter, the Wu Family head urged Wu Siduo to show more.

"Siduo, show her your Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

At his words, Wu Siduo first manifested her White Tiger Martial Soul.

Golden light enveloped her body.

Then she switched from the White Tiger Martial Soul to the Hell Spirit Cat, and a trace of black light enveloped her.

The black and gold blended together, forming a dark golden glow.

The fur on Wu Siduo's body turned crystal clear, and she crouched slightly.

In the blink of an eye, the girl disappeared. A completely transparent White Tiger appeared in her place.

Cai Yue'er's eyes shone with excitement.

"A self-fusion Martial Soul skill? It's like Elder Long's—and because of the nature of her Martial Souls, their compatibility may even be higher."

"Excellent, excellent! The Spirit Pagoda finally did something right. No wonder she ranks ninth on the Youth Genius Ranking."

Cai Yue'er praised her repeatedly, unable to hide the affection in her voice.

"Child, would you be willing to come with me and study at Shrek Academy?"

Wu Siduo had changed back from the White Tiger into a girl. Using the Martial Soul Fusion Skill had left her somewhat drained.

"Well, I'm afraid that wouldn't be in keeping with the rules."

The Wu Family head was overjoyed inside, but he didn't show it.

"Oh, there's no need to worry about rules. Shrek sets the rules."

"Anyone who disagrees can just keep it to themselves,"

Cai Yue'er said smugly.

After all, Cai Yue'er might be the dean of Shrek Outer Court now, and seem steady and composed.

But sixty years ago, she had caused chaos throughout the Soul Master World. In the end, Shrek had to send someone to bring her back.

Rules were for those who wanted to follow them. It all came down to personal preference.

"Besides, almost every generation of your family has had someone attend Shrek Academy."

"Quite a few have even become members of the Shrek Seven Devils. There's no problem at all."

"I'll make the decision here. As long as this child grows up normally, I'll guarantee her a place among the Inner Court's core disciples."

"Even becoming one of the Shrek Seven Devils isn't out of the question."

The Wu Family head was delighted to hear this.

"Child, come with me."

Cai Yue'er smiled at Wu Siduo.

"..."

Cai Yue'er continued visiting families, eventually gathering five age-eligible youths from the Youth Genius Ranking.

They were Wu Siduo, Luo Guixing, Yang Nianxia, Zheng Yiran, and Xu Yucheng.

Cai Yue'er was pleased with the five of them, but also somewhat troubled.

According to the competition format, the final match would be a seven-person team battle.

But even counting Tang Yinmeng from the Outer Court, the one who seemed poised to become the eldest senior sister,

they still had only six at most.

What's more, whether Tang Yinmeng would compete was still up in the air.

In the end, with no other option, Cai Yue'er decided to visit Elder Long and ask her to come up with a solution.

She went to Long Yeyue instead of the pavilion master because, on the one hand, Cai Yue'er didn't want to trouble Yun Ming with such a small matter.

On the other hand, Yun Ming only cared about cultivation and spending time alone with Ya Li. He rarely concerned himself with school affairs.

Yun Ming mainly served as a source of protection and deterrence.

Thinking of Ya Li, Cai Yue'er couldn't help feeling a little jealous.

But she soon pushed that jealousy down.

"Elder Long, I've run into a problem and would like to ask your advice."

Cai Yue'er went to the area where Long Yeyue lived and spoke respectfully.

"Just tell me what's troubling you."

Cai Yue'er explained the problem she had encountered.

After listening, Long Yeyue said,

"It's nothing difficult. There are two youngsters in the Inner Court who were picked out long ago."

"I'll send them to you in a couple of days. It'll be good experience for them."

"Also, a promising young man has appeared in the Southern Yue Family."

"I believe his name is Yue Zhengyu."

"Their clan leader, that old rascal Yue Zhengen, has been begging me to let the boy enter Shrek as a work-study student."

"I've kept putting him off."

"This is the perfect chance to bring the boy in."

Cai Yue'er was overjoyed. She bowed to Long Yeyue.

Long Yeyue smiled and nodded. "There's no need for that. We're both doing this for the academy."

"However, I'm going to make a big announcement about this competition. I hope you're prepared."

"I know you must have questions, but publicizing it widely will help quiet those clowns in the Federation."

"It'll let the world know that Shrek isn't some rat in a gutter that anyone can test."

As she spoke, Long Yeyue unleashed a powerful aura. Cai Yue'er was secretly shocked by its strength.