A Farce During Registration, Ma Hongjun's Strength

The next day, as the sky began to brighten, Tang San took Xiao Wu and left the inn. Following the directions Dai Mubai had given them the day before, they exited Suotuo City and headed down a small path.

After walking for about three miles, a very ordinary, even somewhat dilapidated, small village appeared in Tang San's field of vision.

"Third Brother, are you sure there's really an academy in a place like this?"

Xiao Wu, following behind Tang San, poked her head out with curiosity.

"Teacher wouldn't lie to me! Besides, didn't we meet a student from Shrek Academy yesterday?"

Although he said this, Tang San felt a bit uneasy in his heart. His gaze swept across the entire village, attempting to find any clue regarding Shrek Academy.

Finally, Tang San locked his gaze onto an archway constructed of rough logs, which had a sign hanging from it.

Tang San hurriedly activated his Purple Demon Eye, successfully making out what was written on the blurred wooden sign.

"Xiao Wu, Shrek Academy is there!"

Having found Shrek, Tang San breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand to point out the direction of the archway to Xiao Wu.

Passing through the archway, Tang San and Xiao Wu saw a Spirit Master sitting behind a worn-out wooden table, methodically processing paperwork for the parents and children waiting in line.

On the wooden table stood a flag with the words "Registration Desk" written on it.

"This, this is Shrek Academy?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened, and she pulled on Tang San's sleeve in disbelief. "It looks so poor!"

Tang San did not answer Xiao Wu's question, but he was equally stunned. When his teacher had told him about it, he had never mentioned that the conditions at Shrek Academy would be this bad!

Everything here stood in sharp contrast to Dai Mubai's formidable strength. Tang San had assumed that an academy capable of cultivating a powerhouse like Dai Mubai would surely have better teaching facilities than Nuoding City!

As it turned out, reality had slapped him hard in the face.

A line had already formed at the registration desk. Seeing that the queue was growing longer, Tang San hurriedly pulled Xiao Wu to the back of the line.

When it was their turn, Tang San took out the Gold Soul Coins he had prepared in advance and handed them to Li Yusong.

Li Yusong followed the standard procedure to test Tang San and Xiao Wu's spirit power and bone age, then directed them straight to the final assessment.

"Go wait over there. Someone will come to take you inside for the subsequent assessments shortly."

Just as Tang San was leading Xiao Wu toward the open space to wait, a sudden change occurred.

Several children who had failed to meet the requirements were walking out from inside the academy, following their parents with dejected expressions; clearly, they had been eliminated in the subsequent assessments.

The faces of these children's parents were filled with resentment and heartache; the registration fee was by no means a small sum for them.

"What kind of crappy academy is this! A place like this dares to charge ten Gold Soul Coins! Where is my child's talent lacking? Why weren't they accepted? Give us our money back!"

A middle-aged man with a slightly chubby build, dressed in silk, suddenly shouted loudly, his entire face turning bright red.

"That's right! Refund the money! What 'only accepting monsters'—I think it's just a front to scam people out of their money!"

Another woman chimed in with a shrill voice.

"Exactly! Refund the money! Otherwise, we aren't leaving today!"

With someone leading the charge, the other parents became indignant as well. They crowded around the registration table, and the scene became somewhat chaotic for a moment.

Li Yusong raised his head without even twitching an eyebrow, simply calling out toward the interior of the academy in a flat tone: "Ma Hongjun."

The voice was not loud, but it carried clearly.

Almost as soon as the words left his lips, a round figure darted out, covering the distance to the registration table in a few strides and blocking the space between Li Yusong and the parents.

Ma Hongjun didn't waste any words. He instantly activated his Martial Soul Possession, crimson flames rising around him as two yellow spirit rings appeared beneath his feet.

After several years of grueling training, Ma Hongjun's spirit power had reached level twenty-eight, and his control over his Phoenix Flame had long since surpassed what it was before.

Standing there, Ma Hongjun didn't release any spirit skills; the heat waves radiating from his Martial Soul Possession alone were enough to intimidate the group of heckling parents.

Most of the parents gathered around the table were ordinary people or low-level Spirit Masters; they had never seen such a display before.

Facing the relentless heat waves, they suddenly felt their breathing become labored, their faces scorched hot, and an uncontrollable fear welled up from the depths of their hearts.

Several parents standing closest screamed and stumbled backward. Because they were packed so tightly, their retreat caused them to collide with those behind them, triggering a wave of chaos.

Ma Hongjun's gaze swept over the fearful parents, his chubby face devoid of expression. He extended a finger and pointed to an old wooden board nailed to the front of the registration table.

On the board, a line of large characters was written in red ink:

"Once the registration fee is submitted, it will not be refunded!"

Ma Hongjun withdrew his finger and folded his arms, standing there just like that. Yet, the heat waves from his released Martial Soul and the spirit rings floating at his feet constantly urged those present to make a choice.

The few parents who had led the disturbance now had faces that alternated between red and white. They wanted to step forward to continue arguing, but were forced back a few more steps by the heat.

They looked at the young Ma Hongjun before them, then glanced at Li Yusong, who sat calmly behind the registration table. Their original anger quickly dissipated, replaced by embarrassment and cowardice.

They exchanged glances and muttered a few words to each other, but ultimately lacked the courage to continue forward.

Before leaving, a few of the bolder ones spat in frustration, cursed under their breath about "having bad luck," and then grabbed their children, turning to walk away quickly as if afraid of being too slow.

Others who had wanted to watch the show or take advantage of the chaos, seeing this, were afraid of being caught in the crossfire and slunk away.

The registration line, which had been somewhat restless, regained its order, though the atmosphere became somewhat oppressive and silent.

Tang San and Xiao Wu watched the entire farce unfold from the sidelines.

Tang San had no interest in watching the spectacle; his gaze was fixed primarily on Ma Hongjun.

A twenty-eighth-level two-ring Soul Grand Master was not enough to surprise him; what truly made Tang San's heart sink was the control Ma Hongjun displayed over his flames, as those crimson fires were clearly more than just for show.

If he were to truly face Ma Hongjun, his Blue Silver Grass, which lacked immunity to fire, was destined to be suppressed by such powerful flame control.

Shrek Academy was truly worthy of its reputation as an academy that only accepted monsters; the two students Tang San had encountered in succession were both rare geniuses in the outside world.

This only intensified the sense of urgency Tang San had originally felt because of Dai Mubai.

Seeing the troublemakers disperse, Ma Hongjun deactivated his Martial Soul Possession, turned to nod at Li Yusong, and then looked toward Tang San and Xiao Wu, revealing a slightly simple and honest smile that made him seem like a completely different person from the unapproachable figure he had been moments ago.

"The two of you, follow me! We are heading to the final assessment area now."

Although the interior of Shrek Academy remained very crude—consisting of a few classrooms clearly converted from residential houses and a flat dirt playground—it was already much better than the area outside the academy; these were the results of Xiao Qing's efforts alongside Oscar and the others, otherwise, the interior would have been even worse.

Everything here exuded a thick air of shabbiness, and had Tang San not seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to imagine that this place could cultivate geniuses like the Soul Ancestor Dai Mubai and the flame-controlling Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun was long accustomed to this and introduced the place casually as they walked:

"That's the classroom, though we rarely use it; the teachers prefer practical combat instruction. Over there is the cafeteria; Teacher Shao is in charge of the meals, and the taste is quite good!..."

Ma Hongjun chattered on as he led the two to an open patch of dirt in the center of the academy, where several people were already standing at the edge of the grounds.