A Thousand Years Isn't Enough—Go Straight to Ten Thousand!

"What?!"

The referee thought he had misheard and instinctively asked again, "You said you wanted to fight how many?"

Lin Ming raised one finger and waved it before the referee, his tone as calm as if he were discussing what to eat that day. "Ten. I want to fight ten Thousand-Year Soul Beasts."

The entire Beast Fighting Arena instantly erupted.

"Did I hear that right? He actually said he wants to fight ten Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?"

"Is he crazy? Those are Thousand-Year Soul Beasts! One Soul Ancestor against ten?"

"Did you forget what the class monitor did to Teacher Li before? Teacher Li is a Soul King!"

"How can that be the same? Soul Kings are people, but Thousand-Year Soul Beasts eat people!"

Chattering discussions rose and fell. Even the other teams waiting for their assessments forgot about their own business and collectively turned their gazes toward the white-clad youth at the center of the Beast Fighting Arena.

The referee's face twitched twice. After teaching for so many years, this was the first time he had encountered such a request.

"Student, are you sure? The assessment rules allow you to choose multiple Soul Beasts, but no one has ever chosen ten. Do you know what that means?"

Lin Ming shrugged. "Of course I do. It means I can get a high score."

The referee said, "..."

He took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Wait here. I can't make this decision. I need to ask the dean."

With that, the referee quickly headed toward the judges' seats.

Yan Shaozhe was sitting there with one leg crossed over the other, a faint, half-smiling expression on his lips.

He had heard Lin Ming call him a "show-off" loud and clear earlier. He had been considering how to give the brat a little "test," and now the opportunity had delivered itself right to him.

"Dean," the referee said as he approached Yan Shaozhe, lowering his voice. "Lin Ming from Class One is asking to fight ten Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. What do you think...?"

Yan Shaozhe raised a brow, amusement flashing in his eyes.

Ten Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?

This brat had some nerve.

He stood up and cleared his throat. His voice was not loud, yet it rang clearly throughout the entire Beast Fighting Arena. "Student Lin Ming, ten Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Are you sure?"

Lin Ming nodded. "I'm sure."

"Good." Yan Shaozhe's lips curled upward. "Then I'll grant your request."

He paused, then shifted the topic. "But ten Thousand-Year Soul Beasts would be too troublesome. Let's change it."

Lin Ming froze, a faint sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Sure enough, Yan Shaozhe's next words silenced the entire Beast Fighting Arena.

"How about you fight one Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? Around twenty thousand years old."

Silence.

Dead silence.

Every student's eyes widened, their mouths hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

Twenty thousand years?

Wasn't that the kind of existence that even Soul Kings, or perhaps Soul Emperors, might not be able to defeat alone?

Lin Ming, a mere Soul Ancestor, was going to fight a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

"Dean, isn't this inappropriate?" The referee was the first to recover and hurriedly tried to dissuade him. "Although Lin Ming is quite strong, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are completely different concepts. If something happens..."

"If something happens, I'll take responsibility." Yan Shaozhe waved a hand, his gaze settling on Lin Ming. "What, don't you dare?"

Looking into Yan Shaozhe's half-smiling eyes, Lin Ming cursed the old phoenix from head to toe.

This old bastard is taking revenge for personal reasons, isn't he?

I only called you a show-off earlier. Is there really a need to screw me over like this?

But...

Lin Ming licked his lips, fighting spirit igniting in his eyes.

He truly had never fought a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast with twenty thousand years of cultivation.

But he had even absorbed that eighteen-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear last time. Why would he fear one with twenty thousand years of cultivation?

Besides, he was much stronger now than he had been then.

"Fine." Lin Ming agreed without hesitation. "Ten thousand years it is. But Dean Yan, let me make this clear first: if I win, you have to give me extra credits."

Yan Shaozhe nodded. "If you can truly win, forget extra credits. I'll personally apply for a scholarship for you."

"Deal!"

Just as the two oddballs were bargaining, an aged yet imposing voice suddenly rang out from the depths of the Beast Fighting Arena.

"Hold it."

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.

A tall elder with fiery red hair was slowly walking out through the inner gates of the Beast Fighting Arena.

The elder wore a gray robe and had a resolute face. His eyes shone brightly, as though they could see through everything.

His pace was neither hurried nor slow, yet he gave off an invisible sense of oppression.

"Elder Gong?"

Seeing the newcomer, Yan Shaozhe frowned slightly, but he still greeted him.

Gong Changlong, the managing elder of the Beast Fighting Arena.

This old man had a foul temper and was stubborn as a mule. He barely gave Yan Shaozhe any face, and there were not many people in all of Shrek who could keep him in check.

"Dean Yan." Gong Changlong walked up to the judges' seats, his tone flat. "I heard that you intend to have a second-year student fight a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast?"

Yan Shaozhe nodded. "That is indeed the case."

"Nonsense!" Gong Changlong snorted coldly. "Even some Soul Kings might not be able to handle a twenty-thousand-year Soul Beast. You're asking a Soul Ancestor to fight one. Aren't you treating a student's life like a joke?"

Yan Shaozhe remained good-natured and smiled. "Elder Gong, don't be hasty. That brat is no ordinary Soul Ancestor."

"No matter how extraordinary he is, he's still a Soul Ancestor!" Gong Changlong refused to yield. "I've managed the Beast Fighting Arena for so many years. What genius haven't I seen? A Soul Ancestor fighting a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is unheard of!"

"Then you can hear of it today." A lazy voice came from the center of the Beast Fighting Arena.

Gong Changlong turned his head and saw Lin Ming standing there with his arms crossed, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Brat, what did you say?" Gong Changlong's brow furrowed even more deeply.

Lin Ming spread his hands. "I said, just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Since Dean Yan has agreed, don't stop me. What if I really win?"

Gong Changlong was so angry he laughed. "Win? What will you use to win? Those four Spirit Rings of yours?"

"If you don't believe me, you can watch from the side." Lin Ming smiled innocently. "If I can't handle it, you can step in and save me. Wouldn't that work?"

Gong Changlong wanted to say more, but Yan Shaozhe cut in at the right moment. "Elder Gong, how about this? I'll guarantee it. If anything happens to Lin Ming, you can go complain about me to Teacher Mu."

Hearing Yan Shaozhe invoke Mu En, Gong Changlong could no longer say much.

"Fine." Gong Changlong said heavily, "I want to see what this brat is capable of."

He turned and walked to the judges' seats, then sat down heavily, crossing his arms with the look of someone waiting to watch a show.

Yan Shaozhe gave Lin Ming a meaningful look. The message was obvious: Brat, it's up to you now.

Lin Ming made a reassuring gesture, then turned toward the beast cages.

"Release it!"

The referee took a deep breath and waved toward the beast cages.