When Wang Dong'er opened her eyes again, the scene before her had changed completely.
She was no longer inside the metallic virtual pod. Before her lay a lush, verdant forest.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows across the ground. The air was filled with the fragrance of soil and fresh grass.
"This is... way too realistic, isn't it?"
Curiosity filled Wang Dong'er's pink-blue eyes. She tried stomping her foot, and the ground beneath her felt firm yet springy. It did not feel like a virtual space at all.
The place looked fairly open. Just as she was about to inspect how large this space was, the bushes not far away rustled.
Xiao Xiao and Xi Er emerged one after the other.
"Wang Dong'er!"
Xiao Xiao ran over excitedly, clearly just as shocked by the lifelike environment.
The three quickly regrouped. After briefly exchanging their impressions, Wang Dong'er immediately put away her curious expression and lowered her voice.
"Stay alert, everyone. Watch the surroundings. This place is full of dense trees, making it perfect for ambushes."
Xi Er nodded. The scythe martial soul in her hand silently appeared, black light flickering around it as she warily watched the area.
The three decided to find advantageous terrain first and formulate their next strategy.
However, their luck seemed rather good. Or perhaps their opponents' luck was simply too terrible.
Just as they had finished discussing their formation, they ran into a group of three students who were peeking around nervously.
Those three students had clearly just entered as well and had not figured out the situation yet. When they saw Wang Dong'er's group, they froze for a moment before instinctively releasing their martial souls.
One white, one white, one yellow.
Three one-ring Soul Masters.
Wang Dong'er nearly laughed out loud.
"Are they really this weak?"
She turned to look at Xiao Xiao beside her.
"Xiao Xiao, don't let them get away."
"Understood!"
Xiao Xiao giggled and raised the Nine Phoenix Flute to her lips. A mournful flute melody instantly rang out as a yellow soul ring pulsed beneath her feet.
"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Cry!"
It directly inflicted a slowing effect on the three of them.
At the same time, the Light Goddess Butterfly wings behind Wang Dong'er abruptly spread open, their dazzling blue-gold radiance illuminating the forest clearing.
Two-ring against one-ring, and it was even two against three. This was a completely one-sided battle with no suspense whatsoever.
The battle began suddenly and ended even more hastily.
After just one exchange, the three one-ring Soul Masters were swept by the sharp edges of Wang Dong'er's wings. They did not even have time to scream before their bodies turned directly into countless specks of light.
"Bzzzz—"
The specks of light dispersed into the air, as if they had never existed at all.
The three girls all froze at the sight.
"They're just... gone?"
Xiao Xiao stretched out a hand, trying to catch the fading specks of light, but grasped nothing.
"This feeling... is so amazing."
Although they knew it was a virtual space, watching living people turn into light and vanish still carried considerable visual impact. For them, it was an incredibly novel experience. They had never seen such a method before.
"Is this Shrek's technology?"
Wang Dong'er folded her wings and could not help sighing.
"This technology is simply incredible."
Every tree, every blade of grass, even the effects after someone was defeated—everything had been done so perfectly.
"Enough marveling at it."
Wang Dong'er clapped her hands, the fighting spirit in her eyes growing even stronger.
"Other than the three of us, there are still twenty-one people left."
She glanced at Xiao Xiao and Xi Er, a confident curve forming at the corner of her lips.
"Since defeating people here is so quick and clean, we should speed things up."
"We need to think of a way to take care of everyone else at once."
"That way, there'll be one class president and two vice class presidents. The three of us can take all the positions!"
"You're right!"
Xi Er agreed.
"Though we don't know exactly how many Contribution Points there are, a class president selected through a massive free-for-all like this definitely earns quite a few."
"Once we clear out everyone else, the three of us can spar internally and decide the final winner!"
The three exchanged looks and reached an agreement. Then, with a flash, they vanished into the dense forest and began their hunt.
Outside the virtual pods.
The enormous display screen was broadcasting real-time footage from every corner of the virtual space.
Huo Yuhao stood beside Shen Yi with his eyes wide open, watching Wang Dong'er and the others' every move clearly.
"This..."
He then turned to look at the silver-white virtual pods lying quietly on the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief.
They were clearly so tiny that it was difficult to even turn around inside them.
How could they create such a huge space within them?
And the scenery on the screen looked practically identical to the Star Dou Forest!
"This is the power of Soul Tool technology."
Shen Yi noticed Huo Yuhao's expression and smiled.
"Isn't it amazing?"
Huo Yuhao nodded vigorously and answered honestly.
"It really is."
"I never imagined Soul Tools could reach such a level."
Shen Yi continued explaining.
"These virtual pods are not merely used for class president selection."
"Their more important purpose is to simulate combat environments for students."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao deeply agreed.
If all kinds of extreme environments could be simulated in a virtual space...
"Could places like icy wastelands also be simulated?"
Huo Yuhao could not help asking.
"Of course."
Shen Yi nodded.
"Whether it is an ice field of extreme cold, a scorching volcano, or even the deep sea, all of it can be perfectly recreated."
"If students can conduct actual combat drills in such places beforehand, then when they truly encounter those environments, they will naturally be much more familiar with them, and their survival rate will rise greatly."
"And," Shen Yi said with a smile as she looked at Huo Yuhao, "don't you think there is something else special about this?"
Huo Yuhao thought for a moment before cautiously replying.
"Fighting here... means we can go all out without worrying about using too much force and causing irreversible harm?"
The sight of those three students turning into specks of light had left a deep impression on him.
"That's right. It is indeed one advantage."
Shen Yi gave him an approving look.
"Here, death is not the end. It is merely elimination. Everyone can freely unleash those powerful soul skills that they would normally not dare use on their classmates."
"Besides that, there is another advantage."
Shen Yi paused and pointed at the black shadows that occasionally flashed across the screen.
"That is the ability to simulate battles against soul beasts."
"Although killing soul beasts here cannot increase the age of one's soul rings like it can in the Spirit Ascension Platform."
"Here, however, all kinds of rare and powerful soul beasts can be simulated."
"Becoming familiar with their attack methods and finding their weaknesses is also a very beneficial accumulation for Soul Masters."
Huo Yuhao was stunned once again.
Without risking their lives, they could gain real combat experience against all kinds of soul beasts?
This was simply a training paradise every Soul Master dreamed of!
Was this the genuine Shrek Academy?
Beibei and the others' Shrek Academy did not have something like this, did it?
Lin Feng heard that pleasant sound again.
[ Ding~ ] [Detected an increase in Xiao Xiao's recognition that Shrek Academy is Monster Academy.] [Congratulations, Host. Reward obtained: Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron (with nine hundred-thousand-year soul rings).] [Detected an increase in Wang Dong'er's recognition that Shrek Academy is Monster Academy!] [Congratulations, Host. Reward obtained: all of your soul rings' ages increased by 200,000 years!] [Detected an increase in Huo Yuhao's recognition that Shrek Academy is Monster Academy!] [Congratulations, Host. Reward obtained: all experience and knowledge of a level-ten Soul Engineer!]
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