Oscar had already conjured several sausages with his martial soul and was wolfing them down, his cheeks puffed up like little buns. Seeing Lin Feng finish awakening, he hurriedly held one out to him.
"Big Brother, hurry and try my sausage! It's delicious—super delicious!"
Lin Feng absentmindedly accepted the sausage, but his gaze remained fixed on the money bag in his palm, where golden light swirled.
Could this be the Small Money Bag from King equipment?
What ability did it have?
Only after taking several deep breaths did Flender barely calm himself down. He adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode over to the two of them with an air of profundity.
"Lin Feng, Oscar, have you ever heard of Shrek Academy?"
Oscar bit into his sausage and shook his puffed-up cheeks, looking utterly confused.
"What kind of crap academy is that? Never heard of it. But your academy's name is kind of strange... Is it impressive?"
"I haven't heard of it either, but I have heard of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Spirit Hall Academy, and the Elemental Academies."
Lin Feng, standing beside him, lightly shook his head as well. His gaze rested on Flender while he rapidly weighed where he and Oscar should go.
With the Innate Full Soul Power talent that he and Oscar possessed, every top power would throw open its doors for them if it were revealed.
The powerhouse-filled Spirit Hall, the fabulously wealthy Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the two empires with equally formidable overall strength... or perhaps Shrek?
"I didn't expect you to know so much."
Flender cast Lin Feng a mildly surprised glance. A trace of approval flashed through his eyes, but he did not dwell on it.
Seven soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black—rose around him. Their radiance intertwined as a vast, dense Soul Power pressure swept through the entire hall.
"Do you know why we are called Shrek Academy?"
He straightened his chest, deliberately allowing the pressure of his soul rings to linger a while longer. His voice carried a hint of incitement.
"Shrek is a monster that exists only in legends! Powerful and unstoppable!"
"Shrek Academy accepts only monsters, never ordinary people."
"Only geniuses with Innate Full Soul Power like you deserve to be called monsters and deserve to enter Shrek. Those mediocre fools do not even qualify to try."
"Our academy has a deeply established faculty. We alone have two Soul Saint teachers and three Soul Emperors!"
"And that is not all. We also have a cultivation environment tailor-made for monsters like you, along with a training system exclusive to monsters."
After saying that, he clasped his hands behind his back, wearing an expression that said, You two struck gold by meeting me today. He stared at them with burning eyes and asked in a deep voice:
"Well? Do you want to join us?"
Oscar had already been swept away by the speech. His eyes widened round, and he sucked in a sharp breath, his legs even going a little weak.
"So amazing!"
Back at the orphanage, they rarely even saw a Soul Grandmaster, yet Shrek Academy had two Soul Saints!
Then, upon hearing that they accepted only monsters and not ordinary people, the child's vanity was instantly stirred. Feeling as if he were floating, he turned and tugged on Lin Feng's sleeve.
"Big Brother! Soul Saints! There are actually two Soul Saints, and they only accept monsters! How about we go to Shrek?"
Hearing Flender mention the "unique cultivation environment and training system," the corner of Lin Feng's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly as he quickly weighed the advantages and disadvantages of each major power.
He had to admit that Shrek's faculty was indeed impressive. Two Soul Saints were already top-tier combat power within the kingdom, and there would be no need to worry too much about obtaining soul rings in the future.
However, its shortcomings were equally obvious. Its cultivation resources were far inferior to those of top powers such as Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
He knew that auxiliary martial souls had innate cultivation limitations and required enormous amounts of resources to support them.
If his martial soul was the equipment Small Money Bag, it was most likely an auxiliary martial soul as well, so he naturally could not escape that problem.
But joining a top power also carried obvious risks. He and Oscar were both commoner geniuses with no one to rely on.
Once their talents were fully exposed to the major powers, at best they would be dragged into an endless whirlpool of recruitment and become chess pieces in the struggles between factions. At worst, they might not even escape covert assassination attempts.
Should he play it safe for now, or take a bold gamble...
Flender looked at the excessively calm and steady Lin Feng and began to panic. This child was far too composed, unlike Oscar, who was so easy to fool.
His gaze held a few traces of eager temptation, and his tone gained a hint of provocation.
"Child, it is only because we happened to meet today that you have this chance. If it were anyone else, they would have to pass countless tests just to enter Shrek."
"What is it? Are you afraid to compete against other genius monsters and do not dare to come?"
"Who's afraid..."
Provoked by that, Oscar immediately became indignant. He nudged Lin Feng with his elbow and muttered quietly.
"Big Brother, what do you say?"
Lin Feng raised his eyes and smiled calmly.
"Afraid? Since Shrek only accepts monsters, then let's go meet those so-called monsters."
He still decided that it would be best to develop steadily in the early stages and figure out his own martial soul first.
Of course, Shrek had one quality he liked: it dared to protect its students and would not retreat even when facing a Title Douluo like Dugu Bo.
"Good, good, good! As expected of the genius I had my eye on!"
Flender laughed excitedly.
The moment the three of them stepped out of the hall, the orphanage director, who had been waiting at the entrance, immediately came forward. He leaned slightly forward and asked respectfully:
"Lord Soul Master, do any of these children have the talent to become soul masters?"
"One has Innate Soul Power at level one. The talent is not particularly high, but at least he qualifies to become a soul master."
Flender replied casually, patting Oscar and Lin Feng on the shoulders. An unconcealable smile hung on his face.
"These two children have Innate Soul Power at levels two and three. Their talent seems rather good to me, so I plan to take them back to the academy and cultivate them properly."
Upon hearing that, the director quickly bowed in thanks, his face full of gratitude.
"For these two children to receive Lord Soul Master's guidance is the blessing of the Angel God, and their great fortune as well. I will have to trouble you to take good care of them in the future!"
As they walked out through the orphanage gates, Lin Feng turned back and glanced at the stone statue of the Angel Goddess bathed in sunlight.
Warmth rose in his heart as he silently remembered this kindness.
For six years, the orphanage had sheltered him from the wind and rain. He had not forgotten this act of taking him in, and he never would.
On the road, Oscar held it in for a long time before finally scratching his head. He looked at Flender with a baffled expression.
"Dean, aren't we Innate Full Soul Power? Why did you say we were level three?"
Flender rubbed the back of his head. The smile on his face instantly vanished, and his expression turned serious.
"Today, I will teach you your first lesson after enrolling: learn to hide your strengths."
"You only possess the talent of monsters now, not the strength of monsters. Standing out too much will easily bring disaster."
"No matter who asks in the future, do not foolishly reveal everything. Especially secrets like your martial souls and Soul Power Levels, understand?"
"The world of soul masters..."
He paused, seemingly wanting to say something even harsher. But when he looked at their young faces, he waved his hand.
"Forget it. You little brats just need to remember what I said."
"Oh! I understand."
Oscar nodded as if he understood, though not entirely.
"Yes, Dean."
Lin Feng answered calmly.
In his impression, Flender was still quite reliable.
About an hour later, Lin Feng and Oscar followed Flender to the entrance of Shrek Academy.
But the sight before them left both boys frozen.
The village entrance was overgrown with weeds. Several wooden houses stood crookedly, their walls covered in cracks.
A gust of wind swept past, making the weathered wooden board hanging beneath the eaves creak.
The next second, it fell to the ground with a clatter, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lin Feng and Oscar exchanged a glance. Both saw disbelief in the other's eyes.
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