"Why was it her?!"
Inside the Crown Prince's Mansion in Heaven Dou City.
Qian Renxue had finally learned who had taken first place on the Genius Ranking.
But when she saw the unforgettable face on the Sky Screen, the white jade teacup clenched in her hand slipped to the floor with a clatter and shattered to pieces.
She had seen Stelle twice before.
The first time, she'd seen her rummaging through a trash can.
The Xue Qinghe she was impersonating was a refined and elegant crown prince, destined to rule the entire Heaven Dou Empire one day.
When she saw someone picking through garbage in such a prosperous part of Heaven Dou City, she'd gone over and given Stelle some money.
Stelle had accepted it with delight.
But as soon as she had the money, she turned around and plunged right back into the nearby trash can to rummage through it.
Qian Renxue had immediately felt as if she'd been mocked, and decided that Stelle was deliberately making a fool of her!
That encounter had left a particularly deep impression on her.
The second time she'd seen Stelle was in Sunset Forest.
She'd witnessed Stelle stealing food from an Earth Spirit Beast.
It was a kind of dark red soil.
Would any normal person eat that? Even if they were curious, surely they wouldn't actually eat it!
Now that she saw Stelle on the Sky Screen, Qian Renxue could only stare in disbelief, unable to make sense of it.
This trash-picker, this girl with her bizarre, almost unhinged behavior, was actually the one who had crushed every genius on Douluo Continent to claim first place!
Even more unbelievable was the age listed after Stelle's name—she was only two and a half?!
You're telling me this tall, graceful young lady is only a little over two years old?
What the hell, she's two and a half?!
Are you sure she isn't twenty-five?
Did the Sky Screen accidentally add a decimal point?
Stelle had been quite conspicuous around Heaven Dou City lately.
She was pretty, always picked through trash, and loved bouncing around in the street, climbing onto rooftops to shout at the top of her lungs.
It was hard not to notice her.
When people who knew her saw Stelle ranked first on the Genius Ranking, they were all left gaping in shock.
Inside Spirit Hall.
Qian Daoliu stared at Stelle on the Sky Screen, his face full of confusion. He didn't recognize her.
But when he saw the age listed beside her name, compassion and affection instantly appeared in his usually stern eyes.
A normal child couldn't possibly grow to look like that at two and a half.
Something extraordinary must have happened to this child, leaving her with a developmental disability that had caused her body to grow abnormally.
As for why she ranked first on the Genius Ranking, it was entirely because she was so young.
Qian Daoliu figured that even if Stelle had only the strength of a one-ring Soul Scholar, her age alone would be enough to put her ahead of everyone else.
After all, the other contestants wouldn't have stood a chance against Stelle as she was now when they were two and a half!
"Two point five years old... How is that possible?"
"Could she be a child of the gods?!"
Bibi Dong stared fixedly at Stelle on the Sky Screen, her gaze locked on the age beside her name. Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly.
She had already received the Rakshasa God's trials, so she knew for certain that gods existed in this world.
But Stelle's circumstances completely defied the laws of human growth on Douluo Continent.
She had to be the child of some god in the Divine Realm, secretly slipping down to the mortal world to play.
After all, none of them knew what the Divine Realm was really like.
Perhaps its inhabitants were already grown when they were born.
At the thought, Bibi Dong slammed her Scepter into the ground with a dull thud.
Her stern, icy voice instantly rang throughout the entire Pope's Palace:
"Notify every Spirit Hall branch!"
"You must find this person for me!"
"Bring her before me!"
"Awooo~~ Sky Screen! Are you messing with us?!"
"You put a two-and-a-half-year-old disabled person in first place. You did that on purpose to make fools of us, didn't you?!"
"That disabled person must have pushed the Twin Stars of my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan down the rankings!"
"I demand a new ranking! Redo it!"
Inside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's residence, Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen's furious roar shook the heavens, every word steeped in indignation and resentment.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect were both among the Upper Three Sects, and both had someone on the list.
Only the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan hadn't had a single name appear!
Their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was hailed as the strongest Beast Martial Soul in the world!
This was a humiliation beyond measure!
Yu Yuanzhen trembled with rage, hurling everything in his hands to the ground again and again. The entire mansion shook violently.
At the same time, by the gates of Heaven Dou City.
When the Shrek Academy group saw Stelle on the Sky Screen, their eyes all landed on the figure holding a bat and looking haughty. Their faces were filled with disbelief.
Oscar, who'd been acting so arrogant and throwing his weight around earlier, hurriedly shoved the Sausage he'd been using as a weapon into his mouth.
With a whoosh, he retreated several hundred steps, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Dai Mubai and Tang San were both visibly shaken, their faces still pale with fear.
Their minds hadn't caught up yet.
Qian Renxue, who was ranked second, had a Soul Power of level sixty-nine.
If Stelle could outrank Qian Renxue, then her Soul Power had to be at least level sixty!
She might even be a Soul Saint!
Shrek Academy's motto was that those who didn't dare cause trouble were useless.
But there was a time and place for everything!
They didn't dare go looking for a quick death by picking a fight with someone like Stelle.
Seeing the two cower, Stelle gave them a scornful, disdainful look.
She casually rested the bat on her shoulder and glared coldly at Dai Mubai and Tang San.
"Weren't you going to beat me to a pulp?"
"Come on, then!"
"I'm standing right here. Go ahead and beat me up!"
Stelle looked utterly, infuriatingly punchable.
Her eyes were full of smugness, as if to say, I just love watching you want to hit me but not be able to!
Mimi stood beside her with her hands on her hips, looking just as pleased with herself.
"Boss Dai!"
"This trash-picker only came in first, that's all!"
"Think about it. Oscar and Ning Rongrong ranked ahead of you too, didn't they?"
"They're only ahead of you because they're younger!"
"Look at Stelle—she's only two and a half!"
"Though I don't know how she got so big at that age, we can be sure her age gave her a lot of extra points!"
"Her actual strength is probably only about the same as Fatty's!"
"We can team up and take her down first!"
"Then... hmph! You said the first-place reward hasn't been given out yet. If she's already gone, will the Sky Screen issue the ranking reward again?"
Tang San quickly calmed down. His analysis was clear and orderly as he fixed a gloomy stare on Stelle, then gave Dai Mubai a look.
Dai Mubai's eyes lit up at his words.
Tang San made a good point.
Besides, he couldn't bring himself to back down like that in front of the woman he liked!
Dai Mubai let out a furious roar and activated Martial Soul Possession. His powerful White Tiger Soul Power swept outward, and he turned into a blur as he charged savagely at Stelle!
Faced with Dai Mubai's knife-sharp tiger claws, Stelle merely gave the bat resting on her shoulder a lazy swing and lightly deflected them.
"Crack! Crack!"
Several sharp snaps rang out.
The moment Dai Mubai's claws collided with Stelle's bat, his face turned deathly pale, twisting in agony.
He stared in disbelief at his fingers, broken and bent out of shape, and let out a piercing, anguished howl:
"Ugh... Aaaah!!"
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