A naked golden glint flashed through Flender's eyes. In his opinion, the little gray-haired girl had been full of flaws.
She lived by scavenging through garbage every day, clearly a penniless pauper.
The things she did in her daily life were all so crazy and erratic, which fit her two-and-a-half-year-old age perfectly. At a glance, she seemed simple-minded and easy to fool.
He only needed to dangle a little money in front of her, and he was sure he could easily recruit Stelle, an unparalleled genius, into Shrek Academy.
Then, if Stelle represented the academy in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, the championship would be as good as theirs.
The prize for this year's tournament was a full three Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones!
Every Soul Bone was priceless, worth more than its weight in gold. As long as he, Flender, got his hands on them—
Even selling just one would give him enough to squander for the rest of his life. He'd never have to worry about money again!
At that moment, a crowd had gathered to watch. There were plenty of curious Spirit Masters, and spies from the various major factions were lurking among them as well.
When they saw Flender trying to recruit Stelle in public, an uproar broke out. One after another, they cursed Shrek Academy for its shamelessness behind its back.
Earlier, Shrek Academy's students had tried to bully Stelle and teach her a lesson, only to get a sound beating from her instead.
Now that they knew the value of her talent, they'd immediately changed their tune and come running to recruit her. They were shameless beyond belief!
Stelle looked at the sleazy grin plastered across Flender's shoehorn-shaped face.
Then she glanced at Ma Hongjun beside him, whose expression was complicated, and couldn't help pouting.
With her hands on her hips, she deliberately scrunched up her little cat face and made no effort to hide her disdain as she spoke in a clear, childish voice:
"You think you can recruit me? Believe it or not, I'll knock you all into the sky with one swing of my bat, so you can stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun!"
"Stelle, aren't you curious why you're so young, yet already possess such formidable strength?"
A steady voice suddenly rang out. Yu Xiaogang clasped one hand behind his back and slowly shut the book he held. He looked at Stelle with a grave expression, his tone solemn.
"Don't you think this kind of heaven-defying power will only bring you endless danger and death?"
"If you're willing to join Shrek Academy, I, Yu Xiaogang, have spent over forty years studying Martial Souls and am known throughout the world as Grandmaster. Solving the hidden dangers and troubles within you would be well within my abilities."
His words carried a veiled threat, as though if Stelle refused his offer—
Sooner or later, she would be devoured by her own power and meet a miserable end, body and soul destroyed!
Stelle's eyes drooped slightly as she looked at Yu Xiaogang, her gaze full of unconcern.
Although Yu Xiaogang put on the airs of a learned scholar,
Stelle knew perfectly well that he couldn't help her in the slightest, let alone resolve the dangers posed by the Stellaron inside her.
If Yu Xiaogang truly had such earth-shattering abilities, the Aeon of Erudition would have gazed upon him long ago, and he'd have become a member of the Genius Society.
How else could he still be such an obscure nobody?
Then Stelle slowly raised her head and gazed up at the cloudless sky, speaking lazily with a voice dripping in sarcasm:
"Some people just don't know their own limits. They insist on puffing themselves up to save face. It's absolutely laughable."
"If you really had that kind of earth-shattering strength, how could you be such a pathetic, one-hit-fodder nobody?"
"The power of Erudition is the sort of mighty force that lets you kill a Voidranger with nothing but a piece of chalk. It's not some empty show like you, all talk and no real accomplishments to speak of!"
Stelle's meaning couldn't have been clearer—Yu Xiaogang was too weak and wasn't fit to speak to her!
Yu Xiaogang's face turned pale, then green, and finally flushed the color of pig liver. His whole body trembled!
"Hah! What a boast! Stelle, no matter how powerful you are, Shrek Academy isn't afraid of you!"
Seeing Yu Xiaogang mocked so mercilessly, Liu Erlong flew into a rage. Her fiery temper erupted in an instant.
Flames surged around her. The scorching blaze nearly warped the air, and waves of heat swept in every direction!
"Mimi, Mimi..."
Seeing her opponent release such powerful Soul Power again, Mimi finally stopped playing around and planted her feet, hands on her hips.
This time, she didn't transform into her giant form. Instead, she clenched her little fists tight.
Phantom fists, each one brimming with terrifying power, pounded toward Liu Erlong like a raging storm!
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
The endless barrage of fists instantly engulfed Liu Erlong. Caught off guard, she was driven backward again and again, unable to fight back.
Under the relentless blows, her enormous dragon body cracked apart inch by inch, each fracture ringing out with a teeth-grating crunch.
Liu Erlong was horrified. She never would have imagined that she would suffer the same fate as Zhao Wuji, who hadn't lasted even one round against Mimi!
Just what was this little thing? How could she be so powerful?!
Seeing Liu Erlong battered and sprawled on the ground, the onlookers immediately began whispering among themselves, their faces full of schadenfreude.
The people from Shrek Academy had given Stelle all sorts of trouble earlier, yet now they'd overestimated themselves and tried to recruit her. They'd gotten exactly what they deserved. It was immensely satisfying!
"Damn it! Stelle, how dare you keep hurting the teachers and students of Shrek Academy! Senior Poison Douluo will never let you get away with this!"
Seeing Liu Erlong injured, Tang San flew into a furious rage.
Liu Erlong was his teacher's wife, and he valued family above all else. He could no longer keep his cool, and let out an angry roar.
Stelle didn't even deign to glance at him. She kept looking up at the sky, when a spark suddenly flashed in her eyes.
Finally, there was a reaction beside her name again.
Her introduction was slowly appearing. Soon, she'd get the reward she deserved, too, right?
Just then, a tremendous rumble suddenly came from the sky. A thunderous voice rang out across the heavens.
Everyone couldn't help turning their attention away from Stelle and looking up at the sky!
On the Sky Screen, row after row of glittering golden words slowly appeared, as though the Heavenly Ranking had descended.
Everyone held their breath, faces filled with shock and confusion!
[Stelle possesses the powers of Trailblaze, Destruction, Preservation, Harmony, Memory, and Finality!] [On the very first day of her life, she refused to follow the beaten path and took a full-force blow from a Destruction Beast head-on. She dared to face death on the day she was born. Doesn't that make her the most fanatical follower of the Aeon of Destruction? She earned the Aeon of Destruction's gaze!] [When she was just one month old, she pulled off an even more astonishing feat: wielding a tiny baseball bat, she dared to take on Cocolia, whose power could destroy a planet. Her body was pierced through, and she took one hundred percent of the damage, willingly bearing a fatal blow in place of her teammate. Isn't that the perfect example of Preservation?] [By the time she was six months old, she had become a reliable fighter aboard the Astral Express. She helped her teammates hunt down a Lord Ravager, while also saving the Ambrosial Arbor crisis and averting a cosmic catastrophe!] [Shortly before she turned one, at Herta Space Station, she held out alone for one minute against the Insect King created by Ruan Mei, a being with Emanator abilities. Her strength was truly heaven-defying!] [At one year old, in the land of dreams, Penacony, she earned the Watchmaker's recognition and the Aeon of Harmony's gaze. She fought shoulder to shoulder with her teammates, defeated the Emanator-level Sunday, and successfully uncovered the Family's shocking conspiracy. She even used the power of Finality to reverse time and change the fate of her companion's death!] [At two years old, in Amphoreus, she experienced the miracle of returning from the dead. Not only did the long-missing Aeon of Memory, Fuli, gaze upon her, she also turned the natural order upside down and became a local Demigod. Together with her companions, she saved the entire universe from an apocalyptic calamity!]
Hiss...
Seeing Stelle's introduction, the people of the Douluo Continent all sucked in a sharp breath.
Was she even human?
Before you continue