Flender's Personal Welcome

Li Yusong stood up with a gentle smile, his graying beard trembling along with his expression.

He was terrified that Xia Yan might run off.

If that old miser Flender found out, he would likely skin him alive:

"What is your name?"

"Did you come alone?"

Xia Yan summoned the Demon Suppressing Pagoda: "My name is Xia Yan, my Martial Soul is the Black Tower, and I am alone."

Li Yusong stared at the Demon Suppressing Pagoda, which was covered in complex and profound inscriptions.

His eyes went vacant.

He nodded involuntarily: "Good, the Black Tower is good..."

His gaze remained glued to the Demon Suppressing Pagoda the entire time.

He raised a hand, thoughtfully pointing out the direction for Xia Yan: "Go straight, two hundred meters and you will reach the second round. Just tell the teacher there about your soul power, and you can skip the test."

"My name is Li Yusong, welcome to Shrek Academy."

An eleven-year-old Soul Elder—his future was so bright it was practically blinding!

As for the rule that one must be twelve to enroll... who cared?

Xia Yan thanked Li Yusong for the guidance, retracted his Martial Soul, and left.

He left behind Li Yusong and the crowd, who were all staring at his retreating back.

The crowd was completely bewildered; what was going on?

Why was he suddenly being so kind?

Could he be a connection?

A bold boy stepped forward and also paid ten Gold Soul Coins: "Teacher, I am twelve, level twenty-one..."

Li Yusong turned his head.

His face now wore a lazy, insincere smile: "Hmm, not bad, raise your hand so I can test your bone age..."

It was completely different from how he had treated Xia Yan.

The path was lined with wooden houses. Before Xia Yan had walked even half the distance, a black shadow suddenly descended from the sky.

With wavy long hair, a goatee, a hooked nose, and black-rimmed crystal glasses, he exuded the cunning aura of an old fox.

One felt that in front of him, one had to stay alert at all times, or their Gold Soul Coins would be swindled away.

"You really did come!"

Watching Xia Yan's stunned, appraising gaze, Flender stood with his hands behind his back and said in a raspy voice:

"We met in Suotuo City. Now, let me reintroduce myself."

"My name is Flender, and I am the Dean of Shrek Academy."

Xia Yan had not expected Flender to appear right now. Shouldn't he be resting at his shop in Suotuo City?

Or did he come specifically because of him?

"So... Dean, are you here to..."

Flender had been waiting at Shrek since yesterday. Just a moment ago, he had a sudden premonition that the youth would definitely arrive!

He rushed over to check, and sure enough, he was here!

Suotuo City was a large city, it was true, but it only had intermediate Soul Master academies, not high-level ones. Given Xia Yan's talent, if he were a local student, it would be impossible for Flender not to have heard of him.

That meant he could only be from out of town.

His purpose in coming to Suotuo City was very likely to join Shrek Academy!

Regardless of anything else, Shrek Academy was actually quite famous in Suotuo City. In other academies, a six-ring Soul Emperor was a powerhouse among powerhouses, used to hold down the fort and serve as a pillar of strength.

But at Shrek, they were used for admissions and reception.

With this level of strength, this kind of work, and this mysterious style... that was why hundreds of students came to enroll every year.

And then ninety-nine percent of them were rejected.

He stroked his goatee and smiled with his hands behind his back: "Naturally, to take you for testing."

"Follow me."

He introduced various aspects of Shrek as he led Xia Yan to the second round.

It was also an open patch of grass.

Similar to the first round, an elder who looked even older than Li Yusong sat beside a table. A crystal ball sat on the table, and five students were queuing on the other side.

When the elder saw Flender walking over with a face full of spring breeze, and sensed the soul power fluctuations of the unfamiliar youth beside him, a flash of shock crossed his eyes.

A Soul Elder?!

Flender showed off to the old man with his eyes, and the old man was equally pleasantly surprised.

As for the second round of testing, it was naturally unnecessary; since Flender had personally stepped in, whether there was a test or not was completely irrelevant.

The same went for the third round.

The two of them walked straight ahead.

On the way, Xia Yan saw a figure with a thick beard pushing a small stall cart toward them.

The man had short hair and a full beard, looking like a rough middle-aged man, yet he wore brownish-red clothes that exuded a flamboyant air.

A flag was stuck on the small cart, depicting three crossed sausages, and the cart itself only held sausages—both thick, short ones and thin, long ones.

As they drew closer, the fragrance wafting from the sausages became noticeable.

Oscar was pushing his cart, preparing to go to the village entrance to sell sausages, but when he saw Flender, he paused immediately, intending to pretend he hadn't seen him and quickly turn to take a detour.

When he reached the corner, He stopped to sneak a peek at Xia Yan.

He scanned Xia Yan's physique and appearance... Hmm? Could he be here to challenge me?

He felt a strong sense of crisis.

No!

Oscar raised an eyebrow.

The Dean is receiving him personally; could he also be a genius?

Flender's eye for talent was picky; ordinary geniuses couldn't catch his attention. He hadn't even shown up when Dai Mubai enrolled.

Oscar observed carefully with those peach-blossom eyes.

This newcomer looks quite good, and his talent seems decent.

Is he here to challenge my status as the number one in talent and appearance at Shrek?!

No way.

I have to follow them and see!

Oscar was indeed worthy of being called Shrek's number one genius.

Despite possessing a food-type martial soul, he was the first in the history of the continent to have Innate Full Soul Power.

"The first round tests soul power and age. As long as you are under twelve and your soul power is above level twenty-one, it's the round that weeds out the most people,"

Flender ignored Oscar, who was sneaking along behind them. If he wants to follow, let him follow, but why be so stealthy?

Is he a thief?

"The second round conducts a martial soul appraisal..."

"The third round..."

While speaking, the two walked to the final round, which was the fourth.

It was also a wide-open grassy field, twice the size of the second round's area.

A person was sitting there, bored. He had a slender build, long golden hair draped over his shoulders, and heterochromatic eyes—one brilliant gold and the other water blue.

Seeing Flender arrive, he quickly stood up, walked over, and said respectfully, "Dean."

It could be none other than Dai Mubai.

Flender was in an excellent mood and said to Xia Yan:

"This is the fourth round, and the final one. It tests combat ability and is the only round you cannot skip. Adjust your state; afterward, you will spar with Mubai."

He then introduced Dai Mubai: "This is Dai Mubai. He enrolled two years before you and is currently the oldest and strongest student in the academy. He has level eight Innate Soul Power, and his martial soul is the White Tiger."

He then said to Dai Mubai: "Mubai, this is Xia Yan, a new student enrolling this year. His martial soul is the Black Tower."

Dai Mubai looked Xia Yan up and down.

Needless to say, he could see Flender's good mood; Xia Yan's talent must be exceptional.

"Good,"

He smiled in a friendly manner and reached out his hand: "Hello, junior. You can call me Dai Mubai or Senior. Don't worry, this is just a spar; I won't go too hard on you."

"You can take your time to adjust your state. Our academy only accepts monsters among monsters; basically, no one ever makes it to the fourth round, so no one will disturb us."

However, even if Xia Yan has good talent, so what?

Can he surpass him?

Heh, even if he weren't at Shrek Academy, in any other academy, he would still be the strongest.

The strongest must, of course, have the demeanor of the strongest.

He would naturally be magnanimous toward Xia Yan.

Xia Yan reached out to shake his hand: "No need, we can start right now."

Dai Mubai was very graceful: "Very well."

The two walked toward the center of the grass.