It was just that,
no one present could tell what kind of Martial Soul it was.
A trace of confusion crept into Li Yusong's eyes. "What kind of Martial Soul is that? It's all dark and inky..."
The Martial Soul was purplish-black with a hint of green. It was nothing but a twisted vine...
Tang San's face darkened in an instant, and the corner of his eye started twitching uncontrollably again.
Insulting him was bad enough. Insulting the fruits of his and his teacher's hard work was even worse!
"This is... Blue Silver Grass. I'm the most talented Blue Silver Grass Soul Master on the continent, level twenty-six... My Martial Soul changed appearance, so it's perfectly normal for outsiders not to recognize it."
But Tang San could only endure it.
He couldn't beat a Soul Emperor right now.
Behind Tang San, the others were all stunned. A level-twenty-six Blue Silver Grass Soul Master at twelve years old?!
Could the Trash Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, really be cultivated to level twenty-six?!
Li Yusong nodded. "All right. You, little girl over there, come on up."
Xiao Wu stepped up to the table.
She took ten Gold Soul Coins from her pink purse. "Teacher, I can pay my own registration fee. Could you let him take back the Gold Soul Coins he just paid for me?"
Li Yusong had no objections.
"All right, boy, hurry up and take your money back. The little girl doesn't need you to pay for her."
Xiao Wu dropped the Gold Soul Coins into the wooden box, then repeated to Tang San what she had already told him three times:
"I said it three times on the way here. Thank you, but I have money. You don't need to pay for me."
Tang San looked aggrieved. "Xiao Wu, I was trying to help you!"
Xiao Wu repeated herself once more. "Thank you. No need."
After she had her bone age checked, she summoned her Martial Soul and two Century Soul Rings.
"My Martial Soul is the Soft Bone Rabbit."
Feeling the Soul Power Xiao Wu radiated, which was close to level thirty, Li Yusong perked up. "Not bad, not bad."
Shrek really had been getting better and better over the years.
The little girl had plenty of Soul Power, and the dark-skinned boy wasn't bad either. Good, very good!
"Mm, all right."
He nodded repeatedly.
Then he said to Dai Mubai behind him, "Mubai, take them inside."
Tang San looked at the man named Dai Mubai and saw that he wasn't looking at him at all. Instead, he was staring behind him,
his eyes wide and fixed, filled with undisguised desire,
and gleaming with a strange light.
Tang San turned to look behind him.
His pupils jolted.
S-so beautiful!
In the line of three behind him,
two peerlessly beautiful girls were standing there.
The girl in front had a cool, aloof air about her. She was slender, with skin as fair as snow, a delicate little face, and clear, bright eyes. Her figure was flawless; even her black clothes couldn't hide her astonishing waist-to-hip ratio.
The girl behind her was her complete opposite. She had yellow hair and wore a pale yellow dress. A gentle smile rested on her exquisite, lovely face,
making her seem exceptionally sweet and adorable—
a little angel who could heal anyone's heart!
Just standing there, the two of them made a beautiful sight at the village entrance.
Dai Mubai didn't immediately lead them away.
Instead, he waited for the two girls.
Tang San didn't mind. Though Xiao Wu was the prettiest in his eyes, there was no harm in waiting a little longer.
Xiao Wu didn't care either.
The cool, aloof girl finished her test first.
She passed.
Next came the sweet, adorable girl.
The girl summoned her Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul.
Li Yusong's expression changed. "Y-you're sure your family will allow this?"
The girl smiled lightly, her voice soft and melodious, so sweet it seemed to melt into the ears and make them tingle.
"Didn't you say anyone who meets the requirements can enroll?"
"Do I not meet them?"
Li Yusong fell silent for a moment.
Then he thought, That's true. I'm only in charge of admissions. If they meet the requirements, I accept them. If there are any problems later,
that old lottery addict can deal with them.
It has nothing to do with me.
"All right, go on through."
Dai Mubai's eyes lit up. It was actually the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul?!
He went up to Ning Rongrong with a warm smile, his manner friendly and welcoming. "You two junior sisters, I'm your senior. If you ever have any questions, you can come to me anytime. Now, follow me."
Ning Rongrong covered her mouth and giggled. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior..."
She looked every bit the well-behaved young lady.
Dai Mubai felt as if the sun had burst into brilliant sunshine inside him.
Then Dai Mubai led the four of them into the village.
At the second test, the students waiting in line objected to them skipping the test, so everyone had to have their Martial Souls and Soul Power assessed.
Every one of them was a genius with Soul Power above level twenty-five.
Tang San was astonished to discover that he was actually the weakest?!
Xiao Wu was level twenty-nine, Zhu Zhuqing was level twenty-seven, and Ning Rongrong was level twenty-six!
The same as his Soul Power!
Auxiliary-type Soul Masters were supposed to cultivate the slowest.
And she could still keep up with him?!
Tang San had planned to show off his exceptional talent at Shrek Academy,
and show Xiao Wu how charming he was.
How was he supposed to do that now?
He was the weakest!
In an instant, Tang San was consumed by an overwhelming sense of imbalance. Ever since he'd arrived outside Shrek Village, nothing had gone his way.
Li Yusong had insulted the Blue Silver Grass that represented all the hard work he and his teacher had put in, and now everyone else had outclassed him.
Truly... what a terrible start!
Tang San could only console himself: Blue Silver Grass was a Trash Martial Soul to begin with. Reaching level twenty-six was already impressive, thanks to your hard work and your teacher's guidance. It didn't matter if you improved a little more slowly. Don't look at your low Soul Power—you're still stronger than them!
Who could withstand your poison?
You're the strongest!
After the second test, they passed straight through the third and continued toward the fourth.
Oscar was pushing his little food cart, getting ready to go sell Sausages at the entrance.
The smell of the Sausages traveled along with him.
Then, from more than a hundred meters away,
he spotted them.
Wow!
Oscar's eyes lit up instantly.
So beautiful!
And there were three of them!
What kind of good luck had the academy stumbled into?!
Last year there had been Xia Yan, and this year there were three new students!
It wasn't easy to make it to the fourth test!
Then he noticed someone else tagging along with them—a dark-skinned boy.
No, he should be called a dark-skinned man. He looked quite a bit older than Oscar,
even older than Dai Mubai.
A family member?
No, family members weren't allowed inside, were they?
After mulling it over, Oscar realized:
Could he be another new student?
Four new students this year?!
Remembering how terrifying Xia Yan had been, Oscar's curiosity was thoroughly piqued.
No, he couldn't waste time making money. He had to follow them and take a look.
So Oscar followed after them.
Tang San keenly noticed that the vendor who had been more than a hundred meters away was actually tailing them.
He frowned. "Why's there a lecherous middle-aged man following us?"
If he taught that lecherous vendor a lesson, could he show off his strength in front of Xiao Wu?
Would Xiao Wu think better of him?
Tang San felt a surge of eagerness. He was just about to go over and teach Oscar a lesson,
when—
Dai Mubai merely glanced behind him. "He's a student at the academy too. His name's Oscar, and his Martial Soul is Sausage. Don't let his thick beard fool you—he's only fourteen, just two years older than you..."
Ning Rongrong and the others looked back at Oscar's luxuriant beard.
They could just make out the air of a boy their own age beneath it,
and marveled at how unusual it was.
Tang San, meanwhile, looked disappointed. There went his chance to show off.
Beneath the clear sky,
above a forest that stretched beyond sight,
a green figure flew swiftly along a river.
Xia Yan sat on the back of the Jade Green Bird, watching everything around him.
He had come here, of course, to look for the Blue Silver Emperor.
He just didn't know the exact location of Holy Soul Village, so he could only search along the river.
He knew the Blue Silver Emperor was beneath a waterfall.
Before you continue