In the blink of an eye, another school year had begun.
The parasol leaves on Sea God Island had turned gold at the edges, and the wind blowing across the lake carried the chill of early autumn.
With Mu En's approval, Mu Tianyi left Sea God Island and officially enrolled in the Outer Court.
Not long after word spread, the heads of the Martial Soul Department and Soul Guidance Department arrived at Sea God Pavilion one after the other.
As for who those two were?
Did that even need asking?
They were Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er, the deans of the Martial Soul Department and Soul Guidance Department respectively.
Xian Lin'er had once entertained a thought:
Mu Tianyi's talent was simply uncanny.
If she put him into the "Ultimate Individual Soldier" project, there was a good chance he would succeed.
Once he was properly nurtured, equipped with Soul Tools, and allowed to carve a path through sheer strength, why would Shrek not rise to even greater heights?
Unfortunately, Mu Tianyi could not even be bothered to spare the Soul Guidance Department a glance. As for the "Ultimate Individual Soldier" project? He had even less interest in that.
Mu Tianyi knew perfectly well that even if Shrek sold everything it owned to develop Soul Tools, it still would not catch up to the Sun Moon Empire within a few decades.
But what about himself?
Within a few decades, becoming a Titled Douluo was all but certain. Becoming a Limit Douluo was not impossible either.
By then, his fists and feet would be the law of heaven itself. Why would he need any Soul Tool cooperation?
Wouldn't it be better to simply crush them head-on?
Yan Shaozhe rose to his feet, patted dust that did not exist from his robe, and cupped his hands toward Mu En.
"Teacher, since Tianyi has made his decision, I'll take him with me."
He turned his head toward Xian Lin'er, the smile on his lips growing a touch more smug.
"Lin'er, I told you so. You came for nothing..."
Xian Lin'er's face flushed red with anger as she slapped the table and stood up.
"Yan Shaozhe, don't you dare get so smug!"
Without even looking back, Yan Shaozhe headed outside, laughter in his voice. "I'm not being smug. It's simply fate!"
Xian Lin'er gritted her teeth, shot Yan Shaozhe's retreating back a fierce glare, then turned to Mu En.
Holding his teacup, Mu En watched the two bicker with an indifferent gaze. He sighed and shook his head.
The grievances between those two were a long story.
When Yan Shaozhe was young, he had been dashing and romantic, yet he simply could not keep his lower half in check, provoking a woman he should never have provoked.
His tangled history with Xian Lin'er had lasted decades and still had not settled down.
Sometimes, Mu En truly could not understand how the disciple he had raised could be so muddleheaded when it came to men and women.
It would have been one thing if Yan Shaozhe lacked the right state of mind in cultivation, but he was just as hopeless with women.
He could not even satisfy a few women. Mu En was embarrassed to tell anyone that this was his disciple.
After leaving Sea God Pavilion, Yan Shaozhe grabbed Mu Tianyi by the shoulder. Brilliant golden Bright Phoenix wings unfurled behind him.
Yan Shaozhe carried the two of them straight across the skies above Sea God Island, flying toward the Outer Court's enrollment site.
Looking down from above, Shrek Academy's buildings stretched out in overlapping layers, with gray walls and blue tiles, ancient and solemn.
The Outer Court covered several times more land than the Inner Court.
Teaching buildings, training grounds, Soul Fighting Arenas, and dormitories were scattered in an orderly fashion amid lush green trees.
At that moment, however, the liveliest place was undoubtedly the enrollment site.
Shrek Academy was the number one institution on the Douluo Continent.
Its annual enrollment day was a grand event for the entire continent.
Although its selection criteria were extraordinarily harsh, thousands upon thousands still applied every year.
Yan Shaozhe brought the two down onto a rooftop near the edge of the enrollment grounds and withdrew his wings.
Below them was a sea of people.
Several hundred children around the age of twelve stood in long lines, accompanied by their parents or alone.
The lines twisted and turned, stretching beyond sight.
Maintaining order were second- and third-year Outer Court students.
Dressed in matching yellow uniforms, with green Shrek Academy badges pinned to their chests, they all looked alert and spirited as their vigilant gazes swept through the crowd.
Mu Tianyi casually sensed the area and found at least a dozen hidden auras belonging to high-level soul masters among the crowd.
Yan Shaozhe brought Mu Tianyi to an open space near the end of the registration line, released him, and instructed him:
"Tianyi, line up here and register. I'll head back to the Martial Soul Department first."
"Once you've registered, someone will naturally arrange what comes next for you."
After saying that, perhaps because Yan Shaozhe was in especially good spirits, he even gave a little hum.
As he walked, he thought, Mu Tianyi, this genius belongs to the Martial Soul Department now. For the next few decades, the Soul Guidance Department can forget about making a comeback.
Yan Shaozhe had never been a supporter of Soul Tools.
In his view, the resources required to train one high-level Soul Engineer were enough to train three to five soul masters of the same rank.
And Shrek's Soul Tool technology, at best, had only reached the eighth rank.
An eighth-rank Soul Engineer had virtually no chance of winning against a Titled Douluo in actual combat.
Rather than pour resources into Soul Tools, it was better to honestly follow the proper path of martial soul cultivation.
He continued suppressing the Soul Guidance Department not because of personal grudges, but because he did not want to watch the academy's resources go to waste.
Though Xian Lin'er would certainly never agree with his view.
But who cared?
Mu Tianyi watched the enrollment site for a while, then prepared to get up and join the line.
Yet before he could take a single step, the busy street behind him erupted as if someone had thrown a firecracker into it.
"Wow! Quick, look at that boy!"
"Oh my god, he's way too handsome! Is he here to enroll too?"
"I'm going to faint, I'm going to faint! Someone hold me up!"
The girls' cries of amazement rose one after another.
A few of the bolder ones had even pulled out their little mirrors and hurriedly adjusted their hair and collars.
In contrast, the boys' faces collectively darkened.
"Hmph, what's so great about him? Isn't he just some pretty boy?"
"Exactly! Getting into Shrek depends on strength, not looks!"
"Just wait. During the test later, we'll see how he humiliates himself."
Their words were tough, but their eyes still drifted uncontrollably in that direction.
The more they looked, the more sour they felt. The more sour they felt, the less forgiving their mouths became.
As for the boys who had female companions beside them, their feelings were even more complicated.
They watched helplessly as their girlfriends' eyes clung to that person as though drawn by a magnet, each of their faces plainly saying, "I think I'm being cheated on."
"Darling, where are you looking?"
"Huh? N-no! I was just checking whether they sell candied hawthorn over there..."
Who were they trying to fool?
Could candied hawthorn make pink bubbles appear in someone's eyes?
If this were not the entrance to Shrek Academy, where fighting was strictly forbidden, those boys would probably have already rolled up their sleeves and charged over to fight that bastard-faced pretty boy to the death.
The youth stood amid the crowd, dressed in a moon-white embroidered robe that accentuated his tall, slender figure. His sharply defined face held deep, striking features.
His sword-like brows slanted toward his temples, his nose was high and straight, and his lips were gentle-lined without losing their heroic air.
Most eye-catching of all were his eyes:
Faint golden specks flowed deep within his black pupils, carrying an untouchable majesty amid their cold clarity.
Simply standing there, he exuded authority without anger, yet also appeared refined and gentle, like a young nobleman stepping out of a painting.
If one had to use a single word to describe him, it would be—handsome.
So handsome he did not seem real, as though he had stepped out of a painting.
Mu Tianyi naturally heard those discussions.
But he could not be bothered to pay them any attention.
His calm gaze swept over the line ahead, offering no further response.
Before you continue