School Opening Day, Mu Tianyi Steals the Spotlight

Time flew by, and another school year began.

The sycamore leaves on Sea God Island were edged with gold, and the breeze blowing off the lake carried the chill of early autumn.

With Mu En's approval, Mu Tianyi left Sea God Island to officially enroll in the Outer Court.

Not long after this news spread, the heads of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department arrived at the Sea God Pavilion one after the other.

As for who those two were?

Need you even ask?

They were none other than the deans of the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department: Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er.

Xian Lin'er had once entertained a thought:

Mu Tianyi's talent was truly freakish.

If she could shove him into the "Ultimate Individual Soldier" project, he would succeed nine times out of ten.

Once cultivated, equipped with Soul Tools, and backed by his own raw strength, why wouldn't Shrek Academy be able to reach even greater heights?

Unfortunately, Mu Tianyi couldn't even be bothered to lift an eyelid for the Soul Guidance Department, and as for the "Ultimate Individual Soldier"? He had zero interest.

Mu Tianyi knew clearly that even if Shrek sold everything they owned to develop Soul Tools, they wouldn't catch up to the Sun Moon Empire in decades.

But what about himself?

Within a few decades, becoming a Titled Douluo was a certainty, and becoming a Limit Douluo was not out of the question.

By then, his every punch and kick would be the law of nature—why bother with this talk of Soul Tool integration?

Wouldn't it be better to just flatten them with brute force?

Yan Shaozhe stood up, brushed some non-existent dust off his robes, and bowed to Mu En.

"Teacher, since Tianyi has made his decision, I will take him away now."

He tilted his head toward Xian Lin'er, a smug smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Lin'er, I told you, you came for nothing."

Xian Lin'er's face flushed with anger as she slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

"Yan Shaozhe, stop acting so smug!"

Yan Shaozhe walked away without looking back, his voice laced with laughter: "I'm not being smug; it's all just destiny!"

Xian Lin'er gritted her teeth, glared fiercely at Yan Shaozhe's retreating back, and turned to look at Mu En.

Mu En held his teacup, watching the two bicker with a calm gaze, then sighed and shook his head.

The grievances between these two were a long story.

In his youth, Yan Shaozhe had been dashing and romantic, but he couldn't keep his impulses in check and had provoked women he shouldn't have.

The entanglement between him and Xian Lin'er had lasted for decades and still hadn't ceased.

Sometimes Mu En couldn't understand how the disciple he had raised could be so muddled when it came to affairs of the heart.

His state of mind was lacking in cultivation, and the same went for his dealings with women.

He couldn't even handle a few women; Mu En was embarrassed to even mention that this was his disciple when he went out.

Once outside the Sea God Pavilion, Yan Shaozhe grabbed Mu Tianyi by the shoulder, and his brilliant golden Bright Phoenix wings unfurled behind him.

Yan Shaozhe carried them both, soaring directly over Sea God Island toward the Outer Court's enrollment site.

Looking down from the air, the building complexes of Shrek Academy were layered and dense, with grey walls and blue tiles, ancient and solemn.

The Outer Court area was several times larger than the Inner Court.

Teaching buildings, training grounds, Soul Fighting Arenas, and dormitories were scattered in an orderly fashion amidst the lush greenery.

At this moment, the liveliest place was undoubtedly the enrollment site.

Shrek Academy, the number one institution on the Douluo Continent.

The annual enrollment day was a grand event for the entire continent.

Although the selection criteria were extremely harsh, thousands of people still applied every year.

Yan Shaozhe landed with the two of them on a rooftop at the edge of the enrollment site and retracted his wings.

Below, it was a sea of people.

Hundreds of children around the age of twelve stood in long lines, some accompanied by their parents and others on their own.

The line wound and twisted, stretching out of sight.

Maintaining order were students from the second and third years of the Outer Court.

Dressed in uniform yellow training gear with the green Shrek Academy emblem on their chests, they looked spirited, their eyes scanning the crowd with vigilance.

Mu Tianyi sensed it roughly; there were at least a dozen auras of high-level Soul Masters hidden within the crowd.

Yan Shaozhe brought Mu Tianyi to an empty spot near the end of the registration line, let go of his hand, and instructed:

"Tianyi, you line up here to register; I am heading back to the Martial Soul Department first."

"Once you finish registering, someone will naturally arrange what comes next for you."

After saying this, perhaps because Yan Shaozhe was in such a good mood, he even hummed a little tune.

As he walked, he thought: Mu Tianyi, this genius belongs to the Martial Soul Department; for the next few decades, the Soul Guidance Department can forget about ever turning things around.

Yan Shaozhe had never been a supporter of the Soul Tool.

In his view, the resources required to cultivate a high-level soul master were enough to cultivate three or five soul masters of the same level.

And Shrek Academy's soul guidance technology, at its absolute peak, only reached level eight.

In actual combat, an eighth-level soul master had a negligible chance of winning against a Titled Douluo.

Rather than dumping resources into Soul Tools, it was better to honestly follow the proper path of martial soul cultivation.

He insisted on suppressing the Soul Guidance Department not out of personal vendetta, but because he did not want to see the academy's resources wasted.

Although Xian Lin'er would certainly not agree with his perspective.

But who cares.

Mu Tianyi observed the registration scene for a while before preparing to get in line.

However, before he could even take a step, the bustling crowd behind him erupted as if someone had tossed a grenade into it.

"Wow—everyone, look at that boy!"

"My god, is he too good-looking? Is he here to register too?"

"I'm going to faint, I'm going to faint, someone catch me!"

The exclamations of the girls rose one after another.

A few bold ones had even pulled out small mirrors to quickly fix their hair and collars.

In contrast, the boys' faces collectively darkened.

"Hmph, what's so great about him? Isn't he just a pretty boy?"

"Exactly, exactly! Getting into Shrek Academy depends on strength, not a face!"

"Just wait and see, let's see how he makes a fool of himself during the test later."

Though their words were tough, their eyes couldn't help but glance in that direction.

The more they looked, the more sour they felt, and the more sour they felt, the more relentless their tongues became.

As for the boys who had their girlfriends with them, the feeling was even more subtle.

They watched helplessly as their girlfriends' eyes were glued to that person as if pulled by a magnet, their faces clearly broadcasting, "I think I'm wearing a green hat."

"Honey, where are you looking?"

"Huh? No, nothing! I was just checking if there were any candied hawthorns for sale over there..."

Who are you trying to fool?

Can candied hawthorns make your eyes sparkle with pink bubbles?

If not for the fact that this was the entrance to Shrek Academy, where fighting was strictly prohibited, these boys would likely have rolled up their sleeves and rushed over to fight that guy with the "bitchy face" to the death.

The youth stood in the crowd, a moon-white robe accentuating his slender frame, revealing a face with sharp contours and deep features.

His sword-like brows slanted toward his temples, his nose bridge was high and straight, and his lip line was soft yet retained a heroic spirit.

Most striking of all were his eyes:

Deep within his black pupils, faint golden light spots swirled, carrying a hint of inviolable majesty amidst their coldness.

Standing there, he was imposing without anger, yet elegant and gentle, like a young master from a noble family who had stepped out of a painting.

If one had to use a single word to describe him, it would be—handsome.

So handsome he didn't seem real, like someone who had walked out of a portrait.

Mu Tianyi naturally heard the discussions.

But he couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind.

His gaze swept calmly over the line ahead, offering no unnecessary response.