All Familiar Faces

"The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coins, and it is nonrefundable."

The two Outer Court students in purple uniforms were in charge of admissions. They were sitting in chairs behind a table, on which rested a blue crystal ball. On the other side stood a large cardboard box for collecting the registration fees.

The girl standing before the table clearly looked troubled when she heard that the fee was ten Gold Soul Coins. After hesitating for a while, she took ten Gold Soul Coins from a slightly worn purse and dropped them into the box.

Yang Jian, standing not far from the girl, saw clearly that apart from those ten Gold Soul Coins, the worn purse contained only a Silver Soul Coin and a few Copper Soul Coins.

It was easy to tell from the girl's embarrassed demeanor that this was everything she owned.

"Name?"

"Jiang Nannan."

When Yang Jian heard the girl give her name, a look of sudden understanding appeared in his eyes.

Although Shrek Academy's fame resounded across the entire continent, in truth, it was an out-and-out aristocratic academy. The ten Gold Soul Coins required for registration and the ten Gold Soul Coins in annual tuition alone were enough to make most commoners think twice, to say nothing of the recommendation letter from a major city that was also required.

Thus, most students who could attend Shrek Outer Court were either rich or noble. Commoners were rare, let alone someone like Jiang Nannan, who came from a poor family.

When Jiang Nannan placed her hand on the blue crystal ball, a flicker of interest crossed Yang Jian's face.

Noticing Yang Jian's expression, Bei Bei spoke at just the right moment, his voice gentle. "That crystal ball is an important tool for checking whether applicants meet the admission requirements. It can measure Soul Power and test bone age."

"The crystal ball can measure Soul Power up to level thirty. The brighter it shines, the closer the person is to level thirty. Judging by its glow, that girl's Soul Power should be around level twenty-six."

Level twenty-six at twelve years old?

She had cultivated while caring for her mother and still reached that Soul Power Level. No wonder Jiang Nannan would become one of Huo Yuhao's generation of the Shrek Seven Devils.

"Your age is fine, your Soul Power is sufficient, and your major-city recommendation letter is in order... Congratulations, junior. You're admitted. Go in through there."

One of the students flashed a trademark smile, while his hands quickly recorded Jiang Nannan's information. The other student simply called out "Next" in a listless voice.

Although Jiang Nannan's features were exquisite enough to amaze even the two admissions students, who had seen their fair share of beauties, the pair had been handling admissions at the gate for several days straight and were already exhausted. They barely had the energy to strike up a conversation.

The next applicant was also a girl, but unlike Jiang Nannan, she didn't hesitate at the requirement of ten Gold Soul Coins. She immediately took out ten coins and tossed them in.

"Name?"

"Tang Ya."

Hmm? Another familiar face?

Yang Jian didn't look at Tang Ya, who was ahead of him in line. Instead, he glanced back at Bei Bei.

Just as expected, although Tang Ya had only shown her profile, she still caught Bei Bei's attention. His focus was almost entirely on her.

Zhang Lexuan was much older than Bei Bei, but in theory, a mature and gentle big-sister type should have been irresistible to a young boy, especially when she was his childhood sweetheart of more than ten years. Yet even so, Bei Bei still fell in love with Tang Ya.

All one could say was, since ancient times, childhood sweethearts had never beaten a newcomer.

"What? Love at first sight?"

At Yang Jian's teasing, Bei Bei finally came back to himself. The usually refined young man actually blushed a little. "No... I just think there's something special about her."

Special?

Yang Jian glanced at Tang Ya, who was almost done registering, and couldn't see how she fit the word "special" at all.

If he had to say, perhaps her Martial Soul was a little unusual.

She was certainly among the beauties, but she was a little less striking than Jiang Nannan, Night Qingyuan at his side, or Zhang Lexuan beside Bei Bei.

"Is that really all?"

"It really is."

A helpless smile tugged at Bei Bei's lips. "Stop teasing me."

Though he said that, Bei Bei didn't feel annoyed. Instead, he felt that the two of them had grown closer.

The admissions duo worked fairly quickly, and soon it was Yang Jian's turn.

Yang Jian had no objections to the ten Gold Soul Coin fee. He readily pulled twenty Gold Soul Coins from his Storage Soul Tool and put them in the box.

After all, Shrek Academy had charged ten Gold Soul Coins back when it was in a little village ten thousand years ago. Now, ten thousand years later, the price was still the same. That was practically a bargain.

"Name?"

"Yang Jian."

Yang Jian promptly placed his hand on the crystal ball. In an instant, light burst forth, and the entire crystal ball shone like a brilliant star.

The two students in charge of admissions immediately looked up.

The crystal ball's testing limit was level thirty. A glow like that meant Yang Jian had at least level thirty Soul Power. And the bone-age test showed that he had just turned twelve!

"That's incredible. You're the first new student I've met who's reached level thirty since admissions began."

The student who had been recording information with a pen immediately gave him a much friendlier smile.

"Then you're about to meet the second."

Yang Jian smiled and casually handed the crystal ball to Night Qingyuan beside him.

The same dazzling light flashed again. Faced with the admissions duo's astonishment, Night Qingyuan remained calm, her expression radiating a cool distance that kept others at arm's length. It seemed that only in front of the young man beside her did she show a bright smile.

"These are our recommendation letters."

"Oh, right!"

Only when Yang Jian held the recommendation letters out to them did the two come back to themselves. They hurriedly took the letters from his hand and opened them for a look.

At a single glance, their pupils contracted.

A recommendation letter from the Star Luo Empire Offering Hall!

These two were actually from the Star Luo Empire Offering Hall?

Bei Bei, standing behind them, had also seen the two bursts of brilliance from the crystal ball. Did that mean that when he'd seen the pair in the Star Dou Great Forest, one of them had been obtaining their third Soul Ring just like him?

While surprised, Bei Bei also noticed the admissions duo's astonished expressions.

Though he had no idea what the recommendation letters said, judging by their reaction, Yang Jian and Night Qingyuan clearly had powerful backing.

The Yang surname didn't bring any famous figures to mind, but someone from the Star Luo Empire with the surname Night...

A Titled Douluo immediately surfaced in Bei Bei's mind.