All Acquaintances

"The registration fee is ten Gold Soul Coin, non-refundable."

Two Shrek Academy students in purple uniforms were in charge of the outer courtyard admissions. They sat at a table with a blue crystal ball placed in front of them, while a large cardboard box sat to the side to collect the registration fees.

The young girl standing before the table showed a clear look of struggle when she heard the ten Gold Soul Coin fee. After hesitating for a moment, she pulled ten gold coins from a slightly worn handbag and dropped them into the box.

Standing not far from the girl, Yang Jian clearly saw that aside from those ten gold coins, the worn handbag contained only a single silver soul coin and a few copper soul coins.

Given the girl's somewhat embarrassed demeanor, it was easy to see that this was her entire fortune.

"Name."

"Jiang Nannan."

Hearing the girl state her name, a look of realization flashed in Yang Jian's eyes.

Although Shrek Academy's reputation echoed throughout the entire continent, it was, in reality, an aristocratic academy through and through. The ten Gold Soul Coin registration fee and the ten Gold Soul Coin annual tuition were enough to deter most commoners, not to mention the requirement of a recommendation letter from a major city.

Therefore, most students attending the Shrek outer courtyard were either wealthy or noble. Commoners were rare, let alone someone like Jiang Nannan, who came from a poor background.

Seeing Jiang Nannan place her hand on the blue crystal ball, a look of interest flashed across Yang Jian's face.

Noticing Yang Jian's expression, Bei Bei spoke up at the right moment, his voice gentle: "That crystal ball is an essential tool for checking if one meets the enrollment criteria. It can measure not only Soul Power Level but also bone age."

"The maximum Soul Power Level the crystal ball can detect is thirty. The brighter the light it emits, the closer the student is to level thirty. Judging by this radiance, that girl's soul power should be around level twenty-six."

Level twenty-six at twelve years old?

To maintain such a soul power level while cultivating and caring for her mother, it was no wonder Jiang Nannan would become one of the Shrek Seven Devils of Huo Yuhao's generation.

"Age is fine, soul power is qualified, and the major city recommendation letter is complete... Congratulations, junior sister, you are enrolled. Go in through here."

One of the students wore a signature smile while quickly recording Jiang Nannan's information. The student beside him simply shouted, "Next," in a listless tone.

Although Jiang Nannan's face was exquisite enough to stun the admissions duo, who were accustomed to seeing beauties, the two had been exhausted by days of handling admissions at the gate and had lost the mood to even strike up a conversation.

The next applicant was also a young girl, but unlike Jiang Nannan, she showed no hesitation regarding the ten Gold Soul Coin fee, directly pulling out ten gold coins and tossing them in.

"Name."

"Tang Ya."

Hm? Another acquaintance?

Yang Jian did not look at Tang Ya, who was next in line, but instead turned to look at Bei Bei.

Sure enough, although Tang Ya only revealed her profile, she still captured Bei Bei's gaze; his entire attention was focused almost exclusively on her.

Although Zhang Lexuan was much older than Bei Bei, logically speaking, such a mature and gentle older sister figure should have a fatal attraction for a young man—especially since she had been a childhood friend for over a decade. Yet, even so, Bei Bei had fallen for Tang Ya.

One can only say that, since ancient times, the childhood friend has never been a match for the newcomer.

"What? Love at first sight?"

Hearing Yang Jian's teasing, Bei Bei finally snapped out of it. Usually refined, he turned a rare shade of red: "No... I just think she is a little special."

Special?

Yang Jian glanced at Tang Ya, who was almost finished with her registration, and truly couldn't see what made her "special."

If he had to say, perhaps her martial soul was a bit unique.

While she was among the beauties, she was still a notch below Jiang Nannan, Ye Qingyuan by his side, and even Zhang Lexuan beside Bei Bei.

"Is that really all there is to it?"

"That is really all."

A helpless smile touched the corners of Bei Bei's mouth: "Stop teasing me."

Though he said this, Bei Bei did not feel offended; instead, he felt that the relationship between the two had grown much closer.

The efficiency of the admissions duo was high, and soon it was Yang Jian's turn.

Yang Jian had no objections to the ten Gold Soul Coin requirement and readily pulled twenty gold coins from his storage Soul Tool, dropping them into the box.

After all, Shrek Academy had dared to charge ten gold coins back when they were located in a small village ten thousand years ago; for that price to remain the same after ten millennia was already quite conscientious.

"Name."

"Yang Jian."

Yang Jian placed his hand on the crystal ball cleanly and decisively. In an instant, a brilliant light erupted, and the entire crystal ball shone as brightly as a glittering star.

The two in charge of admissions immediately looked up.

The testing limit of the crystal ball was level thirty; such a radiance meant that Yang Jian had at least reached level thirty soul power. And his bone age showed he had just turned twelve!

"That is truly incredible. Since we started admissions, you are the first new student I've encountered who has reached level thirty."

The student who had been recording information with a pen suddenly wore a much kinder smile.

"Then you are about to see the second one."

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

The same brilliant light flashed once more. Faced with the slightly shocked expressions of the admissions duo, Ye Qingyuan remained indifferent, her demeanor revealing a coldness that kept others at a distance. It seemed that only in front of the young man beside her would she reveal a bright, beautiful smile.

"These are our two recommendation letters."

"Oh, oh!"

Seeing the recommendation letter Yang Jian held out before them, the two finally snapped out of their daze and hurriedly took it from his hand to flip it open.

At a single glance, their pupils constricted sharply.

A recommendation letter from the Offering Hall of the Star Luo Empire!

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

Bei Bei, standing behind the pair, had also seen the two brilliant flashes from the crystal ball. Did this mean that when he saw them in the Star Dou Great Forest before, one of them had been in the middle of obtaining their third soul ring, just like him?

While feeling surprised, Bei Bei also noticed the stunned expressions on the faces of the two recruiters.

Although he didn't know exactly what was written on the recommendation letter, judging by their reactions, the backgrounds of Yang Jian and Ye Qingyuan were definitely not small.

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

A Title immediately surfaced in Bei Bei's mind.