Two days later, in the morning.
Outside Suotuo City, a long line of people had formed outside a small village nestled among the trees.
This was where Shrek Academy was located.
Half the village was occupied by Shrek Academy, while the other half was where the villagers lived and worked.
Shrek Academy publicly claimed that anyone who graduated from there would receive at least the title of viscount. As a result, a great many people came to apply.
Moreover, most of the people who came to apply were so-called "geniuses" who had been pampered and spoiled. So when they saw how run-down the place was, along with the simply dressed villagers who appeared now and then in the distance, they all wore expressions of superiority and disdain.
"I didn't expect there to be so many people lining up here!" Xiao Wu said, surprised.
"That means the student our teacher mentioned might actually be pretty good," Tang San said.
Xiao Wu looked at the crooked characters spelling "Shrek Academy" on the dilapidated wooden sign ahead and curled her lip.
Pretty good my ass!
Never mind the rest. Even the intermediate academy in the city next to Nuoding City—which was the worst of all the academies that had invited them—looked countless times better than this place!
Forget that intermediate academy. Even Notting Academy, a junior academy, was much bigger than this!
Had they really come to the right place?
Was this really not some con artist's den for swindling people out of their money?
She wanted to say something, but when she looked up and saw Zhang Tianyu seriously scanning the people in line, she swallowed her words.
Zhang Tianyu glanced at Xiao Wu and said, "Come on, let's get in line. We're already here, so we might as well take a look first."
He had already spotted Ning Rongrong in the line. Zhu Zhuqing hadn't arrived yet; going by the timeline, she wouldn't appear until after they passed the test and entered the academy.
Xiao Wu gave a resigned look and followed him.
Just then, an angry shout came from the front of the line. "You're obviously just trying to swindle us out of our money!..."
Xiao Wu and Tang San froze.
But what happened next left them even more bewildered—
They heard Zhang Tianyu and the middle-aged man continue in unison:
"Give us back our application fee, or we're not leaving! If we'd known this so-called Shrek Academy was such a dump, we never would've come!"
They stared at Zhang Tianyu in astonishment.
What the hell?
Every single word Zhang Tianyu had just said was exactly the same as what the middle-aged man had said?!
Zhang Tianyu, Zhang Tianyu, could you really predict the future?
"Uh... Tianyu, you..."
Xiao Wu and Tang San were both dumbfounded!
How did you know he was going to say that? And how did you get every word exactly right—even imitating his tone almost perfectly?
Zhang Tianyu shrugged. "I heard someone say something similar a moment ago. I didn't expect to guess right."
Tang San nodded. "I see."
But Xiao Wu's doubts only grew.
He could predict other people's attacks, and now he could even know what they were going to say in advance?
Tianyu, Tianyu, what special ability did you have?
The commotion continued.
Teacher Li Yusong, who was in charge of the test, glanced at the middle-aged man and said impatiently, "Don't hold up the people behind you. You know the academy's rules, don't you? We only accept children under thirteen. Anyone older than thirteen is turned away. You can leave!"
The middle-aged man's anger surged, and he yelled on the spot:
"Give me my damn money back! Do you think it's right to make us wait this long? Do you think you can treat us like this? Give me my money back!"
Li Yusong remained calm and said unhurriedly, "Mubai, someone wants his application fee back. Take care of it."
A figure shot up from the ground nearby. It was Dai Mubai. "If you want your application fee back, that's fine. Beat me, and I'll refund every copper."
As soon as his three Soul Rings appeared, the middle-aged man's "arrogance" fizzled out.
The middle-aged man muttered, "Guess we're just unlucky," then turned and left with his son.
Dai Mubai looked fierce, but his eyes held deep helplessness.
Clearly, being a prince yet having to work as a bouncer here left him a little unhappy.
But there was nothing he could do. His teacher had spoken, so he had to show him respect.
Once the farce ended, the line immediately shortened by a third. Zhang Tianyu shook his head to himself. Shrek Academy, no matter how many times it was reset, always acted like a bunch of bandits.
Soon it was the turn of the next family of three. Their son was twelve, within the age limit, and his First Soul Ring was a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
But because he hadn't reached level 21, he was rejected once again.
"My son is one of the top students at his junior academy! Didn't you see that his Soul Ring is a hundred-year one? There aren't many Soul Masters with Hundred-Year Soul Rings. Why doesn't he qualify?"
Li Yusong stood up and spoke loudly. "If you're applying to Shrek Academy, you should learn the rules first! If you come here without knowing them, you're just throwing your application fee away! It's not too late to regret it now! Do you know what 'Shrek' means in the name Shrek Academy?"
"...We only accept monsters here, not ordinary people! If you're over thirteen, or your Soul Power hasn't reached level 21, there's no point wasting your time here!"
As he spoke, a terrifying aura burst from Li Yusong. The Dragon Pattern Staff appeared, and six Soul Rings rose from his body!
Everyone except Zhang Tianyu and Dai Mubai was stunned!
Who would have thought that this unremarkable old geezer who looked like a farmer was actually a Soul Emperor!
The powerful aura of his Tool Martial Soul instantly suppressed the entire crowd, leaving everyone feeling as if they could barely breathe!
In his previous life, as soon as this aura appeared, Yellow Springs had abruptly sprung up and released a deathly aura, directly crushing the Dragon Pattern Staff's presence. Li Yusong hadn't just been startled; the commotion had even alerted Zhao Wuji and the other teachers inside the academy!
But in this life, Zhang Tianyu had already told Yellow Springs to make sure to keep a low profile.
Seeing that everyone had been cowed, Li Yusong was satisfied. He withdrew his Martial Soul and Soul Rings and said lazily, "Next."
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "It looks like this academy isn't as bad as it seems. It might actually be interesting!"
Tang San nodded too. "Yeah, it seems our teacher's warning was right. Shrek Academy is definitely no ordinary place."
Zhang Tianyu nodded. Of course. With you and Yu Xiaogang around, it couldn't possibly be ordinary!
P.S. Ah! Somehow I caught COVID! This is such a pain! I have no idea how I caught it!
I'm coughing up phlegm, my throat hurts, and my head's buzzing. Damn, I even started hallucinating while writing and thought the words on the screen were getting fewer and fewer!
I typed every one of those words out myself, one by one!
Ahem, anyway, everyone, please take care of yourselves and stay safe. COVID feels awful!
Before you continue