Shrek Academy

Lin Yaoyang made his way through the bustling crowd, heading east along the broad street.

He arrived at the East City Gate.

Unlike the south, west, and north gates, the area outside the East City Gate was an open plaza. At the far end of the plaza stood the main entrance to Shrek Academy. There were no vendors calling out their wares, nor were there carriages passing by. It was so quiet that it felt like another world.

More than a dozen young men and women stood guard at the gate. Each wore a fitted yellow uniform with a green emblem on the chest—the uniforms of Shrek Academy's second- and third-year Outer Court students.

Lin Yaoyang swept his gaze over them. Most were at the Soul Elder level. They would have counted as capable fighters elsewhere, but at Shrek, they only qualified to guard the gate.

A male student gave Lin Yaoyang a once-over, his gaze lingering briefly on Lin Yaoyang's striking orange-red short hair before he spoke in a businesslike tone. "The city lord's letter of recommendation."

Lin Yaoyang took out a scroll from his storage Soul Tool and handed it over.

He had prepared it in advance while he was in the Dou Ling Empire: a letter of recommendation from Lingxue City in the Heaven Dou Empire.

Lingxue City was a relatively impoverished main city near the Far North. With enough money, one could buy a recommendation letter of this level.

Although Shrek's Outer Court had been established at the request of the three great empires to cultivate talent for their nations, there was a rule: ordinary new students not only had to pass the assessment, but also had to hold a letter of recommendation from at least a main city of one of the three great empires.

The student accepted the scroll and opened it for inspection.

Lingxue City?

After carefully examining the seal on the scroll and confirming that there was no problem, he returned it to Lin Yaoyang.

"No problem, little brother. Just follow this road in. Register at the Freshman Teaching Building first, and they'll arrange your assessment there."

Lin Yaoyang put away the scroll, nodded, and walked through the city gate.

Shrek Academy.

The landscaping here was excellent. All kinds of vegetation grew lush and abundant, and everywhere he looked was a sea of green. Walking along the broad avenue, no matter which direction he looked, he could see at least ten different types of plants, each one carefully trimmed and arranged in pleasing layers.

After proceeding around two hundred meters, several enormous statues blocked his view.

There were ten statues in total. Each stood ten meters tall, carved from the hardest granite, and cast immense shadows beneath the sunlight.

The three statues in the front row were Flender, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong.

The seven statues in the back row were the Shrek Seven Devils.

Lin Yaoyang stopped and looked up at Tang San's statue.

Sunlight shone from behind it, gilding its surroundings with a golden halo that made it appear sacred and solemn. Students passed before the statue in an endless stream. Occasionally, someone stopped to bow respectfully, their eyes filled with admiration.

Lin Yaoyang watched for several seconds before withdrawing his gaze and continuing onward.

To the left of the statues was a broad, tree-lined road wide enough for four or five carriages to travel side by side. A wooden sign stood beside the road, bearing the words "Lakeside Path."

On the right stood dense green trees. Through gaps in the branches and leaves, he could vaguely see a vast expanse of water shimmering beneath the sunlight.

Sea God Lake.

At the center of the lake stood Sea God Pavilion, a sacred place of cultivation for Inner Court students.

Lin Yaoyang followed the Lakeside Path south for about half an hour before a broad rectangular plaza came into view. At the entrance stood a stone monument inscribed with the four large characters: "Shrek Square."

Behind the plaza stood rows of tall teaching buildings.

The buildings were each a different color.

White, yellow, purple, and black corresponded to different grades.

White was for first years, yellow for second and third years, purple for fourth and fifth years, and black for sixth years.

Beyond the teaching buildings, he could see even more structures: the Soul Fighting Arena, the Assessment Zone, the dormitory area, and the teachers' office area. They stretched onward in layers, as far as the eye could see.

Lin Yaoyang headed straight for the white teaching building.

The Freshman Teaching Building was exceptionally lively.

It was enrollment season, and the lobby was packed with children and parents who had come to register. The noisy chatter carried all sorts of accents: some from the Heaven Dou Empire, some from the Star Luo Empire, and some from the Dou Ling Empire.

The moment Lin Yaoyang entered, a female teacher approached him. She looked to be in her twenties and wore her hair in a neat ponytail.

"Here to register?"

Lin Yaoyang nodded.

The female teacher smiled slightly and began explaining the process with practiced ease. "Come take the assessment first. There are two parts. First, we measure your bone age. You must not be over twelve years old. Second, we test your Soul Power Level. The admission requirement is no lower than level fifteen. You know that, right?"

"I do." Lin Yaoyang held out his hand.

The female teacher grasped his wrist and lightly pressed her fingers against his bones several times, her movements professional and practiced.

"You've developed well." She nodded. "Your bone age is suitable—twelve years old. All right, let's test your Soul Power Level."

She picked up a crystal ball the size of a fist from the table and handed it to Lin Yaoyang.

Lin Yaoyang accepted the crystal ball and placed his palm over it.

In an instant, white light bloomed from his palm!

The light grew brighter and fiercer until the entire lobby was illuminated in snow-white radiance. The surrounding new students and parents all turned to look, and someone cried out in shock.

Crack...

A crisp sound rang out.

Cracks appeared across the crystal ball, then spread like a spiderweb!

Bang!

The crystal ball exploded in Lin Yaoyang's hand, scattering fragments across the floor.

The entire lobby fell silent in an instant.

The female teacher's eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open, but she could not say a single word.

The surrounding new students and parents were frozen as well. Some did not even notice the things in their hands falling to the floor.

Lin Yaoyang looked down at the fragments covering the ground, then at his empty palm, and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry, Teacher. I don't have to pay for that, do I?"

Only then did the female teacher come back to her senses. She swallowed hard.

This Soul Power testing ball could detect Soul Power up to level thirty, yet it had exploded outright. That meant this young man's Soul Power was at least above level thirty!

"No, no!" She hurriedly waved her hands, her voice rising several notches. "What is your Soul Power Level?"

"Forty-two."

The female teacher froze again.

Level forty-two?

A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor?

Her mind went blank for a moment.

A genius!

No, this was no longer a genius. This was a monster!

The surrounding teachers and students erupted into an uproar as well.

"Level forty-two? Did I hear that right?"

"A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor? That's absurd!"

"Where did that orange-red-haired kid come from?"

Voices rose one after another as everyone in the lobby fixed their eyes on Lin Yaoyang.

The female teacher took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Her face was piled with smiles, and her tone became more than ten times warmer than before.

"Student, what is your name? I'll take you to register!"

"Lin Yaoyang."

"Good, good, good! Lin, come with me!"

She practically half-invited, half-pulled Lin Yaoyang over to the registration window and personally handled the paperwork for him.

The teachers responsible for registration nearby were somewhat surprised to see her personally bringing someone over.

The registration went very smoothly. The tuition fee was ten Gold Soul Coins. Lin Yaoyang took out ten gold coins from his storage Soul Tool and handed them over, and the teacher efficiently completed the procedure.

The female teacher enthusiastically helped him collect two sets of uniforms as well: white freshman uniforms made from decent fabric, along with a white freshman badge.

Finally, she escorted Lin Yaoyang all the way to the entrance of the teaching building, the warm smile still on her face.

"Lin, welcome to Shrek Academy! The dormitories are behind the teaching building. The largest building in the entire academy is the one you need. You can head over there later. The new school year officially begins in four days, so you can familiarize yourself with the surroundings first."

"Thank you, Teacher." Lin Yaoyang nodded politely.

Though he did not like Shrek and even loathed certain people there, this teacher had genuinely helped him. He still owed her the proper courtesy.

The female teacher smiled and waved before turning around and returning to the teaching building.