The Four-Eyed Owl, Flender

Notting Academy, top floor of the dormitory building, Yu Xiaogang's room.

Lin Mo pushed open the wooden door to find Yu Xiaogang's room still maintaining its usual, austere appearance.

This time, however, there was a stranger in the room alongside Yu Xiaogang.

He was a middle-aged man who looked to be about fifty years old. Despite his age, he possessed a sturdy build and a face with very distinct features.

His chin protruded forward, his cheekbones were wide, his face was flat, and he had a hooked nose.

His entire face looked remarkably like the sole of a shoe.

He wore a pair of black-rimmed crystal glasses with rigid, square frames.

A profiteer.

That was Lin Mo's first impression of the man.

Yet, this highly recognizable appearance allowed Lin Mo to identify the visitor instantly.

Yu Xiaogang's close friend, one of the Golden Iron Triangle, the Horn of Flight, founder and current dean of Shrek Academy: Flender.

He was also the Horn of Slaughter of the Golden Iron Triangle, possessed the Cat Eagle martial soul, and his current Soul Power Level should have been at the seventieth-level Soul Saint rank.

"Greetings, Grandmaster. And who is this?"

Lin Mo feigned ignorance, nodding slightly toward Yu Xiaogang as he inquired about the identity of the man standing beside him.

Hearing Lin Mo's words, the seated Yu Xiaogang slowly raised his head, a gentle smile appearing on his face.

He reached out a hand to gesture toward Lin Mo, his tone filled with approval: "Flender, this is the Lin Mo I have mentioned to you many times before.

He is a peerless genius the likes of which Notting Academy has not seen in a hundred years!"

"Lin Mo is only eight years old, yet his soul power cultivation has already steadily broken through the twentieth level, stepping into the realm of a quasi-Soul Grand Master.

Looking across all the soul masters of the same age in the entire Heaven Dou Empire, such cultivation speed is hard to find."

"A hero emerges from youth; truly, a genius emerges from youth!"

Flender's small eyes brightened slightly, his tone brimming with praise.

Although he had already secretly 'spied' on Lin Mo many times from the shadows, he still put on the appearance of seeing him for the first time.

"I am Flender. I have come here specifically for you, entrusted by Xiaogang to take you to obtain your second soul ring."

"At the same time, I am the dean of the academy you are about to attend."

"The academy I founded is called Shrek Academy, and your situation happens to coincide perfectly with our school motto: we only accept monsters, never ordinary people."

"I suppose only a genius like you, who has broken through to a twentieth-level quasi-Soul Grand Master at eight years old, can be called a true monster!"

Facing Flender's words, Lin Mo nodded slightly once more.

"Greetings, Dean Flender."

Upon hearing Lin Mo's words, Flender burst into laughter on the spot.

In the next instant, his figure moved abruptly, with speed beyond what an ordinary person could imagine, appearing at Lin Mo's side in a flash.

Without any superfluous movements, Flender reached out a pair of slightly withered, large hands and began to roam over various parts of Lin Mo's body.

A wisp of warm soul power seeped slowly into Lin Mo's body from the points where Flender made contact.

Feeling the strange sensation spreading throughout his body, Lin Mo's mind tightened slightly, and he quickly grasped the intent behind Flender's rash action.

Flender was preparing to personally verify his physical constitution.

Upon realizing this, Lin Mo reined in his body's instinctive resistance, allowing Flender's hands and soul power to roam and probe throughout his body.

Since Flender was intent on probing and wanted to see his trump cards, he might as well take the opportunity to reveal his strength instead of hiding his talents.

Thinking of this, Lin Mo's thoughts stirred, and he instantly activated the Inversion of Three!

Hum—!

A layer of extremely faint white light rippled slowly from beneath the skin of Lin Mo's entire body, and his head of black hair turned snow-white in an instant.

His originally wheat-colored skin also faded instantly, revealing a translucent texture as white and clear as jade, and even his brown eyes grew slightly lighter.

The temperament of Lin Mo's entire being underwent a transformation in an instant, taking on an ethereal and otherworldly quality.

Inversion of Three, First Layer: Qi-flesh Transformation, fully activated!

The moment Lin Mo entered the state of inversion, Flender's movements came to a sudden halt, his gaze narrowing slightly.

Flender raised his hand and struck a palm toward Lin Mo's chest.

Lin Mo reacted with lightning speed, subconsciously clenching his fist and striking out, meeting Flender's palm head-on.

Bang!

Fist and palm collided, and a clear sound of impact echoed through the cramped room.

Lin Mo could not help but retreat several steps, feeling his arm go numb and the blood and energy within his entire body surging uncontrollably.

After retreating several paces, he finally steadied himself.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang shook his head helplessly.

"Flender, I told you long ago that there was no need for such a deliberate test. Lin Mo's talent and physique are far more outstanding than you imagine."

After speaking, he turned to look at Lin Mo, his eyes filled with apology.

"Don't mind it, Lin Mo. This old fellow has always been like this. He bears you no malice; he simply wanted to gauge your true strength."

Lin Mo nodded gently. "I understand, Grandmaster."

Flender's actions were nothing more than a refusal to draw conclusions based solely on Yu Xiaogang's one-sided description.

He had personally intervened to test him, wanting to experience Lin Mo's physical capabilities firsthand to see if they were as exaggerated as Yu Xiaogang had described.

Hearing is believing, but seeing is reality; the results obtained from a personal trial were the most convincing.

However, Lin Mo felt not the slightest bit discouraged by the outcome of this test.

A twenty-level quasi-Soul Grand Master clashing with a veteran seventy-level Soul Saint—losing was only natural.

There was a gap of over fifty levels of Soul Power between the two of them.

On the other side, having finished his guidance and obtained the results he wanted, a rare smile appeared on Flender's face.

"Not bad! Lin Mo, you are truly excellent!"

Flender looked Lin Mo up and down as he remained in his Innate Life State, his small eyes filled with approval.

"You have truly opened my eyes."

"Whether it is your physical constitution, your instinctive reaction speed, or the immense strength you just unleashed, all of it can be called outrageous for your current Soul Power Level."

"Not to mention that ordinary one-ring Soul Masters fall far short, even among all two-ring Soul Grand Masters, I fear there isn't a single person who could contend with you in close-quarters combat."

"Relying solely on your raw physical strength, you wouldn't be at much of a disadvantage even against the vast majority of three-ring assault-type Soul Elders."

He had previously only observed Lin Mo from afar, watching him spar with others.

But watching from a distance was, in the end, not as authentic as testing him personally.

Only after taking action himself today did he truly feel the power of Lin Mo's talent.

Without the aid of soul skills, relying purely on his physical body, he could unleash such monstrous strength.

This level of physical constitution had already far surpassed that of an ordinary two-ring Soul Grand Master!