Geniuses from Spirit Soul Village

At this moment.

Below the Sea God Awakening Hall, on the open square, seven or eight children were already standing, accompanied by adults who were affectionately giving their children instructions.

Or at least, that was how it appeared.

Li Changsheng arrived here all by himself.

The others noticed Li Changsheng's presence almost immediately.

Their gazes held a hint of surprise.

After all, Li Changsheng had actually come here entirely alone.

At the same time, the aura Li Changsheng exuded made these children feel as though he were very similar to an adult.

Li Changsheng was observing these people as well.

By now, eight children had arrived, wearing various outfits that were all brand new and clean. Some carried luggage bundles, while others were empty-handed, likely possessing storage-type soul tools.

Almost all of these children were standing with their families, the entire atmosphere permeated with a faint sense of sorrow.

"Huh?"

Li Changsheng actually spotted a familiar figure.

Li Zishuo?

Yes, there was no mistake. Among the crowd, Li Zishuo looked quite similar to Li Changsheng, standing there all alone as well. His eyes were slightly red, and he kept stroking a bracelet on his wrist that resembled a storage soul tool.

Wait, wasn't his innate soul power only level six? How did he end up here?

With this doubt in mind, Li Changsheng glanced at the surrounding crowd and chose to walk toward Li Zishuo.

Well, regardless of anything else, he was a descendant of his own bloodline.

When Li Changsheng reached Li Zishuo's side, the boy was still incessantly stroking his storage soul tool bracelet.

The atmosphere of sadness grew even thicker, to the point of becoming almost palpable.

"Very sad?" Li Changsheng asked with an indifferent expression, as if he were speaking intentionally, yet also as if it were a casual remark.

Upon hearing this, Li Zishuo froze for a moment, seemingly confirming that the other person was indeed speaking to him, before he looked up.

His eyes were very red, his clear, distinct whites stained by tears.

Looking closely, he actually bore a slight resemblance to Li Changsheng, though he possessed a certain timidity in his demeanor, whereas Li Changsheng radiated an aura of maturity and indifference.

"Ah, y-you are that Li Changsheng with innate full soul power?"

Li Zishuo pointed his small hand at Li Changsheng, speaking with immense surprise and shock.

He had watched the scene when Li Changsheng awakened his martial soul.

He had been very shocked and envious at the time.

He certainly knew what innate full soul power symbolized; it was the mark of a true genius.

If he had also awakened innate full soul power, perhaps things would be very different for him, right?

"Mm. Yes, I am Li Changsheng. I remember you, Li Zishuo, your martial soul is the Exquisite Chessboard."

The people around them seemed to have heard the conversation between Li Changsheng and Li Zishuo.

Whether adult or child, they were all more or less shocked.

Innate full soul power?

"Y-you, how could you remember me?" Li Zishuo widened his eyes, asking in astonishment.

Li Changsheng answered calmly, "Because your martial soul is very beautiful."

"Is my martial soul beautiful?" Li Zishuo smiled with a hint of pride. "That goes without saying. This is the martial soul passed down in our Li family for ten thousand years; it is a very powerful control-type martial soul. My father said that as long as I can attach a century-old soul ring, I can unleash powerful control capabilities. If I join a soul master team in the future, I will be the core."

Li Changsheng was quite surprised.

Li Zishuo seemed to understand a great deal; he knew quite a bit about things like soul master teams and martial soul classifications. It seemed he had started learning and researching before his awakening.

Why hadn't he remembered there being such a child in the Li family before?

No, it was more that he simply never bothered to pay attention to such things in his daily life.

Other children arrived one after another, some alone, others accompanied by parents.

Soon, there were more than a dozen of them.

Li Changsheng and Li Zishuo chatted quite pleasantly.

Li Zishuo gave a shy smile and said to Li Changsheng, "When I heard you were also surnamed Li, I thought you were from our family. After I got home, I even asked my father if there was someone named Li Changsheng in our clan."

Li Changsheng smiled slightly and said, "My martial soul is a book, not the Exquisite Chessboard. Being surnamed Li is likely just fate."

Li Zishuo nodded, his small face brightening with an even wider smile. "That's right, that's right, fate. It must be fate."

Through his conversation with Li Zishuo, Li Changsheng learned why he was able to stand here despite having only level six innate soul power.

It was because Spirit Soul Village possessed an exemption quota for Shrek Academy.

Likewise, this exemption quota could be exchanged for an exemption quota for the Shrek Pre-Academy.

Therefore, among everyone present, only Li Zishuo could be considered a true student of the Pre-Academy.

As for Li Changsheng and the others, they still needed to pass the assessment.

Li Changsheng asked Li Zishuo with some confusion, wondering if it wasn't a loss to trade an exemption quota for the main Shrek Academy for one for the Pre-Academy.

Li Zishuo replied quite shyly, repeating what his father had once told him.

"Shrek Academy has strict rules and monthly assessments. If you attend a regular soul master academy, even with an exemption quota, if your own strength is too weak upon entry, you might be expelled within a month. The Pre-Academy is different; it underwent a system reform this year. Although there are still assessments, they are relatively lenient. Moreover, building a foundation is crucial for a soul master. By cultivating rapidly in the Pre-Academy and graduating, one can rely on their own merits to test into Shrek Academy. With a solid foundation, there's no fear of being expelled."

Li Zishuo had a very shy personality, likely spending his days in a study; he possessed no arrogance whatsoever. At the same time, for some reason, Li Changsheng felt an inexplicable sense of kinship with him.

After listening, Li Changsheng exclaimed that he was an expert.

Li Zishuo truly had a calculating father.

That was correct; the soul masters cultivated by the Shrek Pre-Academy were all quite special. As long as they could survive until graduation, testing into Shrek Academy was likely simple. Usually, the true geniuses of the Pre-Academy set their sights on the Inner Court of Shrek Academy from the very beginning.

In short, Li Changsheng felt very comfortable communicating with this descendant of his from ten thousand years later.

About an hour later.

No one else arrived, and the group seemed to be fully assembled.

Fifteen people.

This was the final total.

It was a large number; one had to realize that, excluding Li Zishuo, the soul power of these children had actually reached innate level eight or higher.

Soon, several people walked down from the Sea God Awakening Hall above.

Leading them was a middle-aged man with a rather refined and easygoing appearance. A hint of a smile played on his lips, and his gentle gaze swept down from above.

Yet, Li Changsheng couldn't help but feel that this gentle gaze was actually quite insane.

At the same time, Su Xinhe was also present, following behind the middle-aged man.

Behind them, Li Changsheng saw the five prodigies from the Shrek Pre-Academy he had encountered at the Spirit Soul Grand Soul Fighting Arena.

Just like before, they wore different masks, though they had changed into casual clothes.

Li Changsheng's pupils suddenly constricted as he realized the reason these Pre-Academy geniuses had come.

An exchange battle...

A genius from the Clear Sky Sect.

He had actually forgotten about that Wang Dong over the past few days.

At this moment, he turned his head and scanned his surroundings.

Everyone gathered here were children, while their parents stood at a distance, gazing toward this side.

Although some were nobles and others were commoners, none dared to show any defiance when facing powerful soul masters.

"Where is Wang Dong?"

Indeed, that fellow named Wang Dong was not here!

"Is he not going to study at the Pre-Academy? Does he look down on it?"

Li Changsheng shook his head; perhaps he had already set off.

"Children, I have a regrettable piece of news to tell you."

The leading middle-aged man, who was walking down step by step, suddenly clapped his hands and spoke in a loud voice.

Li Changsheng's thoughts were pulled back, his gaze fixed on the man above.

Regrettable news?

What kind of regrettable news could it be?