Eight people?
When Li Changsheng stood up and confirmed how many were staying, he still looked rather surprised.
Including him and Li Zishuo, eight people were still standing there.
That was indeed more than he had expected.
"So, you eight little ones are all planning to take the examination?"
The middle-aged man had already stood up. Only now did his gaze sweep across Li Changsheng and the others.
Eight people.
That was not what he had expected. He'd thought one or two at most would stay.
But now, eight stood before him.
The children said nothing. Resolve glittered in their small eyes.
Perhaps they didn't understand much, but they wanted, in some small way, to change things.
Like the middle-aged man, Li Changsheng studied the children present.
Compared with those who had left, the remaining children's Soul Power seemed uneven. Most had Innate Soul Power of rank eight.
When there had been more than ten of them, two children had possessed rank-nine Innate Soul Power, but they had already left with their families.
The middle-aged man laughed and quickly walked down to them.
"Not bad. God Soul Village, what a fine God Soul Village. Since you little ones don't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth, then let's go. And have you signed the life-and-death agreements? The entrance examination is a matter of life and death."
Rustle, rustle.
Almost instantly, the six children over there each took out a sheet of paper.
Li Changsheng was dumbfounded.
Were they crazy?
Were they serious?
Were these children and their parents really not afraid of dying? Were they not their own flesh and blood?
Or did they think Pre-Education Academy was only testing their resolve?
Li Zishuo obviously didn't need an agreement. He was already exempt from the entrance examination; all he had to do was graduate alive.
The others handed in their so-called life-and-death agreements one after another.
Li Changsheng hadn't written one. He'd genuinely thought the middle-aged man was only joking.
But the man was standing right there now, carefully checking each agreement they handed in.
It seemed they were going to stamp them.
Everyone had a stamp at home. It was used to prove one's identity.
Once stamped, the agreement would be legally binding.
Li Changsheng raised his hand.
The middle-aged man's keen gaze immediately fell on him.
Li Changsheng said calmly, "I have no parents. My life's worth next to nothing, so I don't need an agreement. If I die, that's on me."
That was all Li Changsheng could say.
Was he supposed to go to the land of the dead and ask his parents to stamp it?
The middle-aged man nodded, apparently accepting his explanation.
Beside Li Changsheng, Li Zishuo timidly asked him, "Are you an orphan?"
Li Changsheng: "You little—"
Fine. Don't get angry. He's our descendant.
Soon, the agreements were handed in.
After looking through them one by one, the middle-aged man nodded for the first time.
He beckoned to the five prodigies behind him.
Meanwhile, six carriages had been waiting on the other side of the street.
"Well, that's enrollment for this year. Brother Su, we'll be off."
The middle-aged man nodded to Su Xinhe, who was still utterly bewildered.
Su Xinhe nodded in surprise, over and over. Looking at Li Changsheng and the others, a trace of reluctance flickered in his sharp eyes.
Eight geniuses, sent off to die just like that?
And their parents had actually agreed...
"Brother Gu, you're too polite. In that case, I wish you all a safe journey, and a swift return to Pre-Education Academy..." After a moment's daze, Su Xinhe hurriedly replied.
Li Changsheng and the others lined up.
Excitement still lingered on each child's face.
As if they really were a bunch of fools, clueless about the danger the middle-aged man had mentioned.
Li Changsheng pinched his own cheek.
Had I spent ten thousand years living a lie? Were children these days no longer afraid of dying?
By the time he reached the carriages, the question was still swirling in his mind.
But perhaps seeing how troubled he was, the icy God of Wisdom gave him an answer.
<Notice. Life is not just about the drudgery before you; there are also poetry and far-off places.>
"Bullshit. You sure know how to dress things up."
Though he said that, Li Changsheng still mulled over the God of Wisdom's words.
It was true. Though dangerous, if they managed to graduate, they would probably leap over the dragon's gate.
In the relatively peaceful world of today, Soul Masters were still a reserve force recruited by the empire and the sects. The stronger the Soul Master, the greater the benefits.
The middle-aged man stopped beside the first carriage, which was relatively luxurious.
The five people with him naturally gathered around him.
"Let's introduce ourselves first. My name is Gu Feibai. I'm a senior teacher at Shrek Pre-Academy, and the chief examiner for the new students' entrance examination."
He didn't seem to have any "quirks."
What kind of quirks?
Of course, the kind where someone bragged about their Martial Soul and Soul Power.
Gu Feibai pointed to the five people behind him, including the Seven Absolute Zither Master. "As for them, they're geniuses."
That was it?
Yep. That was it.
Gu Feibai looked lazy as he called out, "Hey, Centrifugal Killing Mirror, get things organized, then we'll set off."
As the leader of the "genius" group, Centrifugal Killing Mirror stepped forward at his instruction.
Gu Feibai, meanwhile, climbed alone into the most luxurious carriage.
From where he stood, Li Changsheng could see inside when the curtain was lifted.
Li Changsheng froze and rubbed his eyes. A pale-purple light blazed in them.
Inside the carriage Gu Feibai had entered, he saw two extravagantly dressed... noblewomen?
"Holy shit..." Li Changsheng swallowed several times.
"You eight, pair up, two to a carriage. The five of us will split into four groups and explain the various rules at Pre-Academy after this year's reforms as we travel..."
Centrifugal Killing Mirror was comparatively talkative. After arranging things, he returned to the group and let Li Changsheng and the others pair up on their own.
Li Changsheng easily paired up with Li Zishuo. They went to the carriage at the very end and climbed aboard.
The carriage was spacious, but its furnishings were crude. Compared with Gu Feibai's, the difference was immense...
"We're finally leaving this place..." Li Changsheng lifted the curtain and watched the sun, already high in the sky, shine down on the earth, bathing everything in warmth.
Li Zishuo sat beside him.
He was actually meditating, but his mind was completely unsettled. Even his calves were trembling.
Li Changsheng smiled, patted his shoulder, and said, "Don't let your mind wander while meditating. If you can't calm down, you might as well stop."
Li Zishuo opened his eyes and nodded instinctively. But seeing how calm Li Changsheng still looked, he shrank back and asked, "A-aren't you scared?"
Li Changsheng grinned.
That was more like it. Now there was the look of a child.
What was up with the other kids? They'd just pulled out their life-and-death agreements and handed them over, as if they were eager to be the first on the chopping block.
Li Changsheng gave his loose sleeve a flick and said in a world-weary voice, "Child, life isn't just about the drudgery before you. You should also yearn for poetry and far-off places. You're seeing things too narrowly."
Li Zishuo looked utterly confused. What drudgery? What poetry and far-off places?
But as he looked at Li Changsheng, his admiration grew.
"I-I can call you big brother?" He grabbed Li Changsheng's swinging sleeve and asked earnestly.
Li Changsheng's chin nearly dropped off.
"Damn it..." He nearly cursed out loud.
But when he saw Li Zishuo's earnest expression, he thought, Ah, I can't blame the child. My personal charm is just too great.
He patted Li Zishuo's little hand and asked amiably, "Why do you want to call me big brother?"
It had to be because of my personal charm!
Li Zishuo hurriedly answered with complete seriousness, "My dad said that if you meet someone more capable than you who's also surnamed Li, you have to call him big brother. That way, if you get beaten up or bullied later, you can go to your big brother. And Dad said that as long as you share the same surname, you don't lose out. Even if he's younger than you, there's no harm in calling him big brother!"
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
Li Changsheng slumped against the railing.
His expression kept shifting between light and dark.
The corners of his mouth twitched over and over.
He couldn't help pressing a hand to his chest and gently patting it a few times.
Only then did he look at Li Zishuo, who still wore an earnest, innocent expression, and sigh. "From now on, you can be my little brother."
"Little brother? So that makes you my big brother?" Li Zishuo asked instinctively.
Li Changsheng: "..."
Just then, two sets of footsteps sounded outside the carriage.
Li Changsheng turned to look.
Soon, two figures stepped into the carriage together.
Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.
The newcomers were none other than the Seven Absolute Zither Master
and the support Soul Master from that day, Exquisite Dice.
The two women had their arms linked, like close friends.
After entering, they glanced at Li Changsheng and Li Zishuo.
A strange look flickered in their eyes beneath their masks.
Then they sat on the seats farther inside.
Only then did Li Changsheng realize that Li Zishuo was still clutching his arm and sitting very close to him. An awkward look crossed his face, and he quickly scooted to the other side.
After the two women entered the carriage, it set off...
Before you continue