The atmosphere was a little awkward.
Li Changsheng sat calmly inside the carriage and glanced at the two girls sitting opposite him.
Beside him, Li Zishuo was clearly uneasy. His little eyes kept darting between Li Changsheng and the two girls opposite them.
No one knew the Seven Absolute Zither Master and Exquisite Dice's real names.
No one knew what they really looked like.
Both of them wore masks.
They weren't simply white or black masks, but finely crafted Soul Tools.
Patterns were traced across them.
The mask on the Seven Absolute Zither Master's small face, for example, was pure white, with nebula-purple lines drawn across it. Delicate patterns adorned the space between her brows, her cheeks, and even her chin.
Exquisite Dice's mask was much simpler. It covered her face with just a few decorative touches, leaving her striking black-and-white eyes exposed.
Li Changsheng looked at the Seven Absolute Zither Master.
Just then, she looked back at him.
Only then did Li Changsheng notice that besides her head of silver-white hair, the Seven Absolute Zither Master had a pair of sky-blue eyes, clear as a sunny sky and shimmering with an aura of wisdom.
Exquisite Dice broke the silence.
Of the children present, she seemed to be the oldest.
She cleared her throat, then said, "Li Changsheng, Li Zishuo, right?"
Her voice was crisp. For some reason, it made people imagine she must have a delicate, endearing face that inspired tenderness.
Li Changsheng nodded.
Li Zishuo nodded vigorously.
The corner of Exquisite Dice's exposed mouth curled into a smile. Then she said,
"Don't be so nervous. Um, you two are younger than me, so it wouldn't be presumptuous if I called you my little brothers, right?"
Before Li Changsheng could speak, Li Zishuo blurted out excitedly, "Is your surname Li?"
Li Changsheng's mouth, which had just opened, began to twitch again.
He grabbed Li Zishuo and pulled him back from his slight forward lean.
"Fine. If you're going to tell us the rules and all that, hurry up and get to it."
Exquisite Dice didn't answer Li Zishuo's question. Instead, she looked at Li Changsheng and paused.
"Sister Linglong, go ahead."
The Seven Absolute Zither Master spoke for the first time.
Her voice sounded soft and sweet. Perhaps because she was young, it lacked much authority and came out rather weakly.
Exquisite Dice seemed to care a lot about what the Seven Absolute Zither Master said. She promptly stopped wasting time and began,
"Shrek Pre-Academy was established three thousand years ago under the leadership of the then dean of Shrek Academy. It has since developed into the number one junior Soul Master Academy on the continent... Its grounds... its faculty... its advanced equipment... its Soul Beast breeding forest..."
Li Changsheng was at a loss.
This Soul Master, Exquisite Dice, had started by recounting the history of Shrek Pre-Academy's founding, then mixed in details about the academy's inner workings.
Who didn't already know all that?
He simply leaned back and listened to her talk.
At the same time, Li Changsheng learned that Shrek Pre-Academy wasn't near Shrek Academy. It was located near the Mingdou Mountain Range, on the border between the western part of the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire.
It was a very long way away.
"W-why was the Pre-Academy built on the border with the Sun Moon Empire? Isn't that dangerous?"
When Exquisite Dice brought up the location, Li Zishuo asked timidly.
Exquisite Dice gave a soft laugh. "Of course it's chaotic! Since it's on the border, neither side governs it. There are roving bandits, criminals, and Evil Soul Masters. That's how you temper your own strength, isn't it?"
She was too mature.
It was terrifying.
The more Li Changsheng listened, the more alarmed he became.
Was this really a junior Soul Master Academy?
Well, he could take a closer look once they got there.
There was one thing he was curious about. He asked, "Have you killed anyone?"
"I have."
This time, it was the long-silent Seven Absolute Zither Master who answered. Her sky-blue eyes were fixed on Li Changsheng, as if they had been on him for some time.
Beside her, Exquisite Dice continued talking about everything there was to know about Shrek Pre-Academy.
"Killed someone..." Li Changsheng's heart gave a jolt.
Was she serious?
He didn't ask for details.
As the conversation went on, Exquisite Dice didn't seem tired. Instead, she began chatting with the timid Li Zishuo beside her.
But they only talked about the Pre-Academy.
Exquisite Dice really seemed to treat Li Zishuo like a little brother.
As for Li Changsheng...
Well, Li Changsheng didn't feel he had anything to ask.
Rules?
Regulations?
What good would asking about those do?
Would knowing all that make him stronger?
So he simply closed his eyes and rested.
Truthfully, he was itching for a fight. He wanted to spar with the Seven Absolute Zither Master.
He felt a little bad about fighting a seven-year-old child, but she really was strong.
Seven years old, at level twenty-one, with one yellow and one purple Soul Ring.
Before long, Exquisite Dice got to the teaching system following the Pre-Academy's reforms.
Li Changsheng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them.
Exquisite Dice said, "This reform is really rough on you new students. It's rough on us students about to graduate, too."
"First, from now on, anyone who wants to graduate from the Pre-Academy has to pass a graduation assessment in their sixth year."
"If you're a Battle Soul Master, you'll need to hunt a Soul Beast of the required age or capture one alive and bring it back."
"If you're an auxiliary Soul Master, you'll have to go to the Soul Fighting Arenas in various cities and assist other team Soul Masters in winning a hundred matches."
"Especially the Soul Guidance Department course that's opening this year. If you want to graduate, you'll have to pass a special assessment. I expect that means building a Soul Tool."
"You know what Soul Tools are, right? They're not like ordinary lamps. Real Soul Tools are weapons for combat, powered by Soul Power. Anyway, they're really impressive. If you're interested, you can go take a look once you're enrolled."
"As for the new student assessment, it's actually very simple..."
"Simple? It sounds hard. You have to hunt a four-hundred-year Soul Beast by yourself. My dad said Soul Beasts are super fierce. They have huge claws and go 'roar, roar,' and enormous bloody mouths..." Li Zishuo's imitation was surprisingly convincing, making Exquisite Dice laugh in a thoroughly unladylike way.
The Seven Absolute Zither Master had closed her eyes to rest some time ago. Soul Power stirred around her, as if she had entered a meditative state.
Exquisite Dice snorted. "That's just how it looks on the surface."
"Do you really think the academy would make you hunt a four-hundred-year Soul Beast all by yourself?"
Li Changsheng didn't ask anything. He simply watched her.
Exquisite Dice didn't keep them in suspense and went on,
"Think carefully about what they said: 'rely on your own strength to hunt a four-hundred-year Soul Beast.' It doesn't say you have to do it single-handedly. Your own strength also includes your wisdom, social skills, and even your wealth."
I see.
Li Changsheng understood.
So they could form a team, use any means available, and even hire wandering Soul Masters to help them hunt Soul Beasts?
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention. You'll hunt the Soul Beasts in the forest they keep inside the Pre-Academy."
"So when they say 'rely on your own strength,' they really mean teaming up with six other people?" Li Changsheng finally asked.
Exquisite Dice said, "What, were you thinking of hiring wandering Soul Masters to help you hunt the Soul Beast?"
Li Changsheng nodded.
It did make sense. If he could hire powerful wandering Soul Masters, hunting a hundred-year Soul Beast would be easy.
"This is only the first assessment. If my guess is right, the second one will probably involve following a team to sweep out bandits or something, then getting scored by the team based on your performance. The team you follow will be made up of senior students. The team will be the three-person unit Teacher Gu mentioned earlier." Exquisite Dice raised two slender fingers as she made her guess.
Even though Li Zishuo had been exempted from the assessment, he listened with great interest. After all, children were curious about the world beyond their doors.
Even knowing it was dangerous, they couldn't help being curious.
Li Changsheng, meanwhile, was deep in thought.
"Senior students in three-person teams are already sweeping out bandits? With teachers at Soul Emperor level or higher accompanying them—Soul Masters who are at least Soul Saints..."
Exquisite Dice was right. The borderland between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire was a lawless region surrounded by mountains. It was home to bandits and other evil beings. There were plenty of villages scattered throughout it, and even large cities.
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