Arrival at Shrek Pre-Academy

According to Exquisite Dice, they would officially arrive at the location of the Shrek Pre-Academy in a few hours.

The journey had been relatively peaceful.

Especially as they neared the border between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire, the carriage's speed increased significantly, and the jolting sensation became more pronounced.

According to what Exquisite Dice had said.

If they were to delay in this area, they might invite unnecessary trouble.

At this moment, inside the carriage.

After nearly seven days of contact, Li Changsheng, Exquisite Dice, and Seven Absolute Zither Master had established a relatively stable relationship.

Li Zishuo, meanwhile, would ask Exquisite Dice about cultivation and meditation methods from time to time.

He seemed quite intimidated by Seven Absolute Zither Master.

At this moment, Exquisite Dice pulled down the curtain, revealing the lush green mountains and clear waters outside.

"Finally going back," she said with a hint of nostalgia.

Seven Absolute Zither Master nodded with a touch of fatigue, idly brushing back her silver-white hair. "Indeed."

Afterward, she decided to give Li Changsheng and Li Zishuo a few more reminders.

"The two of you, one needs to take the assessment first, while the other can enroll directly. For a brother like Li Changsheng with innate full soul power, the assessment should be easy to pass, so let's talk about life after officially entering the Pre-Academy."

Seven Absolute Zither Master also nodded, adding, "If someone with innate full soul power can't even pass the assessment, that would be truly shameful."

Li Changsheng was rendered speechless.

When others spoke of innate full soul power, it was a compliment.

Coming from her, it felt like a blatant provocation.

Through their time together, Li Changsheng had finally figured her out.

Seven Absolute Zither Master wasn't arrogant at all; on the contrary, she particularly enjoyed throwing a jab or two at critical moments to show off her lively and cute side.

Li Changsheng wanted to retort, but he had no opening to do so.

Exquisite Dice watched this scene with a smile, then cleared her throat and continued:

"The Pre-Academy follows the same six-year system as ordinary Junior Soul Master Academies. The only difference is that while ordinary Junior Soul Master Academies have dozens of students per class and only five or six classes in total, the Pre-Academy was reformed to have three students per class, with over twenty classes per grade."

She paused to organize her thoughts. "And for every class in the same grade—that is, every three-person team—there is an assessment every month. After the third year, assessments occur every three months, so the dropout rate for freshmen is extremely high..."

As she said this, she fixed her gaze on Li Zishuo.

Li Zishuo's small face tightened; he knew this was meant for him.

"But there's no need to worry too much. The assessments are conducted in teams. It's either a mission or a battle between classes of the same grade."

"Every class must include a Control-type Soul Master, and the remaining two can be chosen freely. As far as I know, there aren't many Control-type martial souls among the freshmen who have already arrived this year, so, little brother Zishuo, find a class with two Power Attack-type Soul Masters to at least safely make it through the third year and work hard to improve your soul power."

By the end, this was practically encouragement, but it also pointed Li Zishuo in the right direction.

Li Changsheng considered this for a moment.

The martial soul he used was the Genesis Book.

According to the God of Wisdom, his martial soul was very similar to Seven Absolute Zither Master's Seven Absolute Zither, which meant he could be considered a Control-type Soul Master...

Control-type Soul Masters seemed to be in high demand.

Immortal Execution Painting was also a Control-type Soul Master.

"I'm in my sixth year now, and after a few more missions, I'll have to take my graduation assessment."

At this point, Exquisite Dice's tone turned slightly sorrowful.

Li Zishuo asked, "Then, after graduation, will you apply to Shrek Academy?"

Exquisite Dice nodded. "That's a given. After all, Shrek Academy is the number one academy on the continent. My goal isn't just Shrek Academy, though—yours shouldn't be either. Any Soul Master who can enter the Pre-Academy has the goal of graduating from Shrek's Inner Court from the very beginning. That is the goal that geniuses among geniuses should pursue. After all, in a certain sense, only the Inner Court can be considered the true students of Shrek Academy."

"Oh, by the way, there are three parts to the entrance assessment."

"Three parts?" Li Changsheng asked.

Li Changsheng didn't care at all about Exquisite Dice's future plans.

"That's right. And the third assessment should be the ranking battle. By then, those who have passed the first two assessments are already considered Soul Masters. Through actual combat, they then divide the classes. You could also call it a class-assignment battle," Exquisite Dice said ambiguously.

"Does that mean the weak and the strong are paired together?" Li Changsheng cut straight to the point.

At this, Seven Absolute Zither Master, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up: "Quite the opposite."

Quite the opposite?

Li Changsheng looked a bit confused.

Exquisite Dice explained, "The strong have their own ways of growing, and the weak have their own ways of surviving. Although the Pre-Academy upholds a teaching philosophy of 'education without discrimination,' every type of Soul Master is still a bit different."

Li Changsheng nodded. Hmm, this teaching method is excellent.

The weak should have their own way of surviving.

Forcing them to be with the strong, who spent their days hovering on the edge of life and death, wasn't learning from a genius's strengths—it was just becoming a burden.

Li Changsheng hated dead weight the most.

Dead weight killed people.

"Right, right! Once you form a class, you'll need to think of a title for yourselves at the Shrek Pre-Academy—four characters is best. Also, three-person classes will have a team name, similar to a wandering soul master squad." Exquisite Dice was still very excited as she spoke, adding, "Like me, my title is Exquisite Dice, and my class team name is No One in the Tomb. 'Tomb' as in burial tomb, you know."

No One in the Tomb?

That name...

Well, it was quite imposing.

Seven Absolute Zither Master spoke up from the side, "I only have a title. I haven't joined a squad yet. However, I am looking forward to teaming up with you. I've already thought of a name."

As she spoke, she fixed her gaze on Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng raised a hand, pointed at himself, and asked in surprise, "Me?"

Seven Absolute Zither Master brushed back her long hair, and even her deathly mask seemed to carry a hint of a smile. "That's right. It's clear that you are very strong. Besides, I will also be participating in the second and third parts of the freshman assessment."

Li Changsheng shrank his neck and didn't answer.

Just like that, before they arrived at the Shrek Pre-Academy, Li Changsheng learned a great many things from Exquisite Dice and Seven Absolute Zither Master.

There were three parts to the freshman entrance exam.

The first part: raise your soul power to level ten within the allotted time. Relying on your own strength, hunt one soul beast in the Forbidden Soul Beast Forest that is at least four hundred years old and attach a soul ring to your martial soul.

Li Changsheng's soul power was already at level fourteen, and his second martial soul, the Immortal Execution Painting, had already been attached with a reward soul ring that could increase age attributes. For the upcoming assessment, he could just attach a soul ring to his Genesis Book martial soul along the way.

After all, according to the God of Wisdom, his Genesis Book martial soul would be the same regardless of what kind of soul ring he absorbed.

The second part: follow a senior squad to carry out a mission, with the evaluation based on a score.

The third part: a ranking battle, which was the class-assignment battle. It involved a special "teaching according to aptitude."

Once all three assessments were completed, one was considered truly enrolled.

Simple, yet not so simple.

Li Changsheng gave this fair assessment.

As for Li Zishuo, he apparently didn't need to participate in the first part of the assessment.

However, Exquisite Dice said he might need to follow a senior team to observe a mission process and would still have to participate in the class-assignment battle.

He would likely be at the very bottom. After all, over these past six days, his soul power didn't seem to have increased much; by the time of the class-assignment battle, he might still be a soul master without a soul ring.

After another two hours or so, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

Through the window, Li Changsheng opened his mouth wide, staring at the scene in the distance in shock.

"Where... where is this? What is that thing in the sky?"

Even Li Changsheng was shocked enough to say as much.