Amphoreus Academy

Shrek Academy.

Tang San and Xiao Wu looked at the deserted entrance, both feeling somewhat bewildered.

"Brother, didn't they say today was the day for Shrek's enrollment? Why is there no one here..."

Tang San shook his head.

Just then, a passerby hurried past them.

Tang San quickly called out to him, "Excuse me, young brother, aren't you here to sign up for Shrek?"

The passerby glanced back at the Shrek sign and spat on the ground. "Pah! A trash academy like this? Who would want to go there? Isn't Amphoreus Academy right next door much better?"

With that, he shook off Tang San's hand and walked away without looking back.

Tang San stood frozen in place upon hearing this.

Amphoreus Academy?

Xiao Wu leaned in, wrapping her arms around Tang San's. "Brother, what is this Amphoreus Academy? Is it better than Shrek?"

"I'm not sure either, but Teacher had his reasons for sending us to Shrek Academy, so let's just head to the registration desk and sign up."

Xiao Wu nodded. "Okay."

The two turned and walked toward the Shrek registration area.

Behind them, a chestnut-haired woman with a beautiful face and an ethereal temperament rolled her eyes after hearing their conversation.

"Amphoreus Academy? Never heard of it. Is it really better than Shrek?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then turned and headed in the direction the passerby had gone.

The woman's name was Ning Rongrong.

She passed through a small forest and soon saw a long, winding line of people.

At the end of the line was an inconspicuous building. In front of it sat a table and chairs, with a sign standing beside them that read: "Amphoreus Academy Admissions Office. Location: Inside Soto City."

There was also a conceptual drawing of the academy posted, which looked elegant, grand, and extraordinary.

Seeing this image, Ning Rongrong nodded.

The school is inside Soto City? The conditions certainly look good.

Ning Rongrong became interested in this academy called Omphalos.

She glanced at the registration desk, which was still empty; it was clear the admissions teacher hadn't arrived yet.

Ning Rongrong turned and walked to the back of the line.

Just as she was about to join, she heard a discussion between two men in front of her.

The man in front turned to the man behind him, "Yo, so you're also..."

The man behind him waved his hand helplessly. "Shrek over there is unreasonable. I heard this academy doesn't charge an enrollment fee, so I came here."

The man in front scanned the long line. "Exactly. Just the fact that they don't charge an enrollment fee makes them better than Shrek next door. But I just heard something—they're only recruiting one person."

"No way, for real?"

Hearing this, Ning Rongrong's delicate brows furrowed.

"Only recruiting one person? Doesn't that mean..."

Her eyes lit up.

"With this young lady's talent, wouldn't that spot be as good as mine?"

Thinking of this, Ning Rongrong immediately joined the line and waited quietly.

However, not long after, a commotion broke out at the front of the line.

Someone shouted, "The door is open! The door is open!"

Ning Rongrong quickly looked toward the front.

Sure enough, the door to the inconspicuous house ahead was opened by someone.

Seeing the door actually open, the crowd instantly erupted into a frenzy.

They surged forward in a swarm, overcome with excitement.

But the next second, four students dressed in matching uniforms walked out from inside and blocked everyone directly.

Immediately following, a gray-haired man dressed in white robes stepped slowly out from the house.

And when Ning Rongrong saw the man's face clearly, she froze in place:

"Ye Qiong?"

The man called Ye Qiong did not notice Ning Rongrong.

At this moment, he looked at the excited crowd before him, the corners of his mouth curling into a slight arc.

"It seems the promotional effect is quite good."

The man arrived at his seat and greeted everyone with a smile:

"Good morning, parents and students. I am the dean in charge of admissions this time, Ye Qiong."

Dean? So young?

The crowd looked at the four students blocking them, then back at him, all feeling a sense of surprise.

Is this really the dean? How does he look only two or three years older than them?

Ning Rongrong stood in the back, watching Ye Qiong with equal confusion.

Isn't he supposed to be at the sect? Why is he here opening an academy?

Ye Qiong was the most outstanding disciple of their Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, having broken through to the Soul Emperor rank at only sixteen.

Such a gifted individual was also the most beloved disciple of the two Douluo in the sect.

When she was a child, the two Douluo had loved her the most.

But ever since this Ye Qiong appeared, the two Douluo seemed to have become obsessed.

Their affection for Ye Qiong was even greater than it had been for her.

Not only that, her father, Ning Fengzhi, had even declared that Ye Qiong should become her fiancé.

This made her feel extremely repulsed.

Looking at Ye Qiong, Ning Rongrong scoffed in her heart:

Instead of staying at the sect, he runs off to a small place like this to open a pathetic academy and make a fool of himself. How laughable.

Suddenly, Ning Rongrong's eyes rolled as she thought of a brilliant plan to embarrass Ye Qiong.

That was to feign interest in enrolling, and then, once selected, reject him in front of everyone.

With that, she seized the opportunity to squeeze through the crowd from the outside.

Standing at the front, Ye Qiong did not notice Ning Rongrong's little maneuver.

He signaled for everyone to line up, then sat down in his chair:

"For this round of admissions, our Amphoreus Academy will only recruit one person; the best candidate will be accepted."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present immediately became fully alert.

They all wanted to present themselves in their best state to increase their odds of getting into this academy.

Seeing everyone looking so spirited, Ye Qiong smiled, and he beckoned to the only girl among the four students:

"Jiang Zhu, come and help me record."

"Understood, Teacher."

The girl called Jiang Zhu immediately trotted over, sat down beside Ye Qiong, and picked up paper and pen.

Following this, Ye Qiong did not adopt the method of face-to-face elimination like Shrek Academy.

He carefully interviewed every student and had Jiang Zhu record their information.

When it was Ning Rongrong's turn, Ye Qiong looked at her proudly upturned face, and his heart skipped a beat:

Ning Rongrong? According to the plot, shouldn't she be going to Shrek?

Ye Qiong remained calm on the surface, but his mind raced.

He remembered the entire plot, from Tang San jumping off the cliff to prove his resolve in his past life to his ascension to godhood—he knew it all.

Because he was not a person of this world.

When he transmigrated here ten years ago, he had been picked up by Sword Douluo and brought back to the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect.

Back then, he had truly believed he was destined to be the protagonist.

As it turned out, when his martial soul awakened, he only manifested an ordinary baseball bat.

Fortunately, he possessed innate full soul power.

And so, he remained at the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect to cultivate, a process that lasted for ten years.

After reaching the rank of Soul Emperor at the age of sixteen, he should have naturally become involved in the sect's affairs and become one of its main pillars.

Yet, at that very moment, he insisted on descending the mountain to pursue a path that no one held in high regard:

establishing an academy.

This was all because of what happened two months ago.

[Ding! Otherworld Academy Construction System activated.]

Ye Qiong, who had been in the middle of cultivation, froze.

"What the hell? An academy construction system? What would I need that for?"

[The host can become stronger by building an academy, eventually even transcending the Douluo plane.]

Upon hearing this, Ye Qiong stood up immediately.

The Douluo Continent was forever just a small, isolated planet.

Having transmigrated once, his future should lie among the vast stars.

"How exactly does one transcend? Explain in detail."

[The stronger the students you cultivate, the more rewards you receive, and the stronger you can become.]

"I see. Can you elaborate on what specific functions you have?"

[Ding, the host must complete the novice mission to unlock all basic functions.]

Ye Qiong frowned upon hearing this.

Why did this system require completing a mission just to unlock basic functions?

"What a hassle. Fine, what is the mission?"

[Establish Amphoreus Academy and recruit five students. Mission completion reward: Novice Gift Pack.]

"Omphalos?"