Yan Shaozhe: Such Prodigies Belong in Shrek!

The ink spreading across the tabletop continued to widen, dripping from the edge of the redwood desk onto the floor with faint, rhythmic taps.

The senior student in charge of registration looked as though she had been struck by a petrification spell, staring blankly at the application form before her.

Xiao Yan stood quietly where he was, his deep black eyes fixed on the senior student who seemed to have lost her soul.

He did not urge her on. He simply waited calmly.

Half a minute passed, yet the senior student still stood there with her mouth hanging open.

Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly, raised his right hand, and brought his long, well-proportioned index and middle fingers together before tapping twice against the wooden tabletop, neither too hard nor too softly.

"Tap, tap."

The crisp knocks were like a morning bell, instantly pulling the senior student back from her dazed world.

She jolted violently and came back to her senses, her fair cheeks flushing crimson at once.

She hurriedly grabbed a rag from the table to wipe up the ink, but the more nervous she became, the messier it got.

"S-sorry!"

Even her voice stuttered. She took several deep breaths, trying to appear like a composed senior student, but under Xiao Yan's calm, unruffled gaze, her heart still pounded as if it might leap out of her throat.

She quickly straightened out the form on the desk, which had not even been completed yet, then looked up at the brother and sister with unmistakable awe in her eyes.

"Your circumstances are too unusual," the senior student said, doing her best to steady her breathing.

"Even a level thirty-five Twin Martial Souls, according to academy rules, exceeds what ordinary Outer Court students like us are authorized to handle directly. Not to mention... level forty-six."

She swallowed, then waved to another male student handling admissions nearby. "Junior, come watch things for me. I need to take these two new students to the Academic Affairs Office."

The moment the male student approached, the senior student impatiently stepped out from behind the desk and gestured for Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao to follow.

"Please, come with me. I'll first take you to meet one of the Outer Court teachers, and they'll arrange your enrollment."

Xiao Yan nodded, took Xiao Xiao's hand, and followed her.

The moment they stepped through Shrek Academy's gates, the noise and stifling heat were shut out behind them.

Ancient trees towered along both sides of the broad, shaded avenue. Their dense canopies blocked the scorching sunlight, while a gentle breeze carried the moist, refreshing vapor of Sea God Lake.

Xiao Yan sensed that the energy in the air was somewhat denser than outside.

The Art of the Fuxi Emperor within him began circulating on its own. The ever-flowing Taiji Innate Qi moved steadily through his meridians, methodically absorbing and releasing the surrounding energy.

His steps were light as his gaze swept over the enormous statues of the Shrek Seven Monsters in the distance. There was none of a new student's fervor or worship in his eyes, only the calm detachment of one examining history.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, was brimming with curiosity. She clutched Xiao Yan's hand tightly, turning her head from side to side, her emerald eyes full of excitement.

Though the senior student walking ahead moved quickly, every few steps she could not help sneaking a glance at Xiao Yan from the corner of her eye.

Under the mottled shadows of the trees, the boy's profile was flawless from every angle. That unburdened air of someone who had weathered countless trials simply should not have belonged to an eleven-year-old child.

Level forty-six meant that he only needed to cross one more threshold to become a Spirit King.

Many students in Shrek Academy's Inner Court were merely Spirit Kings themselves.

The three of them passed through the tree-lined avenue and arrived before a cluster of buildings.

This was the Outer Court's administrative area, where rows of white teaching buildings stood neatly arranged.

The senior student led them into the main office building and down the spacious corridor until they reached the end of the second floor.

She stopped before a heavy solid-wood door. The plaque read: "Outer Court Academic Affairs Director."

"This is Director Du Weilun's office. Director Du handles all daily affairs in the Outer Court and the assignment of new students. He will definitely deal with your situation personally."

The senior student adjusted her academy uniform and raised her hand to knock.

"Wait."

Xiao Yan stopped her. His gaze passed over the senior student and settled on a larger door farther down the corridor.

"Senior, take me directly to the dean's office instead."

The hand she had raised froze in midair.

She turned around, looking troubled as she patiently explained, "Junior Xiao Yan, that is indeed Dean Yan Shaozhe's office. But Dean Yan is the head dean of the Spirit Soul Department. He usually handles affairs in the Inner Court on Sea God Island, and he may not even come to the Outer Court once in ten days or half a month. Going there would be pointless."

"He is definitely here these days," Xiao Yan said with certainty, withdrawing his gaze.

The senior student looked at the young man's incomparably handsome face. He was clearly only a junior who had just enrolled, yet that transcendent aura about him made her unable to muster the thought of refusing.

Half-convinced, she sighed to herself. At worst, they would knock on an empty door and come back to find Director Du.

She led the two of them to the dean's office at the end of the corridor, took a deep breath, and politely knocked three times on the heavy door.

The corridor was very quiet. The senior student listened carefully for a moment and was just about to turn around and say no one was inside.

"Come in."

A gentle yet penetrating male voice came from behind the door. It was not loud, but it rang clearly beside all three of them.

The senior student froze in place, her eyes widening round.

Dean Yan was actually in the Outer Court office!

She had suffered too many shocks today, and her mind briefly shut down. She even forgot to push the door open.

Xiao Yan ignored the dazed senior student.

He extended his well-defined hand, pressed his palm against the door, and exerted a little force.

The heavy solid-wood door slowly opened. Holding Xiao Xiao's hand, he stepped into the spacious, luxurious office.

As if waking from a dream, the senior student hurriedly lowered her head and followed them inside.

The office was enormous. Three walls were fitted with massive bookshelves that reached all the way to the ceiling, packed with ancient texts and documents.

Before the huge floor-to-ceiling windows stood a broad desk carved from an entire block of agarwood.

Behind the desk sat a man.

His long silver-gray hair was impeccably groomed.

He appeared to be a middle-aged man in his forties. His features were strikingly handsome and sharply defined; in his youth, he must have been an exceptionally charming man.

He was tall and slender, dressed in an elegant white-patterned robe. Soft white feathers adorned his collar, bringing his free-spirited bearing to its fullest expression.

This man was none other than Yan Shaozhe, dean of Shrek Academy's Spirit Soul Department and a level ninety-five Super Douluo.

Yan Shaozhe had been reviewing documents. Upon hearing footsteps, he set down his pen and looked up.

When his gaze fell on Xiao Yan, who was walking at the front, a clear flash of surprise passed through the eyes of this well-traveled Super Douluo.

He had seen countless people, yet he had rarely encountered a youth with such extraordinary bearing.

His gaze swept over Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao, his brow lifting slightly as he spoke in a warm voice.

"You two look unfamiliar, and you seem quite young. Are you new students registering today?"

Xiao Yan stopped, standing tall and straight. He gave the elder behind the desk a slight nod, perfectly courteous without seeming servile.

"Yes, Dean Yan. Also, my father is Xiao Zhan."

At the mention of that name, Yan Shaozhe's deep eyes suddenly narrowed.

His hands braced against the edge of the desk instantly relaxed, and then he burst into hearty laughter. The sound made the office's floor-to-ceiling windows hum.

"Hahaha! So that's it! No wonder you both looked somewhat familiar. You're the brother and sister from Brother Heavenly Cauldron's family!"

Yan Shaozhe rose to his feet, walked around the broad desk, and strode over to the siblings.

He examined them from head to toe, his appreciation completely undisguised.

Heavenly Cauldron was Xiao Zhan's title.

Not long ago, Xiao Zhan, who had been stuck at the level ninety-four bottleneck for years, had used the core principles of the Art of the Fuxi Emperor secretly imparted by Xiao Yan to break through his shackles in one stroke and enter the realm of a level ninety-five Super Douluo.

That breakthrough had caused quite a stir among the continent's upper circles.

Yan Shaozhe had shared a friendship with Xiao Zhan in his younger days. A few days earlier, he had received a letter from Xiao Zhan, mentioning only that his two children would be coming to Shrek Academy to enroll in the next few days and asking him to look after them.

That was why Dean Yan, who was usually so elusive, had exceptionally remained in his Outer Court office these past few days, waiting for the siblings' arrival.

"Brother Heavenly Cauldron praised the two of you to the skies in his letter. Now that I've seen you, this bearing alone puts you far beyond others your age."

Yan Shaozhe smiled and clapped his hands, then looked toward the senior student, who had been shrinking timidly at the back like a quail and did not dare raise her head.

"You are the student responsible for registration, correct? Since they are here, tell me their enrollment information. I would like to see exactly where Brother Heavenly Cauldron's confidence comes from."

At being called out by the dean, the senior student's body stiffened sharply.

She stepped forward and offered the still-incomplete registration form with both hands, her voice trembling slightly from excitement and nervousness.

"R-reporting to Dean Yan. New student Xiao Xiao, eleven years old. Her martial souls are the Nine Phoenix Flute and the Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. Soul Power, level thirty-five."

The smile on Yan Shaozhe's face instantly widened, his eyes filling with delight.

He looked at the pretty girl peeking out from behind Xiao Yan and nodded repeatedly.

"Twin Martial Souls! And she has reached level thirty-five at eleven years old! Good, very good! Brother Heavenly Cauldron has raised a fine daughter. With this talent alone, the Outer Court's courses will be far too easy for her. The Inner Court's gates have already opened halfway for her!"

The senior student swallowed, suppressing the shock in her heart as she shifted her gaze to the moon-white figure who had remained calm all along. Her voice unconsciously rose.

"New student Xiao Yan, eleven years old, martial soul: Fuxi Zither." She paused, as though gathering the strength to say the final words. "Soul Power, level forty-six!"

"What did you say?"

Yan Shaozhe's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

The composure and elegance on the face of this dignified level ninety-five Super Douluo collapsed in an instant.

His sharp eyes widened as he stared fixedly at Xiao Yan, his gaze filled with disbelief.

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently.

Level forty-six? Eleven years old?

This could no longer be described as talent. It completely shattered all conventional understanding of soul master cultivation. He was an utter monster.

In Shrek Academy's ten-thousand-year history, it had never encountered a new student with such a terrifying cultivation speed.

He quickly stepped before Xiao Yan and placed both hands heavily on his shoulders.

He did not deliberately investigate, but with a Super Douluo's perception, he could clearly sense the vast, pure, ever-living foundation of terrifying energy hidden within the boy's body. It was certainly not the hollow Soul Power gained by forcibly raising his cultivation with medicine.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Yan Shaozhe said "good" three times in succession, his eyes burning as though he had discovered an unrivaled treasure.

He turned around with a laugh, his voice unable to conceal his excitement.

"Shrek Academy accepts both of you siblings! From today onward, if you encounter any problem in the academy, come directly to me. I, Yan Shaozhe, will back you up!"

With that, he strode back behind his desk, pressed the communication device on its surface, and spoke urgently.

"Du Weilun, put down everything you are doing and come to my office immediately!"