Not Qualified to Be Among the Shrek Seven Devils

Douluo Continent, Shrek City, Shrek Academy, Inner Court.

The night grew deep.

Yet, the shores of Sea God Lake remained brightly lit.

The entire Shrek Academy seemed exceptionally lively tonight.

This was because tonight was the announcement ceremony for the new generation of the Shrek Seven Devils reserve team.

A large number of students from both the Outer and Inner Courts had already gathered around the lake.

Even many teachers had arrived early.

Shrek Seven Devils.

This name was incredibly sacred within the academy.

It was not just an honor; it signified becoming the true core of Shrek's future.

Walking across the continent, one would be held in high esteem.

By the side of Sea God Lake.

A young man in black slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, exiting his meditative state.

With his soul power retracted, the young man opened his eyes.

His gaze was calm and steady.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that his body was taut, as if he were in a state of extreme tension.

"Senior Ye, you're actually nervous?"

Not far away, a student couldn't help but laugh.

Ye Luochen looked up at him and smiled as well.

"A little, I suppose."

"Haha, Senior, you're purely overthinking it."

Another person nearby immediately chimed in.

"If anyone were to be left off the list, it certainly wouldn't be you."

"Exactly."

"I heard that during the inspection mission a few months ago, when three evil soul masters surrounded and attacked, it was all thanks to Senior Ye holding them off single-handedly; otherwise, that entire team would have been wiped out."

"And just a while ago in the arena tournament, Senior Ye went up against an Inner Court powerhouse at the Soul Ancestor level and didn't fall behind in the slightest."

"With your strength, which ranks among the best of the new generation, you are definitely on the list for this generation's Seven Devils reserve team."

Many students around them nodded in agreement.

The gazes they cast toward Ye Luochen were filled with admiration.

This was because Ye Luochen was quite famous within Shrek now.

At only fifteen years old, he already possessed a soul power level approaching forty.

His strength was indisputably at the forefront of his generation of new students.

Facing the voices and gazes of admiration from the surrounding students, Ye Luochen felt a sense of emotion.

Because no one knew how much effort he had put in to achieve all this.

Day and night of ceaseless, bitter cultivation.

Countless amounts of sweat.

Trial after trial of life and death.

For his current strength, he had put in several times more effort than anyone else!

As his thoughts surged, Ye Luochen unconsciously looked down at his right hand.

Faint soul power circulated.

A small, pitch-black short blade slowly manifested.

It looked as ordinary as could be.

This was his martial soul.

Dark Iron Blade.

A tool-type martial soul with an innate soul power of only level four, completely unremarkable.

Back when he first enrolled, some had even mocked him, saying that such a martial soul didn't even qualify for the Outer Court.

Yet now, that once most ordinary person had stepped, bit by bit, to the very front of his peers.

He was even recognized by the vast majority of students as the most undisputed candidate for the new generation of the Shrek Seven Devils reserve team.

Thinking of this, Ye Luochen slowly let out a breath.

His gaze turned toward the distant Sea God Pavilion.

"After tonight, once I'm ranked among the reserve Shrek Seven Devils, I imagine I'll have access to even better resources..."

Just then, a bell tolled in the distance.

Dong—

The deep, resonant chime slowly echoed across the entire Sea God Lake.

The previously boisterous crowd fell silent at once.

Everyone looked up simultaneously.

In the center of Sea God Lake, figures began to appear slowly.

The person leading them was none other than the Dean of the Martial Soul Department.

A powerhouse at the Super Douluo level, Yan Shaozhe.

"It's starting!"

Someone whispered in the crowd.

The atmosphere around the lake instantly turned fervent.

Ye Luochen also stood up and began to walk forward slowly.

Many gazes immediately fell upon him from all directions.

Some were envious, others full of admiration.

There were even quite a few female students looking at him with adoration in their eyes.

Because in the eyes of almost everyone present, the position of the reserve Shrek Seven Devils tonight would certainly include Ye Luochen.

In the center of Sea God Lake, Yan Shaozhe swept his gaze across the entire audience.

Then, he spoke slowly, his steady and powerful voice spreading outward.

"Today."

"I announce the roster for the new generation of the reserve Shrek Seven Devils, who will be cultivated as the next generation of the official Shrek Seven Devils!"

The entire lakeshore fell completely silent.

"The first member."

"Bei Bei."

"The second member."

"Xu Sanshi."

One name after another rang out.

Every time a name was called, bursts of cheers erupted from the crowd.

Yet, Ye Luochen stood there calmly the entire time.

Because everyone felt that, as a powerhouse, his name would surely come later, acting as the anchor of the team.

Finally, the sixth name was announced.

Ye Luochen's gaze narrowed slightly.

The next moment, Yan Shaozhe spoke again.

"The seventh member."

Ye Luochen couldn't help but clench his fists, and the gazes of countless people fell upon him at this moment.

"Huo Yuhao."

As the voice fell, the entire scene suddenly went quiet for a heartbeat.

Immediately after, countless people were stunned.

Ye Luochen also froze in place.

...That was it?

By the shores of Sea God Lake, the place that had been filled with cheers was now eerily silent.

Even the seventh member, Huo Yuhao himself, was clearly taken aback.

Finally, someone in the crowd couldn't help but speak up.

"Dean... did you miss someone?"

This sentence seemed to completely wake everyone up.

"That's right! What about Senior Ye?"

"How could Senior Ye not be among the Shrek Seven Devils?"

"Did you make a mistake with the list?"

The murmurs erupted instantly, growing louder and louder.

Not just the students, but many teachers frowned as well.

Almost every gaze landed on Ye Luochen at the same time.

Ye Luochen stood there.

He didn't speak, merely gazing quietly toward the direction of the Sea God Pavilion.

After a long while, Yan Shaozhe finally spoke slowly.

"There was no omission."

Those four short words caused the entire Sea God Lake to fall silent once again.

Yan Shaozhe looked at Ye Luochen and said indifferently:

"The academy recognizes Ye Luochen's strength."

"The academy has also seen his hard work over these years."

"However."

His voice paused slightly.

The next moment, his calm words fell like a blade.

"The Shrek Seven Devils have always been positions for true monsters, representing the future of the academy."

"Ye Luochen's martial soul is too ordinary; an ordinary martial soul..."

Yan Shaozhe paused again.

"Is, in the end, just an ordinary martial soul."

"A martial soul this ordinary has no qualifications to become the face of Shrek."

Boom!

In that instant, Ye Luochen's mind seemed to buzz.

The surrounding murmurs vanished completely.

Not just him, but everyone else was stunned as well.

No one had expected this to be the reason.

Because his martial soul was too ordinary, even if he gave his all, he was still unworthy of being one of the Shrek Seven Devils.

Ye Luochen stood silently in place.

For a long, long time.

Ye Luochen found it all incredibly laughable now.

His desperate efforts over these years couldn't even withstand a single phrase: "ordinary martial soul"!

Was a single phrase of "ordinary martial soul" enough to erase all his hard work and his strength as a leader among his peers?

Thinking of this, Ye Luochen slowly raised his hand.

He unpinned the Shrek badge from his chest.

Then, in front of countless people, he placed the badge on the stone steps at his feet.

By the shores of Sea God Lake, there was dead silence.

Ye Luochen looked up and took one last deep look at the Sea God Pavilion.

The light in his eyes slowly faded away.

"I have been taught."

"So this is what Shrek amounts to."

"From this moment on, I, Ye Luochen, withdraw from Shrek."

Having said that, under the gaze of countless people, Ye Luochen turned and walked away.