After leaving Holy Soul Village, Gu Han did not let down his guard.
He could well imagine that Tang Hao was searching everywhere right now.
Although he was confident Tang Hao would never find Ah Yin inside the system space, their destination was Shrek Academy. They could not gamble on whether Tang Hao might show up.
"It never hurts to be careful." Gu Han thought to himself, then took out the [Thousand-Change Mask] the system had rewarded him earlier. After putting it on, he gave one to Xiao Wu as well. The mask could completely conceal her Soul Beast aura.
Gu Han looked at the reflection in the lake. The person staring back was a complete stranger, and he was quite satisfied.
Even a Titled Douluo would have a hard time noticing anything amiss unless he deliberately scrutinized them.
Shrek Academy.
From far away, Gu Han and Xiao Wu could already see Shrek Academy's entrance, which consisted of no more than a few broken wooden boards.
There was also a long, bustling line of applicants. A middle-aged man with neatly combed hair and a somewhat mature appearance sat behind a table. He was Li Yusong, in charge of the first test.
"Gu Han... are we sure we've come to the right place? Is this really an academy? You weren't tricked, were you?"
Looking at Shrek's dilapidated entrance, Xiao Wu's face was full of doubt.
Gu Han's gaze swept across the crowd, quickly settling on several faces that stood out.
A lively, cheerful girl in a green dress was looking around. She was Ning Rongrong.
Standing beside her was a black-haired girl with a curvaceous figure and a cool, distant air. The cat ears atop her head gave away her identity: Zhu Zhuqing.
On the other side of the line stood a quiet young man in a blue outfit. His face was ordinary, but his eyes held far more composure than those of his peers. It was Tang San.
"Tang San. It's been a few years, but he doesn't look any different. I wonder what level he's reached after staying by Tang Hao's side."
Gu Han thought to himself, then took Xiao Wu by the hand and walked over.
The line moved quickly, since the ten Gold Soul Coin registration fee turned away most applicants.
Soon it was the turn of the girl standing ahead of Tang San. After her parents paid, Li Yusong merely felt her hand and said flatly:
"You don't meet the age requirement. You can leave."
The girl protested, "There's nothing wrong with my age!"
Li Yusong snorted.
"Our academy only accepts monsters, not ordinary people. Your Soul Power is only level twenty-one. What kind of monster does that make you?"
His words were utterly blunt, enraging everyone waiting in line behind her.
Then it was Tang San's turn.
He stepped forward and paid. Li Yusong felt his bone age as well, nodded, and motioned for him to put his hand on the crystal ball.
Tang San did as instructed, and a soft white light appeared.
"Hmm, the age is right, and the Soul Power is level twenty-nine?"
Li Yusong abruptly looked up, surprise on his face. "What's your name? What's your Martial Soul?"
"Tang San. My Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass," Tang San answered calmly.
"Blue Silver Grass? Level twenty-nine?"
The surprise in Li Yusong's eyes deepened, but he still nodded. "Release your Martial Soul."
Two Yellow Soul Rings rose beneath Tang San's feet, and blue Blue Silver Grass swayed in his palm.
"Good, good, a real monster. You've passed—"
Just as Li Yusong was about to let Tang San inside, Tang San's Martial Soul, which he had yet to put away, suddenly changed.
At that moment, under everyone's gaze, the Second Soul Ring on Tang San's Blue Silver Grass suddenly turned into particles and vanished into the air.
Tang San panicked. He tried to summon his Blue Silver Grass again, but his Soul Ring was still, without a doubt, just one Soul Ring.
Seeing this, Li Yusong had Tang San place his hand on the crystal ball again. The result made everyone scoff.
"Soul Power: Level 20."
"So you've been lying to me this whole time, brat! You disguised level 20 as level 29. Get lost, get lost!" Li Yusong summoned his Martial Soul and sent Tang San flying with a single blow of his staff.
Ning Rongrong and the others behind him looked at Tang San differently now.
Even as Tang San lay there after being sent flying, he was still wondering why his Second Soul Ring had suddenly disappeared.
[Ding, ding, ding! Congratulations, host, on making Tang San's Second Soul Ring disappear and preventing him from enrolling at Shrek Academy! Key plotline modified. Rewards: 1,000 Magic Modification Points and one Soul Bone of your choice.]
That's right. Tang San's Second Soul Ring had vanished just now because of Gu Han.
He had used his fifth Soul Skill, Karma Cutting, to erase Tang San's Soul Ring from the flow of time and space. From now on, Tang San would have to absorb another one to get it back.
"It seems Tang Hao is still searching for Ah Yin. That means I don't have to hold back."
Gu Han took Xiao Wu over and paid twenty Gold Soul Coins.
Li Yusong felt their bone ages, his brow furrowing slightly as if something felt off.
But with the masks' effects, he couldn't say what it was. He assumed it was just his imagination.
"Put your hand on it."
Gu Han placed his hand on the crystal ball.
In the next instant, light erupted, filling the entire crystal ball.
"This... this is... Soul Power at the Soul King level?!" Li Yusong shot to his feet.
He stared wide-eyed at Gu Han, his voice rising in pitch. "You... how old are you?!"
Li Yusong wasn't the only one. Everyone around them was stunned by Gu Han's level.
Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and even Dai Mubai, who was lying on a tree branch, were filled with shock.
A Soul King at twelve or thirteen? How was that possible?!
Gu Han didn't answer. With a thought, five Soul Rings rose in succession beneath his feet: purple, purple, black, black, black.
The three black Soul Rings radiated a suffocating pressure, especially the last one, which was close to a hundred thousand years old.
"!!!"
The entire place fell silent.
Five Soul Rings, three of them ten-thousand-year Soul Rings. It was completely beyond anything they could comprehend.
Li Yusong's mouth hung open. Only after a long moment did he manage to stammer:
"Your... your Martial Soul is?"
Gu Han smiled faintly. He didn't summon the Karma Scissors, instead simply raising his left hand a little.
A long sword, icy blue from hilt to tip and wreathed in biting cold, appeared in his hand.
The moment the Heavenly Frost Sword appeared, the temperature around them plummeted. Even the ground was coated in a thin layer of frost.
"Martial Soul: Heavenly Frost Sword."
The Heavenly Frost Sword's ultimate chill made everyone present shiver.
At the same time, in the shadows beneath a distant tree, an old man stood quietly. He wore white robes as pristine as snow, his silver hair immaculate, his features handsome.
He was Sword Douluo Chen Xin, a Titled Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
He had been secretly protecting Ning Rongrong. Now, seeing the Heavenly Frost Sword in Gu Han's hand, his eyes suddenly blazed with astonishing brilliance.
Such a fierce chill. It actually has the attribute of Ultimate Ice.
Who is this young man? His Martial Soul has even made the Seven Kill Sword inside me hum.
Chen Xin was deeply shaken, and he began to regard Gu Han with far greater interest.
Li Yusong was completely dumbfounded. He hurriedly said, "Just go on in. Find Teacher Zhao Wuji for the fourth test."
Gu Han nodded, put away the Heavenly Frost Sword and his Soul Rings, then took Xiao Wu by the hand and entered Shrek Academy.
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