Li Yusong led the three through the village and came to a somewhat spacious clearing.
A group of boys and girls were lined up, each taking turns placing a hand on a crystal ball.
Li Yusong walked at the front, his back straight.
"Old Shao, keeping busy?" he called out.
Shao Xin looked up, saw Li Yusong, and waved. "Old Li, what brings you here? Finished the first test already?"
His gaze shifted to the three behind Li Yusong, and curiosity crossed his face. "These kids need you to show them the way in person?"
Li Yusong leaned in mysteriously. "Old Shao, what do you know? Two of the three behind me are monsters among monsters!"
He paused, then added, "Mu Bai's injured, isn't he? Zhao Wuji's that reckless brute on the fourth test now. I'm worried he won't know his own strength and might hurt these precious little treasures. If that happens, won't Flender skin me alive when he gets back?"
Shao Xin's eyes lit up at once.
"Monsters among monsters?"
He knew Li Yusong too well. The old man had eyes in the back of his head; anyone who earned that kind of praise from him was a once-in-a-generation genius!
"Enough, I can't chat. I'm taking them straight to the fourth test. You take your time testing the others."
Li Yusong finished speaking and was about to lead the three toward the final test.
The students in line wouldn't stand for it.
"What gives them the right?"
A brash young man immediately shouted, "Teacher, we've been standing in line forever. Why do they get to cut ahead?"
"Exactly! That's not fair!"
The students felt they were being treated unjustly and began raising a commotion.
Shao Xin gave a cold snort and released a trace of Soul Power. The pressure quieted the crowd. "Shrek has its rules. Anyone with Soul Power above level twenty-five can skip the two tests in between and go straight to the fourth. If any of you have what it takes, you can cut the line too."
At that, the noisy crowd fell silent.
Level twenty-five?
What a joke! Most of the students there were hovering between levels twenty-one and twenty-three. Those at level twenty-four were rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
To reach level twenty-five before turning twelve—what did that mean?
A genius among geniuses!
The brash young man was still unconvinced. "Who knows if they're really level twenty-five? What if they're here because of connections?"
Xiao Wu hated this sort of nagging pest, and she'd already mastered Su Chen's knack for showing off in public.
So she stepped forward and snatched the testing crystal ball off the table. "Watch closely. Don't blink!"
Before the words had even left her mouth, she poured her Soul Power into it.
"Holy crap!"
"My eyes!"
The crystal ball's light nearly blinded the group of extras.
Even Shao Xin instinctively shielded his eyes, his face full of shock.
That Soul Power was far beyond level twenty-five. It had to be over level thirty!
No wonder Old Li had called them monsters among monsters.
Her talent was on par with Tang San's!
Next, Su Chen and Zhu Zhuqing also tested their Soul Power, though only reluctantly.
After that, no one dared make another peep.
Just as Li Yusong was about to lead them away, a clear, sweet voice rose from the line.
"Um... Teacher, I'm above level twenty-five too."
Everyone turned toward the voice.
A girl in a long emerald-green dress stepped out, looking delicate and graceful.
She had refined features and a pair of large, twinkling eyes that held just the right hint of shyness. At a glance, she looked like a well-bred young lady from a prominent family.
Su Chen recognized her immediately. This had to be Ning Rongrong, the Little Demoness. She really was a pretty thing.
But she was quite the actress, too. She had the innocent act down pat.
Ning Rongrong took the crystal ball and, a little bashfully, poured her Soul Power into it. Its glow wasn't as astonishing as Xiao Wu's, but it still passed the level-twenty-five mark with room to spare.
Level twenty-six.
Shao Xin grinned from ear to ear and clapped repeatedly. "Good, good! There are geniuses every year, but this year's got an especially big crop!"
Li Yusong stroked his beard and glanced at Ning Rongrong. "Come on. I'll take all four of you straight to the final test."
The four followed Li Yusong deeper into the village.
Ning Rongrong brought up the rear, her lively eyes darting curiously between Su Chen and Xiao Wu.
Their Soul Power Levels had to be above thirty.
Twelve-year-old Soul Elders!
They were monsters!
If she could bring the two of them back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Dad, Sword Grandpa, and Bone Grandpa would be overjoyed.
She was already making plans in her heart.
They arrived at the fourth test.
In the middle of the field sat a lone reclining chair. A broad, powerfully built man lay sprawled across it, snoring so loudly it sounded like a tractor.
Li Yusong walked up and slapped the man on the belly.
"Old Zhao! Wake up! I've brought some people for the test!"
Zhao Wuji woke from a nightmare with a jolt.
He'd dreamed of that madman carrying a hammer again. In the dream, he'd been rubbed into the ground a hundred times—one hundred times!
He shook his dizzy head and finally got a good look at Su Chen and the others.
"Wow, not bad this year. Four of you made it all the way to my final test."
He stood and stretched, his bones cracking. "Good, good. This is the last test. Pass my challenge, and you can officially join Shrek. But..."
Before he could finish, Li Yusong pulled him aside.
The two leaned together, whispering.
As Li Yusong spoke, he gestured wildly, his expression so animated that his spittle nearly landed on Zhao Wuji's face.
As Zhao Wuji listened, his expression began to change too.
"Oh!"
"So that's what happened!"
He went from indifference to surprise, then astonishment. Finally, he looked at Su Chen with an indescribably strange expression.
When they were done talking, Zhao Wuji returned to the center of the field.
"The fourth test is simple. All you have to do is last one stick of incense against me."
Li Yusong chimed in at just the right moment to bolster his reputation. "Teacher Zhao Wuji is the vice dean of Shrek Academy, a level-seventy-six power-attack Soul Saint. His Martial Soul is the Vajra Bear."
Ning Rongrong gasped. "Zhao Wuji, and his Martial Soul is the Vajra Bear? Could he be the Immovable Wisdom King?"
Xiao Wu didn't care. Just a Soul Saint.
In front of her boss, he was a piece of cake.
Still, she asked curiously, "What, have you heard stories about him?"
Ning Rongrong nodded and said solemnly, "It's said that when he was a Soul Emperor, sixteen Soul Emperors from Spirit Hall surrounded him. He fought his way out alive. He's the real deal!"
Zhao Wuji heard them recounting his past glories.
He lifted his head and stuck out his chest, beaming with pride.
Then, somehow, he produced a stick of incense. He rubbed it between his hands, channeling Soul Power until its tip caught fire, then tossed it to the ground.
"You have one stick of incense to discuss your tactics." With that, he lay back in his chair.
Ning Rongrong looked troubled. "Lasting one stick of incense against a famous Soul Saint is going to be so hard..."
She looked at Su Chen and the others and was about to explain her support abilities and discuss a plan when Xiao Wu beside her spoke in an even more troubled tone.
"One stick of incense... Boss, do you think he can last that long?"
Ning Rongrong: ????
What nonsense was she talking about? They had to last one stick of incense, not him!
Had the girl been scared silly?