The livestream beneath the heavenly curtain continued.
Tang Si was about to lead Xiao Wu toward the front.
Suddenly, Tang Si froze, and his thoughts reached Different World: Eh? Zhu Zhuqing!
Following Tang Si's gaze, the livestream shifted to the very back of the line, where a cool and aloof young woman stood.
She wore a tight black leather outfit, with a tail behind her.
Tang Si's thoughts followed: Haha~~ As expected of an E-Rank Talent. That figure, that body... Dai Mubai, with such a beautiful fiancée, I've decided we're friends!
Comments: [Dai Mubai: Tang Si, you're courting death! How dare you covet my woman?]
[Huo Wushuang: So this is what he means by being friends with Dai Mubai—he's got his eye on the man's fiancée. Hahaha~~~]
[Yu Feng: Hahaha~~ A role model for our generation.]
[Dugu Yan: Why do I suddenly want to side with Tang Si? Even though he's clearly just a lecher!]
[Ye Lingling: Perhaps Dai Mubai is even worse.]
[Hu Liena: They're both scumbags. By the way, does anyone know what E-Rank Talent means?]
Zhu Zhuqing in Different World heard Tang Si's thoughts, but she said nothing and gave no response. She was still following behind Dai Mubai, fleeing toward the Star Luo Empire.
Yet Dai Mubai was still cursing away at the heavenly curtain without pause.
Someone from the Star Luo Empire reminded him, "Your Highness, conserve some Soul Power. Spirit Hall's Soul Masters are still pursuing us."
Dai Mubai gritted his teeth inwardly, then suddenly turned back and shot Zhu Zhuqing a vicious glare. "Zhuqing, even if that person is you from Different World, I hope your choice won't disappoint me!"
Zhu Zhuqing frowned. Ever since Dai Mubai had defeated Dai Weisi, he seemed to have changed. Especially after the heavenly curtain appeared, that change had become even more obvious.
Dai Weisi? Thinking of Dai Weisi, Zhu Zhuqing turned back to glance at Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun, who were trailing far behind. The two had been assigned by the Star Luo Empire's team to bring up the rear.
No one in the entire Star Luo Empire cared anymore whether they lived or died. They only cared whether the two could hold back the enemy and whether their deaths had any value.
In other words, Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun had already been abandoned by the Star Luo Empire.
Have I really escaped the fate of being controlled? A wave of sorrow rose in Zhu Zhuqing's heart, because she had never escaped fate's control.
Eh? Ning Rongrong is here too. Hehehe~~ Both targets have appeared.
Tang Si on the heavenly curtain withdrew his gaze from Zhu Zhuqing. After taking only a few steps to the village entrance, his thoughts reached Different World again, immediately drawing Ning Rongrong's furious embarrassment in Different World.
Comments: [Ning Rongrong: You bastard, Tang Si! You actually dare to set your sights on me! I'll definitely kill you!]
[Huo Wu: That's not right! Why would Ning Rongrong, the little princess of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, appear in this godforsaken Shrek?]
[Shui Bing'er: Indeed, it makes no sense!! Ning Rongrong, care to explain? Why were you at Shrek?]
[Ning Rongrong: I heard someone mention the place, so I got curious and went to take a look.]
[Shui Bing'er: ???]
[Huo Wu: ???]
The two women were full of question marks. She had gone to such a godforsaken place just because she was curious? That was far too unbelievable.
If there were no other reason behind it, no one on the Douluo Continent would believe it.
On the heavenly curtain.
Tang Si smiled at Ning Rongrong, then continued walking forward with Xiao Wu. For the time being, he had no intention of striking up a conversation.
The livestream shifted with Tang Si's gaze as well.
Soon, the old man at the village entrance appeared in the footage. It was Li Yusong.
At that moment, a young man happened to place ten Gold Soul Coins into the registration box before extending his right hand.
Li Yusong pinched the young man's wrist, then said flatly, "Mm, exactly twelve years old. Release your Martial Soul and let me see it."
The young man nodded. Pale green Soul Power surged, and a vine-type Martial Soul slowly emerged. The Martial Soul coiled around the young man's body rather than appearing in his hand.
Immediately afterward, a yellow Soul Ring appeared as well.
Seeing this, Li Yusong immediately shook his head. "Unqualified. You may leave."
"Huh?"
The young man stared blankly, as though he had yet to process what had happened. His parents, meanwhile, asked stiffly, "Why? Our son is an outstanding student at the junior Soul Master Academy. Didn't you see that his first Soul Ring is a hundred-year one? Soul Masters with hundred-year Soul Rings are not common."
Li Yusong said calmly, "It is indeed uncommon for the first Soul Ring to be a hundred-year ring, but he is only an ordinary person."
"We don't understand what you mean."
Seeing the boy's parents press the matter, Li Yusong grew somewhat impatient. He cast them an unhappy glance before shouting at everyone in line, "Those who have come to register at Shrek should know the rules. If you came without understanding the rules, then you are merely wasting your registration fee."
As he spoke, Li Yusong suddenly noticed Tang Si and Xiao Wu. His intuition told him that these two were certainly extraordinary.
After a brief pause, Li Yusong declared, "Shrek is a kind of monster, an extremely strange existence even among Soul Beasts. The meaning of Shrek Academy is Monster Academy. Shrek Academy only accepts monsters, not ordinary people. Anyone over thirteen years old, or whose Soul Power has not reached Rank 21, need not waste their time here."
With that, a Dragon Pattern Staff suddenly appeared in Li Yusong's hand, and an overwhelming aura spread out. The next second, six Soul Rings—white, yellow, purple, purple, purple, and black—rose from beneath his feet.
"Gasp~~ A Soul Emperor! This old man is actually a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse! Gasp~~"
Listening to the gasps around him, Tang Si shook his head speechlessly. Next, they'll drive them away and then embezzle the ten Gold Soul Coins in registration fees, right?
Comments: [Xie Yue: Embezzling registration fees?]
[Fan Rui: That's right. My family worked so hard to save up ten Gold Soul Coins, only for Shrek to bully us with their power and embezzle them.]
[Su Daqiang: I'm a victim too! Shrek, give back my hard-earned money!]
[Liang Qi: Shrek, give back my ten Gold Soul Coins!]
[Ruis: Shrek, give back my ten Gold Soul Coins!]
At once, a stream of condemnations filled the comments.
Comments: [Huo Lie: They even embezzle commoners' money? How shameless.]
[Yu Feng: How shameless!]
[Qin Ming: Shut up, all of you. You don't understand Shrek at all! Nor do you understand Shrek's hardships. Headmaster Flender used every single coin to train the students. I guarantee that Headmaster Flender never embezzled a single coin!]
[Shi Mo: Hehe~~ So Flender gets to make those commoners foot the bill? That was ten Gold Soul Coins! Do you know how long ten Gold Soul Coins can support a family of three? I'll tell you: ten Gold Soul Coins are enough to cover three to four years of living expenses for a family of three. With one sentence about Shrek's hardships, how many families lost three or four years' worth of living expenses?]
[Shi Mo: Are you even human?]
[Hu Liena: Are you even human? How could there be such a Soul Master Academy under Spirit Hall's jurisdiction? Did you even have the qualifications to run a school back then?]
[Flender: Hmph~~ Are ten Gold Soul Coins really that much? I'll settle the accounts with you today!]
[Shi Mo: Keep making excuses.]
[Dugu Yan: Hehe~~ Such a familiar routine. Shrek is making excuses again.]
[Flender: Can ten Gold Soul Coins truly shake the foundations of an ordinary Soul Master family? No! Not in the slightest! First of all, Soul Masters can receive a subsidy of one Gold Soul Coin per month from Spirit Hall, while Soul Grandmasters can receive ten Gold Soul Coins. Now tell me, are ten Gold Soul Coins really that much?]
[Li Yusong: Besides, I clearly stated that registration fees would not be refunded. Yet they still came with wishful thinking. Who can they blame?]
[Dugu Yan: Don't talk about how they earned their money. Just answer this: why did you embezzle those ten Gold Soul Coins? Can't you afford to live?]
[Liu Erlong: Insolence! How dare you speak to Boss Flender like that?]
[Dugu Bo: Liu Erlong, how dare you speak to my granddaughter like that?]
In Different World, Dugu Bo felt much better when he saw that Liu Erlong had stopped talking on the heavenly curtain.
The livestream on the heavenly curtain had reached the part where Shrek bullied others with its power. Dai Mubai forcefully drove away the applicants, then arrogantly glanced in Zhu Zhuqing's direction.
Immediately afterward, Dai Mubai spotted Tang Si and Xiao Wu, greeted them with a smile, and led them over to Li Yusong.
The scenes that followed did not have many twists. Tang Si, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong all passed the first test smoothly, skipping the second and third tests to go straight to the fourth.
After entering the village, they encountered Oscar, who was selling sausages.
His nauseating Soul Incantation aside, the support effects were exceptionally powerful. There was little mockery in the comments; instead, everyone was puzzled by one matter.
Comments: [Huo Wu: It really is rather strange... Why have so many geniuses gathered at a godforsaken backwater academy? Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun.]
[Shui Bing'er: Exactly. Any one of them would be among the most outstanding geniuses at our Four Elements Academy, perhaps even the number one genius! Why did they gather at Shrek?]
[Dugu Yan: Could it be that your Four Elements Academy lacks a godforsaken village?]
[Shui Yue'er: ...]
Before you continue