Shrek Academy Registration, Dark Web Reconnected

"Strange, it felt like something was watching me just now..."

As soon as the noble girl finished speaking, the old man in charge of registration ahead lifted his eyelids and glanced at her.

"If you're scared, go home. Shrek Academy doesn't take cowards."

The girl's expression shifted slightly. She lowered her hand from her chest and immediately regained her haughty demeanor.

"Who's scared? I just think this place is too run-down."

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes from behind.

"If you think it's so run-down, why are you still lining up?"

The girl turned and swept Xiao Wu a glance, her gaze lingering briefly on her scorpion braid. Her tone was barbed.

"What does me lining up have to do with you?"

Xiao Wu rolled up her sleeves and was about to step forward.

Tang San reached out and stopped her.

"Register first."

Xiao Wu gave an unhappy snort, but she still returned to Tang San's side.

Hidden in the compartment beneath a shoe sole, Ji Yuan forcibly suppressed the newly formed secondary spores.

This girl's martial soul aura was noble and clear. Her Soul Power fluctuations were unlike those of an ordinary support-type soul master, and there was even an innate sense of protection surrounding her.

He couldn't rush.

The higher-grade the blood bag, the more he had to wait for it to take that first sip of water itself.

At the registration desk, a richly dressed youth was making a scene.

"Our child is twelve, and his Soul Power has reached Rank 21. Why won't you accept him?"

The old man behind the table could not even be bothered to raise his eyes.

"Soul ring."

The boy's father's expression darkened.

"What soul ring?"

The old man raised a finger and tapped the tabletop.

"If your first soul ring isn't a hundred-year ring, get lost."

The man's face trembled with rage.

"What kind of lousy academy is this? You won't even refund the registration fee?"

The old man finally rose to his feet. The dragon-patterned staff in his hand struck the ground, and a wave of Soul Power pressure swept out. The crowd fell silent at once.

"The rules are written on the sign. If you can't read, don't come to register."

The man's face paled. He pulled his son away.

Tang San watched the Soul Power fluctuations around the old man and was secretly startled.

Even a teacher guarding the gate and handling registration possessed such cultivation.

Xiao Wu leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Your teacher really didn't lie to you? This rundown village has people this powerful hidden in it?"

Before Tang San could answer, Dai Mubai, standing beside the registration desk, spoke up.

"Shrek Academy only accepts monsters, not ordinary people."

Xiao Wu immediately glared at him.

"Quit putting on airs. You could barely walk steadily yesterday, and you've got the nerve to call other people ordinary?"

Dai Mubai's face darkened.

"What did you say?"

Xiao Wu lifted her chin.

"I said you're weak."

Several students waiting in line around them could not hold back their laughter.

Dai Mubai's expression grew even uglier. Just as his right foot was about to step forward, a familiar hollow sensation came from his ankle.

The white tiger spores Ji Yuan had hidden inside him gave a light pull, siphoning off a portion of the vitality that had only just recovered.

Dai Mubai's movement slowed, and he forcibly drew his foot back.

Tang San saw it all, his brows furrowing.

Something was wrong with him again.

That weakening of strength yesterday had definitely not been a coincidence.

But Tang San could not think of an answer, so he could only bury his doubts in his heart.

The line moved forward.

When it was the noble girl's turn, she placed her hand before the old man.

The old man checked her bone age, then gestured for her to release her martial soul.

Light flared in the girl's palm, and a seven-story pagoda emerged.

Low cries immediately rose from the surrounding crowd.

"Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!"

"Is she from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

The old man finally raised his eyelids slightly.

"Twelve years old, rank twenty-six. Pass."

The girl withdrew her martial soul and gave a soft snort as she passed Dai Mubai.

"This place had better be as impressive as you claim."

Dai Mubai glanced at her.

"Go inside and wait for the fourth test."

The girl ignored him and walked straight in.

Ji Yuan sent his senses creeping along the ground, but they only circled around her shoes before withdrawing.

He couldn't force his way into the auxiliary essence of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

He had to wait for the source of water.

The next was a short-haired boy with a blade of grass still hanging from his mouth. A gentle Soul Power unique to food-type soul masters surrounded him.

After checking his bone age and Soul Power, the old man waved a hand.

"Oscar, what are you doing here?"

The short-haired boy grinned.

"Teacher, I'm not here to sign up. I just came to see whether there are any pretty junior girls this year."

Dai Mubai kicked him.

"Get inside."

Oscar jumped away, clutching his leg.

"Boss Dai, why are you so fired up today? Didn't sleep well last night?"

Xiao Wu immediately burst out laughing.

The veins at Dai Mubai's temple throbbed.

"One more word, and don't even think about selling sausages tonight."

Oscar promptly shut up.

Meanwhile, Ji Yuan's roots gently spread beneath the soles of his shoes.

A food-type soul master.

The scent of life energy was far too distinct.

This guy's Soul Power wasn't dense, but it carried a peculiar fluctuation capable of healing injuries.

Very good.

Another blood bag.

Soon, it was Tang San and Xiao Wu's turn.

Tang San placed his hand on the table.

The old man checked his bone age, his expression unchanged.

"Release your martial soul."

Blue Silver Grass sprouted from Tang San's palm, and a yellow soul ring rose around him.

Someone in the crowd laughed.

"Blue Silver Grass?"

"Blue Silver Grass can enter Shrek Academy too?"

The old man did not laugh.

He reached out and pinched a blade of Blue Silver Grass. With a slight tug, he found that he could not tear it apart easily.

His gaze returned to Tang San's face.

"Blue Silver Grass can be cultivated to rank twenty-nine?"

Tang San nodded.

"By luck."

The old man stared at him for a while, then suddenly said, "Mubai, take him inside."

Dai Mubai looked at Tang San, the fighting spirit in his eyes rising again.

"You really didn't disappoint me."

Xiao Wu slapped the table.

"And me."

After checking her bone age and sensing her Soul Power, the old man simply waved his hand.

"Pass."

Xiao Wu looked at Dai Mubai smugly.

"Did you hear that?"

Dai Mubai could not be bothered to argue with her and merely pointed inside.

"Don't run around after you go in. There are more tests ahead."

Tang San and Xiao Wu followed Dai Mubai deeper into the academy.

Along the way, the dilapidated wooden houses, muddy training grounds, and crooked fences made Xiao Wu more disgusted the more she looked.

"This is really an academy? Even Notting Academy is better than this place."

Dai Mubai said coldly, "If you want to stay somewhere nice, it's not too late to go back to Suotuo City now."

Xiao Wu immediately shot back.

"I'm not leaving."

Tang San looked around and asked, "What cultivation was that teacher just now?"

Dai Mubai answered casually, "Teacher Li Yusong, a Soul Emperor in his sixties."

Tang San's heart jolted.

Xiao Wu quieted down as well.

Ji Yuan, however, withdrew his perception from Li Yusong.

Though the old man's Soul Power was strong, his vitality and blood had already begun to decline. His impurities were heavy, and his life force was insufficient.

He was not suitable to serve as the main blood bag.

What Ji Yuan wanted now were young geniuses, sources still growing.

On the open ground ahead, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile girl from earlier was standing there, with a tall girl dressed in black beside her.

The girl in black carried a cold aura and moved lightly. She stood at the edge of the crowd, keeping her distance from everyone.

The moment Ji Yuan's perception brushed against her, she turned her head toward Tang San's feet.

Tang San noticed her as well.

Xiao Wu whispered, "That big sister doesn't look easy to mess with."

Dai Mubai's expression turned complicated upon seeing the girl in black, and his voice sank.

"Zhu Zhuqing."

The girl in black did not respond, merely turning her face away.

That indifference stung more than a direct insult.

Dai Mubai's lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile girl noticed something was wrong and deliberately laughed.

"You know each other?"

Zhu Zhuqing said coldly, "Not well."

Dai Mubai clenched his hand, then loosened it again.

Ji Yuan saw it all clearly from within the sole of the shoe.

Emotional fluctuations were nourishment too.

The more chaotic, the better.

Before long, the group was brought to another open area.

A middle-aged man of short stature but exceptional solidity lay in a chair, a straw hat covering his face. An unlit stick of incense was planted beside him.

Dai Mubai walked over.

"Teacher Zhao, several people qualified to reach the fourth test this year."

The man in the chair removed the straw hat and narrowed his eyes as he swept his gaze over the group.

"Oh? There are really monsters this year?"

Tang San felt the heavy pressure emanating from the man, and his heart immediately tightened.

Xiao Wu edged closer to him as well.

Ning Rongrong frowned.

"So this is the teacher for the fourth trial?"

Zhao Wuji sat up and rubbed his neck.

"Normally, the fourth trial is a fight against Mubai. But today, my hands are itching. All four of you can come at me together."

Dai Mubai's expression changed slightly.

"Teacher Zhao, isn't that inappropriate?"

Zhao Wuji grinned.

"What's inappropriate about it? Last one incense stick's worth of time, and you pass."

Tang San looked at Dai Mubai.

"What's his cultivation level?"

Dai Mubai answered gravely, "Level seventy-six, a Soul Sage—the Immovable Bright King, Zhao Wuji."

Ning Rongrong's expression changed as well.

"A Soul Sage? You want a few Soul Grandmasters like us to hold out for one incense stick?"

Zhao Wuji reached out and picked up an incense stick.

"What? Too scared?"

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She merely retracted her dagger-like claws into her palms before releasing her martial soul once more.

Tang San said solemnly, "We need to discuss our strategy."

Zhao Wuji planted the incense stick into the ground.

"I'll give you time, but don't take too long. I'm not very patient."

The group retreated to one side.

Tang San looked at Ning Rongrong.

"You're an auxiliary-type?"

Ning Rongrong raised her chin.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. I can boost your strength and speed."

Tang San nodded, then looked at Zhu Zhuqing.

"Agility attack type?"

Zhu Zhuqing only gave two words.

"Distraction."

Xiao Wu patted her fist.

"I'll handle close combat."

Tang San quickly said, "I'll use Blue Silver Grass for control. Rongrong will support from the rear. Zhu Zhuqing, look for openings. Xiao Wu, don't take his attacks head-on."

Xiao Wu was unconvinced.

"I'm not some porcelain doll."

Tang San looked at her.

"He's a Soul Sage."

Only then did Xiao Wu pout.

"Got it."

Ji Yuan hid beneath the sole of a shoe, his roots drawn in tightly.

A level seventy-six Soul Sage.

Thick vitality, powerful defense, heavy Soul Power fluctuations.

Perfect for testing poison.

But an expert like Zhao Wuji had sharp senses. He could not use a slow method like water-source spores.

He had to use the battle to deliver the poison to the weakest point in his defenses.

Zhao Wuji got to his feet and rolled his shoulders.

"Finished discussing? Keep dawdling, and I'll light the incense myself."

Tang San turned around.

"Let's begin."

With a flick of his fingers, Zhao Wuji lit the incense. Smoke rose from its tip.

At the same time, seven soul rings appeared beneath his feet, and his heavy Soul Power pressed down on the clearing until the air felt stifling.

The tip of Ji Yuan's vine slipped out through a crack beneath Tang San's shoe, mixed toxins churning within its barbs.

Zhao Wuji slapped his chest and grinned. "Come on, let me see whether you little monsters have bones hard enough."

And Ji Yuan's first poisoned thorn had already burrowed through the soil toward his feet.