Others Aim for a Passing Grade, But Ning An Wants to Beat Up the Proctor?

Bei Bei did not hesitate in the slightest upon hearing this. He immediately replied in a very serious tone, "Young Sect Master, according to the information I've gathered!"

"This year, the one in charge of the final assessment is Dai Yueheng from the inner court—the Dai Yueheng of the White Tiger Duke's Estate!"

"He is currently eighteen years old, with soul power as high as Rank 59. He is a power-attack Soul King, one of the core geniuses of Shrek's inner court. His combat strength is formidable, and he ranks among the very best of his generation in the inner court!"

A Rank 59 Soul King!

Those few words fell over the area, instantly making the air feel a little heavier.

Beside them, Huo Yuhao's body suddenly stiffened. His figure trembled ever so slightly, while his hands hanging at his sides abruptly clenched tight. His knuckles turned white, and his nails nearly dug into his palms!

The White Tiger Duke's Estate!

Dai Yueheng! Dai Huabin! Dai Hao!

These were names carved into his very bones and blood—the deepest humiliation and obsession of his life, the source of all the disdain he and his mother had endured.

Even hearing those few names was enough to make years of bullying flood into his mind in an instant, negative emotions sweeping through his entire body.

The blood-deep hatred buried in his heart had been completely stirred awake by that single sentence.

Yet he merely lowered his head slightly, desperately suppressing the fury and grief surging in his eyes, not daring to reveal even a trace of it.

He was weak and powerless. As he was now, he did not even have the right to face the White Tiger Duke's Estate head-on.

No one else could have noticed such an exceedingly subtle emotional fluctuation, but Ning An, standing beside him, caught it precisely.

Ning An's gaze shifted slightly. He slowly leaned close to Huo Yuhao's ear and lowered his voice, speaking softly in a tone only the two of them could hear. His voice was gentle, yet carried an indescribable strength.

"You have a grudge against the White Tiger Duke's Estate?"

"Don't worry. Follow me, and you'll have a chance to reclaim every grievance and every debt of blood you bear."

That brief sentence was like a blazing warm sun, instantly piercing through the layers of gloom in Huo Yuhao's heart!

The grievances he had suppressed for years completely burst through the dam at that moment, and a burning heat surged into his eyes.

Huo Yuhao no longer knew how many times he had wanted to give his very life to the young man before him.

Huo Yuhao abruptly looked up, his dark eyes fixed firmly on the calm and gentle youth before him, countless complicated emotions churning in their depths.

Since childhood, everyone had bullied him.

They saw only his worthless origin as someone born with Rank 1 innate soul power. Only the Young Sect Master had saved him while caring about his feelings, and even...

Huo Yuhao silently swore that he would never betray the Young Sect Master in this life. Even if his future wife offended the Young Sect Master, he would never stand against him.

Seeing the light rekindle in the boy's eyes, Ning An gently patted his shoulder. He then straightened and looked toward the distant direction of Shrek City, murmuring softly to himself in a casual tone.

"A Rank 59 battle Soul King."

"With my current martial soul and the Nine Treasure Arts, it won't be difficult to hold out steadily for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

"But... if I want to defeat a Rank 59 Soul King head-on, that really is still somewhat difficult."

The moment he said this, everyone present froze.

Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Ning Tian exchanged looks, their eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

Hold out for the time it takes an incense stick to burn!

The rules of the Shrek assessment only required them to hold out for that long to pass!

Every genius taking the assessment only wanted to safely endure the time and enroll successfully!

Yet this Young Sect Master was actually thinking about—how to defeat Dai Yueheng head-on?!

Others challenged the trial just to pass. He wanted to challenge the examiner?

The thought process of a monstrous genius truly differed completely from ordinary people's. They were not even on the same level!

Bei Bei's mouth twitched slightly, leaving him with nothing but endless amazement.

As expected of an unparalleled monster who possessed twin top-tier martial souls at eleven and could instantly kill a thousand-year soul beast. His ambition and vision were incredible—damn incredible.

Just as Ning An was feeling somewhat troubled.

[Ding! Detected that the host is about to arrive at the Shrek assessment scenario. A new mission has been triggered!]

The system's cold mechanical notification suddenly resounded in Ning An's mind.

[Mission Objective: Participate in the Shrek entrance assessment and publicly provoke the inner court genius of the fourth stage—Dai Yueheng!]

[Mission Reward: The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear martial souls may be used simultaneously; soul power will break through to Rank 33; the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear martial soul's third soul ring will be automatically absorbed!]

The system prompt landed clearly, and the generous rewards instantly came into Ning An's view.

Use both martial souls simultaneously!?

Break through to Rank 33, plus a third soul ring suited to the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear!

He currently possessed only two rings. If he unlocked the third soul ring, his combat strength would surely soar once more.

With the Nine Treasure Arts and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda boosting himself, fighting a Rank 59 Soul King across such a gap in levels would no longer be a fantasy!

A bright smile instantly flashed through Ning An's previously calm eyes. The corners of his lips rose, forming an uninhibited and flamboyant curve.

Provoke Dai Yueheng?

That guy didn't seem like a good person. Whatever—he wasn't a good person himself either. What did it matter if he provoked him first and then gave him a beating?

"Let's go. Into Shrek City."

Ning An composed himself, his gentle expression returning as his tone became calm and unhurried. He took the lead, walking toward the distant, majestic Shrek City.

The group followed closely behind, heading for the continent's number one soul master academy.

The Third Elder's figure flickered as he silently disappeared into the shadows of the forest, concealing his aura as he followed them in secret, protecting them throughout the journey in case of danger.

Shrek City.

"Young Sect Master, Xiaoya and I will take Sister Tian and Yuhao to handle their admission procedures."

Bei Bei stopped and spoke softly to Ning An. "You can head directly to the assessment square and line up for the test. We'll meet inside Shrek Academy."

"Alright." Ning An nodded slightly.

The group immediately split up.

Tang Ya and Bei Bei led Ning Tian and Huo Yuhao toward the special exemption channel, while Ning An entered the bustling admission assessment square alone, holding a recommendation letter from the main city.

Shrek's admission assessment consisted of four rounds, clearly divided throughout the square. The first round tested one's soul power foundation. It was the simplest, yet it still eliminated more than half of the applicants with fairly decent talent.

They had gotten ten gold soul coins each for nothing.

The long line stretched for hundreds of meters, with countless young soul masters waiting in orderly queues.

Ning An calmly joined the end of the line and waited quietly. Tall and poised, with an exceptional bearing, he stood out among the young soul masters without appearing ostentatious.

Time slowly passed, and the line steadily moved forward.

Before long, only a few people remained ahead of him. It would soon be Ning An's turn for the assessment.

But at that moment, an arrogant, domineering, and utterly unreasonable voice suddenly rang out from behind him!

"Get lost! Move aside!"

"This young master will be tested first! All of you, get back in line behind me!"

Along with the arrogant shout, a youth clad in luxurious brocade robes and radiating a powerful aura ignored the long queue. He strode forward from the rear and forcibly cut in line directly in front of Ning An!

His movements were overbearing and his posture arrogant, his brows and eyes filled with haughty disdain. He clearly did not regard anyone present as worthy of notice.

This sudden provocation immediately drew the attention of all the soul masters waiting nearby. Their eyes were filled with indignation, but no one spoke up to stop him.

That was because his attire was anything but ordinary. At a glance, he was clearly no simple figure.

The brocade-robed youth turned back and cast Ning An a sidelong glance. "Kid, that look in your eyes says you're very dissatisfied, huh?!"

"Looks like if I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know the difference between heaven and earth."