Beginning

The midsummer sun was vicious and dazzling, and hot winds swept across the wilderness, rolling up fine dust from the ground and sending it flying everywhere.

The gate of Shrek Academy before him was dilapidated beyond belief. The walls were mottled and peeling, the entrance was low and crude, and every part of it gave off an air of poverty and decline. It was worlds apart from any renowned academy on the continent.

Standing at the entrance of Shrek Academy, Qian Ren Shuang looked at the rundown gate, and the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Before he was nine and a half, Qian Ren Shuang had lived in luxury in Spirit Hall. After he turned nine and a half, although he had been sent to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as a hostage to deepen the business cooperation between the two sides, he had never lacked anything materially either.

Now, looking at this place that was crude to the extreme, practically a refugee encampment, he felt genuine disdain and dislike deep down.

If not for the fact that Qian Ren Shuang had temporarily stayed at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for a full twelve years, from the age of nine and a half to twenty-one and a half, plus the one million gold soul coins Ning Fengzhi had specially given him in advance for this trip, with those two things combined, he had honestly kept his promise and stayed behind to serve as Ning Rongrong's guard and mentor.

Otherwise, Qian Ren Shuang would have turned and run without another word long ago, leaving this place without even looking back.

The two of them quietly lined up along the long registration queue. The people around them were noisy, and examinees came and went in an endless stream. Before long, a considerable commotion suddenly broke out at the front of the line, and the loud sounds of an argument carried over clearly.

Having come from Earth, the underlying instinct of a bystander who loved watching drama quickly took over Qian Ren Shuang's thoughts. Curiosity rose in his heart, and he subconsciously craned his neck, raised a hand to block the glaring sunlight, and strained his eyes to look into the depths of the chaotic crowd ahead.

His gaze passed through layer after layer of figures. He saw a middle-aged man with a face full of anger standing in front of the registration table, his face flushed as he shouted emotionally at the staff in charge of registration, "You're clearly scamming people! Refund our registration fee, or we're not leaving! If we'd known this so-called Shrek Academy was this shabby, we never would have come!"

Qian Ren Shuang's expression was calm, and his heart remained completely unmoved. He had no intention whatsoever of stepping forward to seek justice for this person.

He merely watched coldly from the side, silently observing how Shrek Academy would handle this disturbance next.

He planned to use this incident to judge what sort of attitude he should adopt to establish himself and act in this academy from now on.

Li Yusong, who was in charge of the on-site registration assessment, looked indifferent. Faced with the troublemaker's quarrel, he wasted no words and merely called out in an aloof tone for Mubai, telling him to come forward and handle the matter.

Dai Mubai, with golden hair and a pair of differently colored eyes, slowly stepped forward. An innate cold arrogance marked his brows and eyes as he stared icily at the father and son causing trouble before him and said in a chilling voice, "If you want your registration fee back, fine. Beat me, and I'll refund every coin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, three spirit rings, two yellow and one purple, slowly rose from beneath Dai Mubai's feet, light flowing over them.

After saying that, Dai Mubai immediately assumed a fighting stance, his sharpness fully exposed. His gaze was cold as frost as he fixed it tightly on the middle-aged man opposite him.

Qian Ren Shuang's external martial soul, Guilmon, was naturally a battle-type Digimon that loved to fight. The instant it heard someone was going to throw hands, its battle spirit boiled over. It immediately grew restless, impatient to charge over and join the fight.

"Guil—woo—"

Before it could finish speaking, Qian Ren Shuang reached out and firmly covered Guilmon's mouth, forcibly muffling the rest of its voice back down.

"I'll find some fights for you later. Don't make trouble right now," Qian Ren Shuang promised the restless Guilmon aloud.

"Fine. It's not like they look that strong anyway," Guilmon muttered unwillingly in a small voice, its head drooping after being forcibly stopped.

After watching this farce with his own eyes and seeing Shrek's tough and domineering way of handling things, Qian Ren Shuang silently labeled this school in his heart as a "bandit training school."

He secretly made up his mind. From now on, in this academy, there was no need to reason with the people here. He should just go straight to physics.

Qian Ren Shuang turned and looked at Ning Rongrong beside him, asking, "Rongrong, what are the admission requirements here?"

Although all expenses for this trip were being covered and advanced by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Qian Ren Shuang was not willing to hand money over to others for no reason.

Just as Ning Rongrong was about to answer, Li Yusong, who was presiding over the registration point at the very front of the line, suddenly raised his voice sharply, his voice spreading across the entire long queue. "Anyone over thirteen, or whose soul power hasn't reached rank twenty-one or above, doesn't need to waste time here."

After saying this, he slowly summoned his martial soul. A Dragon Pattern Staff appeared in his hand, and with a heavy thud, the Dragon Pattern Staff struck the ground hard.

The dense soul power of a Soul Emperor above rank sixty spread out without restraint, turning into a powerful pressure that gave every applicant present a harsh show of force.

"Qian Ren Shuang, you're almost ten years over the limit. What are we going to do?" Ning Rongrong looked worried, glancing back and forth anxiously between Qian Ren Shuang and Guilmon beside him.

It was a little dinosaur with an especially unique appearance, its whole body crimson red. A black dragon-claw footprint pattern was printed across the bridge of its nose, its belly was snowy white, and within that white area was a black pattern resembling a nuclear radiation symbol. It stood about one meter tall, and within its yellow pupils lurked a clear stupidity.

It was the Digimon that appeared in Digimon Tamers—Guilmon.

At this moment, Ning Rongrong's heart was filled with deep worry. If Qian Ren Shuang could not enter Shrek because he was over the age limit, then Guilmon naturally would not stay either.

Wouldn't that mean no one would help her dig tunnels from now on, and all her usual escape plans after pranks would be delayed? While they were at it, she also would not be able to see Qian Ren Shuang's handsome face every day anymore.

"Very simple. I'll just go in as a teacher, won't I?" Qian Ren Shuang's expression was calm. He had already made his plans deep down.

No matter what, he had to enter Shrek Academy. Only by staying here could he respond at the first moment if Ning Rongrong encountered any danger or unexpected incident in the academy in the future. That would also count as being worthy of the one million gold soul coins he had taken.

The queue slowly moved forward, and soon it was Qian Ren Shuang's turn to step up and be tested.

His gaze was sharp, and he clearly caught that Li Yusong's eyes, when looking at him, were filled with mocking contempt and the look of someone waiting to watch a joke.

At the same time, Guilmon, who was guarding Qian Ren Shuang's side, inexplicably tensed all over. Its body abruptly arched, and a faint "hrrr" sound emerged from its throat like a vicious dog lying in wait and growling low. A faint surge of hostility churned through its whole body.

Guilmon possessed top-tier beastlike instincts from birth.

Who held malice toward it? Who carried heavy killing intent? It could sense it all clearly in an instant, and it was always ready to pounce and tear the other party to shreds.