Shrek's Assessment

Shrek's Assessment

After Xu Yuan left, he did not forget Mu Ye and told him about his plans to apply to Shrek.

Mu Ye did not stop him after learning of it. For a Body Sect disciple to also enter Shrek Academy for study was within the range the Body Sect could accept. There had been similar cases in the Body Sect before, though not many.

After Xu Yuan left Skysea City, Mu Ye left as well.

"It's time to go see my eldest disciple."

Riding in Xu Shengqun's Mecha, the two soon caught sight of the outline of Shrek City.

Shrek City.

He had been away from this place for two years.

"Two years... I'm back." Sitting inside the Mecha, Xu Yuan gazed through the screen at the faintly visible Shrek City ahead, anticipation welling up within him.

"Spend these next few days adjusting your condition. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to reveal the contents of Shrek's assessment, and this is also an opportunity for you to gain experience." Xu Shengqun stopped at his villa and had Xu Yuan begin preparing himself.

"Shrek's entrance examination is no easy matter either. Rest up these next few days and get used to your Soul Spirit's evolved state."

Xu Yuan nodded without arguing.

He did know the process of Shrek's entrance examination. Although some details had become blurry, he still remembered several of the important stages, so he was not particularly nervous.

Many of Shrek's assessments tested one's true heart, requiring Soul Masters to make choices from their deepest instincts. Thus, Illusion Arts were incorporated into many of the assessments. Even if one knew certain details beforehand, those memories would be temporarily blocked by the Illusion Arts. Various stray thoughts would also be guided into being ignored, allowing the examinee to give only answers that truly came from the heart in response to the assessment.

Even if one knew some of the examination content in advance, it was actually difficult to make much effective preparation beforehand.

All he could do was adjust himself and prepare for battle. That was enough.

The day of Shrek's recruitment soon arrived.

Xu Shengqun only escorted Xu Yuan to the gates of Shrek Academy.

Shrek Academy could also be called Shrek's inner city. The entire academy was a city in itself, not the least bit smaller than a medium-sized city outside, while its facilities were even more complete than those of a major city.

Strictly speaking, the entire inner city fell within the true boundaries of Shrek Academy. Yet an academy was still an academy, and the actual teaching area occupied only a small portion of the inner city.

Even so, it was already astonishing.

Xu Yuan set off on his own from the inner city and, following his uncle's directions, found Spirit Ice Plaza.

At this moment, a large number of young boys and girls had already gathered outside Spirit Ice Plaza.

Every three years, Shrek Academy held admissions. Though the number of places was limited, there were ultimately still many outstanding Soul Masters. Every academy could be said to have several recommendation slots, allowing them to come to Shrek and take the so-called examination.

Among those who truly entered Shrek, there were always Soul Grand Masters with Soul Power of only level twenty-three or twenty-four every three years. That was nothing unusual.

Nor was there any shortage in this era of Soul Masters who could cultivate to level twenty-three or twenty-four before the age of thirteen. It could even be said that every intermediate Soul Master Academy had the ability to train students to that level.

But the difference between people of the same rank was also extremely obvious.

What was truly scarce were the slots to apply to the Inner Courtyard—applying directly to the Inner Courtyard. Upon passing, one could enter Shrek's Inner Courtyard as a specially recruited student and cultivate there. Once they met the Inner Courtyard's requirements in the future, they would directly become Inner Courtyard Disciples.

Of course, the proportion was extremely low. There were only around a hundred Inner Courtyard application slots each year, and no more than five would be specially recruited into the Inner Courtyard.

Most Inner Courtyard Special Admission Slots were used as a safeguard. Even if one failed the special recruitment, they would still have a greater chance of entering the Outer Courtyard for study.

The examination venue was inside the Ring Building behind Spirit Ice Plaza. The building appeared to have six floors, and its entire structure was grand and imposing, giving off an antique yet elegant air.

As Xu Yuan passed through Spirit Ice Plaza, he also saw the many statues standing there.

The Golden Iron Triangle, the First-Generation Shrek Seven Devils, and the Shrek Seven Devils from the era of Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao were the most conspicuous statues.

Xu Yuan could sense that the statues of the most legendary figures, such as Tang San, faintly gave off a special aura. He did not know whether it came from the sculptor's skill, a Soul Master imbuing them with added intent, or the result of gathered faith.

After passing the cluster of statues, the young applicants around him began crowding together as well.

Due to his cultivation, Xu Yuan had developed quickly, but he was still only seven years old. He stood out greatly among this group of teenagers and drew quite a few gazes.

When he arrived before the Ring Building, Xu Yuan raised a hand in greeting.

"Teacher, I'm here for the Special Recruitment Exam."

The person in charge of guiding them was a young man. He glanced at Xu Yuan. "Come with me."

There were simply too many applicants, so they entered the building in batches for assessment. However, those taking the Special Recruitment Exam could directly join the current batch of examinees.

As the young man led Xu Yuan into the building, he explained, "You're very young. You're not only seven or eight, are you? Although your age gives you an advantage and earns you extra points in certain assessments, to offset the greater difficulty of the Inner Courtyard special recruitment assessment compared to the ordinary assessment, you'll still need to perform at the standard of the ordinary assessment in order to pass."

Xu Yuan silently nodded and did not make any grand declarations.

The young man glanced at Xu Yuan in surprise. He had not expected such a young child to possess such good composure.

He led Xu Yuan around two corridors and arrived at a circular hall with a mural on its domed ceiling.

There were a full fifty youths in the hall, all of them looking upward with fear in their eyes.

Xu Yuan followed their gazes and looked at the mural on the wall.

It depicted an enormous black dragon with a pair of golden eyes. Its massive wings were spread wide, and its whole body was suffused with a dark purple glow.

Though it was only a mural, it was vividly lifelike. More importantly, a tangible pressure seeped from it. Anyone who so much as looked at it would suffer a dual oppression of body and mind.

Dragon Might!

This was Xu Yuan's first time directly experiencing Dragon Might.

Any description in written records was pale and powerless. Only by truly feeling it could one understand just how terrifying that sense of oppression was.

The reason Dragon Martial Souls were so powerful, the reason True Dragon Spirits could so utterly suppress lower-ranked Dragon Martial Souls, and why they could even intimidate non-dragon Martial Souls, was because of Dragon Might!

"This is oppression of the will!"

It stemmed from the spirit, yet it was not purely Spiritual Power oppression.

Facing Dragon Might head-on, Xu Yuan's heart was as high as the heavens, so the intimidation affected him most intensely. His face turned slightly pale, and after his body swayed faintly, he barely steadied himself.

Although he had been greatly affected, and Xu Yuan even felt that his current state left him with very little ability to resist, he was not discouraged. Instead, he let out a sigh of relief.

There was no so-called pressure from a superior being—only the pressure of pure strength.