Enrollment! So Shabby!

"This kid..."

Zhao Wuji's lips moved, his voice hoarse under the crushing gravity. "He actually has a trick like this..."

This was the first time Zhao Wuji had felt real pressure after activating his Immovable Vajra Body.

Ning Rongrong stood beside an old tree in the distance, having long forgotten to fan herself with her little fan. Her almond-shaped eyes were wide open.

She had never seen a martial soul like this before—a suit of armor with four soul skills, every single one of them outrageously powerful.

The first soul skill was that absurdly defensive armor. The second shattered the terrain across a wide area. The third created a bog to control the battlefield. The fourth simply conjured a mountain outright, crushing the enemy until they could not even lift their heads.

Yun Tian's combination of soul skills was practically a complete offensive and defensive system.

"Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing!" Yun Tian shouted from the heart of the mountain. "Now!"

Xiao Wu burst out from the right flank. She keenly noticed that under sevenfold gravity, even Zhao Wuji had become slow to turn his head.

Her scorpion-tail braid swept a curve through the air as she shot toward Zhao Wuji's side like an arrow loosed from a bow. Her legs carried the force of her full strength as they struck the weakest point of the Immovable Vajra Body's barrier—the connecting line at his waist.

Bang!

Zhao Wuji's body lurched from the kick, and a thin crack appeared across the surface of the barrier.

Zhu Zhuqing immediately cut in from the left. The ghostly blue chill on the claws of her Nether Spirit Cat flashed over the crack like lightning, and a trace of poison seeped in through the fissure.

"Enough!"

Zhao Wuji suddenly roared, releasing all the soul power within his body like an erupting volcano.

His seventh soul ring lit up at that instant—Martial Soul True Body.

The phantom of the Great Strength Vajra Bear condensed behind him, its enormous beastly silhouette blotting out the sky.

The bog instantly dried and cracked under the impact of his violent soul power. The Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his back shattered inch by inch, while the mountain phantom of sevenfold gravity was forcibly torn open by a crack.

When Zhao Wuji pulled himself out of the bog, he was no longer as burly and composed as before. His breathing was heavy, sweat covered his forehead, several fine cracks had appeared in the barrier of his Immovable Vajra Body, and a trace of blood seeped from the flesh at his waist.

But he still stood back up.

The foundation of a seven-ring Soul Sage was, in the end, not something five twelve-year-old children could completely break through head-on.

Yet the incense stick had long since burned out.

Flander's voice came from the edge of the field, still carrying that lazy amusement. "That's enough, Old Zhao. Time was up ages ago. Are you determined to let these five little monsters beat you flat before you'll stop?"

Zhao Wuji took several rough breaths, glared at Flander, then looked at the five youngsters before him, who were still holding their battle formation with tense expressions.

At last, a broad smile suddenly bloomed across his rugged face.

"Hahaha! Good! Very good! In all my years, this is the first time a bunch of little brats have forced me to use my Martial Soul True Body!"

He withdrew his soul power. The phantom of the Great Strength Vajra Bear slowly dissipated, and the barrier around his body faded as well.

Zhao Wuji strode forward and heavily patted the shoulder of Yun Tian's armor twice with his thick palm, making the metal armor ring out with two dull thuds.

"You kid, not bad! Each of those four soul skills is nastier than the last, especially that final mountain. I almost couldn't withstand it."

Yun Tian dismissed the armor fusion, revealing his face as he caught his breath lightly. "Teacher Zhao, does that mean we passed the assessment?"

"Passed, passed!"

Zhao Wuji waved a large hand and nodded. "All five of you passed! From today onward, you're students of Shrek Academy!"

Beside the fence gate, Flander pushed up his glasses. Looking at the five young men and women in the middle of the field, he could no longer hide the smile at the corner of his mouth.

A group of genuine little monsters.

The moment Zhao Wuji announced that they had passed the assessment, the atmosphere on the field finally relaxed.

Xiao Wu plopped down onto the ground and let out a long breath. "I'm exhausted! Teacher Zhao, you were way too ruthless. You're a seven-ring Soul Sage, yet you used your Martial Soul True Body against five kids!"

"Hey! It was clearly you little monsters who forced me to use it!" Zhao Wuji laughed and cursed as he turned toward Flander. "Headmaster, I've checked them out. Every one of them is more freakish than the last. You handle the rest."

Flander nodded, stepped forward two paces, and slowly swept his gaze over the five of them.

His expression was more serious than before as he pushed up his round-framed glasses and spoke. "I am Flander, headmaster of Shrek Academy. Congratulations on passing the entrance assessment. From today onward, you are members of Shrek Academy. Our academy may be a little poor and a little rundown, but our teaching quality is absolutely not lacking. You'll understand that in the future."

He paused, then continued, "I'll take you to complete your enrollment first, collect your dormitory keys and uniforms, and introduce you to the academy's basic situation while we're at it."

The five followed Flander across the field toward a row of single-story buildings.

Shrek Academy was indeed pitifully small. Apart from a dirt field and a row of single-story buildings used as classrooms and offices, there were only two crude two-story dormitory buildings—one for boys and one for girls—separated by a narrow stone path.

If not for the flagpole standing in the field with its tattered cloth flag, outsiders would never have recognized this place as an academy that trained soul masters.

Flander stopped outside an office with a sign reading "Academic Affairs Office." He pushed open the door and took out a stack of forms and several iron keys.

As he registered their information, he casually said, "The dorms are two people to a room. Boys stay in the east building, girls in the west building. The cafeteria is that shed on the eastern side of the field. You get three filling meals a day, but don't expect delicacies. The course schedule will be posted after you've settled in."

He pulled five copper identity plaques from a drawer and handed one to each of them. "Also, these are your student IDs. You'll need them to enter and leave the academy and sign in for class, so don't lose them."

Everyone accepted their plaques and looked down at them. The workmanship was extremely rough, with the words "Shrek Academy" and their names crookedly engraved on them. It was obvious Flander had carved them himself with soul power.

Ning Rongrong turned the plaque over in her hand several times, the corner of her mouth twitching as she muttered quietly, "This really is shabby..."

"If you think it's shabby, then don't come." Flander had sharp ears and immediately shot back without ceremony.

Ning Rongrong pursed her lips and did not dare say anything more.

The dormitory assignments were simple.

Only two empty rooms remained on the second floor of the boys' east dormitory building. Yun Tian and Tang San would share one, while Ma Hongjun and Oscar would take the room next door. Dai Mubai had enrolled earlier and lived alone in a room at the end of the corridor.

There were empty rooms in the girls' west dormitory building as well. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing would share one, while Ning Rongrong would have a room to herself.

After handing out the keys and uniforms, Flander waved his hand. "You're free this morning. Gather at the field at two in the afternoon. There are arrangements."

Everyone dispersed to tidy up their dormitories.

Yun Tian and Tang San entered a room near the middle of the second floor of the east building. It was not large: two beds, two desks, one wardrobe, and south-facing windows overlooking the field. The lighting was decent.

Though simple, it was still better than Seventh Dorm at Nuoding Academy. At least the walls had been plastered.