Ning Rongrong's Invitation! Politely Declined!

Ning Rongrong leaned over and stood on tiptoe to glance at the golden badge in Flander's palm, drawing in a sharp breath. "Even within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Soul Masters under thirty who earn a Silver Soul Badge are rare. A Gold Soul Badge... I've only seen three in my entire life."

Ma Hongjun snapped back to his senses and rushed over to Yun Tian in a few strides, wearing an expression that practically screamed, "Are you even human?" "Brother, just how many trump cards are you still hiding? A four-ring Soul Sect, four purple soul rings, and a Gold Soul Badge—why don't you just tell us which ancient sect you were reincarnated from?"

Yun Tian smiled without taking the bait. He merely turned to Flander and asked, "Dean, can I graduate directly with a Gold Soul Badge?"

Flander weighed the golden badge in his hand. He looked at the composed young man before him, then at the dumbfounded little monsters on the field, and finally let out a sigh. "You can. By the rules, obtaining a Silver Soul Badge qualifies you to apply for graduation. Since you have a Gold Soul Badge, of course you can. However..."

He tossed the badge back to Yun Tian. Light glinted off his lenses, obscuring his expression.

"Are you sure you want to graduate now? What I mean is, while Shrek may not be able to teach you much more about martial souls, we are still Soul Sages and Soul Emperors. We do have connections."

He glanced at Tang San and Xiao Wu. "Your younger brother and sister will probably need to remain here for at least another two years. Can you really bear to leave just like that?"

Yun Tian caught the badge and tucked it into his clothes, pondering for a moment.

He truly was not in a hurry. Although Shrek was run-down, it had gathered some of the continent's finest young talents of the future. Connections themselves were an immensely valuable resource.

Besides, Tang San and Xiao Wu had only just begun. As their big brother, he did not want to leave them behind and depart alone.

"No rush." Yun Tian looked up with a smile. "I'll keep the Gold Badge for now. We can discuss graduation when the time is right."

Flander secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Honestly, he was rather reluctant to let this monster go. Every extra day he stayed was a profit.

Graduating the moment he arrived would have been utterly ridiculous.

The afternoon sun shone warmly over the field as everyone gathered around the Gold Soul Badge, talking without end.

Xiao Wu tugged Zhu Zhuqing over and told her about the highlights of Yun Tian's twenty-three consecutive victories back then. Tang San sat quietly beside them, listening with a smile on his lips.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar crowded around Yun Tian, asking him one question after another. Dai Mubai stood at the edge of the group, watching the scene with a complicated expression before eventually walking over as well.

Seven youths, a dean, and a vice dean crowded onto the shabby field. The afternoon breeze swept through the tattered flag on the fence, making it rustle loudly.

Over the next few days, Ma Hongjun would drift over to Yun Tian whenever he had nothing to do and bombard him with questions. He annoyed Yun Tian so much that, later on, Yun Tian would hide behind Tang San whenever he saw him.

Oscar was quieter, but whenever they ate, he would always give Yun Tian an extra recovery sausage, calling it nourishment for the big shot.

Ning Rongrong was even more straightforward. Though she did not pester Yun Tian as often as Ma Hongjun did, every time she approached him, she had a clear purpose.

She kept trying to indirectly find out whether he had any plans to join a sect.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is really sincere about this!"

At lunch that day, Ning Rongrong once again carried her bowl over and sat beside Yun Tian, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

"If my father knew that a genius of your caliber was willing to come, he would definitely come out to welcome you personally! You can name whatever terms you want—money, soul tools, soul bones, cultivation resources, status. Whatever you want, we have it!"

"Rongrong, this is already the seventh time you've brought this up this month." Yun Tian picked up a mouthful of food with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, replying indistinctly.

"That just shows how sincere I am!" Ning Rongrong declared righteously.

Tang San, seated across from them, could not help but laugh. Xiao Wu egged her on while shoveling rice into her mouth. "Rongrong, don't waste your effort. Brother Yun is used to freedom. Making him join a sect would be like locking him in a cage. He definitely wouldn't want that."

Ning Rongrong pouted. Looking at Yun Tian's expression of you talk, I'll eat, she could only temporarily retreat. Still, before leaving, she added, "In any case, my invitation will always stand! Come find me anytime you want to join!"

The days passed one after another.

Shrek's teaching model was completely different from Nuoding Academy's. Flander and Zhao Wuji had a simple, brutal teaching style.

Theory classes in the morning, practical combat in the afternoon.

Flander personally taught the theory lessons, explaining soul beast classifications, soul ring combinations, and battle strategies. Occasionally, he also spoke of strange tales from the continent and the distribution of its major powers.

Zhao Wuji led the afternoon combat classes. Sometimes, he had the students spar against each other. Other times, he personally stepped in as their training partner, beating the little monsters until they howled every single time.

Yun Tian's performance in combat classes remained consistently restrained.

He never again used the full strength he had displayed when earning the Gold Soul Badge. Whenever he sparred with his classmates, he controlled himself so that he only barely won. That gave his opponents sufficient chances to learn without humiliating them too badly.

Ma Hongjun fought him three times and lost all three, but each match lasted over a dozen exchanges longer than the last. His improvement was visible to the naked eye.

Tang San became the academy's second greatest headache.

After fusing with two plant-type soul rings, his Blue Silver Grass had become far tougher than ordinary vine-type martial souls. Combined with its poison attribute and control abilities, an ordinary Soul Elder simply could not withstand his combination of binding and toxin infiltration.

Ma Hongjun fought him twice. In the first match, he was bound and needed three seconds of burning to break free. In the second, it took him five seconds. Tang San adjusted his tactics based on the feedback from every match, and his rate of improvement was equally astonishing.

There was no need to mention Xiao Wu. Her fighting style could work with anyone, and she could fight anyone.

She was incredibly fast, explosively powerful, and had close-combat experience far beyond what one would expect of a twelve-year-old. Zhao Wuji once privately told Flander, "The way that girl fights, it's like she crawled out of the forest after spending ten years rolling around in it."

Zhu Zhuqing was the quietest among them.

Every day, she attended class on time, cultivated on time, and ate on time. She maintained a polite but distant manner with everyone, only occasionally speaking a little more with Xiao Wu.

Dai Mubai's gaze would always drift toward her from time to time, but Zhu Zhuqing never responded even once.

It was as though an invisible wall stood between them, and neither took the initiative to tear it down.

Within only half a month, Ning Rongrong had successfully become familiar with everyone.

Her eloquent tongue, coupled with her identity as the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, gave her unexpectedly good relationships within the academy.

Though she sometimes threw little tantrums, she was fundamentally a warmhearted girl. Whenever she noticed someone lacking something, she would take the initiative to help. After a while, even Dai Mubai would give a nod when he saw her despite his perpetually cold expression.

After practical combat class ended that afternoon, Zhao Wuji did not, for once, hurry everyone back. Instead, he clapped his hands and called them all to the center of the field.