Do I Still Have a Chance?

After hearing what Yao Shi said, the two women immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

After a while, Xu Jiujiu finally asked tentatively, "Then, Senior, what is your current cultivation?"

"Four Rings."

Yao Shi answered without hesitation. After all, he was not worried about exposing anything. With three Soul Beasts over a hundred thousand years old and a Thunder Spirit with the combat strength of a Limit Douluo by his side, he could be as reckless as he pleased.

Qing Ya and Xu Jiujiu were both startled upon hearing this.

What? Four Rings!

Wasn't that about the same as me?

No! He was two years younger than me, and he could even unleash the strength of a Title Douluo!

He was simply a genius!

"Then... then from now on, can I call you Little Brother Yao Shi?"

Now that she knew Yao Shi really was thirteen and that his true cultivation was Four Rings, Xu Jiujiu gathered her courage and spoke. Yet after saying it, she could not help feeling nervous. Even Qing Ya, standing beside her, inwardly sighed when she heard those words.

Princess Jiujiu, you are really bold!

Yao Shi looked directly at Xu Jiujiu. Only after a while did he chuckle softly. "Sure. Going by age, I should call you Sister Jiujiu too."

Xu Jiujiu immediately brightened. "Good, then it's settled. From now on, you'll call me Sister Jiujiu, and I'll call you Little Brother Yao Shi."

Another two days passed.

"Lord Yao Shi, the Mingdou Mountains are not far ahead."

Uncle Mu's voice came from outside the carriage, his tone incomparably respectful.

"Then please let me off a little farther ahead, Uncle Mu."

Yao Shi yawned and replied lazily.

Because there were others in the carriage over the past two days, he had no chance to enter the Glazed Pure Land. Thus, he spent most of his time sleeping and meditating inside the carriage, or chatting with Xu Jiujiu and Qing Ya. After getting along for the past few days, Yao Shi had grown much closer to them.

At the foot of the Mingdou Mountains, Yao Shi had just stepped down from the carriage when Xu Jiujiu followed him out. With a reluctant expression, she said to him,

"Little Brother Yao Shi, are you really not planning to return to Star Luo City with me?"

Over the past two days, Xu Jiujiu had learned through their conversations that Yao Shi intended to travel to the Sun Moon Empire to study Soul Tools. She was rather surprised. The relationship between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire was somewhat delicate at present. If a genius like Yao Shi went to another country, would that not be equivalent to adding a potential threat to her own nation?

Moreover, after spending the past two days together, she felt that Yao Shi's personality suited her quite well, and she was reluctant to see him leave. Several times, she had suggested that he return to Star Luo City with her, even saying that she could recommend him to study at Shrek Academy.

Naturally, Yao Shi had refused every time. He did not tell her that he had only just left Shrek Academy. He merely told Xu Jiujiu that compared to Shrek Academy's emphasis on Soul Master cultivation, the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools were more suitable for him.

"No. Once I decide on something, I won't change it easily. Besides, I've already said that I'm more interested in Soul Tools right now. The Sun Moon Empire is undoubtedly the best choice."

Yao Shi still directly refused Xu Jiujiu's attempts to persuade him.

Xu Jiujiu took a deep breath. She was not upset by Yao Shi's repeated refusals and forced a smile. "Then I won't keep you, Little Brother Yao Shi. If you run into any trouble in the future, you can come find me in Star Luo City. As long as it's within my power, your sister will help you."

Yao Shi nodded at her.

At that moment, Xu Jiujiu suddenly stepped closer to Yao Shi and softly asked, "One last thing... can I have a hug?" She had no other intentions. She simply sympathized with Yao Shi's upbringing.

Before Yao Shi could nod in agreement, she had already thrown herself into his arms.

Yao Shi only froze for a moment before gently patting her back. The two of them quietly embraced for a while, like real siblings parting ways.

"Alright, then. Until we meet again, everyone."

Yao Shi gently freed himself from Xu Jiujiu's embrace. After bidding them farewell, he turned and headed up the mountain.

Because the terrain of the Mingdou Mountains was rather dangerous and steep, Yao Shi simply had Han Xiao possess him. He leaped and flew across the entire mountain range, only landing when he was not far from the border between the two nations.

Looking out from the border, he could directly see the cities of the Sun Moon Empire, where towering buildings stacked upon one another, already displaying the beginnings of a modern landscape.

"As expected of the Sun Moon Empire, known as the strongest nation in Soul Tool technology. Even Shrek City probably can't compare to a city of this scale!"

Yao Shi sighed in admiration, then leaped across the border and ran toward the modern metropolis.

Mingdu.

The capital of the Sun Moon Empire, the continent's greatest Soul Tool technological city. Only as Yao Shi drew closer did he become deeply awed by this city of steel.

Unlike the capitals of the other three nations, this place was filled with skyscrapers and traces of Soul Tool technology everywhere. The roads were laid out in neat order, and looking across the entire city, it resembled a vast mechanical empire.

By the time Yao Shi reached the entrance to Mingdu, it was already night. Countless lights illuminated the seemingly boundless city in dazzling splendor, as though competing with the bright moon and stars in the sky.

Since it was late, Yao Shi spent two Gold Soul Coins to stay the night at an inn in Mingdu. After several days of uncomfortable carriage travel, he took a bath and then fell asleep contentedly.

The next day, Yao Shi asked around before finally arriving at the gates of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, where he followed the procedures to register.

Strangely enough, this should have been around the time the second term at Shrek Academy was just beginning. He had not expected the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy to still be accepting registrations at this time.

"Name, Martial Soul, age?"

The teacher responsible for enrollment was a young man. He was writing something at the desk and did not even raise his head, only speaking indifferently when he noticed someone standing before him.

Yao Shi muttered to himself.

What Martial Soul should I report? A tree branch would be too low-key. No, no.

If I report Han Xiao's lightning control, that won't work either. Nine hundred-thousand-year soul rings would be far too conspicuous.

"Are you registering or n-not registering...?"

Just as Yao Shi was troubled over this, the teacher handling registration grew somewhat impatient. However, the instant he saw Yao Shi's appearance, he froze. His previously irritated tone immediately turned gentle.

"Miss, are you here to register or not? If you are, state your information. If not, move aside and don't interrupt the others who are registering."

Ah! I've got it.

Yao Shi immediately said, "Teacher, I want to register. My name is Yao Shi, my Martial Soul is the Snow Woman, and I'm thirteen."

Hmm?

The teacher's expression was fairly normal when he heard Yao Shi's name and Martial Soul, but when he heard his age, he looked at him in confusion.

"Miss, the latest age for admission to our academy is twelve. You're already thirteen, so you're over the age limit. You can't register. Go back."

Ah... I miscalculated.

No matter how much Yao Shi had planned, he never expected that he would be over the age limit!

Still unwilling to give up, he continued asking, "Uncle, I'm only one year over. And my cultivation is a little high too. Do you think I still have a chance?"

"What uncle? I'm only twenty-nine this year. Call me big brother," the registration teacher corrected him, then continued, "Over the age limit means you can't register. Even if your cultivation has reached Soul Grandmaster, once you're past twelve, you can't enroll. Miss, you should leave. Don't block the students behind you from registering."

"Tch~"