Su Sanjia, Dai Mubai, and Oscar vs. Tang San's Four-Man Group

"Don't make such a fuss, Mubai!"

Su Sanjia stretched hard on his recliner, groaning comfortably. He slowly sat upright, his sunglasses slipping down to reveal a pair of handsome golden eyes. After glancing around, something stirred in his heart, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Four people actually made it to the fourth test this year? That's really rare! Hello, I'm Su Sanjia, your senior!"

Su Sanjia gave off the first impression of a sunny young man, though there was an impossible-to-ignore laziness about him. His looks could be considered top-tier, if one ignored the piece of stinky tofu hanging from his mouth.

"Junior brothers and sisters, I'm Oscar. So, how about trying my tofu? The stinkier it smells, the better it tastes! Only five copper soul coins!"

Oscar's gaze swept back and forth over the faces of Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong before finally settling on Ning Rongrong.

"N-No, thank you!"

Tang San hurriedly waved him off. Without waiting for Oscar to respond, he turned to Dai Mubai and asked somewhat anxiously.

"What is the fourth test?"

"The fourth test? Heh heh, you'll find out soon enough! Let's go!"

Dai Mubai led Tang San's group of four toward the grounds for the fourth test. Oscar pushed his little cart while Su Sanjia strolled lazily behind them. Ning Rongrong cast them a curious look, and the moment Oscar met her gaze, he felt his heart beat far more strongly.

"Brother Sanjia, I think... I'm in love~"

Oscar's eyes turned dreamy, but Su Sanjia snapped back irritably from beside him.

"In love, my ass! Is that love? You just want her body, you shameless bastard!"

As they walked, Tang San asked Dai Mubai about the third test.

"The third test? It examines how well candidates can use their own martial souls. Soul power and potential for growth alone aren't enough. They also need control over their own martial souls. If their control isn't good enough, it proves they haven't put enough effort into their martial soul. We don't want students like that either."

Upon hearing that, Xiao Wu could not help saying:

"Are you choosing students or choosing wives? Isn't that way too strict? If you keep this up, I'm afraid there won't be many who pass, right?"

"Not many?"

Dai Mubai gave a bitter smile.

"Since Shrek Academy was founded, we've admitted a total of forty-two students. Only fourteen officially graduated. The rest either failed to meet the graduation requirements or died while hunting soul beasts. And among those graduates, the best one has already become Spirit Hall's youngest elder!"

"But without students, wouldn't that mean no tuition fees?"

Even as the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, this was Ning Rongrong's first time seeing an academy like this.

"Otherwise, why do you think we built the academy in a village like this? The Dean said that to graduate, you have to reach Level 40! And you have to reach Level 40 before turning twenty. Anyone who fails to do so shouldn't go out and embarrass him!"

As he said this, a look of admiration appeared on Dai Mubai's face.

"Alright, this is the fourth testing ground!"

Though it was called a testing ground, it was really just an open area that had been simply cleared out. The space was large enough for everyone to fight freely.

At the moment, the testing ground was completely empty.

In the distance, a burly middle-aged man built like a bear was dozing in a recliner. Hearing the commotion, he opened his eyes.

"Oh! Four little monsters actually made it to the fourth test this year? That really is rare!"

"Teacher Zhao, not only did they reach the fourth test, they skipped the second and third tests as well!"

Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up. After thinking for a moment, he lay back down.

"Interesting! Then let these four little ones come at us together this time! You three better not embarrass me!"

Tang San's group of four was utterly confused, and Dai Mubai's eyes widened as well. He stepped forward and whispered a few words into Zhao Wuji's ear.

"Teacher Zhao, th-this isn't very appropriate, is it? Wasn't I usually the one testing them one-on-one? Adding Little Ao this year would have been one thing, but you want to add that freak Su Sanjia too? The four of them..."

"It's not like they have to defeat you. They just need to last through one incense stick's worth of time. Besides, those two brats came over to join the fun. Were they supposed to stand there and watch? Free labor is free labor!"

Zhao Wuji waved his hand impatiently. Dai Mubai could not say anything more. In previous years, the test had been for any student who reached the fourth stage to fight him one-on-one. As long as they lasted one incense stick's worth of time, they passed. But this year, although four students would be facing them together, there was Oscar, and then that freak Su Sanjia...

Dai Mubai had never considered going easy on them. That would be disrespectful to Tang San and the others. Besides, Zhao Wuji was watching from the side, and he did not want extra training that night.

"Fine!"

Dai Mubai walked over to Tang San, his expression complicated as he looked at these four freshmen about to enroll. His gaze lingered briefly on Zhu Zhuqing's face before shifting to Su Sanjia and Oscar.

"You two heard Teacher Zhao as well. Come on, neither of you can slack off!"

"Aww, tests are such a pain. Mubai, aren't you and Little Ao enough?"

Su Sanjia dug at his ear. Though he spoke like that, his gaze remained fixed on Tang San in the distance. The child of fortune, huh? Too bad he's that man's disciple.

As for whether attacking Tang San would bring Tang Hao's retaliation... Su Sanjia was not worried about that at all. Not only would he not be stupid enough to truly injure Tang San, but in the original story, Tang Hao had acted partly to warn Zhao Wuji and partly in hopes that Flender would take good care of Tang San. At Su Sanjia's current level, he was probably not even worth the attention of that Clear Sky Douluo.

The corner of Dai Mubai's mouth twitched. If this had been any previous year, he would have been confident, but he had fought Tang San before. Tang San was extremely troublesome, and with three more soul masters added in, the outcome really was hard to predict.

"Listen up, newcomers! Normally, I'm the one in charge of the fourth test. But this year is different. Considering the number of people, the four of you newcomers will face the three of us older students! Before that, the three of us will tell you our martial souls. You'll have one incense stick's worth of time to discuss your strategy!"

As Dai Mubai spoke, Su Sanjia and Oscar also walked over and turned to face Tang San's group.

"I'll go first! Dai Mubai, martial soul White Tiger, Level 37 Assault-System Soul Elder!"

"Oscar, martial soul Food God, Level 29 Support-System Grand Soul Master!"

Hearing that he was a support-type soul master, Tang San's group relaxed slightly. After all, if all three of their opponents were assault types, the four of them really would have had a hard time fighting. As for Su Sanjia, he looked even younger than Dai Mubai, so he should not be much of a problem.

Noticing the four of them looking at him, Su Sanjia's lips curled slightly upward.

"What an impressive bunch of newcomers! My name is Su Sanjia. My martial soul is Radiant Light, Level 39 Agility-Attack-System Soul Elder!"

Level 39!

Tang San and the others' pupils contracted sharply, their hearts filled with shock. Su Sanjia looked even younger than Dai Mubai, yet his strength was already close to the Soul Ancestor rank? By that logic, Su Sanjia was about to reach the threshold for graduation! Yet he looked only fourteen!

But there was no time to think about anything else. Tang San's group of four formed a small circle and began exchanging information.

"My name is Tang San. Tool martial soul Blue Silver Grass! Level 29 Control-System Grand Soul Master!"

"Xiao Wu, beast martial soul Soft-Boned Rabbit! Level 29 Assault-System Grand Soul Master!"

"Zhu Zhuqing, martial soul Netherworld Spirit Cat! Level 27 Agility-Attack-System Grand Soul Master!"

"Ning Rongrong, martial soul Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda! Level 26 Support-System Grand Soul Master!"

After the four introduced themselves, everyone—including Su Sanjia's group of three and Zhao Wuji on his recliner—focused their eyes on Ning Rongrong. More precisely, on the seven-story glazed pagoda in her palm!

"Interesting. Someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect actually came?"

Zhao Wuji was delighted. That was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the continent's number one support-type martial soul! It was the support-type partner every battle soul master on the entire continent dreamed of having!

However, Zhao Wuji had never once worried that Su Sanjia's group of three would lose! That was simply impossible.

And besides...

"Showing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in front of that brat Su Sanjia? Heh heh, how many seconds can they last?"

One incense stick's worth of time quietly passed. After a brief discussion, Tang San's group of four took up their formation. Xiao Wu stood at the very front, Zhu Zhuqing guarded the flank, Tang San stood in the center, and Ning Rongrong was protected at the rear. At a glance, they really looked rather capable.

"Then, let's begin!"

Su Sanjia took out an incense stick from his robes and casually flicked it. The entire stick sank deeply into the ground. A golden glimmer gathered at his fingertip, and with a sharp whoosh, the incense was lit—and his figure vanished!

"That guy Su Sanjia! He really isn't holding back at all!"

Dai Mubai took a deep breath. By the time his eyes caught sight of Su Sanjia again, Su Sanjia had already appeared behind Ning Rongrong!

"The continent's number one support-type tool martial soul sounds terrifying! But little girl, have you ever been kicked by light?"