A Slap in Flander's Face!

Ma Hongjun rubbed his still faintly aching butt, looking at Lin Jiang with a trace of superiority in his eyes.

Though he had been beaten badly too, at least he was an official Shrek Academy student! Lin Jiang? He could not even touch the threshold! He curled his lip.

Oscar was even more direct. His tiny eyes darted between Lin Jiang and Ning Rongrong, and a lecherous, amused smile spread across his face as he muttered to himself:

Hehe, holding her pretty tightly, huh? Is this kid trying to use the chance to hit on Ning Rongrong?

A toad lusting after swan meat! Why doesn't he take a piss and look at himself? Is he worthy of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's young lady?

Their gazes and expressions silently conveyed the same message:

Contempt. Contempt for Lin Jiang's talent, disdain for his status, and scornful speculation over his current act of "saving the damsel in distress."

In their eyes, Lin Jiang and Shrek Academy—Lin Jiang and these "monsters"—simply belonged to different worlds.

Lin Jiang took all of it in, his face remaining calm and undisturbed.

Yet deep in his heart, his desire to join Shrek Academy rippled violently once more, like a stone cast into a still lake!

Join them? I have to join!

Lin Jiang sneered inwardly, while an even fiercer fire ignited in the depths of his eyes.

If I'm not by their side, how can I more conveniently control Tang San, Tool Number One?

How will I find chances to bind the system to other high-quality leeks?

How can I enjoy, up close, the countless ways they embarrass themselves to death while completing my missions?

How can I... fleece them better?!

Flander nodded slightly, his gaze behind his lenses carrying an unmistakable hint that he was seeing a guest out.

"Thank you for helping Ning Rongrong. It's getting late. Please head back."

His tone was polite yet distant. Clearly, he had no intention of wasting more words on an "outsider" who did not meet the admission standards.

Lin Jiang's expression did not change. He merely lowered Ning Rongrong from his arms steadily and carefully, allowing her to barely stand with the support of her uninjured foot.

As Ning Rongrong touched the ground, she instinctively clutched the outer robe of Lin Jiang's that was tied around her waist. With her head lowered, she did not dare meet Flander's scrutinizing gaze, much less the eyes of the students waiting to enjoy the show.

Just as Flander thought the matter was over, Lin Jiang straightened his back. His blazing gaze met the headmaster of Shrek Academy directly, and his clear, resolute voice rang across the quiet training ground.

"Headmaster Flander! I am applying to join Shrek Academy again!"

"What?"

Flander's brows tightened, and his voice took on obvious displeasure and impatience.

"Didn't you understand what I just said? I'm sorry, but you are already over the age limit. No matter how talented you are, Shrek's rules are rules. You have no chance."

This merciless rejection fell clearly upon the ears of everyone present.

The contempt at the corner of Dai Mubai's lips nearly overflowed, and he let out an almost inaudible cold snort through his nose.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun exchanged mocking looks. Ma Hongjun even jabbed Oscar with his elbow, his face filled with the disdainful words, "A toad lusting after swan meat."

To them, this country boy was simply daydreaming and had no idea of his own limits!

Only Xiao Wu had a faint, nearly imperceptible trace of regret and anticipation flash through her lively eyes.

She looked at Lin Jiang's upright figure and recalled how decisively he had fetched water to save Tang San during the day, as well as how he had carried Ning Rongrong back just now. She could not help thinking, He's handsome and kind. Compared to Dai Mubai and the others going to listen to music at brothels, compared to Fatty's evil fire, compared to Oscar's creepy sausages, compared to Tang San's recent neurotic behavior... he's practically far too normal! It would be so nice if he could join...

Facing Flander's unequivocal rejection and the undisguised mockery around him, Lin Jiang showed neither frustration nor anger.

Instead, an almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of his lips, carrying immense confidence.

"Rules?"

He repeated the word softly. His voice was not loud, yet it reached every ear with a strange penetrating force.

"What if... it were like this?"

The instant his words fell, Lin Jiang's gaze sharpened!

Buzz—!

A surge of pure soul power erupted from his body without warning!

Immediately after, two dazzling rays of light shot up from beneath his feet. Like two tiny suns suddenly igniting, they instantly tore through the darkness of the training ground!

Two purple!

Purple soul rings had appeared in the positions of his first and second soul rings!

"What?!"

"Impossible!"

"His first two soul rings are... purple?! Thousand-year soul rings?!"

Sharp breaths were drawn one after another!

The mocking expressions on Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun's faces instantly froze. Like ducks with their throats seized, their eyes went wide and their mouths hung open wide enough to fit an egg!

Violent ripples appeared in Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes for the first time as well.

Xiao Wu covered her little mouth, her beautiful eyes filled with overwhelming shock and incredulous delight!

But no one was more shaken than Flander!

The composure and formulaic indifference on his face vanished in an instant!

The pupils behind his lenses contracted sharply to pinpoints as he stared fixedly at Lin Jiang's first soul ring, which radiated a profound purple glow!

That light was so dazzling, so utterly subversive!

He felt as though an invisible hand had seized his heart and squeezed it viciously!

"His... his first soul ring is... purple?! A thousand-year soul ring?!!"

Flander's voice became dry and hoarse from extreme shock, even carrying a faint tremor!

He suddenly recalled Yu Xiaogang's core theory, revered as an unquestionable canon—a theory that Flander himself had "referenced" from Spirit Hall's vast archives and then "refined"—

The maximum age for a first soul ring was 423 years!

This was an "iron law" supported by countless cases and Spirit Hall's enormous database!

That theory had practically become one of the fundamental guidelines for training new soul masters!

Like an insurmountable chasm, it stood before every soul master!

But now...

The young man before him—the young man he had rejected on the grounds that he was "over the age limit" and "insufficiently talented"—had a first soul ring... that was actually a thousand years old!

That deep purple was like the loudest slap imaginable, striking mercilessly and ruthlessly against the understanding he had always been proud of, as well as Yu Xiaogang's seemingly "authoritative" theory!

Flander's mind buzzed, leaving only one thought echoing madly within it:

A thousand-year first soul ring?! This... this completely overturns the common knowledge of the soul master world!

It overturns Yu Xiaogang's theory! This... this is no longer just a monster!

This is practically... a monster among monsters! An existence that defies all reason!

After standing there stunned for a while, Flander still stared fixedly at the soul rings beneath Lin Jiang's feet. The look behind his lenses shifted violently as stormy waves continued to churn in his heart.

Both the first and second soul rings are thousand-year rings... How... how is that possible?!