The Game Begins—I'm a Teacher!

"Ye Hua, long time no see," Tang San said mockingly. "Never thought you'd come to Shrek too!"

He deliberately took a few steps forward, drawing close to the applicants' line, and said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "But you're eighteen this year, aren't you?"

"Shrek Academy only accepts monsters under twelve, not eighteen-year-old trash! No matter how strong you are, you're six whole years over the limit!"

"I'm really curious how you still have the nerve to stand here. If I were you, I'd get lost and stop embarrassing Xiao Wu!"

His words instantly stirred up a storm of discussion.

"Eighteen and still applying to a junior Soul Master academy? Isn't that way too late?"

"Shrek doesn't accept overage students. That's the rule. Didn't he bother asking around before coming?"

"Exactly. Is something wrong with his brain? He's holding up our registration!"

Hearing the murmurs, Tang San's lips curled up almost imperceptibly.

I can't beat you openly, but can't I still screw you over behind the scenes?

Shrek's ironclad admissions rule was right there for all to see. Now everyone knew that he was eighteen and overage!

No matter how capable he was, if the academy accepted him, it would be hypocrisy and ruin its own reputation!

This was the method Grandmaster had taught him!

Use the rules to crush people. Use public opinion to crush people. Make them suffer in silence!

Besides, as long as Ye Hua was driven away, Xiao Wu would be alone. Then he would have a chance.

Tang San's gaze fell on Xiao Wu, and his mouth nearly watered.

Six years had passed, and Xiao Wu had grown even more graceful. Her braid hung over her chest, while her long legs were straight and slender.

Even more astonishingly, Xiao Wu's chest seemed as though it had been developed, each side as large as an apple and far surpassing girls her age.

Greed flickered in Tang San's eyes.

As long as Ye Hua left, he had plenty of ways to make Xiao Wu change her mind!

"Ye Hua, you're too old. It's good that you know your place. But don't worry—once Xiao Wu and I enroll together, I'll take good care of her for you!"

He placed particular emphasis on the words "take good care of her," but Xiao Wu had no intention of appreciating it.

"If you look at Zhu Qing and me with those disgusting eyes again, I'll kick your balls apart!"

Tang San instantly felt a chill between his legs, but he still maintained his smile.

It's fine. You're only blinded by Ye Hua right now, thinking he's the best man in the world.

But once you enter Shrek, you'll realize that being only level thirty-eight at eighteen means he'll never amount to much in this life.

And I, Tang San, am already level twenty-five at twelve. I'm the true genius with limitless potential! Only I can give you the protection and luxury you want!

Just as Tang San indulged in his fantasies, a robust shout came from the registration desk.

"What are you all standing around for? If you're registering, hurry over!"

The boy at the front of the line walked away dejectedly, clearly having failed even the first test.

The person in charge of admissions was an elderly man with graying hair. He was thin and plainly dressed, looking just like an old man from a village entrance.

No one would have connected him to Shrek Academy's elder, the level sixty-six Soul Emperor Li Yusong.

"You two go first." Ye Hua gently pushed Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing forward, making Dai Mubai burn with jealousy.

Damn it, I haven't even touched Zhu Qing. Why does he get to touch her before me?!

"Brother, then I'll help Sister Zhu Qing over first."

Xiao Wu supported Zhu Zhuqing as they stepped forward and dropped twenty Gold Soul Coins into the registration fee box.

Of course, ten of those belonged to Zhu Zhuqing herself. A strong girl never accepted charity, not even aid from the person who had saved her life.

Li Yusong merely glanced at them before immediately sitting upright. "Hold out your hand."

Xiao Wu extended her hand, releasing a trace of Soul Power.

Li Yusong nodded approvingly. "Level twenty-nine? Not bad, not bad. What's your name?"

"Xiao Wu."

Li Yusong wrote down her name in the register, then looked toward Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing extended her hand as well, but Li Yusong's expression turned somewhat strange. "Level twenty-seven. Your talent is beyond question, but those injuries... can you fight?"

"Yes!" Zhu Zhuqing answered without hesitation.

Li Yusong pondered for a moment, then wrote down her name in the register. "Next!"

The line continued moving forward.

Ye Hua stepped up.

Li Yusong looked up at him and frowned. "Parent, what can I do for you?"

"I'm not a parent." Ye Hua was speechless. "Besides, I'm only eighteen. Do I really look that old?"

"Eighteen? Don't tell me you're here to apply as a student? No, no!" Li Yusong's frown deepened, and he did not even bother probing Ye Hua's Soul Power.

"Shrek Academy does not accept students over twelve. Those are the rules. Go home. In a few more years, you'll be getting married and having children. Why would you still attend a junior Soul Master academy?"

Tang San almost burst out laughing at the side, but remembering that he needed to maintain his composure, he forcefully held it in.

"Ye Hua, I already told you. You're too old, and the academy won't accept you."

"Hurry up and go home. Stop delaying the people behind you."

Tang San added mockingly.

Yet Ye Hua did not move. He merely took out the résumé he had prepared beforehand and handed it to Li Yusong.

"Teacher, I think you've misunderstood. I'm not here to apply as a student."

"I'm here to recommend myself as a teacher!"

In an instant, the entire registration area fell silent.

"Applying to be a teacher?"

The pen in Li Yusong's hand froze in midair. Ink dripped onto the register, spreading into a black stain, yet he did not notice at all.

He was sixty this year and had handled admissions at Shrek Academy for over a decade. He had seen every kind of applicant.

There had been geniuses, lunatics, spoiled young masters looking to idle their days away, and poor children hoping to change their lives through a Soul Master academy.

But he had never seen anyone come to apply for a teaching position on admissions day—especially not someone recommending himself!

Li Yusong set down his pen and looked Ye Hua over from head to toe. Rather than anger, his eyes held the fresh curiosity of someone looking at an endangered Soul Beast.

"Kid, do you know Shrek Academy's standards for hiring teachers?"

"No." Ye Hua answered candidly. "But since I dared to come, I naturally have my confidence."

"Confidence?" Li Yusong stroked his graying goatee, suddenly feeling playful. He decided that even if this fellow had come solely to cause trouble, he would not blame him.

After all, this was... far too interesting!!!

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged looks.

Could the method Ye Hua had mentioned for Zhu Zhuqing yesterday have been applying to become a teacher?

"Fine. This old man is in a good mood today, so show me what confidence you have to dare apply as a teacher at Shrek."

"You should know that although our academy is a junior Soul Master academy, our requirements for teachers are no lower than those of advanced Soul Master academies."

"The dean has said that it's better to lack than to accept mediocrity. Anyone without real ability is unwanted even if offered to us for free!"

As if to display Shrek's foundations, Li Yusong directly released his Soul Rings!

One white, three yellow, and two black—six rings, a Soul Emperor!

The people who had come by reputation immediately erupted in shock!

They had never expected that this lazy, arrogant old gatekeeper was actually a Soul Emperor!

One had to know that Soul Emperors were exceedingly rare in the Barak Kingdom!

He could have taken a position in the kingdom and become an honored guest who did nothing at all, yet he was teaching at an academy in this remote place?

This academy was anything but ordinary!

Yet they could not imagine that Ye Hua's next move would shock them even more.

Ye Hua did not waste words. He raised his right hand, palm facing upward. Dark golden light bloomed, and the Coiling Dragon Staff appeared out of thin air.

The Five-Clawed Golden Dragon patterns on the staff gleamed with heart-palpitating radiance beneath the morning sun, as though they might break free at any moment and soar into the heavens!

"My Martial Soul is the Coiling Dragon Staff. Level thirty-eight assault-type Battle Soul Elder."

The moment he said that, jeers rang out everywhere.

Even the old gatekeeper was a Soul Emperor, yet a mere Soul Elder like him thought he was worthy of teaching here?

Tang San laughed like a pig. Ye Hua, Ye Hua, have you gotten carried away, or is something wrong with your brain?

This isn't Notting City, much less Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy!

No one will protect you just because you call yourself a genius. Just wait for that Soul Emperor to beat you into a meat pie!

Still, I'll let you rest in peace after you die. Xiao Wu will become my girlfriend, my wife. I'll cherish her properly in your place!

Yet the next second, Tang San's smile abruptly stopped. The muscles on his face, twisted into a grin, froze stiffly, like cracked, peeling plaster from a wall that had gone untended for decades!