Competing to Take on a Disciple

"First Soul Ring at a thousand years, second Soul Ring at ten thousand years?

Not bad, very good. You're qualified to become my, Yan Shaozhe's, disciple."

Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department, merely gave him a quick look before getting straight to the point.

Bai Ran: Oh? So he was using the Western approach?

In the original story, Yan Shaozhe embodied the notion of "talent above all else" to the fullest.

Take Huo Yuhao, for example. Because his Innate Soul Power was a little low and his cultivation speed a little slow, Yan Shaozhe had practically sentenced him to death.

The Outer Court Core Disciple spot that should have been his was directly revoked. If not for certain people arguing strongly on his behalf, he probably would not even have received the so-called "prospective Outer Court Core Disciple" position.

And later, after Huo Yuhao obtained his second martial soul and became a top-tier prodigy, Yan Shaozhe came running back to him, wanting to force the Outer Court Core Disciple position into his hands.

"Hey, hey, hey, Dean Yan. You already have a disciple like Ma Xiaotao, so don't compete with us for him."

The speaker was Xian Lin'er, dean of the Soul Guidance Department.

She had clearly taken a liking to this child first.

What was more, martial souls like the Light Goddess Butterfly had always appeared in women.

So the boy before her was actually a girl disguised as a boy.

According to the original story, Xian Lin'er had indeed guessed correctly.

Bai Ran: But I'm a real man, okay. Pull it out and I'd scare you to tears.

"Lin'er~"

"Dean Yan, please watch your words. If my Old Qian hears that, he'll come looking to cause trouble for you again."

The other elders of Sea God Pavilion, who had originally harbored some interest as well, saw the two Outer Court deans beginning to argue with each other.

They decided not to add to the chaos.

If circumstances had allowed, they might have dragged over little stools and sat to the side to watch the show.

Feeling the scorching gazes of the two deans on him,

Bai Ran scratched his head awkwardly and asked, "Uncle and Auntie, does this mean I passed the entrance examination?"

He had only displayed a Soul Ring, yet the senior student responsible for the assessment had been scared off on the spot.

In a situation like this, he had no idea whether he had passed or failed.

Yan Shaozhe: Damn it, who are you calling uncle?

Xian Lin'er: Damn it, who are you calling auntie?

Bai Ran: You two ninety-something old geezers—if you weren't pretending to be young, I'd call you Grandpa and Grandma outright.

"Passed, of course you passed.

Little fellow, are you willing to become my, Xian Lin'er's, disciple?

As long as you agree, once you enter the academy, you can directly enjoy the status of a core disciple of the Outer Court Soul Guidance Department. And when you're preparing to enter the Inner Court, I'll serve as your recommender."

To enter Shrek Academy's Inner Court, talent alone was not enough. One also needed a recommender.

This recommender could be an Inner Court disciple or a member of Shrek Academy's upper management.

The former still required a round of review, while the latter could give one the green light all the way through.

"Little fellow, become my disciple. Whatever Dean Xian Lin'er can give you, I, Yan Shaozhe, can give you too.

Moreover, the benefits given to core disciples of the Outer Court Martial Soul Department are far better than those given to core disciples of the Soul Guidance Department."

At present, Shrek Academy's Soul Guidance Department had only been established for a short time. In terms of resources, it was not even fit to carry the Martial Soul Department's shoes.

"Uh, thank you for your kind offers, Deans, but I don't have any plans to take a master for the time being."

With that, Bai Ran immediately slipped away.

Whether it was Yan Shaozhe or Xian Lin'er, both were Mu En's disciples.

In other words, no matter which one he took as his master, when he eventually met Huo Yuhao, who would become Mu En's disciple, he would have to call him "Junior Granduncle."

Was that right?

That was absolutely not right.

After running off for a while, Bai Ran awkwardly ran back.

Because he did not know the way.

He had no idea where new students were supposed to register.

He did not even know where the new student dormitory building was.

Xian Lin'er, the dean of the Soul Guidance Department, was quite happy to help with that.

Not only did she take Bai Ran to register his identity, but she also brought him to the new student dormitory building.

Holding Bai Ran's soft little hand,

Xian Lin'er became even more convinced that the little fellow was definitely a girl disguised as a boy.

After all, how could a boy's hand possibly be that soft?

Of course, while taking Bai Ran to the new student dormitory building,

Xian Lin'er did not forget to keep trying to persuade Bai Ran to become her disciple.

For example, she promised that when Bai Ran broke through in the future, she would definitely help him obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and at least one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Bai Ran: Come on, Auntie. You don't even have a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring yourself, and you're talking about helping me get one?

"Good child, if you change your mind, come find me at the dean's office anytime.

Oh, right. You probably aren't familiar with the academy's layout yet, are you? Here's a map."

As Xian Lin'er spoke, she took out a map showing the distribution of buildings within Shrek Academy and handed it to Bai Ran.

Bai Ran did not refuse.

Perhaps because of Haki Tong's influence, Bai Ran felt as though he had somehow developed a strange tendency to get lost.

Tang Wutong: Don't blame every flaw you discover on your great-aunt here!

Because the entrance examination had delayed him, and because Xian Lin'er had taken Bai Ran around the academy—claiming it was to familiarize him with the place when she was actually trying to trick him into becoming her disciple—

But Bai Ran was far too shrewd. How could Xian Lin'er possibly fool him?

As a result, "Wang Dong," who should have arrived at the dormitory even earlier than Huo Yuhao in the original story, was now slightly later than Huo Yuhao.

Of course, the Wang Dong from the original story no longer existed.

The next to appear would be Tang Wutong's master, the living ancestor who gave Tang San the greatest headaches...