"Next!"
As Li Yusong's voice fell, a cool-looking black-haired girl dressed in black fitted clothes stepped forward.
"Zhu Zhuqing. Martial Soul: Hell Spirit Cat. Level 27 agility-attack-type Soul Grandmaster." As she spoke, Zhu Zhuqing immediately summoned her Martial Soul, two yellow Spirit Rings floating at her side.
Having seen Lin Qing and Xiao Wu, Li Yusong was not particularly shocked by Zhu Zhuqing's talent. Instead, he felt that this was what a normal genius should be like.
After Zhu Zhuqing's test, it was Tang San's turn. For some unknown reason—whether someone was deliberately manipulating things or fate had decreed it—Tang San was still level 29, just as in the original story.
After Tang San came an exquisite young girl in a white dress. She walked briskly to the wooden table and extended her right hand to summon her Martial Soul.
A Glazed Pagoda with seven tiers, radiating seven different colors of glazed light, appeared before them. Two yellow Spirit Rings also rose beneath her feet.
The moment Lin Qing saw the girl and her Martial Soul, he immediately understood who she was. Ning Rongrong? She really is beautiful—noble and elegant, yet carrying the fresh, refined air unique to a young girl.
"Does your family know you came here?" Li Yusong asked, momentarily surprised upon seeing Ning Rongrong's Martial Soul.
"What? Doesn't your academy claim that it even accepts monsters? Are you afraid to accept me?" Ning Rongrong replied.
"Of course not. Hold out your hand so I can check your bone age," Li Yusong said.
Ning Rongrong extended her hand. After Li Yusong felt her bones and confirmed her bone age, he asked, "By the way, what level are you?"
"Level 26," Ning Rongrong answered.
"Good. You pass," Li Yusong said.
Having passed, Ning Rongrong walked directly toward Lin Qing's group.
Seeing Ning Rongrong approach them, Lin Qing could not help but freeze for a moment. When Ning Rongrong noticed him looking at her, she responded with a smile, leaving him briefly dazed.
"Lin Qing, is she pretty?" Seeing Lin Qing stare fixedly at Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu immediately became displeased and looked at him with a dark expression.
"Pretty," Lin Qing blurted out, completely unaware that danger was about to strike.
The instant Lin Qing said it, a huge character for "danger" seemed to appear above his head.
"Hiss—ah! That hurts! Xiao Wu, it hurts, it hurts!" Lin Qing suddenly felt a sharp pain at his waist. Only then did he see that Xiao Wu had grabbed the soft flesh at his waist and twisted it clockwise.
"Is she prettier, or am I prettier? Lin Qing, you'd better think carefully before answering!" Xiao Wu waved her little pink fist before Lin Qing's eyes.
"Of course you're prettier. Xiao Wu is the cutest girl in the world!" Lin Qing hurriedly apologized. Otherwise, he might really face punishment, such as being forbidden from touching Xiao Wu for the next two or three months.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Ning Rongrong," Ning Rongrong greeted them first.
"Hello. I'm Zhu Zhuqing." Zhu Zhuqing merely nodded in response.
"Xiao Wu." Xiao Wu did not particularly want to acknowledge Ning Rongrong.
"Hello, I'm Lin Qing." Lin Qing returned her greeting with a smile.
"Hello, Big Brother Lin Qing. Your talent is incredible. You're already a Soul Elder at just twelve years old, and your second Spirit Ring is even a thousand-year one. How did you do it?" Ning Rongrong asked as she came to Lin Qing's left side and naturally looped her arm around his.
Tang San, who had been about to introduce himself, stood awkwardly to the side.
As for Xiao Wu, standing on Lin Qing's right, she gritted her teeth as she stared at the arm Ning Rongrong had linked with hers.
"Alright, students. Congratulations on passing the first test. Mubai, take them directly to the fourth test," Li Yusong said after finishing the first test for the other students.
"Understood, Teacher Li. I'll take them to the fourth test now," Dai Mubai said.
"Wait, Teacher. Why can they go straight to the fourth test while we still have to take the tests one by one?" a young man who had just passed the first test and was preparing to head to the second test asked, pointing at Lin Qing's group.
"If all of your Soul Power Levels exceeded level 25 like theirs, then you could go straight to the fourth test as well!" Li Yusong's face darkened as he rebuked him.
The young man immediately fell silent. After all, they had stated their Soul Power Levels when registering; the lowest among them was level 26, while he was merely a level 21 Soul Grandmaster who had just broken through.
"Alright, everyone. Let's go," Dai Mubai called out.
Lin Qing looked at Dai Mubai somewhat strangely. Dai Mubai's utterly unconcerned appearance truly left Lin Qing puzzled, but he was certain that Dai Mubai was up to something.
However, Lin Qing did not care. Given Dai Mubai's current strength and circumstances, the only people Lin Qing could think of whom Dai Mubai might seek out were Shrek Academy's teachers. Perhaps Zhao Wuji would target him during the fourth test later.
But so what? With his current strength, even against Zhao Wuji, he still had a chance of winning. Lin Qing had that confidence.
Then, under Dai Mubai's lead, the group finally arrived at the fourth test site.
"Oh! I didn't expect so many people to make it to the fourth test this year!" The moment they arrived, they heard the voice of a burly man. This man was none other than the Immovable King, Zhao Wuji, from the original story.
"Teacher Zhao, all of them have Soul Power Levels above 25 and came directly to the fourth test," Dai Mubai said. "And among these five students, there are even two Soul Elders above level 30."
Hearing Dai Mubai deliberately point out that Xiao Wu and he were Soul Elders, Lin Qing found his intentions painfully obvious.
"Soul Elders! It seems our academy has received two monsters this year!" Zhao Wuji's eyes flashed brightly as he looked at Lin Qing, whom Dai Mubai had singled out, as though he were some rare treasure.
"My name is Zhao Wuji. Since the five of you skipped the second and third tests, I'll personally play with you. I'll give you one incense stick's worth of time to get acquainted and discuss things. Once the incense burns out, the test will begin. The test is for the five of you to join forces and withstand my attacks for one incense stick's worth of time. As long as even one of you holds out until the end, all of you will pass. I hope you understand: don't try to be clever. No one can escape this area using speed. At the same time, I can tell you that none of you can withstand my attacks alone. Coordinating and working together is your only chance of success." Zhao Wuji stood before them with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Teacher Zhao, isn't that a little inappropriate?" Dai Mubai said hesitantly.
Zhao Wuji glared at him. "What's inappropriate about it? The dean isn't here, so I'm the one in charge. If I say it's fine, it's fine. Alright, I'm lighting the incense. You don't have much time, so get ready. Xiao Bai, you can tell them about my strengths and characteristics too, so they can prepare."
Hearing that Zhao Wuji truly intended to make a move, Dai Mubai could not have been happier. Though he was delighted inside, he could not let it show.
Pretty boy, just wait for Teacher Zhao to beat you into a pulp! Dai Mubai had absolute confidence in Zhao Wuji's strength.
Standing in the middle of the square, Zhao Wuji somehow produced an incense stick. With a rub of his fingers, he lit it. Then, with a pulse of Soul Power, he drove the incense stick directly into the stone slabs beneath them, where it quietly began to burn.
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