Test

The first few candidates quickly passed the test and moved on to the second round.

When it was a pink-haired girl's turn, Li Yusong let out a soft exclamation.

She was short, with no parents accompanying her. Her simple goose-yellow dress gave her a very clean impression.

Since she had her back to Lu Shi, he could not see her face, but the skin at her neck showed that her complexion was exceptionally fair and delicate.

The little witch, Ning Rongrong.

"Do your family know you came here?"

Li Yusong frowned, somewhat worried.

Ning Rongrong smiled. "You said you accepted all who qualified. As long as I meet the requirements, you have no reason not to admit me, right?"

Her voice was soft and lovely, tender and sweet, with a velvety quality that made listeners' hearts itch.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Yusong waved to Dai Mubai behind him. "Take her inside."

Dai Mubai straightened his back and led Ning Rongrong away with a cold expression.

It was not that he was uninterested by putting on that cold expression, but rather that he was too interested.

His abundant experience told him not to put himself in a low position from the start.

He wanted to conquer the girl before him with his personal charm, just as he had conquered countless women before.

At last, it was Lu Shi's group of four's turn, beginning with Tang San.

Tang San stepped forward, took twenty Gold Soul Coins from Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night, and tossed them into the wooden box with a crisp clatter.

He said generously, "The test fees for two people."

It had always been this way over the years. He was already used to covering Xiao Wu's expenses, large and small.

From clothes and food to all sorts of little things girls liked.

Tang San cried out in his heart, Xiao Wu, look, I'm the one who treats you best!

Lu Shi will only break your heart!

When he turned back, he saw Xiao Wu's vacant eyes. Knowing she had no hope, she deliberately kept her distance from Lu Shi and Zhu Zhuqing, her head hanging low and her lips trembling.

She tried hard not to cry.

Tang San sighed and comforted himself. It was fine; once Xiao Wu recovered her mood, everything would be fine.

He stretched out his hand. It was dark and thick, with extremely short fingers.

It looked like a Black Bear Spirit's paw.

"?"

Li Yusong was still sitting there lazily, but this time his eyes held confusion. He narrowed them,

and stared wide-eyed at Tang San.

They simply stared at each other.

"?"

"You took the registration fee but aren't testing my bone age and Soul Power?"

Tang San frowned, displeased at being neglected.

Li Yusong was equally displeased and snapped back, "We only want those who reach level 20 before twelve. You're at least forty. What are you trying to do?"

Didn't you hear what I just said?

Tang San froze, then immediately began panting like a bull, his face flushing red as black charcoal turned into burning charcoal.

Suppressing his anger, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'm twelve this year!"

If Li Yusong had not been a Six-Ring Soul Emperor, he would already have invited death upon himself!

Upon hearing this, Li Yusong looked Tang San up and down, paying particular attention to that face resembling a Black Bear Spirit's.

The displeasure on his face immediately vanished.

Now that he looked carefully, Tang San really did seem a little young.

Ah, what a pitiful child...

He sighed. After all, he was a sixty-year-old man. The older one got, the richer and more sensitive one's emotions became.

Seeing the pitying look Li Yusong gave him, veins bulged on Tang San's forehead.

Holding back his rage, he revealed two yellow Soul Rings. Li Yusong reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. "Twelve years old, and Soul Power above level 20."

"Fine, go on through."

Tang San flicked his hand, suppressing the anger in his heart. He turned around with a smile. "Xiao Wu, come test..."

Xiao Wu stepped forward unsteadily and silently held out her hand.

After verifying her, Li Yusong nodded. "Mm, also qualified. Go on through."

Zhu Zhuqing tested next, and finally it was Lu Shi's turn.

After testing his bone age, he turned over his right hand, palm facing upward, and a red-and-white spherical object with protrusions appeared in his hand.

Its strange appearance made Li Yusong pause. "What kind of Martial Soul is that?"

He had lived for decades and had never seen one like it.

"A Mutated Martial Soul."

"Oh, oh." Li Yusong nodded, though he still found it novel. "Show me your Soul Rings."

Lu Shi asked in return, "Isn't it enough to be under twelve and have Soul Power at level 20? I should be allowed through, right?"

It would be troublesome if outsiders saw three Purple Soul Rings. He did not want anyone to see them.

If anyone else had dared speak like that, Li Yusong would definitely have taught them the might of a Soul Emperor and given them a thorough lesson. But the Soul Power fluctuations Lu Shi had released earlier had clearly exceeded level 30!

A twelve-year-old Soul Elder!

He was simply a monster!

Even in a monster academy, he would be a monster among monsters!

He absolutely could not let him get away. If Flender found out, he would tear him apart alive.

Since he did not want to reveal his Soul Rings, then he would not reveal them.

What was the big deal?

He said to the people behind him, "Mubai, take them to the second round."

Dai Mubai walked over and noticed Lu Shi. He frowned slightly, his face carrying a trace of confusion. For some reason, he sensed an extremely familiar aura from Lu Shi.

Like one of his own kind.

That aura stirred a desire to oppose him from the depths of his heart.

He did not know what was going on and assumed he was jealous that Lu Shi had beauties by his side, whose figures and looks were no worse than his own.

He immediately took a deep breath and suppressed the feeling.

Then he glanced at Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu, an unusual gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Follow me."

He was somewhat familiar with Tang San and Xiao Wu. They had fought at the Rose Hotel a few days ago.

He had lost, but he refused to accept it.

Dai Mubai believed that the strange things Tang San had used were not soul skills. If they fought head-on without those bizarre tricks, he would definitely win.

Dai Mubai did not recognize Zhu Zhuqing. They had only met a few times as children and had never spoken. Now that the Hell Spirit Cat and Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger were more compatible, he could no longer sense that mutually complementary feeling from Zhu Zhuqing.

He merely took her for a peerlessly beautiful woman.

After entering the village and walking not far, Dai Mubai led them to a bare open area of roughly five hundred square meters, surrounded by wooden houses.

The students who had passed the first round earlier were lining up in the open area.

If they had not experienced Li Yusong's pressure, these students would probably have run away the moment they saw how shabby the grounds were.

Of course, those who were frightened by that were not qualified to enroll anyway.

"This is the training ground of our Shrek Academy, and also the center of the academy.

Dai Mubai explained, "Our academy has a strict admissions system. The round you just passed was the first round. It eliminates candidates whose Soul Power is below level 20 or who are over thirteen years old.

"The second round filters out the most people. It includes a Soul Power assessment and Martial Soul appraisal. After all, powerful Soul Power alone is not enough to prove one's future potential. The Martial Soul must be examined. Only Soul Masters whose Martial Souls possess sufficient potential for development, and whose previous cultivation has followed the correct direction, may enter the third round."

Dai Mubai could not help feeling proud. The stricter the requirements, the more unfathomable he, as a senior student, appeared.

After saying that, he gave a roguish smile, walked over to a teacher, whispered a few words into his ear, then pointed at Lu Shi and the others.

That teacher was Lu Qibin. He looked back at them and nodded.

"Fine. Go directly to the fourth round. Pass it, and you'll be admitted."