Blunder into the Cellar? The Brothers Unlock Red-Level Nine Trials

Of course, that was no great problem for Lin Yuan. He only had to train support-type soul masters into assault-type ones. It was a matter of changing his approach.

They did have an advantage. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wulin had low Innate Soul Power, and the other Shrek Seven Monsters did not have much Soul Power either, but they were young.

The minimum admission age for Shrek Academy was twelve, and the minimum age for a Divine Examination was twelve as well.

In the Life-and-Death Arena, their cultivation would not be lowered. Everyone else would simply be brought down to the same level.

Every bit of strength they gained now could be put to use in the arena, so improving quickly was crucial.

As it happened, he could speed things up for them. After all, he had one enormous advantage he could use for exactly that.

But just as he was about to get started, several figures appeared at the entrance.

"Excuse me, is this Shrek Academy still accepting students?"

"Myriad Realms Shrek Academy?"

The three of them glanced at the academy sign, then at the place itself—nothing more than a courtyard. They looked doubtful.

But when they spotted the Baby Dragon statue in the middle of the courtyard, they checked it several times before deciding not to leave.

Lin Yuan immediately turned toward them. "Oh, new students?" He grinned. He had not expected anyone to show up at his shoestring academy, much less ask to enroll. What a surprise.

Everyone at his academy had been recruited by him from across the myriad realms. Not one was a local.

There were the Shrek Six Devils, plus Yu Xiaogang, Qian Renxue, Huo Yuhao, and Tang Wulin. Counting himself, that made only a dozen or so people.

Should I take in a few locals?

Let's see first.

He wanted to know who had the nerve to enroll at his fly-by-night Shrek Academy.

Lin Yuan took a closer look. Three people stood at the entrance, all around twelve years old: one boy and two girls.

The boy was fairly handsome, dressed in a fitted blue outfit, with a hint of arrogance on his face.

The two girls were both beautiful.

The girl on the left had blue hair down to her waist, blue eyes, and a slender figure. Her large, watery eyes made her look especially endearing.

The one on the right had silver hair and violet eyes. She was just as slender, with a cool, breathtaking beauty. Her long silver dress made her look even more aloof.

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes at the three of them. He did not quite recognize the others, but he knew the third one all too well.

It was hard to stay calm.

This was Eastsea City. The location was right.

But why had she come here?

By this point in the story, she should already have gone to Shrek Academy. Why was she here instead?

Lin Yuan could not make sense of it. Since she was here, the other two were probably familiar faces too. Interesting—three of them at once.

Seeing Lin Yuan smile, Xie Xie looked him up and down before asking:

"So this place is a Shrek Academy too. Where are your teachers?

"Where's the headmaster?

"Don't tell me you have neither.

"Why does it look like your academy doesn't even have students?

"Come on, it can't be that fake."

Lin Yuan smiled and pointed at himself, then at Yu Xiaogang and Qian Renxue, who were reading nearby.

"I'm the headmaster. He's a teacher, and so is she, though her temper isn't the best.

"As for students... teachers and students together, there are about a dozen of us."

"A dozen?"

Xie Xie stared at him as though he had to be joking. "That's beyond a shoestring operation. You dare call it an academy with only a dozen people?"

Lin Yuan shrugged, unbothered.

"We have a Baby Dragon statue. Isn't that enough?"

"That's the craziest part."

Xie Xie spoke with exasperation.

"The Divine Examination actually recognizes an academy like yours.

"It has no standards at all!

"Even a fly-by-night academy like this can get a Divine Examination, a Baby Dragon statue, and the right to issue challenges."

Lin Yuan rolled his eyes at Xie Xie's blunt criticism.

"Are you here to pick a fight?"

Xie Xie shook his head.

"No. We're here to enroll."

"Enroll?

"Because you sure sound like you're looking for trouble."

"We came in good faith. We're all geniuses."

"Of course I know you're geniuses. Shrek only takes geniuses, not trash."

That stopped the conversation dead.

Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, and Gu Yuena all froze and looked at him with mixed expressions.

Seriously? You're running a knockoff Shrek Academy, and you're playing the part too?

You started a shoestring Shrek Academy, and now you're actually using Shrek Academy's admission standards?

Isn't that a bit much?

Still, it did not really matter how ridiculous he was.

They were only here for the chance to take the Divine Examination challenge.

"Anyway, all we need is the right to challenge it. That's why we came."

Xie Xie made no attempt to hide their purpose.

"So you're here for the Divine Examination?

"It's dangerous, you know.

"And why not go straight to Shrek?"

Lin Yuan had gotten to the heart of it.

"We'd planned to go to Shrek Academy after graduation, but it isn't very safe. Since there's a Shrek Academy here that's recognized by the Heavenly Screen, we figured this place would do."

"This place would do?

"Now you're being picky?"

Lin Yuan laughed, then said, "Shrek Academy only takes geniuses, not trash. But I only take the best of the best. You can't just walk in here."

As he spoke, Lin Yuan willed the mark of his Red-Level Nine Trials on his forehead to light up. Red light flared from it.

Behind him, Tang San, Oscar, and Xiao Wu understood at once and revealed their Divine Examination Marks together.

Red-Level Nine Trials. Every one of them had Red-Level Nine Trials.

The pressure of four Red-Level Nine Trials burst forth at once, bathing the entire courtyard in red.

Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan, and Gu Yuena went pale. They stared wide-eyed at Lin Yuan and the others, their faces full of disbelief.

"Red-Level Nine Trials... four of them? You have four people with Red-Level Nine Trials?"

Xie Xie had assumed this was a worthless knockoff academy. With only a dozen or so people, what could it possibly amount to?

He had not expected Lin Yuan to reveal four sets of Red-Level Nine Trials in one stroke.

They could not have been Shrek students. Otherwise, they would not have founded another Shrek Academy on their own.

Yet they had gathered four sets of Red-Level Nine Trials in such a short time. That meant they had defeated at least four people with Red-Level Nine Trials—or even more people from Shrek.

And the three of them had been watching the Divine Examination arena closely. Lin Yuan's group had never appeared there, which meant they had seized the trials outside it.

Outside the arena, no one's age was rolled back to the same level. There was no fair contest.

They could only have taken the trials from people younger than themselves but stronger than them. That required genuine power.

At that thought, even Gu Yuena felt a chill. There was something strange about this academy.