Tang San and Xiao Wu Meet at Last

Early the next morning, a line formed outside Shrek Academy.

Yuan Yu sat beside the registration desk.

White clothes, a Wine Gourd, and a Sun Wheel Blade.

He made no effort to show his Spirit Rings.

But the presence of a level-fifty-five Soul King was impossible to miss. Even seated, he was not someone anyone dared underestimate.

Li Yusong handled admissions.

Dai Mubai stood nearby, keeping order.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun hung back to watch the spectacle.

Flender did not show up.

He had spent half the night thinking it over.

In the end, he reached a conclusion.

Yuan Yu could not be treated like an ordinary student.

He had to be given special treatment.

But Flender could not let him notice.

That was difficult.

So Flender chose to stay away for now.

He let Li Yusong run admissions as usual.

And let Yuan Yu sit nearby and watch.

If Yuan Yu wanted to step in, he could.

If he only wanted to watch, that was fine too.

With a monster of this caliber, Flender figured it was better to give him space than hold him too tightly.

Besides, Azure Luan and Ling Yuan were still watching from the shadows.

If something really happened, Shrek might not be the first to worry.

So Flender decided not to appear yet.

Yuan Yu chewed on a blade of grass and watched admissions lazily.

Ordinary children were turned away.

Some refused to accept it.

Some caused a scene.

Li Yusong released his Spirit Rings. The moment all six lit up, the line went quiet.

Yuan Yu found it rather entertaining.

Scenes like this were rare in Spirit City.

The rules were strict there. No one dared make a scene in front of a Titled Douluo.

Shrek was different.

It was run-down, sure.

But it was lively too.

Just then, a boy and a girl approached from the back of the line.

The boy wore blue and carried himself with quiet composure.

The girl wore a pink dress, her eyes bright and lively.

Yuan Yu stopped chewing the grass.

The fragments in his mind fell into place.

Tang San.

Xiao Wu.

They were here.

Tang San brought Xiao Wu to the front of the line.

Li Yusong tested them according to procedure.

Their bone ages qualified.

Their Soul Power qualified.

Xiao Wu passed quickly.

When Tang San held out his hand, Li Yusong's expression changed.

"Level twenty-nine?"

A ripple of startled murmurs ran through the line.

Level twenty-nine at twelve years old was astonishing enough.

Dai Mubai looked at Tang San too.

This was the kind of monster Shrek truly wanted to recruit.

But a moment later, a lazy voice came from the side.

"Not bad."

Tang San turned.

Yuan Yu sat nearby, smiling at him.

Tang San's eyes narrowed slightly.

He had not seen this person when he entered Suotuo City last night.

But the white-clad boy sitting there felt dangerous.

Not hostile.

Strong.

So strong that Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul seemed to warn him not to make a move lightly.

Tang San did not speak at once.

He had cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill since childhood, and his senses were far sharper than those of most Soul Masters.

Yuan Yu looked relaxed, yet Tang San could find no opening in him.

Sitting there, he was like a blade still in its sheath.

But Tang San knew a sheathed blade could still be sharp.

Xiao Wu blinked.

"Are you a Shrek student too?"

Yuan Yu nodded.

"I just got here yesterday."

"What level are you?"

Dai Mubai coughed.

He could already tell Xiao Wu was in for a shock.

Yuan Yu did not hide it.

"Level fifty-five."

Xiao Wu froze.

Tang San's expression changed too.

"Level fifty-five?"

Yuan Yu raised a hand, and his Sun Wheel Blade appeared.

Five God-given Spirit Rings rose around him.

Water blue, crimson gold, violet white, azure gold, and dark gold.

The moment all five appeared, the area before the registration desk fell silent.

Li Yusong glanced at Yuan Yu, his eyelid twitching.

Flender had told him last night.

But seeing it with his own eyes was still absurd.

Xiao Wu opened her mouth.

"You're twelve?"

"Mm."

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San.

Tang San fell silent too.

He considered himself talented.

Twin Martial Souls.

Innate Full Soul Power.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill.

But the person before him was twelve years old with five rings, and there they were, plain for all to see.

This was no small gap.

It was a vast one.

But Tang San did not lose heart.

He simply committed the gap to memory.

A Soul Master's path was long.

A gap today did not mean a gap for life.

Still, Yuan Yu was the first truly outrageous talent Tang San had seen since arriving at Shrek.

Tang San looked back at him and said earnestly, "Tang San."

Yuan Yu withdrew his Spirit Rings.

"Yuan Yu."

Their eyes met.

There was no hostility.

But everyone nearby could tell that look meant something.

Xiao Wu suddenly asked, "Are you really strong?"

Yuan Yu smiled.

"I do all right."

Xiao Wu eyed the Sun Wheel Blade.

"Why were those five Spirit Rings different colors?"

"God-given Spirit Rings."

Tang San's pupils contracted slightly.

God-given.

He had never heard the term before.

But the name alone told him it was no ordinary thing.

Yuan Yu offered no further explanation.

"I'll tell you when we know each other better."

Xiao Wu pouted.

"Keeping secrets, are you?"

Yuan Yu looked at her, his gaze softening a little.

A rabbit.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

The fragments flashed through his mind.

He said nothing.

Bringing it up now would only make things worse.

Dai Mubai stepped forward.

"You passed. Come inside with me."

Tang San and Xiao Wu nodded.

Yuan Yu stood up.

"I'll come take a look too."

Dai Mubai looked at him.

"Haven't you already passed?"

"I want to watch."

From behind them, Oscar said, "I told you he'd fit in at Shrek soon enough."

Ma Hongjun nodded.

"Wanting to watch the excitement? That sounds like one of us."

Yuan Yu looked at them both.

"That doesn't sound like a compliment."

Oscar laughed. "At Shrek, it is."

Yuan Yu thought for a moment.

"Then I'll take it."

Before long, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing also passed their tests.

When Ning Rongrong saw the five Spirit Rings behind Yuan Yu, her spoiled young-lady composure faltered for the first time.

Zhu Zhuqing merely gave him a second look.

His gaze was cold and utterly serious.

Ning Rongrong quickly composed herself.

She was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and she was used to being proud.

But she wasn't a fool.

A twelve-year-old Soul King at level fifty-five stood right before her. No matter how proud she was, she had to admit the gap between them.

Zhu Zhuqing's reaction was simpler.

When she looked at Yuan Yu, she wasn't watching a spectacle.

She was looking at a goal.

An absurdly distant goal, yet one that stood right in front of her.

Yuan Yu said nothing more.

The original group at Shrek was more or less complete.

Only this time, they had an extra Soul King with five spirit rings.

And he had no intention of hiding it.

The parents and children who hadn't yet left the Registration Office were dumbstruck.

They had been arguing about how strange Shrek's admission rules were.

Now no one argued.

A twelve-year-old Soul King with five spirit rings was sitting right there.

They couldn't say whether Shrek was any good.

But this place really did have a monster.

Dai Mubai led the others into the academy.

Tang San walked beside Yuan Yu.

"You have a Tool Martial Soul too?"

"Yeah. A blade."

"I use Hidden Weapons."

Yuan Yu glanced at him.

"I could tell."

Tang San faltered for a step.

Yuan Yu smiled.

"The calluses on your hands are different."

Tang San's expression grew more intent.

Yuan Yu wasn't just high-level.

He had a keen eye, too.

Ahead, Zhao Wuji was already waiting on the training ground.

He had been sitting in a chair.

When he saw Yuan Yu approaching with Tang San and the others, Zhao Wuji stood up.

"You're the new monster Flender told me about?"

Yuan Yu smiled. "I suppose so."

Zhao Wuji grinned.

"Level fifty-five?"

"Yeah."

"Then today's test should be interesting."