Just as the Dragon Pattern Staff came within three feet of Su Chen's head, the light over the muddy village entrance suddenly dimmed.
A tall figure wrapped entirely in a pitch-black robe materialized as though condensing out of a shadowy rift in the void.
A murderous aura that sent chills down everyone's spine instantly shrouded the ground.
The black-robed figure raised his hand and casually pressed his right palm forward, its glove woven with dark-silver threads.
Bang!! Li Yusong traced a wretched arc through the air and smashed straight through the dilapidated earthen farmhouse on the left side of the village entrance.
Dust and fragments of earth and stone filled the air, burying half his body beneath them. His staff slipped from his grasp and plunged several feet into the mud, trembling and ringing violently.
The black-robed man stood three paces in front of Su Chen, black mist swirling around him, his aura as unfathomable as an abyss ten thousand feet deep.
He neither pursued his attack nor glanced at Li Yusong in the rubble. Instead, he turned, placed his right hand over his chest, and bowed his head slightly to Su Chen before dissolving into a flowing wisp of darkness that vanished into the dappled shadows of the forest.
Su Chen remained where he stood, gazing toward the spot where the black-robed man had disappeared. His expression was calm, and his fingertips tapped lightly against the hem of his clothes as a thought stirred in his mind.
I showed my talent in Nuoding City, so it's no surprise Spirit Hall noticed. But for them to secretly send someone this powerful to protect me... that's a little beyond what I expected.
Still, whichever Spirit Hall higher-up sent this hidden force, with such formidable backing at my side, I can naturally act with greater composure and fewer restraints.
"The Pope's Hall... the Shadow Guard?!"
A hoarse, shrill cry of shock rang out. From the tops of the dense locust grove inside the village, a blue-green figure swept over like a great bird and landed lightly before the rubble.
The newcomer was around fifty, tall and thin, with a highly distinctive hooked nose and a slightly jutting chin. His eyes gleamed with seasoned cunning.
It was none other than Shrek Academy's dean, the level seventy-eight Power Attack System Battle Soul Saint... the "Four-Eyed Cat Owl," Flender!!
Gone was Flender's usual lazy composure as he swindled his way through life. Cold sweat beaded at his temples as he stared fixedly at the shadows where the black-robed man had disappeared.
An old hand who had spent decades roaming the continent, Flender had traveled far and wide and seen a great deal.
The Shadow Arts that black-robed man had displayed with every movement, along with his distinctive Dark-Gold Cloud-Pattern Battle Robe, unmistakably marked him as a member of the secret assassination and protection force directly under Spirit Hall's highest seat of power... the Pope's Hall!!
To cripple both arms of a level sixty-two Tool Soul Emperor with such effortless ease, he had to be a Seven-Ring Soul Sage who had spent years honing his craft!
A Soul Saint death sworn belonging exclusively to the mighty Pope's Hall had willingly served as this youth's hidden escort, intervening to protect him in a moment of danger?
Flender's shocked cry sent the crowd into an uproar!!
"The Pope's Hall... that's the supreme authority at Spirit Hall's headquarters!!"
"Heavens, just who is this young master? He actually has a Soul Saint death sworn protecting him at close quarters?!"
The commoner parents and applicants around them recoiled in terror, afraid of being swept into a storm involving one of the continent's greatest powers.
At the front of the registration line, Ning Rongrong stood in her pale-blue dress, utterly dumbfounded.
As the cherished jewel of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects, she had seen all manner of powerful figures both within and outside her sect. Yet even with the sect's wealth rivaling a nation's and her exalted status as its master's daughter, the most she normally received when traveling was an inner-sect protector at the Soul King or Soul Emperor level.
Having a lofty Seven-Ring Soul Sage lurk in the shadows as a silent, personal death sworn?
Not even the crown princes of the two great empires could possibly command such extravagance! Just how terrifying was the true identity of this white-clad youth before her??
Ning Rongrong looked at Su Chen's profile. The pride she had held as a prodigy of her sect shattered completely, replaced by curiosity and awe.
Behind a shaded tree not far away, Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the trunk in her black leather outfit, staring intently ahead.
She had personally witnessed that mysterious Soul Saint place one hand over his chest in salute to Su Chen-a solemn reverence reserved only for an absolute superior.
Zhu Zhuqing's chest rose and fell slightly, her conviction growing firmer... This man possesses supreme power capable of overturning every rule. Only by following him can I sever the cruel fate the Star Luo Imperial Family has forced upon me!!
Covered in dust and utterly bedraggled, Li Yusong climbed out of the rubble with the help of several veteran teachers from Shrek.
Both his arms dangled limply, and cold sweat covered his forehead. His eyes filled with terror as he looked at Su Chen, and he no longer dared let out so much as half a fart.
Flender forcibly suppressed his shock. He knew full well that if he mishandled this today and drew the attention of Spirit Hall's higher-ups, Shrek Academy might be reduced to dust and ashes in an instant.
Yet as an exceptionally greedy old fox who valued money as much as life itself, Flender could not conceal the greed and fervor in his eyes as his gaze swept over Su Chen, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing in the crowd.
The bearing of a divine martial soul, peerless twelve-year-old prodigies, supreme backing from Spirit Hall's upper ranks...
If I can lash all these monsters to Shrek Academy's war chariot, the day Shrek becomes famous throughout the continent will be just around the corner!!
At that thought, Flender adjusted the crystal glasses on his nose and walked up to Su Chen.
"My young friend, Teacher Li was hotheaded just now, and his conduct was indeed improper. Allow me to apologize on his behalf." Flender adopted a deeply humble tone, trying to gloss over the earlier clash. "Still, what you said was rather a sweeping judgment. Shrek Academy established its rule against refunding registration fees to set a threshold and select truly peerless monsters who can withstand a test!"
"Monsters?" Standing beside Su Chen, Xiao Wu gave a disdainful snort, contempt written all over her pretty face. "You make swindling money sound so high and mighty. You're even more shameless than that old man with the staff!!"
The corner of Flender's mouth twitched, and he coughed lightly.
"Since you doubt Shrek Academy's teaching and strength, my young friend, how about making a wager with me??"
Su Chen's expression remained impassive, his hands hanging at his sides. "Oh?? What kind of wager?"
Seeing Su Chen respond, Flender secretly rejoiced and hurried to strike while the iron was hot. "Today, Shrek Academy's fourth trial, the practical combat assessment, will be personally overseen by our vice dean, the level seventy-six Battle Soul Saint, the Immovable Wisdom King, Zhao Wuji. If you can last the time it takes an incense stick to burn against him without losing, you win!!"
"If you win, I will not only refund every registration fee collected today to the applicants and parents present, but also publicly apologize to everyone and admit that Shrek Academy fails to live up to its name!!"
At this point, a calculating gleam appeared in Flender's eyes. "But if you fail to last that incense stick... you and the young lady beside you must complete your enrollment immediately, officially become students of Shrek Academy, and submit to all its future training and assignments. What do you say, my young friend?"
An uproar erupted!! Flender's words threw the entire crowd into turmoil once again!!
"That's utterly shameless!! Making a boy of about twelve fight a level seventy-six Soul Saint? And he has to last an entire incense stick?"
"Exactly! A Soul Saint could smash a Soul Grandmaster to pieces with one slap. There's no way to win this wager!"
The parents and applicants around them began voicing their indignant condemnation. Even Ning Rongrong at the front of the line could not help furrowing her delicate brows, inwardly feeling that Su Chen was being treated unfairly.
Between a Soul Saint and a Soul Grandmaster lay a gulf as impassable as a heavenly chasm-five whole soul rings.
Even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's most essential tactical theories could never bridge such an outrageous difference in rank.
"Brother Su Chen, don't agree!!" Xiao Wu stamped her foot in anger and tugged at Su Chen's sleeve as she snapped, "That old skinflint is plainly using his strength to bully someone younger and weaker. He's up to no good!!"
Before you continue