Tang Ya's eyes reddened, and her nose stung. "Thank you, Yutong."
With that, she turned to Tang Qi with a solemn expression and asked bashfully in a quiet voice, "Tang Qi, I seem to... owe you quite a lot already. How should I repay you?"
Tang Qi waved a hand dismissively. "You'll owe me plenty more in the future."
Then he turned and walked toward the registration queue winding like a long dragon outside Shrek Academy.
Huo Yutong waved to Tang Ya, then hurriedly turned and jogged after him.
She drew up beside Tang Qi, her expression earnest and her voice soft and sweet. "Brother Tang Qi, I'll remember how good you've been to me, too."
Tang Qi looked over with a frown, utterly baffled. What was going on today? Why were they both rushing over to pledge their loyalty?
"Then you'd both better repay me properly in the future."
Meanwhile, inside the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng had her fleshy, long legs clamped around Huo Yutong's neck and was vigorously kneading the girl's cheeks with both hands.
"That's the spirit! Haki Tong, snuggle right up to him! For your big sister's dream of becoming a god, go all out and win Tang Qi over!"
"Sister Tian Meng, stop messing around..."
Huo Yutong protested indistinctly, her face bright red.
The two reached the end of the queue and stopped.
Huo Yutong had assumed they would obediently wait in line, but Tang Qi simply stepped forward and kept walking. The girl froze in confusion for a moment before jogging after him.
"Brother Tang Qi, aren't we going to wait in line?" Huo Yutong glanced around like a thief and asked in a hushed voice.
Tang Qi didn't answer. He led her straight toward the front of the queue, stopping before a young man who was clearly a little older. With a flick of his fingers, two Gold Soul Coins landed in the man's palm.
"This is..."
The man understood immediately. He pulled along his companion behind him and left the queue without another word. Tang Qi and Huo Yutong slipped naturally into the vacated spots.
Although the people around them cast puzzled looks their way, they let it go when they saw that the total number ahead hadn't changed.
Huo Yutong looked back curiously and saw the two men take their Gold Soul Coins and circle around to join the end of the queue again.
"This is how they make their money."
Tang Qi said casually, "There are always rich people who don't want to queue."
Huo Yutong nodded, as though a door to a whole new world had opened.
The queue inched forward. Before long, Tang Qi and Huo Yutong could already see the examiner ahead.
"Xiao Xiao, eleven years old, rank twenty-one. Martial Soul: Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron."
A clear, ethereal voice rang out. Tang Qi looked toward it and saw a petite little girl with her hair tied in a single ponytail.
The next instant, she lightly waved her slender fingers, and an ancient-looking round cauldron with three legs and two handles materialized beside her. It was so large that it could almost hold the little girl whole.
Xiao Xiao.
Tang Qi's gaze shifted slightly.
After a few more people, it was finally his and Huo Yutong's turn.
"Letter of recommendation!"
The examiner didn't even look up.
Tang Qi immediately placed the special admission letter bearing the Tang Sect's seal on the table.
The examiner glanced at it, then instinctively raised his eyes to sweep over the boy and girl before him.
"State your names and Martial Souls."
"I..."
Huo Yutong was visibly nervous. Her pink lips parted, but no words came out. Admitting that her Soul Power was only rank fifteen in front of this crowd of heaven's favored children was deeply embarrassing.
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng offered encouragement with rare gentleness. "Little Yutong, don't be afraid! Your big sister is here!"
Just then, a pair of warm, strong hands settled on her shoulders. Tang Qi leaned down slightly and spoke close to her ear. "Just say it normally. There aren't that many spectators in this world."
Huo Yutong's pretty face flushed scarlet, and her head swam. She drew a deep breath and spoke in a clear voice.
"Huo Yutong, eleven years old, rank fifteen. Martial Soul: Spiritual Eyes."
Without looking up, the examiner swiftly marked the register with his pen, then waved her through.
The girl hurried into the academy and turned back to look at Tang Qi, who was taking his assessment.
Having passed her own assessment, Xiao Xiao was unfamiliar with the place and knew no one. She happened to spot Huo Yutong standing alone, looking adorably dazed, and immediately approached her.
"Hello, my name's Xiao Xiao. You're Huo Yutong, right?"
Huo Yutong saw that the newcomer was the little girl with the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron from earlier. She was blinking her big, bright eyes and smiling with an utterly harmless expression.
Huo Yutong immediately let down her guard and reached out to give her hand a gentle shake. "Hello, I'm Huo Yutong."
"Are you standing here waiting for someone?" Xiao Xiao tilted her head.
Huo Yutong nodded and pointed toward Tang Qi, who was undergoing his assessment.
Xiao Xiao looked in the direction of her finger.
A boy with pink-and-blue hair stood before the assessment table. His posture was straight, his features cool and aloof, and he seemed as pure as ice and flawless as jade.
What a handsome boy~
For an instant, a strange feeling stirred in Xiao Xiao for no apparent reason. People were naturally drawn to beauty, especially adolescent girls.
She instinctively blurted out, "Is he your boyfriend?"
Huo Yutong frantically waved her hands. "N-no! He... he's my sect's Sect Leader!"
"Sect Leader?" Xiao Xiao blinked. "A Sect Leader that young? That's amazing..."
"Tang Qi, eleven years old, rank thirty-seven. Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor."
Blue Silver Emperor?
A flicker of astonishment crossed the examiner's expressionless face. He was about to speak when three Soul Rings rose from beneath Tang Qi's feet.
Purple, purple, purple.
"What?!"
Not only those in Tang Qi's queue, but the boys and girls in the surrounding queues also turned to look. Their chatter surged like a rising tide.
"A thousand-year first ring? Is this guy even human?"
"If heaven brought me into this world, why did it have to bring him into it too? He's already better-looking than me, and now his strength is this incredible? Is there any room left in this world for me to live?"
"What's that boy's name? This young lady wants all his information immediately!"
What did Princess Tang being useless have to do with him, Crown Prince Tang?!
Tang Qi's expression remained unchanged. To him, the chatter around him was nothing more than a little wind and frost.
He looked at the examiner, who stood as wooden as a stunned chicken, and asked calmly, "Teacher, did I pass?"
Only then did the examiner come to his senses. He rose in a fluster and personally watched Tang Qi enter the academy.
With this child's talent, once he joined Shrek, he would surely become a Titled Douluo someday.
As for whether he might die young? What a joke. Could Shrek, renowned throughout the continent, really fail to protect one child?
"Oh my heavens! Yutong, look! Three Thousand-Year Soul Rings! Three!"
Xiao Xiao shook Huo Yutong's arm vigorously, her little face flushed red with excitement and her eyes filled with disbelief.
Huo Yutong's little face was utterly blank.
Of course she knew Tang Qi was strong, but she hadn't expected him to be this absurdly powerful.
Watching Tang Qi walk calmly toward them under everyone's gaze and listening to Xiao Xiao's exclamations beside her, she actually puffed out her little chest with shared pride.
As Tang Qi approached, the first thing he noticed was the petite figure beside Huo Yutong.
"H-hello, dreamboat. My name's Xiao Xiao. Can we get to know each other?"
Summoning her courage, Xiao Xiao held out a soft little hand toward Tang Qi, her big eyes practically sparkling with stars.
At the sight, the corner of Tang Qi's mouth lifted slightly, and he promptly put on the same "warm and gentle" smile as Tang San.
"Hello, I'm Tang Qi."
He reached out and gently shook Xiao Xiao's hand.
Xiao Xiao felt a tingling current shoot from the back of her hand through her entire body. She didn't even notice when Tang Qi let go.
"Let's go."
He then led the two girls into Shrek Academy.
Beyond the gates lay a broad, straight, tree-lined avenue. He had barely walked two hundred meters before something turned his stomach.
Who the fuck put a statue of Gangzi here?
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