Enrolling at Suotuo City's Spirit Hall Intermediate Academy

With a graduation certificate from Notting Academy and an official recommendation from Spirit Hall in hand, father and son entered the academy's admissions office without a hitch.

The academy's dedicated staff carefully checked their documents and qualifications, then professionally assessed his soul power level. When they discovered that Lin Chen was only seven years old, yet had already become a level twenty-three Soul Grandmaster with two high-quality hundred-year soul rings, everyone was instantly stunned. Not daring to show the slightest neglect, they immediately reported this exceptional new student's information to the academy leadership.

A seven-year-old Soul Grandmaster, bolstered by two hundred-year soul rings, with a steady temperament and an impeccable record—he was also a promising member of the younger generation whom the local Spirit Hall branch had singled out for special attention.

Such outstanding potential placed him among the very best, one in ten thousand, even at Suotuo Intermediate Academy, where talent abounded and geniuses gathered. He far surpassed the vast majority of its existing students.

After an urgent discussion, the academy leadership immediately made special arrangements to grant him exceptional treatment.

To cultivate this young genius to the fullest and tailor a training program to his needs, the academy broke precedent and assigned Lin Chen a dedicated mentor, rather than having him share teaching resources with ordinary students.

A genuine level seventy Battle Soul Saint!

A level seventy Soul Saint was a supreme combatant who could hold sway over an entire area anywhere in Suotuo City, commanding respect and enjoying an exalted status.

At an intermediate academy, such a mentor represented the absolute pinnacle of teaching resources. Ordinary students, and even most gifted students, would never have the chance to receive personal instruction from a Soul Saint in their entire lives.

Only an exceptional prospect like Lin Chen, whose talent and temperament were both outstanding, could enjoy such unprecedented, top-tier treatment.

This Soul Saint mentor was named Mo Yuan. Composed and reserved, he was rigorous and meticulous in his teaching. Over decades of cultivation, he had weathered countless battles and accumulated a wealth of practical experience. Having shed the hotheaded impulsiveness of youth, he excelled at tempering young students' foundations and combat temperaments. He had long been stationed at Suotuo Intermediate Academy, where he was specifically responsible for cultivating its finest young geniuses.

Upon learning that the academy had assigned him a seven-year-old Soul Grandmaster prodigy, Mo Yuan took the matter very seriously. He came to meet Lin Chen in person at once, carefully examining his cultivation foundation, training habits, weaknesses, and strengths before designing a training program specifically for him.

From then on, Lin Chen officially settled into Suotuo's Spirit Hall Intermediate Academy. He put his dormitory room in order, completed all his enrollment procedures, and embarked on a new life of systematic cultivation.

Unlike the loose, flexible teaching approach of junior academies, which emphasized basic theory and stationary meditation, Suotuo Intermediate Academy's training system was highly structured and demanding. It balanced work with rest and scholarly learning with martial training, advancing theory and practical combat together to hone every aspect of a Soul Master's capabilities without leaving a single blind spot.

His daily training schedule was orderly, sound, and reasonable. Its pace was brisk without being oppressive, with just the right balance of tension and ease, perfectly matching Lin Chen's longstanding cultivation philosophy of drawing the bow taut, then letting it relax.

At daybreak each morning, a fixed period was set aside for theoretical lessons.

Under the academy's experienced senior instructors, Lin Chen systematically studied advanced Soul Master theory, the geography and cultures of the Heaven Dou Empire, detailed classifications of soul beasts across all regions, the intricacies of precise soul power circulation, the principles by which different attributes reinforced or countered one another, battlefield tactics, the essence of teamwork, approaches to solo combat, and other specialized, advanced subjects.

Little by little, he filled the gaps in theoretical knowledge left by his early, makeshift cultivation methods. He continually broadened his horizons, shed the limitations of his humble beginnings, and made his cultivation system increasingly structured, professional, and complete, bringing knowledge and practice into harmony.

At noon, when the sun was warm, a fixed period was reserved for quiet meditation and refinement.

The academy's dedicated cultivation rooms were rich in spiritual energy and supported by formations. Soundproof and conducive to inner calm, they shut out all outside disturbances.

Lin Chen sat cross-legged on a cushion, focused his mind, and stilled his breath. He quietly refined his pure soul power and reinforced his solid level twenty-three foundation, carefully comprehending the intricacies of blending his water- and wood-attribute soul power. Little by little, he improved the compatibility between the two attributes, allowing his soul power to circulate with ever greater smoothness and seamless coordination. Day after day, he deepened his reserves, leaving no room for hollow cultivation and refining every thread of soul power to the utmost purity.

From afternoon until dusk each day came the most essential and crucial part of his training: practical combat. Throughout these sessions, the level seventy Soul Saint Mo Yuan personally led and instructed him, honing his skills step by step.

Mo Yuan thoroughly understood that true knowledge came from actual combat. He never confined himself to rigid textbook theory and knew that what young Soul Masters lacked most was not a high soul power level, but combat experience, composure under pressure, and the ability to adapt.

He therefore arranged comprehensive, multilayered combat drills tailored to Lin Chen:

Solo arena bouts that pushed his ability to withstand pressure to the limit, fair sparring against students of the same rank, all-out contests against higher-ranked opponents, simulated breakouts from perilous situations, repeated offensive and defensive tactical drills, simulated comebacks from the brink of defeat, attribute-countering matchups, and more. Every kind of combat training took its turn, leaving no weakness unaddressed and no area disproportionately favored.

Lin Chen already possessed a solid foundation, a steady temperament, and exceptional combat instincts. He had a natural knack for calmly analyzing the battlefield and spotting his opponents' openings. Coupled with his thorough understanding of his dual-attribute skills, he excelled at patient offense and defense, predicted moves accurately, and fought with a style that was steady without sacrificing its sharp edge.

In battle, he never sought a moment's reckless glory or chased a fleeting advantage. He always advanced steadily and kept his actions measured, neither charging rashly to prove himself nor passively clinging to defense. Through one intense battle after another, he honed his combat rhythm, accumulated experience under pressure, refined his transitions between offense and defense, and addressed every weakness in his fighting.

Mo Yuan watched it all, his approval growing ever stronger.

Over decades of teaching, he had seen countless extraordinarily gifted young geniuses. Most were headstrong and proud, flaunting their abilities and fighting recklessly, relying on hot blood and brute force while exposing openings everywhere.

Rarely, however, had he encountered a student so young whose mindset was so mature, whose fighting style was so composed, and who knew exactly when to advance and retreat.

Lin Chen was calm and rational, skilled at planning, and knew how to conceal his strengths and control the overall situation. Every move had a sound purpose, and every exchange of offense and defense was watertight. His talent and temperament complemented each other perfectly, giving him boundless future potential.

Under Mo Yuan's attentive guidance and the tempering of intense combat day after day, Lin Chen's practical fighting ability improved rapidly, and his combat experience grew just as quickly. His precision in controlling soul power, the finer details of skill execution, his command of offensive and defensive rhythms, his ability to anticipate and shape a battle, and his capacity to adapt to emergencies all reached an exceptional standard far beyond his peers. He truly achieved growth in every respect: level, depth, practical combat, and temperament.

Outside his cultivation, Lin Chen never forgot his original intentions or his long-term plans.

After some time had passed, he asked his teacher for leave, saying that he wanted to go out for a stroll and relax his mind.

Once his teacher agreed, he changed out of his academy uniform, left through the school gates, and began wandering leisurely through Suotuo City.

After he had wandered enough, he left Suotuo City and headed toward the little village to its southwest—the future site of the renowned Shrek Academy.

At this point, the little village had none of Shrek Academy's reputation. It was merely an ordinary, peaceful rural settlement, with simple, honest villagers and tranquil surroundings, far removed from the city's bustle and splendor.

There were still several years to go before Tang San and Xiao Wu would enter Suotuo and join Shrek in the original story.

Dai Mubai had yet to flee the strife within the Star Luo Imperial Family and had not moved into this little village. Of the future core members of the Shrek Seven Devils, only two were already studying and training there.