The man nodded, then looked at Gu Yunxiao with a smile. "Hello, I'm Du Weilen, director of studies for Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department."
"Director Du?"
Gu Yunxiao sized up the man before him, his eyes utterly fearless and his expression calm.
A trace of approval and satisfaction flashed through Du Weilen's eyes.
He could remain composed even before a powerhouse of Du Weilen's caliber. His mental fortitude was excellent.
With talent and composure like this, Shrek had gained another monster of a student.
"You..."
Du Weilen stopped halfway through, suddenly realizing that he still did not know Gu Yunxiao's name.
He cast an almost imperceptible glance at the students, only to find them looking embarrassed as well. Clearly, they did not know Gu Yunxiao's name either.
"..."
The corner of Du Weilen's mouth twitched, but he quickly recovered and asked with a smile, "Hello, young man. Could we step aside for a word?"
"Let's talk right here."
How could Gu Yunxiao not know what Du Weilen wanted to say?
He wanted to see which Du Weilen would choose: the academy's reputation or a monstrously gifted genius.
Du Weilen's brows creased slightly in displeasure, but he still did not refuse. He said plainly, "Young man, ordinary applicants need a recommendation letter from the city lord's office, but geniuses... do not."
"I approve your admission to Shrek Academy."
At those words,
the expressions of the new students waiting in line shifted, and a trace of resentment instinctively rose in their hearts.
"Oh? Are you sorting people into different ranks, Director Du?" Gu Yunxiao smiled meaningfully.
Hearing that,
Du Weilen's expression stiffened. Everyone else gave him odd looks, their expressions becoming increasingly telling.
Would Du Weilen dare shoulder such an enormous pot of blame?
Everyone understood how things worked, but if Shrek dared admit it openly, its reputation would certainly suffer.
"Ahem."
Du Weilen cleared his throat. "Young man, Shrek Academy certainly has no such intention."
"What I mean is that your talent fully meets the requirements for admission to Shrek Academy."
"The reason you don't have a recommendation letter from the city lord's office is probably that your local city lord failed in his duties and overlooked a genius like you."
"Where are you from? What is your name? Shrek Academy will speak properly with that city lord and have your recommendation letter supplied."
Once he finished speaking,
everyone's expressions softened somewhat.
If that was the case, they could feel a little better about it.
"So that's how it is..."
Gu Yunxiao smiled, his expression becoming even more meaningful.
As expected of Shrek's director of studies, he certainly had a way with words.
With just a few sentences, he had tossed every pot of blame onto that unknown city lord's shoulders.
Du Weilen knew Gu Yunxiao had seen through him, but he was thick-skinned enough to pretend otherwise.
"Gu Yunxiao."
Gu Yunxiao did not want to keep teasing him either. He replied, "I'm from the original Douluo Continent. As for exactly where, I'd rather not disclose that."
"... All right. That's fine. I understand."
Du Weilen nodded with a smile. "Come with me. I'll personally handle your enrollment."
"This is my friend, Xiao Xiao."
Gu Yunxiao pointed at Xiao Xiao.
"Huh?" Xiao Xiao froze for a moment, then caught on and hurried forward, greeting him with a smile. "Hello, Director Du."
"A rank nineteen Soul Grandmaster. Not bad."
Du Weilen discerned Xiao Xiao's soul power level at a glance.
Xiao Xiao smiled, took out the envelope containing her recommendation letter, and handed it to Du Weilen. "Director Du, this is my recommendation letter from the city lord's office."
"Good. Come with me as well."
Du Weilen accepted the letter and motioned for them both to follow him.
Under everyone's envious gazes, Gu Yunxiao and Xiao Xiao entered Shrek Academy.
"All right, let's continue."
The female student walked back, sat down in her chair again, and called out, "Age testing, soul power testing, and enrollment registration."
Everyone continued lining up.
Before long, the commotion Gu Yunxiao had caused gradually subsided, and everyone stopped paying attention to it.
Meanwhile,
under Du Weilen's guidance, Gu Yunxiao and Xiao Xiao entered Shrek Academy and slowly headed toward the teaching buildings.
As soon as they entered the academy, both instinctively surveyed their surroundings.
Rather than the grandeur and solemnity they had imagined, the grounds were beautiful, with carefully trimmed greenery and broad avenues.
After they had walked about two hundred meters, enormous statues appeared amid the flowers and plants.
The first three statues depicted two men and one woman. The woman on the right looked valiant and spirited, while the man on the left looked stingy and miserly.
As for the man in the middle... he looked utterly unremarkable.
Behind them stood seven more statues, four men and three women.
They were the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago.
Gu Yunxiao's gaze swept over the statues one by one, lingering only a little longer on one with exceptionally handsome features.
Rather than handsome, effeminate would have been more accurate. From a distance, it was difficult to tell whether the figure was male or female.
"These are legendary figures from Shrek Academy ten thousand years ago. The first three are the Golden Iron Triangle, who also founded Shrek."
"The seven behind them are the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils. According to legend, they all became gods and now live in the legendary Divine Realm."
"Behind these ten statues lies Shrek Academy's Sea God Lake."
Du Weilen offered a brief explanation.
Gu Yunxiao nodded slightly and withdrew his gaze, his expression revealing little.
Xiao Xiao studied the statues and the distant Sea God Lake with curiosity written all over her face.
Besides the statues and Sea God Lake, Du Weilen also introduced buildings such as the Martial Soul Department's teaching building, the Soul Tool Department's teaching building, and the dormitories.
In just a short while, Gu Yunxiao and Xiao Xiao gained a general understanding of Shrek Academy.
Soon, the three arrived at the academic affairs office.
Du Weilen took out registration forms and handed one each to Gu Yunxiao and Xiao Xiao. "First, fill in your personal information: age, martial soul, cultivation, and so on. The more detailed, the better."
Gu Yunxiao casually filled in some information, limiting it to what he could disclose.
There was no need to provide anything else.
Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, filled hers out in great detail, even writing down her home's exact location.
The only thing she did not mention was that she had twin martial souls.
Du Weilen collected the forms. After reading Xiao Xiao's information, he smiled. "Xiao Xiao, release your martial soul."
"All right."
Xiao Xiao nodded and activated her martial soul.
Under Gu Yunxiao's and Du Weilen's gazes, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron appeared, looking slightly different from an ordinary soul-suppressing cauldron martial soul.
Clearly, Xiao Xiao's martial soul had mutated.
"Hum!"
A yellow soul ring descended, shining beneath Xiao Xiao's feet.
"That's enough."
Du Weilen nodded, signaling for Xiao Xiao to withdraw her martial soul, then looked over the personal information Gu Yunxiao had filled in.
He would never have known without looking, but one look gave him a fright.
Du Weilen sprang to his feet, his gaze fixed firmly on Gu Yunxiao. "Gu Yunxiao, you... are you sure you didn't fill this in wrong?"
Age, cultivation, martial soul... none of those posed any major problems.
The soul ring configuration field, however, was a serious problem.
Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand years.
A Soul Elder possessed ten thousand year soul rings-and three of them, at that?
Was that normal?
Absolutely not!
He even suspected that Gu Yunxiao was making a fool of him!
Beside him, Xiao Xiao looked puzzled, unsure why Du Weilen had reacted so strongly.
Before you continue