Monster? God of wealth?

"I'm delighted that Shrek has produced two more monsters this year. Now, who's next?" The old man looked toward the crowd behind them. "If your soul power level exceeds twenty-five, you can also skip the second and third rounds of testing."

Only twenty-five? Hmph, easy, Tang San thought. I doubt any of the new students here has a higher soul power level than me. Let's see if you can all keep from being amazed this time.

"Teacher, I..."

"I'll go." Qin Ye interrupted Tang San and strode forward.

Before leaving, Qin Ye cast Tang San a contemptuous glance. "Surely our righteous, upstanding classmate Tang San won't mind a nobody like me cutting in line?"

"You!" Tang San instinctively clenched his fists. "Hmph, if you want to make a fool of yourself, go ahead. I'd like to see how a Soul Master with level-ten soul power passes this test!"

Tang San snorted and took half a step back, his eyes fixed on the White Crystal in Qin Ye's hand. If Qin Ye really only had level-ten soul power, Tang San would have to decide how best to mock him.

Qin Ye gripped the White Crystal, basking in everyone's expectant gazes as a faint smile curled his lips. "Heh, a bunch of ignorant fools."

Qin Ye's grip tightened steadily.

Bang!

Qin Ye actually crushed the testing crystal in his bare hand!

"What!" Tang San shouted in agitation. "Do you even understand how a soul power test works? That's for testing your soul power! Who told you to test your strength? Are you sick in the head?"

Yet the old man looked at Qin Ye with some astonishment. "Your strength actually exceeds level thirty? How did you manage that?"

The old man knew very well how hard the crystal was. Over the years, plenty of people had tried to game the test by crushing it, but every last one of them had failed.

The reason was simple: if you could crush this crystal, your soul power level was undoubtedly high enough to qualify. No one but a Battle Soul Master with at least three rings could possibly crush it.

Some of Dai Weisi's strength still lingered within Qin Ye's body, thanks to the heart demon power Dai Mubai had supplied.

Qin Ye looked back at Tang San with an arrogant gaze. "Perhaps it's because I'm a monster myself." His eyes brimmed with mockery toward Tang San.

You want to laugh at me? Who do you think you are?

Tang San's chest heaved, veins bulging on his forehead as he spat through clenched teeth, "Damn it." When had Tang San ever suffered such humiliation? At that moment, only one thought filled his mind: kill that bastard Qin Ye!

"Teacher, does that mean I can skip the second and third rounds?" Qin Ye asked the old man.

"Well..." The old man hesitated briefly. "In theory, yes. Your strength has certainly reached a monstrous level, which fits Shrek's admission standards perfectly. I think the Dean would agree. All right, I'll count you as having passed."

"All right. Thank you, Teacher," Qin Ye said gratefully.

"However..." The old man abruptly changed tack. "You crushed the crystal used to test soul power. That's academy property, and you'll have to pay for it."

Qin Ye's thoughts abruptly stalled. Such money-grubbing talk hardly sounded like something this old man would say. It sounded more like Flender.

Could it be that Flender was watching them from somewhere out of sight?

That makes sense. Today's Shrek's admissions day. As the Dean, Flender would certainly come to take a look. Without Flender's authorization, Teacher Li surely couldn't decide on his own to let me skip the tests, Qin Ye thought.

"Then may I ask how many Gold Soul Coins I need to pay?"

"Uh, let me ask-no, let me think." The old man fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised one finger. "About one... hundred..."

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Qin Ye took a small mountain of Gold Soul Coins out of his Soul Tool-a full thousand!

In Slaughter City, Gold Soul Coins were nothing but scrap iron. Qin Ye had nowhere to spend the vast quantities he had plundered, so his Soul Tool now held enough wealth to rival a nation.

"I wonder if this is enough?" Qin Ye asked with a smile.

"That's far too..." The old man paused again. "Oh, yes, enough! Certainly enough! Haha, I never expected Shrek to admit a little god of wealth this year. Here at Shrek, we welcome wealthy Little Monsters like you most of all."

At Flender's prompting, the old man instantly changed his tune, his attitude toward Qin Ye warming considerably.

"It's only a testing crystal. I have more here. If it breaks, it breaks. No big deal." As the old man gathered the Gold Soul Coins from the ground, he took another White Crystal out of his pocket.

Qin Ye brushed back his hair and walked over to Zhu Zhuqing, casting a sidelong glance at her charming face. "Well? Quite a surprise, wasn't it?"

Zhu Zhuqing turned her face aside, her gaze evasive and her lips pursed. "What surprise?"

"Oh? I distinctly remember someone paying very close attention to me during the test. Was I imagining things?" As Qin Ye spoke, he leaned closer to Zhu Zhuqing, bringing his nose to her fragrant shoulder and greedily inhaling the girl's gentle scent.

"Y-you, stay away from me." Blushing, Zhu Zhuqing dodged aside. Qin Ye's warm breath had turned her little face scarlet, pushing her embarrassment to its peak.

If Qin Ye kept teasing her like this, Zhu Zhuqing might well run away on the spot, blushing furiously.

"Hehe, how adorable." Qin Ye straightened and took a refreshing breath of clean air. Zhu Zhuqing's corruption value was currently only ten points, not enough to support Qin Ye going any further. To accumulate corruption value quickly, he would have to start with that good-for-nothing Dai Mubai.

Good thing I have an experience pack like you around. Otherwise, who knows how long it'd take to max out Zhu Zhuqing's corruption value. Qin Ye couldn't go to the Star Luo Empire to beat up Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun just yet, so he could only squeeze Zhu Zhuqing's corruption value out of Dai Mubai, who was right before him.

After witnessing Qin Ye's astonishing performance, everyone had unconsciously raised their standards considerably. As a result, Tang San still failed to cause a stir after his soul power test.

"Level twenty-nine. Not bad, I suppose. Next."

Why is it "not bad" again?! Tang San cursed inwardly. Do you even know what a genius is, you old geezer? Isn't my level twenty-nine higher than all of theirs? And all you give me is "not bad"?! You want to court death too, is that it?!

Although Tang San was furious, he didn't dare let any of his emotions show on his face. The old man was, after all, a teacher at Shrek Academy and a genuine Soul Emperor. Tang San hadn't even enrolled yet. If he clashed with this teacher outright, his plan to join Shrek would likely go up in smoke.

Damn it, I'll endure it! I refuse to believe I won't get a chance to kill you someday! Tang San stared venomously at Qin Ye, a seed of hatred taking root in his heart. If I don't avenge this humiliation, I, Tang San, swear I'm not worthy of being called a man!