Battle royal

Wang Yan took Jiang Hai's hand and kept squeezing it. His expression shifted slightly, and he glanced at Jiang Hai's rather slender arm before asking, "Jiang Hai, if I'm not mistaken, your martial soul should be a strength-based Power Attack System martial soul. Can you tell me what it is?"

Jiang Hai nodded. "My martial soul is the Bronze Coffin!"

"The Bronze Coffin?" Wang Yan paused, then glanced at Zhang Lexuan. Seeing her calm expression, he nodded. "All right, Jiang Hai. Your age checks out. Here's your identification plate. Go on to the second test."

"All right. Thank you, sir!"

After the two left, disgruntled voices rose from the people waiting in line. "Why do they get to cut in?"

"Keep it down. Didn't you see that pretty woman knew Shrek's admissions teacher? She's probably a relative of a Shrek Academy teacher!"

"So what if she's a teacher's relative? Shrek Academy is supposed to be the continent's top academy, but it doesn't look like much to me. Why should a teacher's relatives get to cut in..." The speaker was still dissatisfied, though his voice had grown much quieter.

Among the crowd, a strikingly handsome youth also watched Jiang Hai's retreating figure with a trace of displeasure.

"Be quiet! If you object, you're free to leave. Nobody's forcing you to join Shrek Academy!" The gentleness vanished from Wang Yan's face as he snapped coldly.

Only then did the line settle down.

"Let's continue. Next!" Wang Yan said evenly.

Jiang Hai knew nothing of this little disturbance, nor did he know that someone had already taken note of him.

Zhang Lexuan brought him to the site of the second test. The middle-aged teacher in charge merely gave her a slight nod upon seeing her. Zhang Lexuan said, "Go line up yourself. Someone will guide you through the rest of the process, so you can manage on your own. I'm leaving now. From here on, you'll have to rely on your own strength to stay at Shrek Academy. I won't interfere with anything you do again, and you don't need to come looking for me. I live on Sea God Island, which you can't enter. Of course, if you join the Inner Court someday, perhaps we'll meet again!"

"I understand, Sister Xuan. Take care!" Jiang Hai said heavily. Joining the Inner Court was out of the question. Perhaps after this farewell, his path would never cross Zhang Lexuan's again.

He had to admit that his heart was full of respect and gratitude for this kind older sister. Otherwise, he would never have agreed to come to Shrek Academy.

Zhang Lexuan burst out laughing and rubbed Jiang Hai's head. "All right, there's no need to look as though we're being parted by life and death. We might meet again someday. I'm off now. Study hard. Tang Ya and the others are good people, so you can go to them if you run into trouble. Oh, and after registering, you'll need to pay a year's tuition-ten gold coins in total. Do you have enough money?"

"I do," Jiang Hai said. He had traveled around the Star Luo Empire for three years. With his abilities, he could certainly scrape together ten gold coins.

"Good. Then I'm off. Goodbye!"

Only after Zhang Lexuan left did Jiang Hai join the line.

Shrek's admissions period lasted seven days, and it admitted roughly a thousand new students each year. There were far fewer people at the second test than at the first, only a little over a dozen.

Jiang Hai waited a while, and soon it was his turn.

The second test assessed martial souls.

"Release your martial soul!" the examining teacher said sternly. Although he had also seen Zhang Lexuan, he would not show favoritism just because Jiang Hai knew her.

Jiang Hai nodded and stepped back. With a thunderous crash, the Bronze Coffin appeared before him and slammed into the ground. The granite floor cracked instantly, and an ancient, weighty aura washed over them.

The instant the Bronze Coffin appeared, a yellow soul ring rose from beneath his feet and circled up and down around his waist.

"What a heavy martial soul!" Tian Guang exclaimed in surprise. He could not help asking, "How much does your martial soul weigh?"

"One thousand four hundred jin!" Jiang Hai answered. After the Golden Coffin came into being, his martial soul's weight had doubled.

"One thousand four hundred jin?!" Tian Guang nodded. The weight Jiang Hai's martial soul displayed alone was enough for him to pass this test. Generally speaking, a martial soul that heavy would possess considerable destructive power even if it were nothing more than scrap iron. Besides, this was a massive weapon. Once his strength grew, its sheer weight alone would be enough to overwhelm his enemies.

But why does this martial soul look so much like a coffin? Oh well, a coffin it is!

Tian Guang said, "You've passed the second test. Go straight to the third!"

As Wang Dong walked in, she happened to catch sight of Jiang Hai leaving.

"That line-jumper's already passed the second test? What's his martial soul?" Wang Dong muttered curiously, hurrying to the back of the line.

The third test assessed soul rings and soul skills. Jiang Hai's soul ring had, after all, come from an eight-hundred-year-old Diamond Tiger, and his Diamond Body soul skill was a top-tier defensive skill. Naturally, he passed the third test with ease.

Then came the fourth test. A tall girl with a voluptuous figure and a long ponytail stood guard there. Seven youths around Jiang Hai's age were already waiting.

Seeing Jiang Hai enter, the voluptuous girl said, "The fourth test assesses actual combat. Once we have ten people, you'll take the test together. Find somewhere to wait!"

Jiang Hai nodded, glanced at the girl, then went to a corner and sat down to wait.

Before long, the ninth person to pass the first three tests arrived. After Ma Xiaotao repeated her explanation, that person also went aside to wait quietly.

The tenth person was particularly late. Only after some time did the exceptionally handsome Wang Dong arrive at the site of the fourth test.

Ma Xiaotao sprang up from the ground and walked over to the ten of them. "The fourth test is simple. The ten of you will fight. Whoever knocks down more opponents will pass and can go straight to the registration office!"

At Ma Xiaotao's words, all ten youths looked at one another with wariness in their eyes.

One boy could not help asking, "Teacher, how many of us can be admitted? Surely we don't have to fight until only one person is left?"

Ma Xiaotao said, "Of course you do. As long as two people are still standing, this match won't stop. And I can tell you very clearly that there's no fixed number of people we'll admit out of the ten of you. If your performance is too poor, we might not admit a single one. So you'd better give it everything you have. All right, the test starts now. No soul tools, no weapons, and no deliberate killing. Begin!"

With that, Ma Xiaotao stepped aside.

The fourth test's fighting platform was circular, roughly a hundred meters in diameter, giving all ten of them enough room to unleash their full strength.

Ma Xiaotao's words had fired up everyone's fighting spirit. Wang Dong, the last to arrive, smiled faintly and moved lightly behind Jiang Hai. A sharp gust flashed past as a long leg swept toward him in a side kick.

Jiang Hai frowned, unsure why this newcomer bore him such hostility.

Still...

Jiang Hai shook his head and casually took a step back, avoiding the youth's side kick.

Then he clenched his fist and punched.

Unwilling to back down, the youth clenched her somewhat delicate-looking fist and drove it toward Jiang Hai.

Meanwhile, the other eight people on the platform had also begun fighting fiercely.

Their fists collided. Jiang Hai stepped back, feeling surging soul power erupt from the fist clashing with his.

"Such powerful soul power!"

Jiang Hai marveled. Shrek truly was a den of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. This youth's strength was probably no less than a Soul Grandmaster's.

"Such incredible strength!" Wang Dong was no less shocked than Jiang Hai. She could tell that his punch had been casual, yet it had unleashed terrifying force that an ordinary person could scarcely withstand.

Forced back by a single punch, Wang Dong began taking him seriously. This fellow who got in through the back door is pretty strong. But I'm not admitting defeat so easily.

Wang Dong kicked again. Her long, slender leg could easily reach Jiang Hai, and her legs were even stronger than her fists. Powerful soul power poured into her leg, whipping up a sharp gust as it hurtled toward him.

"Interesting!" At the critical instant, Jiang Hai dodged Wang Dong's kick once again.

When that strike missed, Wang Dong's other leg lashed out as fast as lightning. Jiang Hai kept retreating and dodging, yet each time he avoided her attack by just the right margin.

Ma Xiaotao watched Jiang Hai and Wang Dong's fight with interest. Everyone else had already released their martial souls, but these two alone were still fighting hand to hand.

A sharp gleam flashed through the eyes of a girl fighting nearby. The yellow soul ring circling her suddenly lit up. As Jiang Hai dodged Wang Dong's attack, green vines burst from the ground and wrapped around his right leg.

First soul skill, Bind.

At that very moment, Wang Dong's fierce, vicious kick swept toward him. Jiang Hai had nowhere to dodge.

The others, as though they had arranged it beforehand, all attacked Wang Dong and Jiang Hai together.

Watching the scene, Ma Xiaotao's lips curved into a smile, but she made no move to stop them.

This was the essence of a battle royal. Anyone could be a friend, and anyone could be an enemy. Only under such circumstances could a person bring all their combat abilities into play. Forging alliances and coalitions-words and wisdom were also forms of combat ability.

Wang Dong's leg whipped into Jiang Hai's shoulder, but it felt as though she had struck a steel plate. A strange vibrating force traveled from Jiang Hai's body, scattering her soul power for an instant. Meanwhile, the others' attacks were already closing in.

Wang Dong's expression changed. Dazzling sea-blue light burst from her body, and a pair of brilliant, beautiful butterfly wings grew from her back, lifting her into the air.

The Light Goddess Butterfly!

Jiang Hai finally knew who this good-looking youth was: Tang San's daughter, Tang Wutong!

Wang Dong rose into the air, and everyone's attacks shifted toward Jiang Hai.

With a thunderous crash and a flash of bronze light, an enormous Bronze Coffin descended from the sky.

Everyone's attacks struck the Bronze Coffin. It shook violently, but all their soul power attacks dissipated upon hitting it.