Flander's Shock

"What fat sheep!"

The moment Flander saw Ye Chen and Xiao Wu's clothing, his eyes immediately lit up.

The fabric of their clothes was all top-quality. Flander, shrewd with age, naturally spotted at a glance that these two were definitely rich!

With fat sheep coming to his door, Flander, who would pluck even the feathers from a passing goose, felt that if he did not fleece them properly, he would be letting down the opportunity Heaven had given him!

"You two young friends, is there anything you need?"

Flander shed his previous laziness and spoke warmly to Ye Chen and Xiao Wu.

"Everything here is junk. What is there to buy? We're not here to buy anything."

Looking at the enthusiastic Flander, Ye Chen naturally knew exactly what he was up to. Clearly, Flander had taken him for a fat sheep.

"Not buying anything?"

Flander's eyes widened. If you were not buying anything, why did you come in? Wasting my feelings~!

What puzzled Flander, however, was how this young man knew that everything he sold was junk. Could it be that he had been scammed by him before?

"Mm, we're not buying anything, but we're going to Shrek Academy."

Nodding, Ye Chen stated his purpose.

"Hm? You're going to Shrek Academy?"

Flander, who had just been about to lie back down, immediately perked up.

"That's right."

"I am Flander, the headmaster of Shrek Academy. May I ask what your soul power levels are?"

Adjusting his glasses, Flander spoke.

Flander knew that the two were wealthy and still young, probably no older than twelve.

If their soul power levels were above level 21 and they had the optimal Soul Ring Configuration, then Flander decided he would accept them.

For others, reaching the Great Soul Master rank would only mean passing the first test. They had to reach level 25 Great Soul Master to skip the remaining tests and proceed directly to the final practical combat assessment.

But Flander had no choice! Shrek Academy was so poor that it could barely keep the pot boiling. If he did not think of a way to bring in some extra income, it would truly have to close down.

So Flander planned to loosen the requirements a little. If these two little tycoons became part of Shrek Academy, Flander was confident that he could squeeze plenty of profit out of them. Wouldn't that give the academy funding?

"Ye Chen, martial soul: Black Jade Divine Bamboo Staff, level 45 Control System Soul Elder."

As he spoke, Ye Chen released his martial soul. Two yellow and two purple soul rings, disguised in color, bloomed around him as he announced his soul power level.

"Xiao Wu, martial soul: Soft Bone Rabbit, level 46 Power Attack System Soul Elder."

Like Ye Chen, Xiao Wu disguised the colors of her soul rings, revealing only two yellow and two purple rings.

"Four-Ring Soul Elders?!"

Hearing the soul power levels they reported, along with the eight soul rings—four yellow and four purple—that appeared in the shop, Flander was stunned.

He had never imagined that Ye Chen and Xiao Wu, who looked so young, were already Four-Ring Soul Elders! And not newly advanced ones, either, but level 45 and level 46.

"How old are you two this year?"

Adjusting his glasses, Flander asked excitedly.

"Xiao Wu and I are both eleven."

"Eleven?! Heavens, there are actually eleven-year-old Soul Elders on the continent?"

"What a narrow worldview~"

In Ye Chen's view, while becoming a Soul Elder at eleven could be called unparalleled, it was not as though no one on the continent could achieve it.

For example, Qian Renxue of Spirit Hall possessed innate level 20 soul power. After five or six years of cultivation, with her first, second, and Third Soul Ring each raising her soul power by at least three levels, and with abundant resources at her disposal, would reaching the Four-Ring Soul Elder rank at eleven be difficult?

Not difficult at all! Besides, while Qian Renxue's level was still low, she had refined an Angel inheritance head Soul Bone that was 99,999 years old. That alone should have raised her soul power by several levels at least, right?

In the original work, Qian Renxue was only a Seven Ring Soul Saint at twenty-four. She had definitely been held back; otherwise, with her incredible talent, becoming a Titled Douluo at twenty-four would not have been impossible.

Even Bibi Dong and Tang San, who possessed Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, could not compare to Qian Renxue in terms of talent and cultivation speed.

It was merely that compared to a single martial soul, Twin Martial Souls held a greater advantage in the later stages.

"Do you two really want to join Shrek Academy?"

Flander was somewhat curious. Their talents were so powerful that they should also have formidable elders backing them, right? No one understood Shrek Academy's situation better than he did. Would their elders agree to let them enroll in Shrek Academy?

It would be troublesome if some expert came knocking later to take them away.

"Mm. Although your Shrek Academy is a little run-down, we'll make do."

Shrek Academy and the like were not within Ye Chen's concern at all. As long as the big kitty came next year, that was enough!

Wouldn't that be a bit too scummy?

Ye Chen thought to himself.

No, I'm not scummy. I'm just more affectionate! That's right, that's how it is!

Flander: "..."

Could you put "run-down" a little more tactfully? Like "rustic and unadorned," or "not very grand"?

"Ahem, since that's the case, welcome to Shrek Academy, you two!"

Since Ye Chen had taken the initiative to ask to join Shrek Academy, Flander naturally had no intention of letting him slip away.

If their elders truly disagreed and came knocking later to take them back, he could deal with it then.

Unfortunately, Flander had no idea that Ye Chen had no powerful elders and no backing to support him. Xiao Wu, on the other hand, had two immensely powerful underlings in the Star Dou Great Forest.

It was not really Flander's fault for thinking that way, mainly because Spirit Masters placed great importance on inheritance.

For Ye Chen and Xiao Wu to have cultivated to become Four-Ring Soul Elders at such a young age, their talents had to be extraordinary. And generally speaking, the elders of exceptionally gifted Spirit Masters would not be weak either.

If there had only been one, it could have been explained as a beneficial mutation of their martial soul. But for two people to have beneficial martial soul mutations, the odds were practically zero.

With two new students of such exceptional talent and strength joining his academy, Flander naturally could not keep watch over his little shop in Suotuo City.

He immediately closed the shop and led Ye Chen and Xiao Wu toward Shrek Academy outside the city.

Not long afterward, under Flander's lead, the two arrived at the entrance of Shrek Academy.

At the village entrance stood a wooden archway, from which hung a somewhat dilapidated plaque carved with five simple words: Shrek Academy.

There was also the image of a green monster's head on the plaque.

Well, it had to be said that Flander had rather heavy tastes~

Ye Chen had long expected Shrek Academy to be shabby, but he had never imagined it would be run-down to this extent.