"Who exactly are you?"
Cai Yue'er's furious roar rang through the space.
Nine Soul Rings-four purple, four black, and one red-instantly appeared beside her.
A crescent moon rose behind Cai Yue'er, her vast presence nearly pressing Yan Qing to the ground.
Textbooks had long documented situations like this.
Yan Qing gave a muffled grunt and went along with it, lying down. He was ready to pick out a car. This time, he absolutely would not get up unless he squeezed ten million federal coins out of them.
Instead, Cai Yue'er found herself somewhat at a loss. She had only used a tenth of her Soul Power, yet this suspected spy disguised as a student had already collapsed.
As far as Silver Moon Douluo knew, anyone with Spirit Abyss Realm spiritual power had to be at least a Titled Douluo. How could he be so frail that a gust of wind could knock him over?
Could he really be a student?
Impossible!
She stepped forward, intending to examine Yan Qing's physical condition carefully.
At that very moment, a refined young man in white crossed the barrier and appeared silently beside them.
With just one look from the young man, Cai Yue'er withdrew her Martial Soul and stood quietly to the side.
Yan Qing did not even need to think. This had to be Atlas Douluo, Yun Ming.
The young man snapped his fingers. Their surroundings changed instantly, and the three appeared in a secluded chamber.
Yun Ming's gaze settled on Yan Qing as he spoke gently.
"I examined you just now. You are indeed twelve years old."
"Can you tell me why your spiritual power has reached this level?"
Yan Qing: &$##&...
Having just inexplicably endured the pressure of Cai Yue'er's fully unleashed Martial Soul, Yan Qing lay on the floor groaning, his speech slurred as well.
Yun Ming could not help chuckling at the sight.
"Silver Moon Douluo acted rashly just now. I apologize to you on behalf of the academy."
"Of course, the academy will also compensate you. Feel free to ask for anything you need."
"I want thousand-year Dragon Scale Fruit, Mystic Moon Spirit Ginseng, hundred-year Phoenix Fruit, Illusory Heart Lotus, Star Jade Bamboo, Mystic Ice Grass, Scarlet Orchid..."
With his eyes half closed and his breath seemingly hanging by a thread, Yan Qing rattled off the names of more than a dozen spirit herbs.
"Certainly."
Seeing Yun Ming nod, Yan Qing sprang up and rubbed his hands vigorously.
"Your miraculous hands have brought me back to life, Pavilion Master! I feel much better now."
"Pavilion Master?"
Yun Ming was somewhat surprised.
"You know me?"
Yan Qing nodded emphatically.
"Yes, I heard about your deeds when I was little."
He added inwardly, In the novel I read, of course.
Yun Ming did not pursue it further and spoke.
"Would it be convenient to clear up my confusion now?"
Yan Qing glanced around, then quietly lowered his voice. "Pavilion Master, this is a matter of grave importance. You must keep it secret. I'll only tell you."
Beside them, Silver Moon Douluo's slender brows shot up. There were only three people here in total. Who was this brat guarding against?
At Yun Ming's signal, Cai Yue'er nevertheless obediently left the space.
Yan Qing stopped hiding it and released his passionate ruthless sword.
Looking at the sword hilt shimmering with flowing colors in Yan Qing's hand, Yun Ming's gaze shifted slightly.
"So that's how it is."
"This does indeed need to be kept secret."
"Your Excellency Atlas, I hope this won't spread to anyone else, including the owners of these two swords."
Watching Yan Qing blink repeatedly, Yun Ming was somewhat surprised.
"You mean Amorous and Heartless don't know you've run off?"
Yan Qing nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
He did not have the remotest connection to those two Excellencies yet. Every extra day he could use this identity counted.
Yun Ming nodded in agreement. So he had inherited his abilities from those two. In that case, his spiritual power was naturally not so strange.
Before long, Atlas Douluo turned into a streak of light and vanished, while Yan Qing was sent back to the examination venue.
Cai Yue'er was undoubtedly thoroughly frustrated.
A mere student had made everything so mysterious, and after Yun Ming learned the truth, he refused to say a word no matter how she questioned him.
She could only vent her anger on the candidates who followed.
Next.
"Tang Wulin!"
Unsurprisingly, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue each received two big goose eggs.
It could be counted as a calamity falling from the sky.
The sixth trial actually tested how much they could eat.
Shrek's official explanation was that it tested willpower.
But Yan Qing strongly suspected this was a tailor-made exam designed specifically for Tang Wulin.
What the hell could eating test about willpower? It could certainly pick out plenty of competitive eaters, though.
Once again, Tang Wulin alone took care of all the food in this trial, and everyone smoothly reached the seventh trial.
The seventh trial was an endurance test: a ten-thousand-meter run, a thousand squats, and a thousand pull-ups.
This trial was quite perfunctory too.
If they were not allowed to use Soul Power, an ordinary person would drop dead from exhaustion before finishing.
If they used Soul Power, it was practically no different from not testing them at all.
Yan Qing, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie completed the entire course, while Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan strategically abandoned the squats and pull-ups.
Actually, Yan Qing felt that since they had managed the ten-thousand-meter run, they could probably complete the latter two events as well.
Things finally became normal when they reached the eighth trial.
They had to choose a student from the previous year's intake for an actual fight. Apart from a ban on Soul Tools, there were no other restrictions.
Scores were calculated based on how long they lasted. If they won outright, they would receive full marks directly.
However, those points were generally not easy to earn. The opponents standing here were not merely a year older than them; they had also passed Shrek's complete entrance examination and studied in the outer court for an entire year.
Their overall combat strength was more than one level higher.
Yan Qing did not care, though. His spiritual power alone now let him imitate Homelander among the new students. One blast of laser vision would settle a fight.
In this examination, the new students took the initiative in choosing their opponents. Luck was part of strength too.
Yan Qing casually selected the skinniest young man in a corner. Although someone like that might be a hidden big shot, Yan Qing reckoned that even counting the sixth-years, few could beat him.
If there really was such an unparalleled genius, he would bring out his Battle Armor. After all, the rules only prohibited Soul Tools, not Battle Armor.
The first match was Yan Qing's duel with the skinny young man.
Seeing that his opponent had no intention of announcing his name either, Yan Qing released his Martial Soul directly.
Four purple Soul Rings circled beside him.
The young man's expression instantly grew solemn. A four-ring fighter ranked among the best even among their returning students.
He released his Martial Soul as well. His body instantly grew taller, his fists swelling to nearly ten times their size as a heavy, domineering presence revealed itself in full.
Without much hesitation, Yan Qing's fourth Soul Ring lit up.
He had possessed his fourth Soul Skill for so long, but his first true use of it had only been during Cai Yue'er's test just now, and it had even been melted away.
This was a good opportunity to test its power in actual combat.
Yan Qing's fourth Soul Ring had actually already been upgraded to ten thousand years, its appearance disguised as a purple ring by his disguise Soul Skill.
Threads of spiritual power wove into a red net that enveloped his opponent.
The skinny young man tried to raise his hands to block, but the spiritual power passed straight through his Soul Power defenses and took effect on him with precision.
Then Yan Qing noticed that the young man before him was trembling uncontrollably.
If he remembered correctly, the fourth Soul Skill of his Passionate Sword was Heart Prison, which briefly seized the mind. Surely it should not cause such a strong reaction?
Wisps of black light emerged from the young man's body, sweeping back over his entire body in an instant.
When the black radiance dispersed, purple-black wings suddenly spread open. Dark purple scale armor covered a pair of long legs, and a tall, slender figure gradually emerged.