"Gu Yang!"
"What?"
"Are you sneaking looks at those two girls up ahead?"
Among the crowd of extras waiting in line, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing stood out far too much, so it was not hard for Ning Rongrong to notice.
"I'm looking, but I'm not sneaking looks."
"You... how could you! Why do you usually treat me..."
"Treat you how? Are you as cute as her? Or as sexy as the other one?"
"Hmph! I'm not talking to you anymore!"
"Perfect!"
"You..."
Ning Rongrong clenched her teeth in anger and stamped her feet.
While Gu Yang and Ning Rongrong were waiting in line, someone suddenly walked over. They could not tell whether he was a teacher from Shrek Academy. Perhaps he was.
"You two, come with me to complete the paperwork."
Just as that teacher was about to lead Gu Yang and Ning Rongrong away, a commotion suddenly broke out up ahead. Immediately afterward, Gu Yang saw the teacher handling registration shout, "Did none of you read the rules before coming to apply to Shrek? Our admissions brochure states it perfectly clearly: we at Shrek Academy only accept monsters! Monsters, understand? Anyone over twelve, anyone whose Soul Power Level is below twenty-one, anyone whose Soul Ring Configuration isn't two Hundred-Year Soul Rings-get the hell out of the way!"
Hearing the admissions teacher's words, Ning Rongrong looked even more excited.
"Gu Yang, did you hear that? They only accept monsters here! I told you this place could help you get stronger!"
Gu Yang could not help rolling his eyes.
The requirements in this admissions brochure certainly covered everything: age, strength, and Soul Ring Configuration.
Anyone who met these requirements had to be a genius with at least level-seven Innate Soul Power. Having two Hundred-Year Soul Rings also meant they needed a certain amount of backing-in other words, either connections or a wealthy family.
Otherwise, obtaining two Hundred-Year Soul Rings through one's own strength alone was very difficult.
Obtaining Soul Rings usually required someone to accompany you.
Most importantly, why would a talented genius with money and connections come to Shrek? To let them hold you back?
Oh, right. To take part in a transformation reality show and experience a different life.
Dai Mubai had been forced out of the Star Luo Empire and stumbled in in a daze, feeling he had only days left to live; Ma Hongjun was a village native who had been swindled as soon as he awakened; Oscar had been picked up by Flender outside. So Shrek Academy's admissions record over the past few years had been zero all along.
"Then why can those two be taken straight inside without taking the tests?"
The parent arguing with Shrek Academy's registration teacher had also noticed the special treatment Gu Yang and Ning Rongrong were receiving and immediately seized on it to make a fuss.
According to how things had been handled in the original story, a Shrek Academy teacher should have released his Soul Rings at this point to intimidate everyone present.
But instead, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Because they are prodigies from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. That girl isn't even twelve yet, but her Soul Power Level has already reached twenty-nine. I believe it won't be long before she reaches level thirty."
Spurred on by Gu Yang, the model "other people's child," and under Ning Fengzhi's constant urging, Ning Rongrong's Soul Power Level was slightly higher than in the original story, having reached twenty-nine.
"As for that boy, he surpasses even that girl. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has acknowledged this and sent them here specifically to study at our academy. What? Are you questioning the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
As he spoke, a middle-aged man wearing square, black-framed glasses appeared at Shrek's admissions site. His gaze swept over the line of applicants as he spoke in a ringing voice.
The Four-Eyed Cat Owl, Flender!
It had to be said that many Douluo characters were quite distinctive.
Whether Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, or Flender, Gu Yang could recognize them at a glance.
Tang San should be that boy beside Xiao Wu, the one with an ordinary face and blue clothes.
He probably had not guessed wrong.
After Flender said this, everyone's eyes inevitably turned toward Gu Yang and Ning Rongrong in unison.
Ning Rongrong enjoyed the feeling immensely, even lifting her chin slightly, her face full of pride.
She was young, after all. Having that sort of disposition at twelve was perfectly normal.
Gu Yang, however, fixed Flender with a piercing gaze. Flender had no good intentions in publicly revealing his and Ning Rongrong's identities.
First, he was borrowing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's name to strike back at the troublemaking parent. After all, how would an ordinary Soul Master family dare offend the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?
Sure enough, upon hearing that Gu Yang and Ning Rongrong came from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the parent who had been making trouble immediately changed his expression. "No, no! How would we dare question the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? It's our fault. We'll leave right away!"
"The registration fee is nonrefundable!" Flender promptly added.
Intimidated by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's reputation, the troublemaking parent could only slink away.
Gu Yang frowned slightly at this. Flender's second purpose in revealing their identities was to hoist a mighty banner, using the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's name to advertise.
The message was: look, even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has sent its prodigies to our academy. Why aren't you hurrying to apply?
And that was indeed the result. The Soul Master families who had yet to register waited in line with even greater resolve.
Xiao Wu, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others also turned their gazes toward Gu Yang and Ning Rongrong.
Xiao Wu's gaze lingered on Gu Yang.
It was not because Gu Yang was good-looking, but because when their eyes had happened to meet just now, Xiao Wu's heart had tightened for no apparent reason.
She kept feeling as though the person before her knew something.
Xiao Wu instinctively stepped back, hiding a small part of her body behind Tang San.
Tang San also noticed that something was wrong with Xiao Wu and comforted her. "What's wrong, Xiao Wu?"
"Nothing."
"It's all right, Xiao Wu. They may be disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but that doesn't mean we necessarily can't measure up to them."
"Besides, even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects, has arranged for disciples to attend this academy. That only proves further that Teacher didn't deceive us. This academy must have its merits."
Zhu Zhuqing, on the other hand, was surprised that the chestnut-haired girl from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, dressed in luxurious clothes, was looking at her with intense hostility, as though she had stolen something from her. This left her rather puzzled. She had never even met the girl before.
The subsequent plot did not change much. Apart from Gu Yang and Ning Rongrong, who were taken straight inside, only Xiao Wu, Tang San, and Zhu Zhuqing passed the assessment.
"Mubai, take these Little Monsters to Old Zhao." Seeing that admissions had concluded, Flender immediately called out to the side.
Hearing Flender's words, a strapping young nobleman with something of a muscleman's build immediately stepped out from among the people watching nearby and looked at them. "Come on. I'll take you to the final test."
None of them said much. They simply followed Dai Mubai to a patch of flat ground in the deepest part of the academy.
In the center of the clearing, a broad-backed, thick-waisted middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties was dozing in a reclining chair.
Not far away, an unshaven man stood behind a snack stall.
At the sight of Gu Yang and the others approaching, a sharp gleam immediately lit up his glasses, and he spoke with an enthusiastic expression. "Fellow students, want a grilled sausage? Fresh off the grill-guaranteed delicious and packed with punch!"