Following Lu Qibin, Jing Shanshan arrived at the fourth trial's testing grounds.
A crowd had already formed a circle in the clearing, with an ordinary-looking, blue-haired boy standing in its center.
"Haha, looks like the four Little Monsters ahead of you suffered quite a bit in the fourth trial."
Lu Qibin laughed as he walked.
"That Zhao Wuji really is something. He's a Soul Saint, yet he hasn't a shred of the dignity a vice principal of Shrek Academy ought to have. He's even gotten hooked on bullying four children who aren't so much as Soul Elders."
Having brought Jing Shanshan here, Lu Qibin had more or less finished his work.
But seeing this scene, and since he was already here, he simply decided to linger a little and see how things would turn out.
Jing Shanshan had come to Shrek Academy to see what Yu Xiaogang's disciple could do. He had already learned some basic details of Tang San's appearance from Qian Renxue, who seemed to know Tang San very well. After confirming that this ordinary-looking, blue-haired boy was Yu Xiaogang's disciple, he watched the battle with the same spectator's mindset as Lu Qibin, though he did not know whether it could count as entertainment.
Opposite Tang San stood a burly, middle-aged man with his arms folded. This was Zhao Wuji.
Like a wall that could not be pushed over, Zhao Wuji was utterly unaffected by the killing intent drifting from Tang San and had the leisure to size up Jing Shanshan, whom Lu Qibin had brought over.
His gaze paused on Jing Shanshan's still-childish face. After a brief probe of his Soul Power, a hint of delighted surprise appeared on his brow.
Six years old, with rank sixteen Soul Power. Even with maximum Innate Soul Power, this cultivation talent was terrifying.
He marveled at how many monsters there were this year, and the first thought that rose in his mind was, Take him in first, then discuss it with that old money-grubber Flender.
As his gaze passed over the black cat on Jing Shanshan's shoulder, his eyes met its red pupils for an instant, and a chill, sinister sensation of facing death flashed through his heart.
Zhao Wuji's hair stood on end. When he looked at the black cat again to make sure, it had already lowered its head and settled on Jing Shanshan's shoulder. No matter how he examined it, he could no longer sense that deadly, supremely dangerous chill.
In the end, Zhao Wuji simply put it down to his excitement causing his senses to play tricks on him.
Tang San's group soon noticed Jing Shanshan's arrival as well, and before long, they were just as shocked as Zhao Wuji!
Someone who had only recently awakened his Martial Soul already had rank sixteen Soul Power?
"That can't be real, can it?"
Ning Rongrong's pretty eyes widened, revealing surprise and disbelief as she instinctively raised a hand to cover her slightly parted lips.
"Perhaps this child awakened his Martial Soul almost a year ago, already absorbed a Soul Ring, and has been cultivating for some time."
Zhu Zhuqing offered her opinion after some thought.
Ning Rongrong and the others soon accepted this view.
This view soon gained Ning Rongrong and the others' approval.
Ignoring the shocked looks from Ning Rongrong and the others, Jing Shanshan met Zhao Wuji's gaze.
"What are you looking at this king for?"
His meaning was obvious.
Why look at him? Whatever you were supposed to be doing, go do it.
Understanding Jing Shanshan's meaning, Zhao Wuji burst out laughing and pointed at Tang San, whose eyes were cold.
"I made a bet with this brat. If he can last an incense stick's worth of time against me, I'll count all of you as having passed this trial. If he can't, then I can only regretfully tell you that you've failed this trial, and none of you will be able to enter Shrek Academy."
Hearing this, Jing Shanshan briefly thought he had misheard. Recalling the dilapidated surroundings he had seen not long ago and this academy that clearly had little in the way of resources, he muttered inwardly.
Why does the losing side get a reward?
His expression unchanged, Jing Shanshan maintained his dignity as a king and coldly tossed out a remark.
"You're making a choice for this king. You have no right to make choices for this king."
The moment he said this, Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted, and a trace of killing intent flashed in the depths of his eyes.
This blond child was obstructing his revenge against Zhao Wuji for Xiao Wu!
Zhao Wuji, however, laughed when he heard it.
"Fine, fine. In that case, their results will be theirs, and yours will be yours."
Zhao Wuji rather liked children like this, who needed a sound beating before they would rein in their temper. They were like a plate of dessert that suddenly appeared amid dull days: though only enough for a few bites, it still perked him up and made the days less boring.
Jing Shanshan was just about to nod instinctively when he suddenly realized something.
He had no intention of joining Shrek Academy. He had only come to see what Yu Xiaogang's disciple could do.
"I hope you won't regret the decision you made just now."
Jing Shanshan was just about to explain that he had no intention whatsoever of entering Shrek Academy when Tang San's utterly emotionless words drifted into his ears.
Jing Shanshan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Tang San, then at Zhao Wuji. In the end, he said nothing, tacitly accepting Zhao Wuji's words, and sat down on a golden throne, beginning to stroke the little black cat in his arms.
Yet once Jing Shanshan sat down like this, his conspicuous, ostentatious appearance made everyone's gazes involuntarily stray toward him from Tang San and Zhao Wuji's confrontation.
"Where did that glittering gold chair come from? Say, wouldn't sitting on a glittering gold chair for too long make your bottom hurt from how hard it is?"
Ning Rongrong looked curiously in Jing Shanshan's direction, voicing this rather unusual point of interest.
To her, whether Tang San won or lost did not matter. If he won, she would visit Shrek Academy and have some fun; if he lost, she would go home and have her family find her a good academy.
Ning Rongrong's words were destined to receive no response, indirectly leading everyone to focus on the battle between Tang San and Zhao Wuji.
"Boring."
Ning Rongrong muttered quietly, then turned her attention to Tang San and Zhao Wuji's fight.
Tang San's footwork was not particularly fast, but his figure flitted about like a ghostly shadow, making his movements difficult to predict. He circled Zhao Wuji, who actually failed to catch him for a time.
As he moved, Tang San paired his strange footwork with a constant stream of odd little objects, flinging them at Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji stood in place without moving much. With a lift of his arm and a block, those little objects clattered to the ground. Occasionally, one or two grazed the hem of his clothes, striking faint ripples into his protective Soul Power.
"Oh, interesting!"
Jing Shanshan watched Tang San on the battlefield with keen interest.
Yu Xiaogang's disciple had all sorts of little objects. They could not harm Zhao Wuji in the slightest, but their endless variety actually kept him occupied for a time, preventing him from casually dispatching Tang San.
Should I use the Gate of Babylon like Tang San does?
The thought had only just flashed through Jing Shanshan's mind, and an image had barely formed, before he rejected it.
Rather than waste time practicing a technique that would do little to improve him, choosing a fighting method that directly blanketed the enemy in firepower, leaving them nowhere to escape, would be simpler and more efficient.
After all, no matter how many little objects Tang San had or how strange his footwork was, it would still be difficult to narrow the gap in strength between him and Zhao Wuji.
He, however, truly could rely on the Gate of Babylon to narrow the gap in strength between himself and Zhao Wuji in this simple, efficient way.
"What's that?!"
Jing Shanshan's eyes instantly lit up.
Just then, Tang San, who had been unable to break through Zhao Wuji's protective Soul Power all this time, took out a little golden object that actually pierced through Zhao Wuji's protective Soul Power with almost no resistance.