After another twenty-odd days, many more parents with children appeared on the road outside Suotuo City.
The day of Shrek's recruitment had arrived.
During those days, Lu Ye had not spent all his time sitting at the inn waiting.
Of the two sales outlets in Soto City, one showed Sword Douluo's videos to everyone. The other was more clever: when a customer bought a blade, it showed them protective gear; when a woman came in, it taught her how to take pictures. The same batch of goods sold vastly better at one than at the other.
Lu Ye visited both, left a demonstration phone with the first shopkeeper, and taught him to watch exactly which clip made a customer's finger stop.
"I'm not asking you to guess how much money he has in his pocket. Watch what he wants to see."
After learning how, the shopkeeper spent half a day watching by himself.
When Lu Ye returned, the demonstration phone was full of Cloud Sound Workshop videos.
"Young Master Lu, I'm testing it."
"All right, test away. Just keep an eye on the cashbox first."
With others handling the business, Ning Rongrong's whereabouts had not been lost track of either.
She was staying in the city. She had complained about the food and changed rooms once, but she had not actually made enough of a fuss to make anyone bring out the sect's name. She occasionally sent word home that she was safe, carefully picking out only the good things to report.
Lu Ye did not expose her.
Now that she had finally hired a carriage to take her to the village, he put away the chamber of commerce's account books and set out first.
At the other end of the same road, Tang San and Xiao Wu were already walking together.
Xiao Wu had long since finished her visit to the forest. After traveling for more than ten days, she had returned to Nuoding, reunited with Tang San, and taken care of their affairs after graduation before coming to Soto with him. She was carrying her own bag now, but the other two phones she had taken with her had not come back.
As for the excitement left by the lake, others would keep watching.
"Brother, is the academy really here?"
Xiao Wu stopped at the village entrance and looked at the old wooden sign not far away, her voice full of disbelief.
Tang San checked the address his teacher had given him once more.
It was right.
But the school before them was much more modest than either had imagined. There was no imposing gatehouse, nor a campus of mountains and forests stretching beyond sight like the imperial academy's. A few buildings were crowded into the village, looking more like someone had temporarily changed the sign on their courtyard.
Yet the line at the entrance was anything but short.
An old man sat behind a table, with a box for collecting registration fees beside him. A boy at the front had just held out his hand when the old man felt his bones to check his age, then shook his head and sent him away.
The boy's father grew anxious at once.
He had paid the money, so why would they not even let his son go inside?
The old man's expression barely changed as he repeated the age and Soul Power requirements.
Several people nearby heard him, and their expressions changed too. Some began quietly calculating where their children fell short; others simply took their children by the hand and left.
The father still wanted to argue, but the old man had already stood up.
Li Yusong brought the Dragon Pattern Staff in his hand down with a thud, and six Soul Rings lit up one after another.
The crowd, which had been full of complaints a moment ago, fell silent at once.
Xiao Wu drew a soft breath.
In a place like this, the man sitting at the entrance was actually a Soul Emperor.
Tang San glanced at the wooden sign, and some of his earlier doubts receded.
Lu Ye stood in the shade of a tree farther away, without squeezing himself into the line of candidates.
He was twenty-one this year and had just obtained his seventh ring. Joining the line would not be registering; it would be making trouble for everyone.
But when he walked toward the courtyard gate, the old man behind the table still looked up.
"Who are you looking for?"
"I brought a child from home here. I'd like to watch the tests farther in."
"Parents wait outside."
Li Yusong spoke curtly, his fingers already resting on the next registration form.
Lu Ye stopped.
At the Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce, someone would have ushered him inside by now. But the old man before him neither recognized him nor intended to make an exception for him just because he was neatly dressed.
Lu Ye glanced at the courtyard and stepped aside, leaving the next boy free to hold out his hand.
"Then I'll wait here until you're less busy."
The old man looked up at him a second time.
While he waited, several more candidates came through. Some left with their heads hanging; others happily followed Dai Mubai inside. Lu Ye did not hurry anyone, nor did he reveal his seven Soul Rings to save himself the trouble of standing there.
It was only when Dai Mubai returned to collect more people that Li Yusong pointed at Lu Ye.
"He brought someone here. He wants to watch the fourth test."
Dai Mubai looked Lu Ye up and down.
"You can watch, but you can't interfere. Whether they pass depends on their own abilities."
"That's also what I promised her family before I came."
"If she really can't pass, don't turn around and say she's still just a child."
"I'll remember."
Lu Ye smiled and agreed readily. Dai Mubai became a little less wary and pointed out a path along the edge of the grounds for him.
Only after watching him leave did Li Yusong look away.
Plenty of people brought children here, but few remembered to treat themselves as guests first.
Lu Ye stood beneath a tree on the inside, where the hem of his robe had been wrinkled by the people queuing earlier. He reached down to smooth it and spotted Ning Rongrong in the distance, but still did not call out to her.
She had knocked on the door herself; whether it was easy to enter, he would let her see for herself first.
He had already seen the Dragon Pattern Staff when Li Yusong revealed his rings earlier. Now he simply kept watching the line.
Ning Rongrong stood in the middle, carrying her own little bag. Surprisingly, she did not hurry anyone along as she did back at the sect. She looked at the people ahead, then at the wooden sign, the excitement on her face never fading.
When her turn came, she held out her hand.
Li Yusong's expression changed slightly, and he asked quietly whether her family knew.
Ning Rongrong raised her head. Unwilling to use her background as a pass, she only asked whether the academy also tested Martial Soul and Soul Power.
The old man looked at her for a moment before finally raising a hand to let her in.
Only then did Lu Ye look away.
Elsewhere, Tang San and Xiao Wu had also passed the first test, and Dai Mubai led the two of them farther inside.
Lu Ye glanced at those differently colored eyes but did not go over to strike up an acquaintance.
What he had come to see clearly today was exactly how Ning Rongrong would act in an unfamiliar place.
Not to go around introducing himself to each of these people who would become famous in the future.
Not long after they went in, a commotion broke out inside.
Someone waiting in line for the test objected. Why could others go straight to the next test as soon as they arrived?
Dai Mubai took the testing crystal and handed it to Tang San first.
A blue light shone, and the people nearby immediately fell silent.
Level twenty-nine.
Xiao Wu went next, and she was also at level twenty-nine.
Ning Rongrong took the crystal. When the light of level twenty-six shone, she straightened her back a little. Of course, that was not enough compared with the uncles back home, but here, she too was someone who could step forward and be seen by others.
A black-clad figure came over next.
Zhu Zhuqing said little, merely putting the crystal back after the test.
Level twenty-seven.
The person who had spoken up earlier looked at the group and could no longer find a reason to argue.
Lu Ye did not photograph the numbers.
What he saw from the side was Ning Rongrong instinctively glancing around after she returned the crystal.
There was no Grandpa Bone to praise her, and no father waiting nearby to nod his approval.
But she did not retreat because of that. Instead, she took the initiative to follow the others.
The corners of Lu Ye's mouth moved slightly.
At least her first step was fairly decent.
He had just moved to the other side when Ning Rongrong's gaze swept over him.
Their eyes met.
The girl stopped in her tracks.
The face that had been a little smug just a moment ago suddenly fell halfway.
Before Lu Ye could speak, she seized the moment while Dai Mubai was talking up ahead and hurried over.
"Why are you here?"
"I came to Soto on chamber of commerce business."
"And that business brought you all the way here?"
Ning Rongrong's face said plainly that she did not believe him.
Lu Ye did not keep trying to fool her. He simply tilted his chin toward the inside of the academy.
"I'm not here to take you back."
"Really?"
"Your father asked me to see whether you really can make it all the way on your own."
Ning Rongrong first breathed a sigh of relief, then became a little unhappy.
"I already said I can."
"Saying it doesn't count."
Lu Ye looked at her, his smile fading a little.
"No one passed those tests for you just now. It'll be the same for the ones ahead."
Ning Rongrong stared at him for a while, then finally nodded.
"Then you're not allowed to mention my family either."
"If you don't bring them up yourself, naturally I won't speak for you."
Only then did she seem to set down a stone from her heart. She turned to leave, then suddenly stopped.
"Was Grandpa Bone angry?"
"What do you think?"
"Then later, could you help me..."
Before she could finish, Lu Ye pointed at the phone in her pocket.
Ning Rongrong's face reddened slightly.
She had already come out here, yet if she wanted to say something, she still needed someone else to pass it on for her. That really would make her look as though she had not grown up.
She pressed her lips together and made no further request, turning to catch up with the others ahead.
"Rongrong, someone you know?" Xiao Wu asked.
"An older brother from home. He's here on business."
After answering, Ning Rongrong glanced back at Lu Ye, afraid he would expose her on the spot.
Lu Ye merely gave her a small nod.
Dai Mubai tilted his chin toward the spot he had pointed out to Lu Ye earlier, so Lu Ye continued along the edge of the grounds without joining the group of four.
The group continued farther inside.
Lu Ye followed to the edge of the fourth test area.
In the middle of the clearing, an excessively sturdy man was leaning back in a chair. Hearing footsteps, he lazily opened his eyes.
His gaze swept over the four new students, and a hint of interest suddenly appeared on his face.
"A few decent ones came this year."
Dai Mubai stepped forward and explained the situation.
After listening, the man actually stood up and flexed his wrists.
"I'll handle this one."
Lu Ye stopped beside a tree, his gaze settling on those broad, sturdy shoulders.
Zhao Wuji.
The name that had appeared in records of Spirit Hall's past affairs finally matched the man before him, who was preparing to test the students personally.
Those old matters had long since been set aside, and there was no order requiring him to apprehend Zhao Wuji now.
But Lu Ye had not expected the child Ning Fengzhi had asked him to look after to end up standing before Zhao Wuji.
He said nothing, nor did he reach for his phone.
He would get a clear look first.
In the courtyard, the incense stick used to time the test had already been brought out.