"Level 29 Blue Silver Grass-you certainly deserve to be called a Little Monster. Child, you passed. Go wait to the side!"
Li Yusong examined the vine-like Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's hand, a kindly smile on his face. Once Tang San and Xiao Wu had run over to wait beside Dai Mubai, Shangguan Hong stepped forward from behind them. After paying the registration fee, he held out a hand.
"Mm, no problem with your age. You really are twelve. Child, summon your Martial Soul!"
Li Yusong's gaze shifted slightly. He had only given Shangguan Hong's arm a light squeeze, but those firm muscles had offered stubborn resistance! If Shangguan Hong's bone age hadn't truly been around twelve, he would have suspected that he was facing a Beast Martial Soul Soul Master under Martial Soul Possession.
Another Little Monster! The academy will certainly be lively this year!
That was what Li Yusong thought. In his eyes, Shangguan Hong was undoubtedly a Power Attack System Soul Master. Yet when he saw the enormous golden shovel appear in Shangguan Hong's hand, along with the combination of one yellow and two purple Soul Rings beneath his feet, this powerful Soul Emperor shot to his feet, his eyes filled with shock.
"A Soul Elder!"
The words left his mouth, and the prospective students and their parents behind Shangguan Hong immediately erupted in cries of astonishment. Among them, two beautiful young women who had clearly come alone caught their breath and cast solemn looks his way in unison.
"Teacher, I should have passed the preliminary test, right?"
Shangguan Hong wore a smile, and an apple had appeared in his hand at some point. Even facing a Soul Emperor, he showed no sign of nervousness. Juice dripped as he crunched into the apple, and Li Yusong instinctively swallowed.
"What kind of Martial Soul is that?"
"Mm, a summoning-type Martial Soul!"
Clearly, Shangguan Hong had exceeded Li Yusong's understanding. He remained silent for a long time before finally waving a hand.
"Go on. You passed!"
What was this Soul Emperor thinking? Looking at Shangguan Hong's beyond-standard Soul Ring combination, he recalled his own first three Soul Rings: one white, one yellow, and one purple. The gap between one person and another really was greater than the gap between a person and a dog.
Shangguan Hong ignored the shocked, envious looks from the students behind him. He stood beside Tang San and draped a hand over his shoulder with perfect ease. By now, Tang San had gone from finding it awkward at first to considering it perfectly natural.
Registration continued, but clearly few students qualified to pass the first preliminary round, until the lavishly dressed young lady revealed her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul and passed amid Li Yusong's pained expression.
Four people had now passed. By rights, Dai Mubai should have taken them to the second assessment, but a familiar presence stopped him in his tracks. He stared blankly at the girl in leather with the sizzling figure, his expression suddenly becoming quite a sight.
Shangguan Hong watched with amusement. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing! Now the original story's main cast had all arrived. Still, Zhu Zhuqing's figure was rather exaggerated. Across two lifetimes, Shangguan Hong had only seen figures like hers on some top supermodels.
Dai Mubai seemed somewhat quiet as he led everyone toward the village. With the strength of Shangguan Hong and the others, they could skip the second and third stages entirely. However, during the Soul Power check at the second stage, Shangguan Hong's level 35 Soul Power caused another enormous uproar. It would be no exaggeration to say he towered above the competition.
Oscar, who was selling sausages at the second assessment site, stared wide-eyed. Looking at the students behind Dai Mubai who could proceed straight to the fourth stage, he was utterly excited.
Of course, he was excited because there were three girls...
He instinctively wanted to approach them and pitch his sausages. Unfortunately, Dai Mubai's murderous-looking glare made him abandon the idea. Then his eyes darted, and he pushed his sausage cart along with Dai Mubai and the others toward the fourth assessment site.
It was a broad stretch of grass, about the same size as the Soul Fighting Arena. In the distance, a reclining chair sat beneath a low wooden cabin, with an extraordinarily muscular middle-aged man snoring away on it.
"Teacher Zhao, I've brought this year's new students!"
Dai Mubai jogged forward, his manner extremely respectful. The man on the reclining chair was naturally Zhao Wuji, Shrek Academy's vice principal, who possessed level 76 Soul Power.
"Oh? There are monsters every year, but this year has an especially large crop! Five new students? Interesting!"
"Since you all skipped the second and third stages, I'll play with you myself!"
His interest piqued, Zhao Wuji prepared to take them on personally, and this time, Dai Mubai did not object. His gaze rested on Shangguan Hong, who was furiously munching on a peach. If he really served as the fourth stage's examiner, he would absolutely make a colossal fool of himself in front of everyone.
No, never mind him-even Zhao Wuji would probably fall victim to Shangguan Hong's Martial Soul if caught unprepared.
The time it took an incense stick to burn was neither particularly long nor particularly short. With a grave expression, Dai Mubai gathered the five together and began explaining Zhao Wuji's Martial Soul and Soul Power to them.
Upon hearing that they would face a level 76 Soul Saint, everyone's expressions turned exceedingly grim. Even Shangguan Hong's face showed a rare trace of gravity. This was his first time facing such a powerful Soul Master, and with everyone watching, he had to keep most of his methods hidden. All he could use were his second and third Soul Skills.
Stalling for the time it took an incense stick to burn was a small matter, but Shangguan Hong had no desire to suffer any flesh wounds.
"Let's introduce ourselves first. I'm Tang San, a level 29 Control System Soul Grandmaster. My Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass!"
Tang San was already beginning to show the bearing of a team's brains. Shangguan Hong did not care. The role he had set for himself was the team's least conspicuous member, using that to scheme for the benefits he wanted! Still, if he remembered correctly, Zhao Wuji would shed some blood in this fight too, wouldn't he?
Shangguan Hong licked his scarlet lips, his heart brimming with anticipation.
With Tang San taking the lead, everyone stated their Martial Souls and Soul Power. Ning Rongrong naturally drew the most attention. Her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda prompted a round of startled cries. The continent's number one Support System Martial Soul certainly did not owe its reputation to empty fame.
Once the four had finished their introductions, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing turned their attention to Shangguan Hong. They were very curious about just what strength this Soul Elder their own age possessed.
"Shangguan Hong, level 35 Summoning System Soul Master. I don't have much combat ability myself, but my summons are decent. They can be used for control or power attacks. My Martial Soul is an utterly unremarkable little shovel."
Looking at the Golden Spatula resting on Shangguan Hong's shoulder, as enormous as a battle-axe, everyone fell silent.
Not much combat ability?
You weren't remotely convincing looking like that!