"Tang Chuan, seventy-first-rank Control System Soul Master. Please give me your guidance."
Facing the elder, Yun Chuan gave the proper Soul Master duel salute — a marked contrast to how casually he'd treated Dai Mubai earlier — showing at least the most basic respect. Of course, his true spirit power level was well hidden. Concealing one's strength was a survival skill for any journey outside.
"Mubai, you—" The elder glanced at Dai Mubai, his expression complicated, caught in an awkward bind.
Just when Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the group of parents waiting for drama thought they were in for a good show, the old man quietly retracted his already-released martial spirit — a long staff — and said to Yun Chuan, "I won't lower myself to argue with you."
In single combat, a top-tier Control System Soul Master was the hardest to deal with. The elder was already one level below in spirit power, and he'd be fighting a total freak. That would just be asking for a beating. He wasn't a masochist — why would he stick his neck out?
Where on earth did the academy dean find such a monster?
After all, what did it mean to be a twenty-five-year-old Soul Sage? Currently, the youngest Soul Sage on record in the Soul Master world was thirty, a feat achieved by the Clear Sky Douluo — Yun Chuan's own so-called father, Tang Hao. Yet this "Tang Chuan" had already reached Soul Sage at just twenty-five, smashing Tang Hao's record.
It meant this man would almost certainly become a Title Douluo in the future — and at an age younger than even Tang Hao had achieved it. Perhaps even the youngest ever.
Yeah… nope. Not fighting this guy.
Against such a terrifying genius — a true monster — the elder knew that the worst outcome of giving up now would be losing a little face. But fighting would mean complete humiliation, or worse, a beating. Better to be "cowardly" than to throw away his dignity entirely.
He sat back down and continued reviewing applicants, pretending Yun Chuan wasn't even there.
Yun Chuan, seeing the elder play deaf, could only put away his martial spirit with a helpless shake of the head. He'd never had a real grudge against the man, just a disagreement. If the elder had already backed down, pressing the fight would only turn a passing quarrel into a genuine enmity — and why make enemies for no reason?
He grabbed a chair, sat down off to the side, and watched with interest.
The applicant line had once been over a hundred people long. After the elder's martial spirit display and loud announcements earlier, many had already left. Only about a dozen remained.
The ones still here were evidently confident in passing the test. Several young applicants had over level-twenty spirit power with two spirit rings. After paying the ten gold coin application fee, they passed the first round and were handed over to Dai Mubai for the second test within the academy. Dai was not only here to intimidate but also to escort successful candidates inside.
After another candidate passed, Yun Chuan spotted a familiar figure — a girl in a blue-green dress, her silky coffee-brown hair braided into two neat twists that pinned back her middle-parted bangs. Beneath those bangs, a delicate oval face, fair with a faint rosy hue, radiated youthful energy.
Her sapphire-colored eyes glimmered like clear water under long lashes, her whole aura fresh and refined.
It was none other than Ning Rongrong.
She stepped forward, and her sapphire-like eyes met Yun Chuan's deep, beautiful black gaze. He smiled at her and gave a playful wink in greeting.
Rongrong's cheeks turned pink; she quickly looked away, flustered. Summoning her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, the dazzling crystal tower materialized in her hands — instantly startling the elder, who frowned in surprise.
"Does your family know you came here?" he asked suspiciously.
Rongrong steadied herself and smiled faintly. "Isn't it said that education knows no class boundaries? As long as I meet the academy requirements, you have no reason not to accept me."
After a brief hesitation, the elder gestured to Dai Mubai. "Take her inside."
Once, Dai Mubai would surely have ogled such a beauty. But oddly enough, in the past two days, he felt strangely calm. Even facing a girl like Ning Rongrong, he kept an impassive face as he led her toward the academy.
The following candidates quickly passed. Then it was finally Tang San and Xiao Wu's turn.
By now, Dai Mubai had returned to the elder's side — then froze, eyes locked on someone behind Tang San as if seeing a ghost.
Tang San turned to look. He didn't lose his composure like Dai Mubai, but still felt a jolt.
Behind him and Xiao Wu was a girl who looked slightly younger than them. Her long black hair flowed over her shoulders, her head tilted slightly downward. Her figure rivaled an adult woman's — curvy and full, especially her chest, completely at odds with her apparent age. She was the definition of a "baby face, outrageous body."
But this was paired with a face of icy detachment — an inner, bone-deep cold. Her black eyes were utterly lifeless, their chill at odds with the beauty of her features. Her limbs were long and balanced, her hands resting naturally at her sides, her very presence radiating a funereal stillness.
That's got to be Little Kitty — Zhu Zhuqing, Yun Chuan thought, amused. The distinctive aura, plus Dai Mubai's reaction, made it obvious.
"You registering or not? Don't block the way," the elder said impatiently, snapping Tang San from his thoughts.
He winced — Xiao Wu had pinched his hand hard — and quickly dropped twenty gold spirit coins into the box.
The elder tested their age by squeezing each candidate's hand. Xiao Wu passed easily, but when he tested Tang San's, a note of surprise crept onto his face. The boy's hand was unusually pliant; bone age was hard to judge.
"You practicing some sort of soul skill?" the elder asked.
"Yes," Tang San nodded calmly.
The elder had him raise his calf, gave it a squeeze, and finally nodded. "Muscle development is fine. Age checks out. Release your martial spirits."
The two lit up — blue and red light flaring as their hundred-year spirit rings appeared. Xiao Wu sprouted rabbit ears and soft white fur on her hands, her body stretching taller. Tang San's palm grew the familiar Blue Silver Grass, transforming into strong vines like those Yun Chuan had used when fighting Dai Mubai.
The elder only glanced at Xiao Wu before focusing on Tang San. "You also have Blue Silver Grass? This trash spirit can cultivate so fast?"
Tang San smiled faintly and glanced toward Yun Chuan sitting in the back. The meaning was obvious.
The elder blinked, then remembered — that freak surnamed Tang sitting behind him also had Blue Silver Grass. When did waste spirits start producing monsters? And they're even the same surname… related, maybe?
Still, he nodded. "Alright, you pass. Mubai, take them inside."
"Yes."
Dai Mubai escorted them away, but his eyes kept drifting toward Zhu Zhuqing, who ignored him completely.
When all tests were done, Zhu Zhuqing was the only remaining applicant to pass. She followed Dai Mubai into Shrek Academy.
Yun Chuan, having watched long enough to grow sleepy, finally stood, stretched lazily, and wandered toward the academy.
The next examiner for Round Four… was him.
This was what he'd been waiting for — ever since joining Shrek Academy.
Today, he would beat the crap out of Tang San. Then, he'd go find his so-called father for a proper fight.
After that? He'd be gone, back on the road of cultivation.
Unlike Tang San and company, he had no time to play house in this tiny backwater. He was a transmigrator with a cheat — his journey was across countless worlds.
Douluo Continent was only his starting point… never his end.
(End of Chapter)