The freshman building was buzzing with activity. After smoothly completing the registration process, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan each received a dormitory key, two sets of white freshman uniforms, and a white Shrek Academy badge. Then, the two walked out of the teaching building.
Outside the teaching building, Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan exchanged a smile. From this moment on, they were officially students of the number one academy on the continent. A sense of pride naturally welled up in their hearts.
"Let's go get our dorms sorted. We can check our classes during dinner later," Zhu Ziyang said.
"Alright!" Jiang Nannan responded with a bright smile.
They walked between the white freshman building and the black-colored second and third-year buildings, arriving at the dormitory building. There was only one dorm building, but it covered a large area and had a unique design. The building was six stories tall and had four entrances. From left to right, the doors were colored white, yellow, purple, and black, clearly corresponding to the different grade levels of the students, just like the teaching buildings.
At the white door for freshmen, an elderly man in grey clothing was half-reclining on a bamboo chair, leisurely basking in the sun. The old man looked extremely aged, with wrinkles so deep they could probably pinch a fly to death. His eyes were half-closed, giving him an appearance of complete indifference to the world.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan instinctively bowed to greet him, out of respect for the elderly, but that was all. They didn't wait for a response and walked straight into the dormitory building.
At the stairwell, Jiang Nannan called out, "Ziyang-ge, wait for me!"
"Mm," Zhu Ziyang nodded and headed to his room.
"Seems like there's a promising one this year… an eleven-year-old Soul Elder…" the old man murmured softly to himself once they had gone, his eyelids twitching slightly, lips moving almost imperceptibly.
Zhu Ziyang quickly found his assigned dorm. Opening the door and stepping inside, he looked around at the simple room that held only two beds and a table, and he couldn't help but laugh.
If judged solely by dormitory conditions, Anyang Academy might actually look more like the number one academy. Compared to it, Shrek Academy's dorms — in terms of both environment and facilities — were definitely a tier lower.
There was some dust in the room. The two beds were completely bare, indicating that his roommate hadn't arrived yet. Zhu Ziyang immediately got to work cleaning the entire room thoroughly, then began making his bed.
While cleaning, he found himself wondering what kind of person his roommate would be. Hopefully someone easy to get along with — after all, he wasn't someone who enjoyed bullying others.
But he didn't dwell on it. For him, the identity of his roommate didn't matter much. He had no intention of staying in Shrek's outer court for six years — his goal was to enter the inner court within three.
Soon, Zhu Ziyang finished tidying up, then sat on the bed and began reading while waiting for his roommate.
After half an hour, no one had shown up, but he wasn't anxious. After all, enrollment would continue for another three days.
Feeling a little hungry, he glanced at the time — nearly six o'clock. He got up and left the dorm, heading for the building entrance to wait for Jiang Nannan. This was about the time they usually had dinner, and she was bound to be hungry too, so he wouldn't have to wait long.
Standing near the entrance, Zhu Ziyang didn't spend the time reading. Instead, he openly observed the elderly man lounging outside.
This seemingly near-death old man wasn't as ordinary as he appeared. Zhu Ziyang, as the possessor of an Ultimate Light martial soul, could feel the strong, pure, and vast aura of light emanating from him.
Only someone with profound comprehension and control of the light element could give off such a light-filled aura.
This old man was definitely someone extraordinary — perhaps even one of the elders of Sea God Pavilion! Zhu Ziyang speculated silently.
Speaking of the Sea God Pavilion, it was necessary to understand Shrek Academy's internal structure.
Shrek Academy's outer court was the public face of the institution — what the general public referred to as "Shrek Academy." After the Sun-Moon War four thousand years ago, and at the request of the original three Douluo empires, it was built with the goal of nurturing more talent.
Currently, the outer court had two departments — the Martial Soul Department for traditional soul masters, and the Soul Tool Department, created in response to the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool advancements.
But Shrek's inner court was the true Shrek Academy — the core foundation of its millennia of supremacy, and the true successor of its founding principle: the academy that accepts only monsters!
So what kind of soul master qualified as a "monster"? That was determined by the inner court's strict admission criteria.
To enter the inner court, one had to be under eighteen — by the time they graduated from the outer court — and already have reached the four-ring Soul Ancestor level. That was just the minimum. A soul master at the four-ring level before eighteen was almost guaranteed to become a Soul Douluo, or even a Title Douluo.
This was why inner court disciples were always geniuses among geniuses — truly worthy of being called monsters.
Then there was the Shrek Enforcement Team, formed to hunt down evil soul masters. It consisted of inner court students and teachers who regularly ventured out to eliminate threats, never ceasing in their mission since its founding.
And the Sea God Pavilion — the most mysterious and powerful body on the continent — was the true heart of Shrek Academy. Made up entirely of Title Douluo-level experts, its members were known as elders.
To the three empires, the Sea God Pavilion was a stabilizing anchor. Even combined, their Title Douluo numbers didn't match those of the Pavilion. To the Sun Moon Empire, it was a sword hanging over their heads — the reason they dared not reignite conflict.
This old man, seemingly ordinary, was very likely a Sea God Pavilion elder.
Perhaps sensing Zhu Ziyang's gaze, the old man opened his cloudy yet profound eyes and looked at him. His voice was low and weak.
"Child, is there something wrong with me?"
"No, no!" Zhu Ziyang was startled and quickly replied, "I'm sorry, grandpa. I didn't mean to disturb you. You just seemed… very kind."
"Heh, I see," the old man chuckled but said no more.
Zhu Ziyang also fell silent.
A few minutes later, Jiang Nannan finally came downstairs.
"Ziyang-ge!" she called with a sheepish smile, sticking out her tongue cutely. "Sorry for making you wait."
"It's fine. I just got here too," Zhu Ziyang smiled, taking her hand.
The two walked off together.
"Sharp little fellow… worth nurturing," the old man murmured to himself, watching them leave.
Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan arrived at the cafeteria designated for freshmen.
Shrek Academy's cafeterias were strictly hierarchical. Based on uniform color, there were four cafeterias. Senior students couldn't eat in the junior cafeterias, but junior students could eat in the senior cafeterias — though doing so meant they had to accept challenges from those seniors at any time.
The freshman cafeteria had its own quirks — eight food windows with prices ranging from low to high, no tables or chairs in the hall, and students weren't allowed to take food outside. They had to eat in-house. Truly unique.
(End of Chapter)
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