Chapter 57: Tang San Panics! Tang San Collapses! Tang San Can't Get Back Up!
"N–No, no, no! This is absolutely impossible!!"
Tang San's reaction was more intense than anyone else's.
His vision went black for a moment, and he nearly toppled over on the spot.
He stared deathly at the three purple soul rings behind Lin Qingmo, his eyes so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
An illusion!
This had to be some kind of extremely sophisticated illusion-type soul skill!
Yes—exactly!
The teacher had said it himself: the limit of a first soul ring was four hundred years!
That was an iron rule! An absolute truth!
Almost instinctively, he activated Purple Demon Eye. A faint purplish glow flashed through his pupils.
Break it! Shatter the illusion!
And yet—
When Purple Demon Eye looked again, the soul rings were still soul rings. Purple was still purple—solid, thick, brimming with genuine soul power fluctuations. There wasn't the slightest trace of illusion.
Cold reality was like a bucket of icy water mixed with ice shards, dumped straight over his head, chilling him to the bone.
Teacher… teacher's theories… were shattered?
Crushed—by this guy who was also twelve years old, whose martial soul was nothing more than Blue Silver Grass, using the most direct and brutal method possible!
The pride he had always taken in calling himself a genius now looked laughable—fragile beyond belief.
In front of Lin Qingmo, Tang San felt like he truly… was nothing at all.
Lin Qingmo casually withdrew his martial soul and soul rings.
Only then did everyone feel the pressure on their chests ease, finally able to breathe normally again.
"Teacher Li, I haven't found a suitable fourth soul ring yet, so I didn't rush to absorb one."
"Given that, may I join Shrek Academy?"
Li Yusong was jolted awake by those words.
His whole body shuddered, and a wild flush of joy surged onto his face at a visible speed, the wrinkles around his eyes spreading as his smile bloomed.
"You can! Absolutely, you can! Hahahaha!"
He was so excited that he started waving his arms about, nearly rushing over to shake Lin Qingmo's hand a few times.
"You're not some little monster—you're a living ancestor! A freak! A monstrous aberration that hasn't appeared on the Douluo Continent for hundreds—no, thousands of years!"
Li Yusong now looked at Lin Qingmo as if the boy were glowing from head to toe.
Any lingering annoyance from being publicly contradicted earlier had been tossed straight out of Suo Tuo City.
Now he felt that every word Lin Qingmo had spoken earlier was overflowing with the wisdom of a true genius.
They'd struck gold!
No—this was more like digging up an entire mountain of gold!
A twelve-year-old Quasi-Soul Ancestor!
The first three soul rings were all thousand-year!
If this news got out, the entire soul master world would shake—hard!
Raise him properly, and he'd be a guaranteed Title Douluo seedling.
When that day came, Shrek Academy would truly rise along with him.
The more Li Yusong thought about it, the happier he became, his grin stretching nearly to his ears.
He suddenly spun around and shouted at Dai Mubai, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Mubai! What are you standing there like an idiot for?! Hurry, hurry over here!"
"You take them to the back for the final assessment!"
He spoke rapidly, pointing deep into the academy grounds.
"I'm going to find the Dean right now—I must tell him this earth-shattering good news immediately!"
With that, Li Yusong didn't wait for a response at all. He turned and sprinted toward the Dean's office.
His steps were hurried and frantic, nearly tripping over a stone on the ground.
But he didn't care. As he ran, he couldn't stop himself from laughing out loud, muttering over and over.
"Hit the jackpot, hit the jackpot… damn it, I really ran into incredible luck this time."
Dai Mubai snapped back to his senses at Li Yusong's shout.
He cast a complicated look at Lin Qingmo.
Those three rings of purple still lingered vividly in his mind.
His plan to get revenge on Tang San was forcibly shoved into a corner by the overwhelming shock.
The others gradually recovered from their shock as well.
Ning Rongrong patted her chest and muttered softly, "My god… did this guy grow up eating geniuses or something?"
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, but when she looked at Lin Qingmo again, there was something more than her usual coldness—an unmistakable trace of shock and curiosity.
Xiao Wu, meanwhile, proudly sidled up to Lin Qingmo and wrapped her arm around his.
She looked as smug as if she were the one with three purple soul rings, her small chin lifted high.
Only Tang San remained standing there like a lost soul.
He lowered his head, lips moving faintly as he repeated the same words over and over.
"Impossible… Teacher can't be wrong… how could they be a thousand years…"
Yu Xiaogang's theories were the cornerstone of his path as a soul master.
Now, that cornerstone had cracked open with a massive fissure in front of Lin Qingmo's soul rings.
Dai Mubai took several deep breaths before forcibly pressing down the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
He took another long, deep look at Lin Qingmo—
And at the same time, he shoved the murderous intent he felt toward Tang San back into the deepest recesses of his heart.
He couldn't show it.
At least, not now.
Especially not in front of Zhu Zhuqing.
He absolutely could not let Zhu Zhuqing find out what had happened to him. That would be even more unbearable than death.
"Hmph."
Dai Mubai let out a cold snort through his nose, forcibly sealing away his roiling emotions.
His face was expressionless as he spoke stiffly to Lin Qingmo and the others.
"Follow me. The final test is behind the academy."
The group exchanged glances and followed after him.
Ning Rongrong sidled up next to Xiao Wu and whispered, "Hey… is Lin Qingmo always this terrifying?"
Xiao Wu tightened her grip around Lin Qingmo's arm and scrunched her nose at her.
"What do you know? This is called strength!"
Zhu Zhuqing walked silently behind them.
Her gaze occasionally swept over Dai Mubai's taut back before quickly shifting away, her thoughts unreadable.
Tang San trailed at the very back, completely absent-minded.
They passed through several rows of old, weathered wooden houses and arrived at a relatively spacious clearing.
Opposite the clearing stood a building noticeably larger than the others.
In front of it, a figure like an iron tower stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
The man's build was absurdly massive, with bulging muscles stretching his clothes tight. His shiny bald head reflected a bit of sunlight.
It was one of Shrek Academy's teachers—Zhao Wuji.
Hearing footsteps, Zhao Wuji slowly turned around.
He split his mouth into a wide grin, revealing a full set of white teeth.
His gaze swept across the new students, lingering especially long on Dai Mubai and Tang San.
"Oh? Mubai, you're back?"
Zhao Wuji's voice boomed like thunder, making ears ring.
"These are this year's new students? They look a bit better than the crooked melons and cracked dates from previous years."
He didn't waste words. With a casual wave of his large hand, he pointed to a stick of incense planted in the center of the clearing.
"The final test is simple. All of you—including Mubai—attack together. If you can last one stick of incense under my hands, you pass."
Zhao Wuji folded his arms and added,
"Relax. I won't use any soul skills above the fifth ring, and I won't actually cripple or kill you little brats."
"Mubai, don't just stand around. Go in and join their team."
Dai Mubai nodded and stepped over to stand beside Lin Qingmo and the others, his expression still not very good.
Originally, this fourth test should have been hosted by him, the senior student.
But in his current state, how could he possibly be in the mood?
Since Teacher Zhao had spoken, he would just comply.
"Listen carefully."
Dai Mubai spoke in a deep voice, introducing him to the group.
"This is Teacher Zhao Wuji, rank seventy-six Soul Saint. Martial soul: Vigorous Vajra Bear."
"Zhao Wuji?"
Ning Rongrong cried out softly and covered her mouth.
"The one who… over a decade ago was besieged by sixteen Spirit Hall bishops and still fought his way out alive? The 'Immovable King' Zhao Wuji?"
"That's right. That's him," Dai Mubai confirmed.
Ning Rongrong's face turned a little pale, her gaze toward Zhao Wuji now filled with awe.
"A Soul Saint… and the Immovable King… even all of us together probably couldn't touch the corner of his clothes, right?"
"Not necessarily."
A calm voice took over the conversation.
Everyone turned toward the speaker—Lin Qingmo.
Meeting their gazes, Lin Qingmo showed no sign of nervousness. Instead, he smiled faintly.
"Let's give it a try. Follow my arrangements, and we might not be without a chance."
End of Chapter