It had been almost a month since Lu Tianyu arrived in Soto City, and this was his first time stepping onto its streets.
Looking at the tall, magnificent buildings, the dazzling array of shops, and the pedestrians dressed in silk and satin, he felt a bit like a country bumpkin visiting a grand garden.
This feeling was especially strong after seeing the many shops specifically catering to Soul Masters; in Notting City, only the Spirit Hall could sell what Soul Masters needed.
Lu Tianyu strolled along, stopping frequently, until he arrived at a shop specializing in selling and customizing Soul Master robes. Looking at his reflection in the shop's glass wall, he noticed that the robe was clearly a size too small.
Last year, when Lu Tianyu bought this robe at the Spirit Hall, he was only about 1.35 meters tall, but this year he had grown to 1.5 meters.
In the five years since becoming a Soul Master, Lu Tianyu had never bought himself any decent clothes, let alone purchased Soul Tools with various functions.
He thought to himself that he was about to enroll at Shrek Academy, and no matter how poor he was, he had to buy himself a decent set of clothes.
Thinking of this, Lu Tianyu habitually put on a warm smile, narrowing his already small eyes into slits.
After entering the clothing store, Lu Tianyu was immediately greeted with a warm welcome by the owner.
Then, somewhat bewildered, he agreed to have the owner design and manufacture three sets of robes for him. Indeed, many Soul Masters' attire often reflects their Martial Soul's characteristics.
As a Soul Master, who doesn't love their Martial Soul? It's the foundation for survival on the continent, so when designing clothes and accessories, they like to incorporate their Martial Soul's features.
However, Lu Tianyu's Martial Soul is somewhat special; it's a rare type of Beast Martial Soul—a Body Martial Soul.
Furthermore, Lu Tianyu doesn't have any particular preferences in clothing. If he were to say he liked anything, it would be the Divine Robe from Naruto, the Captain's Haori from Bleach, and the Justice Cloak from One Piece.
Perhaps because people wearing these stylish clothes are all very powerful, he made this request when the owner asked Lu Tianyu about his personal fashion preferences.
Then the shop owner asked Lu Tianyu many questions about his combat habits, as he couldn't let his clothes hinder his soul master's fighting ability.
Lu Tianyu entered the clothing store at noon and left at nine o'clock in the evening.
The shop owner told Lu Tianyu to come back in three days to pick up the custom-made robes. Lu Tianyu found a nearby hotel and checked in, habitually completing his pre-sleep soul power cultivation.
He fell into a deep sleep soon after lying down, and in his sleep, a sound like a cat purring emanated from his spine.
Based on his understanding of martial souls and soul beasts over the years, Lu Tianyu deduced that this was an effect of his external soul bone.
When attached to the spine, it produced the effect of a feline purring, healing internal injuries, strengthening internal organs and bones, and allowing his mind to completely relax.
However, Lu Tianyu preferred to call the external soul bone's ability "Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound," ever since he obtained the Tiger Soul Eyebrow Staff external soul bone.
He slept soundly every night, and his mental and physical state would be at its peak the next morning.
Even if he exhausted all his energy and stamina on the first day, he would wake up refreshed and full of vitality after a good night's sleep.
Therefore, Lu Tianyu worked even harder when cultivating his physique and physical strength, never stopping until he had completely drained his energy and stamina.
The result of Lu Tianyu's relentless cultivation was that he cultivated level 30 soul power at the age of twelve, and after possessing a martial soul, he had 2,300 Dao power points.
For Lu Tianyu, the higher the Dao power points, the stronger the power of his physical techniques.
Around six o'clock the next morning, Lu Tianyu's energy and stamina had recovered to their peak.
After waking up, he habitually meditated to cultivate his soul power, then dressed and went out to find food.
Originally, Lu Tianyu planned to do long-distance running training, but he gave up for fear of getting lost, and only sightseeed and played in the three nearby streets.
When he passed a blacksmith shop, the idea of using weights to train his physique and physical strength came to mind.
So Lu Tianyu went to the blacksmith's shop and had a set of weights weighing 150 jin (approximately 75 kg) forged, including a 50-jin (approximately 25 kg) iron chain inner armor, a pair of 50-jin (approximately 25 kg) wrist guards, and a pair of 50-jin (approximately 25 kg) leggings.
With a storage soul tool, he could store the weights away, so he didn't have to worry about where to put them when he took them off in battle.
After returning to the hotel, Lu Tianyu wore the custom-made weights and began physical training. The sudden addition of 150 jin (approximately 75 kg) to his body exhausted his strength and energy in just one afternoon.
For the next two days, Lu Tianyu trained with the 150-jin weights, and this feeling of weakness and sweating profusely actually fascinated him.
The last day of registration for new students at Shrek Academy arrived, and Lu Tianyu stopped wearing the weights.
He changed into a robe he had custom-made for 150 gold soul coins and left the hotel. The robe was a set in the style of a power-attack type battle soul master.
Aside from the white, high-collared, short-sleeved divine robe, the robe, undergarments, trousers, and boots were all predominantly black.
The fabric of the undergarments and trousers was highly elastic and breathable, appearing almost like it clung to the body.
However, there was no tightness whatsoever; instead, it felt soft and light, almost as if the wearer wasn't wearing any clothes at all, completely weightless.
The robe's style and workmanship were exquisite, tailored to follow Lu Tianyu's body lines.
It had a slightly retro look but didn't hinder Lu Tianyu's movements. He wore a pair of animal-hide boots that tightly gripped his calves.
Since Lu Tianyu's physical techniques required the most footwork, he had these boots custom-made for him at a cost of thirty gold soul coins.
The white divine robe, which trailed to his calves, was made by the shopkeeper based on Lu Tianyu's description. It was mainly based on the divine robe trench coat, incorporating the beautiful hem patterns of the captain's haori and the light, righteous cloak's square shoulders and high-collar design.
The divine robe, with its short sleeves, looked particularly elegant on him and wouldn't hinder Lu Tianyu's movements during battle.
He combed his long hair, which reached his lower back, into a high ponytail, with bangs framing his face from left to right.
Now, Lu Tianyu exuded confidence and vitality from head to toe, following the map's directions as he exited the south gate of Soto City.
After passing through a sparse forest, he arrived at what appeared to be a dilapidated village, but at the village entrance, the words "Shrek Academy" were written in a crooked hand.
Sitting at the academy gate was an elderly man, probably around fifty years old, with gray hair and a drowsy expression. Today was the last day for new student registration.
Lu Tianyu hadn't encountered anyone registering for Shrek Academy along the way, not even at the academy gate itself.
In his previous life, Lu Tianyu knew the admission criteria for Shrek Academy from watching anime: cultivating level 25 soul power before the age of twelve.
Thinking of this, Lu Tianyu suddenly felt a little guilty, because he didn't know his exact age.
🍀 4RABET 🍀
After transmigrating, all he knew was that he hadn't awakened his martial soul. According to the customs of Douluo Continent, not awakening one
's martial soul meant being under six years old. However, Lu Tianyu only awakened his martial soul after half a year, so even if he was over twelve, he couldn't possibly be thirteen.
Li Yusong was in charge of the first assessment at Shrek Academy.
He hadn't originally planned to wait for students to register at the academy gate today. But the academy's dean insisted he wait, confidently stating that a student would definitely pass his assessment today.
Li Yusong waited from morning until noon, and just as he was packing up to return to the academy, he saw Lu Tianyu.
Lu Tianyu stopped just before reaching him, his expression one of bewilderment, much like the reaction of other students seeing Shrek Academy for the first time. After hesitating for
a while, Lu Tianyu stepped forward, a warm smile on his face, his eyes narrowed into slits, and said, "Hello, teacher, I'm registering."
Although Li Yusong pretended to be dozing, he had been secretly observing this seemingly wealthy little brat ever since he saw Lu Tianyu.
"Hmm, the registration fee is ten gold soul coins."
Lu Tianyu took out ten gold soul coins from his soul tool and placed them in the box in front of Li Yusong. At this moment, Li Yusong said again, "Put your right hand in front of me."
Actually, Lu Tianyu's biggest worry was that he was over thirteen years old, but at this point, being afraid was useless.
He extended his right hand in front of Li Yusong, and Li Yusong began to test Lu Tianyu's bone age.
"Bone age is suitable. Release your martial soul so I can see it."
Lu Tianyu breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Li Yusong's words. As long as his age was not a problem, Lu Tianyu was very confident that he could enter Shrek Academy.
As he withdrew his right hand, he activated his soul power, and then two soul rings, one yellow and one purple, appeared above Lu Tianyu's head. Along with the soul rings, a humanoid phantom about two meters tall also appeared.
"How is this possible? The second soul ring is a thousand years old..."
Li Yusong stood up in surprise when he saw Lu Tianyu's soul rings, so excited that he pulled out a tuft of his beard.
"Little guy, how did you manage to absorb a thousand-year-old spirit ring?"
Lu Tianyu was very satisfied with Li Yusong's reaction and smiled at him. "Because my spirit is a relatively rare body spirit, which makes all my physical attributes twice that of an ordinary spirit master."
"Therefore, the age of the spirit rings I can absorb is also twice that of an ordinary spirit master. Don't worry. The second spirit ring is just a saber-toothed tiger whose cultivation has just broken through a thousand years."
After hearing Lu Tianyu's words, Li Yusong thought to himself: I have a few words to say, but I don't know if I should say them. The second spirit ring is a thousand years old, what more do you want? Do you want to absorb a nine-thousand-year-old one?
"Um... Teacher, do I pass your test?"
Lu Tianyu couldn't help but remind Li Yusong when he didn't speak. After being reminded by Lu Tianyu, Li Yusong came back to his senses and said, "You've passed the first test. I'll take you to the next test."
"Teacher Li, I'll take him to the next test. Please wait and see if any students come to sign up."
At this moment, a smart young man wearing a white suit, with shoulder-length blond hair and a pair of wicked eyes walked out of the academy.
Li Yusong glared at the blond, devilish-eyed young man, annoyed, and said, "It's too late for anyone else to come. Having this guy through today is enough."
"Let's go, kid. My name is Li Yusong. I'm a teacher at Shrek Academy, mainly responsible for finances and guiding practical training."
"Hello, my name is Dai Mubai. My spirit is White Tiger, and I'm a level 35 Power Attack type Battle Soul Master."
Lu Tianyu knew Dai Mubai's name as soon as he spoke. After hearing Dai Mubai's self-introduction, Lu Tianyu smiled and nodded, "Hello, Teacher Li, Senior Dai."
"My name is Lu Tianyu, my original spirit is a level 30, two-ring Power Attack type Battle Soul Master."
Since Li Yusong and the others had introduced themselves, Lu Tianyu naturally had to do the same.
After a Soul Master reaches level 30 Soul Power, their title changes from Great Soul Master to Soul Master. However, Lu Tianyu only had two Soul Rings and wasn't yet a complete Soul Master, so he had to specifically mention the number of his Soul Rings during his self-introduction.
"Level 30!"
Li Yusong and Dai Mubai shouted in unison after hearing Lu Tianyu's self-introduction, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Lu Tianyu looked at them timidly and said, "Um, is there a problem?"
Li Yusong hurriedly shook his head and said, "No, no problem, absolutely no problem."
How could there be no problem? At the age of twelve, he had cultivated level 30 soul power, which already met the graduation standard of an advanced soul master academy.
Dai Mubai was certain that Lu Tianyu would be recruited by Shrek Academy. With such talent, he would not be rejected by any sect or academy.
Since Lu Tianyu's soul power had already reached level 30, the second soul power test and the third martial soul control test would naturally be skipped.
Li Yusong and Dai Mubai led Lu Tianyu to Zhao Wuji, who was leisurely eating watermelon. Upon seeing Zhao Wuji reclining in a rocking chair, Dai Mubai said, "Teacher Zhao, we have a student who has reached the fourth level today."
Zhao Wuji glanced at Lu Tianyu and muttered, "Kid, reaching the fourth level means you have some talent, but passing my test won't be easy."
"Later, you must do your best to withstand Dai Mubai's attacks for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If you can't, you'll go back to where you came from. Understand?"
"Understood, Teacher. I know my innate talent is insufficient, so I can only become stronger through hard work."
Zhao Wuji chuckled after hearing Lu Tianyu's words, "Good attitude, but innate deficiency is still a weakness. Did your soul power exceed level five when you awakened your martial soul?"
"Exceeded, level nine..."
"Cough cough cough."
Zhao Wuji became excited upon hearing Lu Tianyu's answer, then inhaled a mouthful of watermelon flesh into his trachea.
The creature, which had been lounging lazily in the rocking chair, suddenly rolled over and crawled onto the floor, coughing violently until it coughed up tears and snot before finally expelling the watermelon pulp from its trachea.
(End of Chapter)