"They're not doing identity checks, are they?" Ye Xinglan frowned.
As soon as she said this, everyone's heart skipped a beat. Each of them had their own identification card—a metal plate containing all their personal data. They all did. But before departing from the academy, all of them had been confiscated.
Xu Lizhi turned to Gu You. "What do we do?"
If they checked ID cards and they didn't have them, they would definitely be questioned. What would happen afterward, Gu You didn't know. None of them had ever faced such a situation before, and in all the cities they'd passed through until now, they had never encountered this problem.
"Abandon the car—fierce assault!"
Gu You had barely spoken before he immediately ditched the car and leapt out.
The others froze for a moment, then quickly followed.
The seven of them swiftly vaulted over the guardrail, sprinting frantically toward the distance. Using the cover of surrounding buildings, they rushed into a cluster of structures beside the highway.
Only then did the alarm sirens begin wailing from the highway side.
After sprinting several kilometers, they boarded a bus heading into Mingdu's city center. Only then did the six finally calm down.
Gu You bought tickets and handed them out to his teammates. Then he noticed a familiar figure.
Wu Zhangkong was sitting in one of the back seats, gazing out the window, his eyes cold and distant as if pondering something deeply.
Huh?Was this the speed of a Soul Saint? He was a Soul Saint himself, yet he didn't have such speed—it was almost like instantaneous teleportation.
Mingdu's architecture was completely different from Shrek City's. Shrek City leaned more toward cultural heritage, blending classical and modern. Mingdu, on the other hand, was a pure steel-and-glass jungle of high technology. Towering buildings stood side by side, each with unique designs. Many looked bizarre, even eccentric, attracting the eye.
Mingdu was vast and bustling. After more than an hour on the bus, it still felt like they were only entering deeper into this steel jungle, with no sense of where in the city they were.
Wu Zhangkong stood up and got off. The seven immediately followed.
The passersby around them all looked hurried, as though every second mattered.
Wu Zhangkong kept walking in a certain direction. At another bus station, he switched buses, and the group quickly followed. Like this, after switching three buses in total, they were still surrounded by skyscrapers.
Though Shrek City might surpass Mingdu in sheer scale, in terms of density and population, Mingdu far outstripped it.
"I don't like this place. It's too rushed, too stifling," Xu Xiaoyan pouted.
Xie Xie chimed in, "Me neither. Everyone looks so busy."
As they were speaking, a massive building ahead caught their attention.
On top of the building, enormous characters gleamed: Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy.
The building was entirely metallic, and the surrounding structures extended outward, linked to three other towers, forming a complex.
"This is an academy?"
"Is this what Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy looks like?"Such a regional style!
Wu Zhangkong now stopped in front of the towering building. A flash of light in his hand produced an object—it looked like a megaphone attached to a metallic box.
Before they could react, Wu Zhangkong pressed a button, raised it, and shouted directly toward the academy tower:
"Students of Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, hear me! We six come from Shrek Academy, with an average age of fourteen. We challenge your strongest under the age of twenty! We are here only to show you the gap between you and the continent's number one academy!"
His icy-cold voice boomed like rolling thunder, echoing across several streets.
W-what in the world was this? When did their usually frosty, aloof Teacher Wu become like this?
The megaphone had a recording function, so Wu Zhangkong only spoke once.
Within mere minutes, they had drawn a crowd—students and staff pouring out of Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, as well as curious bystanders.
From inside the academy emerged a middle-aged man with golden hair. He spotted the megaphone, and his expression turned dark as thunderclouds.
"Shrek Academy?" The man strode up to Wu Zhangkong and his group, his face grim.
"A challenge, is it? Very well. Follow me." His words were short, but as he spoke, a powerful aura erupted from him.
"Disperse! If you want to see the outcome, wait. The results will be broadcast live on the big screens." With that, the aura vanished instantly, and he turned on his heel, leading the way inside.
The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy had a reputation second only to Shrek's.
To issue such a humiliating challenge right at their gates—it was outright contempt.
Stepping into the academy felt more like entering a modern industrial complex than a school.
Everything radiated a metallic sheen. Suspended in the center of the main hall was a massive rotating metal sphere, brimming with surging soul-tool energy. Within it was a core array, faint light spreading across the hall to create a bright yet gentle glow.
The front desk looked more like a corporate headquarters than a school. The pristine white metal counter shimmered faintly with cloud-like patterns—it was clearly forged from high-grade metal. Extravagant!
The golden-haired man said nothing, simply walking ahead. As the group passed the front desk, two beautiful attendants stood respectfully and bowed to him.
There were quite a few people inside the hall—students of all ages wearing the same white uniforms, clearly Sun Moon Academy's official attire.
Most gazes directed at the group carried curiosity, but behind that, rejection and hostility.
Shrek Academy, always welcomed everywhere else, was treated as the enemy here. Had these students been indoctrinated?
They entered a spacious white elevator—the academy seemed to revere white as its color. The elevator rose smoothly and swiftly, without much of a jolt.
It stopped on the sixteenth floor. The golden-haired man stepped out first, leading them into a chamber that looked like a conference room.
"Sit." He didn't even bother adding "please."
"Here to issue a challenge, are you?" The man asked again, as though confirming.
Everyone nodded.
"Very well. Sun Moon Academy will not take advantage of your age. State your ages."
Gu You looked at him. "Are you sure?"
"Certain." The man's gaze was firm.
"They average fourteen." Gu You pointed at Gu Yue and the others.
"I see. And you?" The man nodded, then turned his eyes on Gu You. He didn't look much older.
"I'm… a bit special."
(End of Chapter)