Several days later, at Shrek Academy's registration office:
"My child just turned twelve this year and has already reached level 20 spirit power! How can he not get into your academy?"
A man roared angrily at Li Yusong, his rage absolutely genuine.
"Shrek Academy only accepts monsters. This child is too old and doesn't meet our admission requirements."
Li Yusong, wearing coarse hemp clothes and sporting wrinkled skin, stood up and looked at the angry man in front of him and the people waiting in line behind him. He continued speaking with arrogance:
"A Shrek among spirit beasts is an extremely fierce monster, and our Shrek Academy takes this name because the students we accept must also be monsters. If your children are over twelve years old and don't have level 20 spirit power, you can all leave now."
"Then you have to refund my registration fee!"
The man showed no fear in front of Li Yusong. So what if this person was a spirit master? The ten gold spirit coins registration fee was an astronomical sum for him—he absolutely had to get it back.
"Impossible. Registration fees are non-refundable."
Hearing this, the man became even more furious and nearly pointed at Li Yusong's nose to curse him out:
"Fine, your academy's falling apart anyway! All the other academies refund registration fees—only your academy is the exception, huh? I'm definitely going to report you to the Balak Kingdom's Department of Education!"
Li Yusong looked at the parent in front of him and immediately summoned his martial spirit. Six spirit rings—white, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black—appeared one after another, shocking everyone present.
"This... this is a Spirit Emperor!"
The man was so scared he kept backing away. There was nothing he could do about it, so he could only leave angrily with his child.
"Next!"
Tang San and Xiao Wu in the queue were delighted to see the strength Li Yusong displayed.
"Xiao Wu, are you still complaining about how run-down this academy looks? The Shrek Academy our teacher sent us to has a Spirit Emperor as just a recruitment instructor—the dean's cultivation must be even higher!"
"Little San, could there actually be a Spirit Douluo at Shrek Academy?"
What Xiao Wu was most worried about was whether the dean might be a Spirit Douluo. If he really was a Spirit Douluo, her identity as a 100,000-year transformed spirit beast might not stay hidden, which would mean she'd have to leave her San-ge.
After spending so much time together, Tang San gave her the same feeling as her mother did when she was little—caring for her so much. She really wanted to stay by Tang San's side all the time and never be separated.
"Xiao Wu, what's wrong? We're almost up!"
Tang San was eagerly anticipating joining the academy—this way, he could fulfill his teacher's instructions and become stronger, faster. As for the registration fee issue from before, he dismissed it completely. Anyone coming to register at Shrek Academy should have done their homework first. If they didn't ask clearly beforehand, who could they blame when the academy kept their registration fee like it did just now?
Since quite a few people had left, Tang San soon reached the registration desk.
"Teacher, I'm Tang San. My martial spirit is Blue Silver Grass, and my spirit power is level 29."
Li Yusong was stunned when he heard this, staring at Tang San in disbelief:
"Since when can Blue Silver Grass cultivate this fast?"
Li Yusong walked up to Tang San to examine his bone structure and was amazed to discover he wasn't even twelve yet.
"Not bad! Dai Mubai, take him to the next test!"
As soon as Li Yusong finished speaking, a man with golden hair, dual blue-red eyes, wearing elegant light blue clothing, jumped down from a tree branch and walked up to Tang San:
"Didn't expect we'd meet again."
"It's you—you playboy!"
Xiao Wu, behind Tang San, looked at Dai Mubai in disbelief. She never imagined that the Spirit Elder who'd fought them yesterday was actually from Shrek Academy.
"Well, you know what they say—no fight, no friendship! Come with me!"
Xiao Wu quickly took her test too, equally shocking Li Yusong. After Dai Mubai had escorted them to the second test, which was the spirit power assessment, he returned to the registration office. At this moment, the sensing from deep within his martial spirit became even stronger. Dai Mubai gazed into the distance and saw a woman with a curvaceous figure wearing black, tight-fitting clothes, her tail swaying, standing in the queue.
"Mubai, Mubai?"
Li Yusong called out several times before Dai Mubai snapped back to attention.
"What is it, Teacher Li?"
"Mubai, this young lady is an honored guest of our academy. You escort her in for the second test."
Li Yusong looked at the somewhat flustered Dai Mubai and immediately understood—this kid was definitely trying to hit on some girl again.
When Zhu Zhuqing came to the registration desk for her simple interview, Dai Mubai's gaze was completely focused on her, completely ignoring Ning Rongrong beside him.
"Junior, haven't we met somewhere before?"
The more Dai Mubai looked at Zhu Zhuqing, the clearer his growing suspicion became:
"You're Zhuqing! How did you get here?"
The moment he remembered, his heart filled with panic. Could it be that his older brother had discovered his whereabouts and specifically sent his fiancée to investigate the situation?
Had his fiancée already become his big brother's woman?
However, Zhu Zhuqing looked at the familiar yet strange Dai Mubai in front of her with extreme disappointment in her heart.
She had barely managed to escape from home, hoping to find Dai Mubai and face the succession battle together. Even if they lost in the end, she would have no regrets.
But ever since she arrived in Soto City, she'd seen Dai Mubai flirting with two girls and even taking them to a hotel. You could say her fiancé had completely lost his fighting spirit and let down her good intentions.
The reason she came to Shrek Academy was because she had nowhere else to go. She wanted to become stronger, much stronger. Even without Dai Mubai, she had to prove her abilities to her family and her older sister. She, Zhu Zhuqing, had to survive.
Zhu Zhuqing clenched her fists and walked toward the interior of Shrek Academy, completely ignoring Dai Mubai. Ning Rongrong, who had been waiting nearby for so long, had never suffered such humiliation of being ignored. She immediately scolded Dai Mubai angrily:
"Hey! I've been standing here forever, and you're still staring at that woman! When are you going to hurry up and take me inside?"
This directly set Dai Mubai off, but out of respect for Li Yusong, he adjusted his mood and spoke seriously:
"Follow me!"
Dai Mubai now had only one thought—to quickly catch up with Zhu Zhuqing and ask about the exact situation at home. If push came to shove, he'd have to leave Soto City.
After this, the Shrek Seven Devils got to know each other. The four newcomers skipped the first three tests and went straight to the fourth test—challenging Zhao Wuji. The four of them, plus Dai Mubai, attacked Zhao Wuji together but gained no advantage at all. Xiao Wu even got injured.
Tang San endured his injuries and glared fiercely at Zhao Wuji, using several Dragon Whisker Needles to finally defeat him.
That night, in the forest behind Shrek Academy, agonizing screams echoed out. Zhao Wuji had been beaten beyond recognition.