**Chapter 38: Swindled Big Time.**
Author: Fu Hejun
"Spirit Hall Elders all have to be at least Titled Douluo?"
Hearing Ning Rongrong's words, Dai Mubai was stunned. He truly didn't know this. After all, unless one deliberately looked into it, or was like Ning Rongrong, whose Grandfather Sword was an honorary Elder of Spirit Hall, most people would be lucky to even know the basic division of positions in Spirit Hall.
"That's right. So, you're saying Shrek Academy's most outstanding graduate is now Spirit Hall's youngest Elder? Then I'd like to ask, which Titled Douluo came from Shrek Academy?" Ning Rongrong looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Titled Douluo were considered the pinnacle for Soul Masters; saying you could count them on your fingers was no exaggeration!
Basically, they were all renowned figures whose origins could be uncovered with a simple investigation.
Of course, certain hidden Titled Douluo were not included in this list.
"..."
Dai Mubai was left speechless, completely refuted. Before this, he truly hadn't known that Spirit Hall's Elders were essentially all Titled Douluo. He had thought that Soul Emperors or Soul Saints could become Elders. As for a Titled Douluo, he didn't even dare to imagine it.
If Shrek Academy could truly cultivate a Titled Douluo, it would undoubtedly be famous throughout the world. Countless people would probably be rushing to their door with money, and they wouldn't have to be cooped up in this small village.
'Was I swindled back then?'
Dai Mubai's mouth twitched. He recalled coming to sign up out of curiosity and seeing that although the academy's environment was dilapidated, every teacher there was an expert. The weakest among them was a Soul Emperor!
He had subconsciously held this academy in high regard. Later, he met Dean Flander and listened to him brag endlessly about Shrek's "great achievements" and its school rule of only accepting "monsters," which got his blood boiling. To prove that he was a monster too, he impulsively joined this academy that didn't even have a mimicry cultivation ground.
Now, prompted by Ning Rongrong's words, he recalled his three years at the academy. He was startled to realize that he seemed to have spent most of his time in the Spirit Arena, honing his skills through combat. If he had to say what he'd actually learned at Shrek Academy... there really wasn't anything.
The only thing that set this academy apart from others was that it had fewer students than teachers, and the teachers were generally of a higher level. Other than that, it didn't even have a mimicry cultivation ground.
As for the teaching content, the truth was, no matter the school, teachers taught little more than common knowledge for Soul Masters, how to identify Soul Beasts, and when a soul ring was needed, the teachers and fellow students would help hunt for it.
Therefore, if one were to speak of Shrek Academy's advantages compared to other academies, it was at most that its teachers were generally very high-level, allowing them to better help students acquire suitable soul rings. That was all.
But this was something other advanced academies didn't lack. In fact, compared to Shrek, other advanced academies even had mimicry cultivation grounds—places that could help Soul Masters accelerate their cultivation speed.
This was an advantage the impoverished Shrek Academy did not possess.
And based on Shrek Academy's recruitment standards, any student qualified for admission would have received focused training had they gone to other advanced academies. A mimicry cultivation ground would have accelerated their cultivation speed even further... *Hiss*! Thinking about it this way, it seemed Shrek Academy really had no advantages compared to other advanced academies!
The more Dai Mubai thought about it, the more he felt he had been well and truly swindled back then.
'Never mind.'
Dai Mubai shook his head. He had already been here for three years. What was done was done; was there any point in dwelling on it now? Although Shrek Academy's facilities were a bit lacking compared to other advanced academies, the numerous Soul Emperor- and Soul Saint-level teachers undoubtedly made up for this.
Overall, Shrek Academy wasn't actually that bad.
Comforting himself like this, Dai Mubai felt much better.
"Let's go."
Dai Mubai ignored Ning Rongrong, clearly not wanting to answer her question. He just walked on ahead by himself.
Seeing the guy left speechless by her argument, Ning Rongrong didn't kick him while he was down. Knowing when to quit while ahead, she reverted to her well-behaved girl persona. After all, no one likes a girl who seizes every opportunity to argue and relentlessly pursues her point even after the other person has conceded.
Although Ning Rongrong was pampered and willful, she wasn't foolish.
Soon, Dai Mubai stopped walking.
"We're here."
At this moment, the three of them arrived at another clearing. This place was much smaller than the area for the second test, only about two hundred square meters. A man who looked to be in his fifties was dozing in a chair.
Tang San, who had arrived earlier, was standing to the side, clearly not having started his assessment yet.
"Teacher Zhao, I've brought more people for the fourth test," Dai Mubai said.
"Hmm? Having even one is rare enough, but now there are two more for the fourth test? That makes three this year, right?" Zhao Wuji opened his hazy, sleepy eyes, looking at Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong with some surprise, as if he'd witnessed something incredible.
Dai Mubai said, "Not only are there three of them, but they were also all exempt from the second and third tests."
Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up as he stood up from his chair. He wasn't tall, and his appearance was quite ordinary, but he looked extremely sturdy. His height of just over 1.5 meters surprisingly gave off a formidable feeling. His broad shoulders were like fortress walls, and his coat simply couldn't conceal his imposing muscles, which looked as if they were forged from steel. Although his expression was amiable, his robust physique naturally gave off an intense sense of pressure.
"All three are over level twenty-five. Not bad, not bad. It seems we have quite a few little monsters this year. This is the final test. Pass my test, and you can officially become a member of Shrek Academy. However, my test is not that easy to pass. Combat experience is a mandatory part of every Soul Master's strength. What I am assessing is your ability in this area."
After his gaze swept over the three of them one by one, Zhao Wuji introduced himself, "My name is Zhao Wuji. Since all three of you passed the second and third tests without being tested, I'll personally test you all myself. I will now give you one incense stick's worth of time to get to know each other and strategize. After the incense stick burns out, the test begins.
"The content of the test is for the three of you to join forces and withstand my attacks for the time it takes one incense stick to burn. As long as a single one of you is still standing at the end, you will all be considered to have passed.
"If you can't pass the test, then I can only regretfully announce that you cannot enroll in our Shrek Academy."
Of course, Zhao Wuji said this to scare them. In reality, as long as they passed the first three tests, the fourth was just a formality. Win or lose, all three would be admitted.
The reason Zhao Wuji said this was so that he could wait until they all lost and then announce their successful admission. That way, he could give them a huge, shocking surprise and drastically improve their impression of the academy!
One could only say, it was all full of tricks!
(end of chapter)