Although he had tacitly accepted the girl joining the Soul Tool Department,
Even with Yan Shaozhe as his rival, Qian Duoduo—the notoriously stingy "iron rooster"—would be forced to spill blood this time.
"Hehe, look at you, why so impatient…"
Yan Shaozhe narrowed his eyes and let out a sly chuckle, like an old fox.
"Cut the act!"
Qian Duoduo glared, his eyes round.
"As for the other two kids, I can give them to you. But Huo Yutong—absolutely not!"
"Her Spirit Eyes' martial soul, with its spiritual lock, is tailor-made for the Soul Tool Department. And what you don't know is…"
As he spoke, Qian Duoduo suddenly grinned.
"This child has long since become my personal disciple! If you want to snatch her now, isn't it already far too late?"
"What?!"
Yan Shaozhe's eyes widened. He stared at Qian Duoduo in disbelief.
Since when did this guy develop such sharp judgment?
Could it be…
Yan Shaozhe turned toward Neuvillette, who was watching the show leisurely from the side. With a pained tone, he said,
"Little junior brother, how could you keep something this good from your senior?"
"My Dragonbeard Tea…"
"Dragonbeard Tea?! I knew it!!"
Qian Duoduo also glared furiously. "So you cheated and bribed little Neuvillette!"
Watching the two great figures blowing their beards and glaring at each other, Du Weilun and the other teachers could only tremble on the sidelines.
One was the Dean of the Martial Soul Department.
The other was the Vice Dean of the Soul Tool Department.
Both were true powerhouses of the academy.
Even the aftermath of their dispute was enough to suffocate everyone else into silence.
Meanwhile, Neuvillette sat calmly, unperturbed. He lifted his eyes lazily, sipping tea occasionally, while watching the rest of the freshmen assessment continue below.
After the "three little ones" had stepped down,
the atmosphere of the freshman exam became noticeably duller.
It wasn't that the others lacked talent—this was Shrek Academy, after all. Everyone who made it here was a genius deemed one-in-ten-thousand in the outside world.
But compared to Huo Yutong, Wang Dong, and Ning Tian—the "monsters"—everyone else seemed ordinary and uninspiring.
"Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo… and that power-type pair… Huang Batian, Huang Chutian…"
A cookie-cutter impression.
Neuvillette nodded slightly.
"They were originally meant to face the three little ones, but after the matchup was changed, their victory came as no surprise.
Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo's Martial Soul Fusion Skill was already a mighty combination, and their soul power was no less impressive.
If not for crossing paths with three bug-level opponents in the original timeline, they never would have lost at this stage.
As for the rest…
Neuvillette swept his gaze across the arena.
To gain Neuvillette's forgiveness, Dai Yueheng had truly shown no mercy.
Unable to get out of bed for two months was just standard procedure.
In light of his strength, the academy postponed his assessment and altered the rules—shifting from elimination battles to direct evaluations by the teachers themselves.
Because of this, among the current freshmen, the only strong competitors left were Ning Tian's team and another group with only a single Soul Elder.
They didn't even need to use Martial Soul Fusion Skills anymore.
Neuvillette stood up, glancing helplessly at the two lifelong rivals—the deans—still glaring daggers at each other.
Under the strange atmosphere where no one else dared breathe too loudly, he left the arena in calm silence.
Mingdou Mountains.
This mountain range sat on the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire, guarded by the White Tiger Duke, one of the Star Luo Empire's pillars of power.
Across the mountains stretched countless military encampments and tents.
At the center stood a large hexagonal command tent, far grander than the others, guarded by the White Tiger Duke's elite personal soldiers.
Suddenly, a figure descended from the skies, holding a command token aloft.
"Urgent dispatch—clear the way!" he shouted.
Hearing this, the guards immediately straightened, their expressions solemn, as they quickly moved aside to open a path.
The messenger strode swiftly into the tent.
"Report!"
As the command tent opened, the messenger stepped inside, dropped to his knees, and respectfully withdrew a letter from a spatial storage soul tool on his finger.
"Duke, this is a letter entrusted to me by the young master. Please, have a look."
"Yueheng… has something happened in the duke's household?"
A deep voice came from the front.
In the next instant, the messenger felt the weight in his hands vanish. The letter had already disappeared.
On the main seat, a tall, broad-shouldered man sat cross-legged. His golden hair shimmered beneath the lamplight, his upper body bare, muscles like sculpted steel, his features chiseled with a stern, resolute edge. He looked to be around thirty years old.
In his palm, he gripped the handwritten letter tightly.
"Leave us."
"Yes, sir!"
The household retainer bowed and backed out of the tent.
Without sparing him another glance, Duke Dai Hao kept the letter in his hand, not opening it right away. Instead, he sank into thought.
His eldest son, Dai Yueheng, was his legitimate heir. Having tempered himself in the military camp, Yueheng had grown with firm resolve and considerable talent. Even within Shrek Academy's inner court, he was among the best.
Strict as he was, Dai Hao still took pride in him.
So for Yueheng to send an urgent dispatch over thousands of miles… it could only mean one thing—something truly weighty had occurred.
(End of Chapter)