[During the self-introductions...]
[The girl from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was named Ning Rongrong, and her Spirit was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. As for the girl dressed in a tight black outfit, with a baby-like face contrasted by a strikingly mature figure, her name was Zhu Zhuqing, and her Spirit was the Hell Civet.]
[After an incense stick's time, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong had already devised a battle plan and engaged Zhao Wuji, the Immovable Bright King, in combat.]
[At first, Zhao Wuji did not summon his Vigorous Vajra Bear Spirit for possession, and as a result, he suffered quite a bit during the early exchanges.]
[However, once he finally summoned the Vigorous Vajra Bear and activated his Spirit Abilities, Zhao Wuji completely turned the tide, effortlessly crushing Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing.]
[During the fight, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were injured and fell unconscious one after another.]
[Seeing Xiao Wu in danger, Tang San ultimately revealed his trump card, his Hidden Weapons. After launching a relentless barrage, he used the Dragon Beard Needle to achieve a decisive effect. In the end, he even brought out the Clear Sky Hammer for a surprise strike, nearly forcing a mutual defeat with Zhao Wuji.]
[By then, an incense stick's time had already passed.]
[Tang San and the others successfully passed the fourth stage of the assessment.]
[However, after removing the Dragon Beard Needle from Zhao Wuji, Tang San also collapsed from exhaustion. Oscar carried him back to a wooden hut and laid him on a bed to rest.]
Black World, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School
"These Hidden Weapons are truly extraordinary in power!"
"They actually allowed Tang San, merely a Spirit Grandmaster, to nearly contend with a Spirit Saint like Zhao Wuji."
"Even though Zhao Wuji did not use his full strength, Tang San is still only a Spirit Grandmaster. Being able to achieve this much is already a glorious defeat!"
"Our disciples from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School may not possess Tang San's refined hidden weapon techniques, nor do they have Tang Sect Ultimate Techniques like Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track or Purple Demon Eye to support them."
"However, when it comes to self-defense, they should still be capable of injuring or even killing Spirit Masters one or two ranks above them by relying on surprise attacks!"
Watching Tang San's performance in the comparison video, Ning Fengzhi's eyes gleamed with excitement as he spoke.
"The Sect Master is wise!" x2
Nearby, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo smiled faintly and cupped their fists in agreement.
At Heaven Water Academy
Regarding Tang San's Hidden Weapons, Shui Yue'er curled her lips in disdain and remarked,
"The power of these Hidden Weapons doesn't seem that impressive."
"They rely entirely on surprise and poison. Compared to Male God Tang Chuan's fragmentation grenade, they are far inferior!"
Hearing this, Yu Hairou, Gu Qingbo, Qiu Ruoshui, and the others nodded in firm agreement.
[The screen dimmed, and in the blink of an eye, it was the next day.]
[After waking up, Tang San first went to retrieve his Hidden Weapons from the field, then met up with Xiao Wu and began strolling around the Nuoding Academy area.]
[After leaving the area rented by Shrek Academy, the two entered the nearby village.]
[Before long, they noticed a man and a woman arguing not far ahead.]
[As they approached, they saw a vulgar-looking fat man dressed in red, with short red hair and two mouse-like whiskers above his lips, pestering a young girl.]
[The girl was pleading with him, clearly wanting to break up, but the fat man stubbornly refused.]
[Seeing this, Xiao Wu stepped forward indignantly to intervene, only for the fat man to respond with rude and offensive remarks.]
[This immediately led to a fight between Tang San and the fat man.]
[During the battle, the fat man shouted "Phoenix Possession," but what appeared instead was a plump, crimson grass chicken, which caused Xiao Wu to burst into laughter.]
[Since fire countered Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, Xiao Wu quickly joined the fight.]
[However, just as the fat man was about to lose, the girl suddenly rushed forward to stop them, pleading for the fight to end. She even defended the fat man, saying he was actually a good person and that they were simply incompatible.]
[At that moment, Dai Mubai arrived and introduced the fat man as Ma Hongjun, the third student of Shrek Academy. His Spirit was a mutated one, the Evil Fire Phoenix. Although its quality was high, it came with the defect of uncontrollable Evil Fire.]
Black World, Blazing Academy
"Why does it feel like none of the students at Shrek Academy are decent people?"
"That Dai Mubai is nothing but a playboy, Oscar looks questionable and even his Spirit incantations are strange, and now this Ma Hongjun is even worse, actually forcing a girl into that kind of situation!"
"Evil Fire? What's so impressive about having Evil Fire?"
After watching Dai Mubai introduce Ma Hongjun in the comparison video, Huo Wu crossed her jade-like arms, her beautiful yet heroic face filled with disgust and disdain.
"I really don't understand how such an academy could possibly nurture Tang San into a god in the future."
"But honestly, even if Tang San does become a god, it probably has nothing to do with Yu Xiaogang or Shrek Academy!"
[After the incident with Ma Hongjun...]
[Feeling a bit hungry, Xiao Wu suggested getting something to eat.]
[Under Dai Mubai's guidance, the group headed to Shrek Academy's cafeteria.]
[The cafeteria was extremely crude, essentially just an old house that had been slightly renovated. A few villagers had been hired to cook several large pots of food, mostly consisting of potatoes, radishes, cabbage, and similar ingredients, which were then placed out for everyone.]
At the sight of Shrek Academy's cafeteria in the comparison video, many Spirit Master factions in both the Black World and the White World fell into silence once again.
This was unacceptable.
Shrek Academy charged ten gold coins just for registration, with tuition and other fees charged separately.
And yet, this was the food provided to the students?
Perhaps in a poor village, such meals were common among ordinary families.
But even slightly well-off households would not feed their children meals without even a trace of meat.
These students were not even eighteen yet; they were still in a critical stage of growth.
When people thought about Shrek Academy's harsh recruitment standards, its crude living conditions, the complete lack of proper cultivation facilities, and its graduation requirements that seemed to disregard students' lives,
The various Spirit Master factions in both worlds could not help but feel that Shrek Academy was outrageously unacceptable.
And the fact that these students continued to stay without even questioning it made the situation seem even more absurd.
[After finishing their meal, the group arrived at the large training field.]
[According to Dai Mubai, the Dean of Shrek Academy would soon arrive to arrange the curriculum.]
[Not long after they reached the training field, Oscar also showed up.]
[Having shaved his beard and properly groomed himself, Oscar now appeared quite handsome, resembling a refined noble youth.]
[After a long wait, a middle-aged man with a hooked nose, a shoehorn-shaped face, and black crystal glasses finally approached. He was the same shop owner from whom Tang San had previously purchased the slab crystal.]
[Xiao Wu was visibly surprised upon seeing him.]
[Oscar quickly introduced him, revealing that this man was Flender, the Dean of Shrek Academy. His Spirit was the Four-Eyed Cat Owl, and his cultivation had reached Rank 78 Spirit Saint.]
As Flender finally appeared in the comparison video, many Spirit Masters in both the Black and White Worlds watched with renewed anticipation, curious to see how he would arrange the academy's curriculum.
Although many had already begun to see through Shrek Academy's true nature,
Dai Mubai's high regard for Flender, combined with Tang San's future achievements, still led some to believe that the academy must possess some extraordinary teaching ability.
After all, that seemed to be the only possible strength it could still have.
["This year is quite good. Shrek Academy has gained four more little monsters. I am Flender, the Dean of Shrek Academy, and I welcome you all on behalf of the academy."]
["In a moment, each of you will hand over one hundred gold coins to Teacher Li, who manages finances, as your tuition and fees."]
[As soon as he appeared, Flender gave a brief introduction, but immediately shifted the focus to collecting money.]
[He then called over Dai Mubai and instructed him to explain the academy's rules to Tang San and the others later.]
[After that, Flender asked Oscar and Ning Rongrong to step forward, preparing to begin his teaching.]
[He explained that Food System and Auxiliary System Spirit Masters must possess excellent escape abilities to ensure their survival. Based on this, he assigned Ning Rongrong a training task: to run twenty laps around the village surrounding Shrek Academy.]
["You are not allowed to eat until you finish!"]
At that moment, both the Black World and the White World fell into stunned silence.
Seeing the training task assigned by Flender to Oscar and Ning Rongrong, many Spirit Masters who had still held onto a trace of expectation for Shrek Academy were left completely dumbfounded.
This was the Dean of Shrek Academy?
And the training he arranged… was simply running?