After placing the board crystal on the ground, Tang San retrieved his forging hammer from the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
His forging hammer was significantly larger than the ones typically used by blacksmiths. Ever since he had first used this oversized hammer in Shi San's blacksmith shop, he had never changed it.
"Xiao Wu, Chen-ge, Na'er-jie, step back a bit," Tang San said in a low voice.
Seeing Tang San's solemn expression, Gu Chen almost thought he had found a Level 3 helmet and was worried about his teammates taking it.
A faint soul power surged from Tang San's hands into the forging hammer. In an instant, his Xuan Tian Gong internal energy was raised to its limit.
Tang San pushed off with his legs, his body twisting slightly, and suddenly swung down the first strike of the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique. This hammer strike carried the full force of his internal energy. The forging hammer shone with a brilliant white light, and a series of explosive booms echoed in the air as the massive hammer head smashed down onto the board crystal.
Gu Chen and the others instinctively covered their ears.
"Boom—"
With a tremendous sound, the board crystal was reduced to powder.
Countless golden specks of light burst out from within the board crystal, scattering throughout the bedroom decorated with purple roses. The entire room seemed to be bathed in a golden glow.
Gu Chen knew exactly what these golden specks were. He immediately called Gu Yue Na over to help Tang San collect them.
Tang San looked on in surprise as Gu Chen handed the gathered golden specks to him.
"Ge, what exactly is this? Why are you being so serious about it?" Xiao Wu asked, puzzled.
After quietly listening to Tang San's explanation of the Dragon Beard Needles, Gu Chen quickly stopped him from destroying the bed like in the original story.
Come on, if the bed got ruined, how was he supposed to "share a bed" with Gu Yue Na?
Perhaps due to Gu Chen's earlier intimidation of the service staff, even though the noise was louder than before, no one came to check on them this time.
The next morning, the group set off for Shrek Academy, as per the Grandmaster's instructions.
It had been six years since he had promised the Sky Blue Bull Python to protect Xiao Wu. Now, it was probably time for him to leave, right?As Gu Chen pondered this, they soon arrived outside Shrek Academy.
Since Xiao Wu had asked Tang San to carry her on his back, Gu Yue Na was unwilling to be left out and demanded that Gu Chen carry her as well. Feeling the two soft sensations pressing against his back, Gu Chen couldn't help but thoroughly enjoy the experience.
Shrek Academy, despite its name, was actually just a small village. A wooden desk was set up at the village entrance, behind which sat an elderly man in his sixties.
"Ge, did the Grandmaster make a mistake? No matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem like an academy. Could this be a scam?" Xiao Wu asked.
Even Gu Yue Na, still on Gu Chen's back, wore a doubtful expression.
Tang San smiled wryly. "Since we're already here, let's check it out before jumping to conclusions."
Gu Chen set Gu Yue Na down, and the group joined the line.
At this moment, there were over a hundred applicants ahead of them, many of whom were frowning, evidently sharing the same doubts as Xiao Wu.
"Are you kidding me? This is supposed to be a soul master academy? And not just any academy, but one that supposedly guarantees a noble title upon graduation?" a boy's mother complained.
The boy's father hesitated. "The people from the Spirit Hall said so, so it should be true… but this academy does seem rather shabby."
The boy added, "Dad, I don't want to enroll here—it's embarrassing. I'd rather go to the intermediate soul master academy in Soto City! At least there, I was considered a genius back in my primary academy."
The boy's father frowned. "Since we're already here, let's wait a bit longer. Maybe this is a test, and the real academy is somewhere else."
Similar conversations could be heard throughout the queue, with many people looking thoroughly disappointed.
Tang San didn't focus too much on these applicants. Instead, he directed his gaze toward the front of the line, where the admissions process was taking place. Under the influence of Xuan Tian Gong, his enhanced vision and hearing allowed him to vaguely make out the conversations happening there.
The elderly man behind the desk looked lazy and unenthusiastic. His clothing, to put it nicely, was simple—otherwise, he seemed no different from an ordinary old man. In fact, he looked even less spirited than Old Jack from Holy Soul Village.
Just then, a young boy approached the desk to register. The old man spoke indifferently, "The registration fee is ten gold soul coins. Place it in that box."
The boy's father quickly took out ten gold soul coins and placed them in a crude wooden box nailed together from a few planks.
"Stretch out your hand."
The boy obeyed, holding out his hand. The old man squeezed it twice before shaking his head. "You're too old. You can leave."
The boy was stunned and turned to look at his father. Most children around the age of thirteen weren't as mature as Tang San, Gu Chen, or Gu Yue Na.
His father hurriedly offered a smile and said, "Teacher, my son just turned thirteen. Could you make an exception?"
The old man impatiently replied, "Don't hold up the line. Do you not know the academy's rules? We only accept students who are thirteen or younger. If you're over thirteen, we won't accept you. Now, move along."
The boy's father asked, "What about our registration fee…?"
"All fees are non-refundable," the old man said bluntly, sounding like a complete bandit.
Even the most patient person would have been angered by such blatant unfairness. The boy's father snapped, "This is outright robbery! Give us our registration fee back, or we're not leaving. If I had known this so-called Shrek Academy was such a dump, we wouldn't have come!"
The old man glanced at him and said indifferently, "Mu Bai, someone wants their registration fee back. Handle it."
On the ground nearby, Dai Mu Bai suddenly sprang up. "If you want your registration fee back, beat me in a fight, and I'll return the full amount."
Without another word, Dai Mu Bai activated his soul power, revealing three soul rings—yellow, yellow, and purple. His powerful aura created an invisible pressure in the air. His evil eyes flashed with cold light as he glared at the father and son.
Seeing this, the boy's father turned pale, hurriedly muttering, "We're just unlucky," before grabbing his son and quickly leaving.
At that moment, Dai Mu Bai happened to catch Gu Yue Na's gaze. Feeling an old pain in his back, he awkwardly smiled and returned to his seat.
By now, one-third of the applicants had already left. After another boy was rejected, the old man impatiently stood up from his chair.
"Before applying to Shrek Academy, you should have understood our rules. If you came here without knowing them, you've only wasted your own money. You can still leave now if you regret it. Do you know what Shrek means?"
"Shrek is a type of monster, even among soul beasts, it is an extremely rare and peculiar existence. Our Shrek Academy is a Monster Academy, which means we only accept monsters, not ordinary people. If you're over thirteen or don't have at least twenty-one soul power, don't waste your time here."
As he spoke, the old man suddenly unleashed an overwhelming aura. A deep red glow erupted from him as a long staff covered in intricate patterns appeared in his right hand. Most terrifying of all, six soul rings rose beneath his feet.
White, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.
Even though his soul ring configuration wasn't optimal, he still possessed the power of a Soul Emperor. Gu Chen was unimpressed.
The originally long queue of over a hundred people instantly dwindled to just a dozen applicants.
Suddenly, the old man's face showed a look of surprise and uncertainty as he observed a young girl standing before him. She was alone, with no parents accompanying her.
She wore a simple white dress, giving her a clean and neat appearance. Her short hair barely reached her ears, and she was shorter than Xiao Wu by half a head. Since her back was to Gu Chen and the others, her face was not visible, but the smooth, fair skin of her neck suggested she had excellent complexion.
However, compared to Gu Yue Na, she had nothing to be proud of.
"Have I passed the first test?" the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's little demoness, Ning Rongrong, asked. Her voice was soft, lacking its usual arrogance, yet still pleasant to hear.
The old man hesitated before waving at Dai Mu Bai to let her through.
Soon, it was Gu Chen and his group's turn.
"Let's sign up together." Gu Chen put the 40 Golden Soul Coins that he had prepared long ago into the wooden box and stretched out his hand.
The old man pinched Gu Chen's hand, nodded, and said, "Your age is right."
"You release the soul ring first." The old man said.
Gu Chen nodded, and in an instant, a golden dragon phantom appeared behind him, emitting a very powerful dragon might, and even the old man felt a coercion from a high-level soul beast.
Purple, black, black!
Three shocking soul rings lined up behind him in an orderly manner, exuding a terrifying aura