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"Gu Yue, Instructor Leng ntioned this work-study student arrangent to earlier, but after looking into Shrek Academy’s admission policies, I found out that regular students attend for free." Bai Xu was sowhat speechless when he thought about the shabby dormitory for work-study students described in the original story, so he outright refused the idea—better to stay in the regular dorms.
"That’s strange. I heard Instructor Leng say the recomndation letter he gave you was for a work-study student, not a regular admission."
"Huh?"
Puzzled, Bai Xu opened the recomndation letter. The first thing that caught his eye was a small note that read:
"Bai Xu, the regular admission slots were all full, so I could only secure a work-study recomndation. My apologies, as your teacher, I feel ashad."
Seeing this, Bai Xu didn’t bother reading the formal language in the rest of the letter. Pulling strings like this must have cost Leng Jiuming sothing, which showed just how tight his teacher’s finances were.
Now I’m the one who feels ashad!
"Haha, work-study it is then. But wait—you’re also a work-study student?" Bai Xu glanced curiously at Gu Yue’s recomndation letter.
"Yes. I heard all work-study students are housed in the sa building. We might even end up as neighbors."
"Neighbors are good. Neighbors make it easy to drop by unannounced," Bai Xu suddenly laughed.
Amid their banter, it was finally their turn for the examination.
After presenting their recomndation letters and undergoing tests for soul power, age, and martial souls, the two followed the crowd into a massive plaza.
The plaza spanned over a kiloter in diater, with a circular artificial pool at its center. The pool itself was more than a hundred ters wide, adorned with a fountain, and at its heart stood a statue—a lifelike depiction of a man.
This was the first founder of the Spirit Pagoda, the master of Shrek Academy’s Sea God Pavilion, the Spirit Ice Douluo—Huo Yuhao.
A teacher explained, "This plaza is called the Spirit Ice Plaza. It was constructed ten thousand years ago when Shrek’s Outer City was first being built and the Inner City was fully designated as academy grounds. Today, this is the main teaching area of Shrek Academy’s outer division. The plaza is nad after the legendary Spirit Ice Douluo, Huo Yuhao, whose exploits you’ve all surely heard of. I won’t elaborate further. Now, follow into the main building."
Gu Yue nudged Bai Xu’s back with her finger. "You know the stories about Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao, right?"
"Inside and out. I’ll even tell you so juicy gossip about him later. Though, these days, he’s known as Dai Yuhao."
"Deal."
The interior of the building was like a maze. After several twists and turns, it was impossible to tell their exact location, but the teacher finally stopped before a large door and amplified his voice with soul power:
"The first test evaluates spiritual power. Students will enter in groups of ten, called in order. Scores will be assigned afterward—rember them well."
"Group One..."
"Group Two..."
It wasn’t until the nineteenth group that Bai Xu and Gu Yue were called.
The two stepped through the doorway into a vast dod hall, its ceiling adorned with an enormous mural.
The mont the ten of them entered, an overwhelming pressure descended.
Everyone looked up. The mural depicted only one creature—a colossal black dragon with golden eyes, its wings spread wide, emanating a dark purple aura. Though rely a painting, it was rendered with astonishing realism, every scale visible. The sheer weight of its presence seed to make the very space around them tremble, as though the world might collapse under its pressure.
Thud!
Soone had already buckled under the strain and dropped to their knees.
Gu Yue’s body trembled slightly before she steadied herself, but Bai Xu was drenched in sweat, his back bent as if struggling under an imnse burden.
Seeing this, Gu Yue was puzzled. With his mid-stage Spirit Sea realm spiritual power, he should have no trouble handling this pressure. Why was he struggling so much?
Noticing her confusion, Bai Xu suddenly pinched her calf, making her yelp in pain and bend over alongside him.
"What was that for?!" Gu Yue hissed under her breath.
"Don’t stand out too much. Just show enough to pass—stay low-key," Bai Xu transmitted silently.
Tch.
Though unimpressed, Gu Yue played along, pretending to struggle alongside him.
After about a minute, only two people in the group remained standing.
"Bai Xu—ten points. Gu Yue—ten points," an elder announced via soul power amplification. "Proceed forward for the second test: the Beast Fighting Arena."
Passing through a corridor, they entered another grand hall.
Suddenly, the lights dimd as if night had fallen.
Silver-white lines lit up across the floor, interweaving into intricate patterns. The do above them shifted as well.
When the light returned, the surroundings had completely transford. They now stood in a massive circular arena under a starry sky, surrounded by deafening cheers.
And before them, a powerful aura lood.
A three-thousand-year-old Three-Eyed Giant—a spiritual-attribute soul beast.
"That’s a millennium-ranked Three-Eyed Giant! Its weak point is the third eye on its forehead! Be careful—it can suppress us with a ntal field!"
One examinee imdiately shouted, urging the group to coordinate their attacks.
Bai Xu and Gu Yue joined in without standing out. After a minute of teamwork, the beast was defeated, and everyone received a middling score of eight points.
The third test—narrowly avoiding guillotine blades to assess adaptability—was cleared smoothly, earning them another perfect ten.
The fourth test evaluated special talents.
Notably, the proctor here wasn’t the Silver Moon Douluo from the original story, but an elderly man accompanied by several younger instructors.
Bai Xu passed effortlessly with his mid-to-late Spirit Sea realm spiritual power. Gu Yue also impressed with her elental control, showcasing mastery over multiple elents. So teachers even showed interest in recruiting her, but she declined, stating she already had a ntor—a Titled Douluo. Upon hearing that, they backed off.
The fifth test assessed secondary professions—essentially, specialized skills.
Bai Xu scored zero. He claid to know a bit of everything but couldn’t demonstrate practical proficiency. Theoretically unmatched, practically useless.
The sixth and seventh tests were freebies—Shrek’s entrance exam had ten segnts totaling 100 points, with 60 needed to pass. These two were padding, ensuring even failures wouldn’t look too bad.
By now, Bai Xu had 58 points.
The eighth test: hold out for ten minutes against a senior Shrek student.
Ten upperclassn stood waiting in the hall for challengers.
The guiding teacher said flatly, "Choose your opponents. Once selected, no changes are permitted. The only rule: no soul tools may be used during the match. You have ten minutes to decide, after which battles comnce in order."
"Don’t you think these exams are kinda boring?" Bai Xu sighed.
"A bit. Easy for you, not so much for others."
"Gu Yue, I heard if a group of work-study students enroll together, they’re only assigned one room."
"What are you implying?!"
"Relax, just sharing trivia." Bai Xu chuckled as Gu Yue recoiled.
"No, I think you’re serious."
"Heh..."
Bai Xu’s match was straightforward—a single ntal assault left his opponent incapacitated. His spiritual power, already at the peak of mid-stage Spirit Sea realm, reached late-stage when augnted by his first soul skill. Combined with the sheer density of his ntal energy, victory was effortless.
The elder nodded approvingly. "To reach late-stage Spirit Sea realm at your age is remarkable."
Bai Xu thanked him and proceeded to the next test after Gu Yue cleared her match.
The ninth exam was an illusionary space akin to the Spirit Ascension Platform. With soul beasts nearly extinct in this era, the test’s core was to have students defeat a Three-Eyed Golden Lion King and fairly distribute its soul ring and soul bone—while also making them reflect on the plight of soul beasts.
A noble goal, but once enrolled, most would forget it instantly. Shrek Academy might preach against indiscriminate soul beast slaughter, but in practice, they’d spilled plenty of blood.
*****
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