Deep within Shrek Academy, a simple open space enclosed by several farmhouses served as the legendary fourth examination area.
Dai Mubai suppressed the lingering shame and humiliation in his heart, doing his best to maintain the dignity expected of a senior student as he led Tang San and Xiao Wu to the center of the area.
Pointing toward a middle-aged man sitting on an old wooden chair not far away, whose exceptionally burly and muscular body resembled a dormant ferocious beast, Dai Mubai introduced him with a trace of nervousness that was difficult to detect in his voice.
"This is our Shrek Academy's vice dean, the Unmovable Bright King, Teacher Zhao Wuji. Teacher Zhao, these two are our new students, Tang San and Xiao Wu. Both are twelve years old and have reached Level 29 as Soul Grandmasters."
Zhao Wuji had been dozing with his eyes half-closed. Hearing this, he lazily raised his eyelids, and his bell-like eyes swept over Tang San and Xiao Wu.
His gaze felt almost tangible, like coarse sandpaper scraping across their skin, carrying an overbearing pressure.
He gave a slight nod and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.
"Oh? Level 29? Not bad. Mubai, your eye for finding promising seedlings isn't bad."
A smile appeared on Dai Mubai's face.
"Thank you for the praise, Teacher Zhao."
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At least he had managed to recover a little of the dignity he had lost yesterday in front of Zhao Wuji.
However, that slight sense of relief was completely shattered in the very next second.
"Old Zhao! Old Zhao!!"
Li Yusong's voice, distorted and shrill from extreme excitement, came rushing from the distance like a broken gong, instantly shattering the tranquility of the examination area.
Li Yusong came charging over almost stumbling and crawling his way there. His usual appearance as a lazy, mysterious expert was nowhere to be seen. His face was twisted with a mixture of wild excitement, shock, and even a trace of fear.
Three young people followed behind him.
One was a delicate-looking short-haired girl with an elegant bearing, her eyes filled with curiosity and a desire to investigate.
Another was a black-clad girl with an exceptionally beautiful appearance and a temperament as cold as ice.
And slightly ahead of them was a handsome young man with a tall, straight posture. His expression was calm and composed, yet his eyes seemed to contain the vastness of the stars and the sea.
Perched on Lin Xia's shoulder was a strange little beast covered in peculiar dark-gray armor, with a tail resembling a razor-sharp steel bone. Its tiny eyes shimmered with a metallic luster as it curiously surveyed its surroundings.
Zhao Wuji frowned before speaking helplessly.
"Old Li! What the hell are you shouting about? Are you not collecting the registration fees anymore? Did you come here to wail about someone dying?"
"Collecting registration fees? To hell with registration fees!"
Li Yusong rushed in front of Zhao Wuji. Because he had run too quickly, he supported himself on his knees and gasped heavily for breath.
Yet the light in his eyes was frighteningly bright.
He tremblingly pointed toward Lin Xia and Zhu Zhuqing, his voice rising to the point of nearly becoming a shriek because of his excitement.
"A monster! A true monster! Zhao Wuji! Hurry up and look! He only twelve years old! Twelve! His Soul Power is Level 58! A Level 58 Soul King!!"
Li Yusong practically roared the words, spraying saliva all over Zhao Wuji's face.
"And her! The girl beside him! Eleven years old! Level 33! A Soul Elder! My heavens! I, Li Yusong, have lived for most of my life, but today I've truly seen something extraordinary! Something absolutely extraordinary!!"
Boom!
Li Yusong's words were like a bolt of divine thunder descending from the heavens, striking this small open space without warning.
The air seemed to freeze instantly.
The originally impatient and lazy expression on Zhao Wuji's rugged face froze the moment he heard the words "twelve years old," "Level 58," and "Soul King," as though his entire face had been turned into a frozen painting.
His bell-like eyes suddenly widened to their limit, almost popping out of their sockets. They were filled with extreme confusion, absurdity, and the blankness of someone whose mind had been completely overwhelmed by the information.
His mountain-like body suddenly shot up from the old wooden chair.
The force of the movement even caused the already unstable chair to stagger backward.
"Bullshit!!!"
Zhao Wuji's furious roar was like thunder exploding across a flat plain, causing the entire open space to reverberate. Even the thatched roof of the nearby farmhouse seemed to tremble.
"Old Li! Did you drink fake alcohol yesterday and burn your brain out?! Twelve years old and Level 58?! Do you take me for an idiot?! Since the beginning of the Douluo Continent, there has never been anything like this! Tell me! Did some damn fool use a Soul Tool to fool around with you?!"
Seeing Zhao Wuji's reaction, Li Yusong rolled his eyes.
"Zhao Wuji, you reckless fool! I used my Soul Emperor cultivation to examine him over and over again! It's real! Absolutely real! If you don't believe me then test him yourself!!"
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji turned his gaze toward Lin Xia.
No matter how he looked at him, Lin Xia seemed to be nothing more than a handsome young man with an extraordinary bearing and a somewhat slender build.
How did he look like a Level 58 Soul King?
"You brat!!"
Zhao Wuji's voice was filled with disbelief.
"Old Li says you're twelve years old and Level 58? Tell me, did you use some kind of illusion to fool him?!"
Faced with Zhao Wuji's questioning and the terrifying pressure that would have been enough to make an ordinary Soul Master collapse, Lin Xia did not even move an eyebrow.
Feeling the unfriendly aura coming from Zhao Wuji, Tyranitar on Lin Xia's shoulder slightly raised its small head, its steel-armored body gleaming faintly. A low and dangerous "Tyranitar~" growl came from its throat as its dark golden eyes locked onto Zhao Wuji.
Lin Xia gently patted Tyranitar's head to calm it down. Then, facing Zhao Wuji's gaze, the corners of his lips curved into an extremely faint yet playful smile.
His voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the noise created by Zhao Wuji's roar and reached the ears of everyone present.
"Whether it's true or not, why don't you verify it yourself?"
Lin Xia's calmness created an almost bizarre contrast against Zhao Wuji's ferocity.
His composure caused Zhao Wuji's anger to momentarily falter. It also made Dai Mubai's heart tremble violently, as a bone-chilling sensation shot straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
It's him!
It really is him!
Lin Xia, the City Lord of Gengxin City!
He actually came!
And he brought Zhu Zhuqing with him!
What are they here for?
Could it be that they're planning to humiliate him at Shrek again, just like yesterday?!
Dai Mubai's face turned deathly pale. His fists clenched tightly, his fingernails almost digging into his flesh. The fear of being ruthlessly crushed yesterday and the humiliation that had penetrated deep into his bones surged back once again, causing his body to tremble involuntarily.
Looking at Lin Xia's calm face, Dai Mubai felt as though he could once again see those cold eyes from yesterday, eyes that seemed capable of seeing through every disguise he possessed.
At that moment, he only wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or escape from this place immediately.
Tang San and Xiao Wu were equally overwhelmed by the shock.
Tang San's mind raced.
"Twelve years old and Level 58, a Soul King? How is that possible? Even with the Mysterious Heaven Skill, there is absolutely no way I could reach this level at twelve! The City Lord of Gengxin City, just who exactly is he?!"
The overwhelming difference in strength brought with it an oppressive feeling and a faint, indescribable sense of frustration that lingered in his heart.
Xiao Wu, meanwhile, widened her eyes. Her gaze moved repeatedly between Lin Xia and Zhu Zhuqing, filled with disbelief.
Suddenly, her attention was firmly drawn to the small creature quietly lying on Lin Xia's shoulder. Although it remained motionless, it radiated a unique metallic quality and a dangerous aura.
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