Douluo Continent, my martial soul is a mushroom.

Chapter 15 Three Years Later, Shrek

"So this is Shrek Academy? It's really... quite unremarkable!"

Chi Ping, dressed in a white martial arts uniform with gold patterns, stood on the top of a large tree, looking at the village in the distance, his lips twitching.

This is a small village with about a hundred households. A wooden fence surrounds the village, seemingly for protection against wild animals. At the village entrance, a large group of people seem to be queuing up; judging from their clothing, they are all well-off.

As Ikehira continued forward, the village became clearer.

There was a table at the entrance of the village, and an elderly man in his sixties was sitting behind the table.

Behind the old man, a somewhat tattered plaque hung above a wooden archway, bearing the simple five characters: Shrek Academy. In front of these characters was a green head, resembling the head of a humanoid monster, green and rather cute.

The old man behind the desk also wore a similar green circular badge on his chest, which should be the Shrek Academy emblem.

"What if I suddenly feel like changing my mind...?"

Chi Ping followed Yu Xiaogang's advice and traveled a great distance to study at Shrek Academy after graduating from Notting Academy. This was because of the soul skills Chi Ping possessed and his extraordinary cultivation speed. Only a small, unaffiliated institution like Shrek Academy, with no connections to any noble power, could accommodate him and allow him to pass through his weakest, most dangerous, and most crucial developmental period.

"Even though I was prepared, I'm still finding it a bit difficult to adjust!"

Chi Ping covered his forehead and sighed softly. Shrek Academy was indeed rather rudimentary, far inferior to Notting Academy.

But then Ikehira stopped thinking about it and went to the back of the line.

After waiting for a while, a commotion arose at the front of the queue.

As a young man with a century-old spirit ring was eliminated, the old man stood up and said loudly, "You should have understood the rules before registering for Shrek Academy. Coming here without understanding them is just a waste of your registration fee. It's not too late to regret it now. Do you even know the meaning of 'Shrek' in the name Shrek Academy?"

Most of the applicants looked blank after hearing the old man's words. They had all heard that students from Shrek Academy became imperial nobles, so they wanted to try their luck and didn't know anything about what Shrek Academy actually was.

The old man said coldly, "Shrek is a monster, an extremely strange existence even among soul beasts. The meaning of Shrek Academy is Monster Academy. That is to say, we only accept monsters, not ordinary people. Those who are over thirteen years old, or whose soul power has not reached level twenty-one, don't waste your time here."

As he spoke, the old man released an incomparably powerful aura. A dense red light suddenly emanated from him, and a long staff with countless fine patterns appeared in his right hand. A total of six spirit rings rose from beneath his feet, and the dazzling light instantly became the focus of the entire audience.

The six spirit rings are one white, one yellow, three purple, and one black.

—So strong!

Chi Ping was amazed.

The overwhelming aura of a Soul Emperor caused some people to turn pale and slink away from the group.

The queue of over a hundred people quickly dwindled to just a few dozen. These people were all very confident, clearly believing they had met Shrek's admission standards.

Li Yusong nodded with satisfaction and began to check the soul power and age of each applicant.

"what?"

Halfway through the examination, Li Yusong suddenly let out a soft exclamation. The person being examined in front of him was a blond man, muscular, handsome, with double pupils and a cold, sinister gaze, giving him a rather sinister appearance.

"Kid, your surname is Dai?" Li Yusong asked with a questioning tone, but then confirmed it.

The blond man nodded and asked, "Did I pass?"

Li Yusong nodded, "White Tiger Martial Soul, Soul Power Level 28, you can directly enter the final stage."

Dai Mubai asked, "Which way should I go?"

Li Yusong said, "I'll take you there after everyone has registered. By the way, why aren't you staying home? What are you doing here in Tiandou?"

Dai Mubai did not answer, and silently walked to Li Yusong's side.

Li Yusong seemed to have seen through something and said calmly, "Don't want to talk about it? Then forget it. Joining Shrek means you're a member of Shrek. No matter what your difficulties are, at least until you graduate, we old bones can protect you."

Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai seemed to think of something, and lowered his head slightly, his golden hair obscuring his eyes.

With most of the people gone, it was soon Ikehira's turn.

Chi Ping put ten gold soul coins into the wooden box and stretched out his arm.

Li Yusong pinched Chi Ping's arm and asked suspiciously, "Have you practiced some kind of soul skill on your arm?"

Bone age is very difficult to fake, and Li Yusong used this method to determine the age of his students. However, Chi Ping's hand bones were unexpectedly hard, and no specific information could be obtained by palpation.

Chi Ping nodded and asked, "Are you feeling my bones?"

Li Yusong asked, "You know this skill?"

Chi Ping: "I've seen it in a book. If that's the case, you don't need to check anymore. I've practiced a full-body soul skill that strengthens the entire body, so ordinary bone-reading techniques would probably be less effective."

As Chi Ping spoke, he took out a Spirit Hall Soul Master Certificate from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Li Yusong was somewhat skeptical and tried several more times on Chi Ping's calves, back of the head, and shoulders before finally giving up. He really couldn't tell Chi Ping's age very well.

After glancing at the Spirit Hall certificate that Chi Ping had produced, Li Yusong asked Chi Ping to reveal his spirit and spirit rings.

"Glowing Mushroom...a food-type Soul Master?"

"Yes."

"What is your soul power level?"

Level 28.

"Hmm...hmm?" Li Yusong's eyes widened. "How much did you say?"

Behind him, Dai Mubai's eyes widened as well. "A food-type Soul Master can reach level 28 at the age of twelve?"

Li Yusong then asked, "What is your innate soul power level?"

Level 5.

"That's impossible!"

Dai Mubai's roar startled Li Yusong, but in terms of inner shock, Li Yusong was no less shocked than Dai Mubai.

Li Yusong asked seriously, "Are you sure?"

Chi Ping: "The Spirit Hall certificate contains the corresponding information; you can check it."

Li Yusong opened the certificate booklet with a suspicious look and examined it carefully.

The more she looked, the more shocked she became. She kept scrutinizing Chi Ping, as if trying to see something amazing.

Finally, Li Yusong laughed heartily, "It seems our academy has really recruited a monster this time! Come over here too, I'll take you and Dai Mubai to the final challenge later."

Chi Ping obediently walked to Dai Mubai's side, waiting for Li Yusong to register the students who arrived later.

Half a day passed, during which Dai Mubai glanced at Chi Ping more than once before finally speaking softly.

"My name is Dai Mubai, my martial soul is White Tiger. What's your name?"

"Chi Ping, Martial Soul: Glowing Mushroom."

"Where did you graduate from? How did you train? Your soul power is so high!"

"I come from Notting City in Fasno. As for my soul power, I've trained it normally. What about you?"

"I come from Xingluo."

"Xingluo City? Or Xingluo Province?"

"...Star Luo City".

"So you're from a noble family. What brings you here? With your talent and background, you could easily get into the Star Luo Royal Academy, right? Did you offend someone?"

"How did you know? ...I guess so. I offended some people and couldn't stay in Star Luo City anymore. I heard from the Spirit Hall that students from this academy all do very well, at least reaching the rank of viscount, so I came here. I felt a bit cheated before, but now it seems pretty good. At least the teachers are capable."

"We'll be classmates from now on, let's do our best together?"

Dai Mubai smiled and said, "Let's work hard together."

……

As the sun set, today's admissions finally came to an end. Li Yusong stretched and led Chi Ping and Dai Mubai into the academy.

"Phew! It's finally our turn!"

Dai Mubai breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had been granted a pardon.

"Let's go."

Chi Ping remained relaxed, called out to Dai Mubai, and then followed Li Yusong.

"I'm truly impressed by you. You can still hold back at a time like this. Were you cultivating before? I really don't know how you did it. Cultivating while standing, no wonder you have this level of soul power at your age. You really are a monster, just like the name of this academy!"

He signed up in the morning and stood behind Li Yusong until sunset. If it weren't for Li Yusong's Soul Emperor cultivation piquing Dai Mubai's interest, Dai Mubai would have already snapped and quit!

During this time, Chi Ping's performance also shocked Dai Mubai.

Aside from occasionally saying a few words, Dai Mubai still thought Chi Ping was a tree.

He just stood there, completely still, his composure was abnormally strong. If it weren't for the continuous fluctuations of soul power emanating from Chi Ping, Dai Mubai would have thought Chi Ping was asleep!

Li Yusong walked at the front, unable to suppress his smile, so that Dai Mubai and Chi Ping could not see his face.

—The academy has really struck gold this time! Even though the previous candidates failed the assessment, it's still totally worth it to admit just these two students!

(End of this chapter)