"What kind of shabby academy is this?!"
"The requirements are so absurdly high! How many people can actually get accepted?!"
"If a school like yours wants to have students, I might as well eat this whole table right here…"
Several frustrated parents, whose children had just been rejected, stood near the entrance of Shrek Academy, complaining loudly and with sour expressions.
Before their complaints could escalate, Yu Chen led Xiao Wu and the others confidently toward the enrollment gate. Tang San walked beside them, while Yu Xiaogang followed at the rear.
At the gate of Shrek Academy, the black-robed teacher in charge of admissions noticed Yu Xiaogang and immediately nodded in recognition—clearly, they were old acquaintances.
Standing next to him was a sharp-eyed youth with heterochromatic pupils—one red, one blue—who cast an assessing glance at Yu Chen.
"You look to be around eleven or twelve. You've only just awakened your martial spirit, haven't you?"
Before Yu Chen could reply, one of the disgruntled parents scoffed and interjected, "My son is already twenty and only just reached the eleventh rank, and even he didn't make it in. A kid like you—what's the point of even trying?"
As the parents mocked Yu Chen's group, a sudden flare of soul power silenced them.
Whoosh!
"Tang San, twelve years old, rank eleven control-type Soul Master. Martial Spirit—Blue Silver Grass!"
With calm composure, Tang San released his martial spirit and spirit ring, the blue vines swirling around him.
"Xiao Wu, twelve years old, rank twelve agility-type Soul Master. Martial Spirit—Soft-Boned Rabbit!"
Xiao Wu followed up, her adorable pink ears and tail appearing as she activated her martial spirit, a century-old spirit ring glowing beneath her feet.
"Wha…?!"
"They're both twelve—and they've already reached the Soul Master realm?!"
"This is just after awakening, right?!"
The jeers stopped abruptly. The same parents who had been bragging about their children's achievements now stared blankly at the radiant spirit rings of Tang San and Xiao Wu, dumbfounded.
The teacher at the gate and the heterochromatic-eyed youth also revealed a flicker of astonishment, especially when they saw Xiao Wu's spirit ring—a genuine hundred-year ring.
To reach this level of cultivation at their age meant one thing—monstrous talent.
"At twelve years old and already rank eleven and twelve? You're qualified."
The admissions teacher declared with conviction, "Welcome to Shrek Academy!"
Hearing this, the already-disgraced parents grew even more embarrassed. Desperately looking for some consolation, they turned toward Yu Chen—perhaps he would be the 'normal' one in the group.
AOOO!
But before they could draw breath, Yu Chen stepped forward, and in the next instant—a hundred-zhang-long Azure Dragon burst forth behind him, coiling through the air. At the same time, two pitch-black spirit rings emerged beneath his feet—both ten-thousand-year rings!
"Yu Chen. Twelve years old. Rank twenty-three Battle-Type Soul Master. Martial Spirit—Azure Dragon."
His voice rang out clear and unshakable as his colossal martial spirit loomed behind him, exuding a divine presence.
"…"
"…"
The parents fell completely silent, their jaws agape. The teacher and the sharp-eyed youth both froze in place, unable to speak. The pressure released by the Azure Dragon left everyone breathless.
Some of the weaker students and parents fell to their knees directly beneath the dragon's oppressive might.
"It's… him!"
"Twenty-third level?! At twelve?! And two ten-thousand-year spirit rings?!"
A ripple of spiritual energy surged out. Deep within Shrek Academy, two middle-aged men sensed the commotion and rushed to the gate.
One was slender, wore glasses, and had a scholarly air—Flander, headmaster of Shrek Academy.
The other was a large, muscular man with a powerful frame and a fierce aura—Zhao Wuji, one of the academy's most formidable teachers.
Trailing behind them were four current students of Shrek Academy, each around twelve or thirteen years old.
As they arrived and saw Yu Chen standing with the Azure Dragon spiraling overhead, their expressions darkened in shock. Their pupils dilated as they spotted the double ten-thousand-year spirit rings glowing at his feet.
They had seen visions of the Azure Dragon before, but now, seeing Yu Chen's full display of soul power and talent firsthand, was another matter entirely.
"This is the one… the one they told me to keep an eye on?" murmured the heterochromatic-eyed youth, watching the Azure Dragon with awe and confusion.
He slowly released his own martial spirit—a ferocious white tiger with a faint glimmer of lightning—and resisted the immense dragon pressure as best he could.
Evil-Eyed White Tiger!—one of the elite martial spirits from the empire's inner circles!
Even so, a flicker of fear appeared in his eyes as he gazed at the dragon.
"I reached the eighteenth rank at fourteen… but he's already at twenty-three—and with twin ten-thousand-year rings?!"
Beside him, one of the four official students—a stocky boy with wild red hair and mischievous eyes—crossed his arms and frowned at Yu Chen's display.
"Teacher… what kind of freak is this guy?"
"We're the old students, but he's making us look like we've been sleeping the whole year!"
The red-haired boy was Ma Hongjun, wielder of the rare and volatile Evil Fire Phoenix martial spirit.
Just as he finished speaking, a mechanical chime echoed in Yu Chen's mind:
Ding! Detected: Host has arrived at Shrek Academy. System task complete. Reward: Second Martial Spirit—Suzaku!
HUMMMMM!!!
Right as the system announcement ended, the skies turned crimson.
An ancient, majestic cry pierced the heavens—a sound that seemed to echo from the beginning of time.
In the burning skies above, flames roared into the shape of an enormous divine bird. Wings outstretched, tail feathers blazing with scarlet light—it was a Vermillion Bird, cloaked in celestial fire!
Suzaku—Guardian of the South, Sovereign of Fire—descended!
It was Yu Chen's second martial spirit!
The sight of both the Azure Dragon and the Vermillion Bird sharing the same sky above one person left everyone stunned.
Even Flander and Zhao Wuji, battle-hardened as they were, exchanged glances of disbelief.
"A dual martial spirit…?"
"And one of them is Suzaku?!"
Yu Xiaogang, standing off to the side, had long expected the abnormality but still felt a surge of pride and awe.
This was no ordinary genius. This was a once-in-a-millennium divine selection genius, a fusion of the dragon and phoenix!