Chapter 164: The Start of the School Year

The classroom of Shrek Academy's second-year Class One was as noisy as a marketplace.

Just five minutes ago, Wang Yan had announced the promotion assessment for this year's second-year students. As with previous years for auxiliary system classes, it would consist of a cultivation inspection and a written theory exam rather than a practical combat test.

"Some upper-year students from the Martial Soul Department have terrible theoretical knowledge," Wang Yan said. "Focusing on cultivation is good, but completely neglecting theory isn't acceptable either. I hope none of you completely abandoned your theoretical studies over the break."

Of course, this was just the official explanation he had been given. In reality… some things might seem light until you actually put them on the scale—where they turn out to weigh a thousand pounds.

Under the full surveillance of the Star Dou Forest, Shrek Academy indeed did not engage in large-scale soul beast hunting for profit. They only hunted soul rings necessary for their core students. However, they still secretly acquired and raised soul beasts through other means or purchased various soul beast resources from other soul masters.

The Beast Sect and the powerful savage beasts of the forest knew this practice couldn't be entirely eradicated. In smaller, distant soul beast habitats, the overall strength of the soul beasts was lower. Not to mention that several great empires and sects had their own artificially cultivated soul beast forests—unless Wang Rui was prepared for outright war.

For years, Shrek Academy had assessed its second-year students through battles against soul beasts. Given that they repeatedly used the same "actors" every year, the Beast Sect had chosen to turn a blind eye.

But it was one thing for the Beast Sect to tolerate this—it would be a completely different matter if Shrek Academy actually forced the sect's disciples into a test where they had to fight soul beasts.

As long as even one of the Sea God's Pavilion elders still had their brainstem intact (excluding Chicken Leg Douluo), they would never allow such a thing to happen.

So, Shrek Academy's last-minute change in this year's second-year assessment was entirely understandable—it absolutely was not because Mu En wanted to avoid a fight with Long Xiaoyao.

As for organizing another freshman assessment-style competition… it had only been a month, so there wasn't much need for it.

That said, Shrek's theory exams were incredibly dull. Aside from questions related to martial souls and combat theory, a large portion of the test focused on Shrek Academy: A Glorious History (a book that didn't actually exist), mainly assessing how well students understood Shrek's glorious past.

Wang Rui had originally assumed Shrek Academy would plant a couple of "standard answer sheets" among the students, letting them rely on their own ingenuity to discreetly copy from them and pass undetected.

But when he scanned the room with his spiritual power—well, good grief, everyone was about the same level.

Even An Wen managed to do well! Her answers to the theory questions stayed within the bounds of human understanding, and while she struggled with the essay questions, at least she didn't make any spelling mistakes. Clearly, those human society common sense classes had paid off.

Huo Yuqing's answers to the theory portion were excellent, and she was now trying to fill in as much as possible for the history-related essay questions.

As for Wang Dong… his theoretical knowledge was a bit lacking, but his admiration for Shrek Academy made up for it.

After glancing around, Wang Rui scribbled a few answers lazily, quickly lost interest in staying, and handed in his exam early.

Out in the hallway, several students who had also submitted their papers early were gathered, discussing their answers. Wang Rui leaned against the wall, zoning out.

He felt… restless.

Ever since his father had "substituted" for him in the Extreme North, the dying wails of countless dragons had echoed faintly in his ears.

Wang Rui possessed immense spiritual power, so he could naturally block out these sorrowful echoes. Yet, for some reason, the grief that had long since faded into background noise now seemed… louder.

No, that wasn't what was bothering him.

Fate had shifted in subtle ways. Wang Rui pressed a hand to his forehead—this was a sign. Not exactly a warning of danger, but also not necessarily the herald of something good.

He ran through possibilities in his mind. The Beast Sect's affairs were all in order, the Star Dou matters were being watched over by the savage beasts, and nothing had been overlooked. As for the Sun-Moon Empire, he would have to log into his "alternate account" soon to handle some things there.

The only place where changes might be happening was Shrek.

Sea God Island was one of the few locations he couldn't probe. He would definitely need to find an opportunity to go there and investigate…

"Hey, Wang Rui!"

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

At the far end of the hallway, Ning Tian waved at him.

"Can you believe Shrek changed this year's assessment method?" After some casual small talk, the young mistress of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect smiled. "This surprise exam must have caught a lot of Martial Soul students off guard. They probably didn't review their theory much—who knows how their scores will turn out?"

"They'll probably return to the old exam format next year," Wang Rui replied absentmindedly.

"Oh!" Ning Tian raised an eyebrow at his response. "So if someone assumes next year will also be a theory test… they're in for a rude awakening."

This guy's influence was probably even more terrifying than she had imagined.

"Hey, Ning Tian!"

At that moment, Huo Yuqing also emerged from the exam hall, smiling as she greeted them. "How was your break?"

"It was great," Ning Tian said before suddenly pausing. "Your strength…?"

Something about Huo Yuqing's aura seemed far beyond that of someone who had only recently broken through Rank 20. As a top-tier auxiliary-type soul master who was highly familiar with her, Ning Tian could sense that Huo Yuqing had become exponentially stronger over the past month.

"Heh!" Huo Yuqing grinned smugly, her eyes curving into crescents. "I've gotten stronger! Now, even if—"

She abruptly stopped speaking.

At the other end of the hallway, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were leaving.

"…Even if I ran into Dai Huabin, I could beat him now," she murmured.

The shadows of past memories still clung to her.

Can I really? Huo Yuqing hesitated. Can I truly defeat him now—using only my own power?

Defeat the genius youngest son of the White Tiger Duke, his mother's most beloved child?

"Of course you can!" Tianmeng Iceworm's voice bellowed in her mind. "Give the one-and-only Ice Jade Empress Scorpion a little faith, will you?!"

Yet the girl bit her lip and allowed herself to sink into this emotion.

This was… fear.

Beneath the rage she had long since mastered, she finally recognized the deeper emotion buried beneath her past fury and hatred.

Fear. Anxiety. Hesitation. Retreat. Doubt. Cold and darkness.

In her spiritual sea, one of the seven radiant dots deep within the gem-blue vertical eye trembled, beginning to fade into a shade of grayish-white.

A certain "recipe book" left behind by Rong Nianbing in her spiritual sea suddenly started quivering.

Somewhere in the void, a faint "Holy crap." echoed.

But the girl suddenly felt warmth at her fingertips.

Sensing her unstable aura, Wang Rui had hooked his finger around hers and squeezed lightly.

Her slender fingers were cold, her fingertips slightly rough—lacking the softness of a life of luxury and pampering.

"Want to go to the Soul Dueling Arena?" He lowered his voice as he watched Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu disappear. "One-on-one, two-on-two—your call. If we do two-on-two, I can handle Zhu Lu and the referee."

The turbulent emotions faded, replaced by something warmer, something swelling.

"Ah… Let's not today," Huo Yuqing blinked, pushing back an unfamiliar pang of emotion. Wang Rui's words made her want to laugh despite herself. "It's the first day of school, no need to make trouble. If I suddenly challenged Dai Huabin and beat him up, people who don't know the backstory might think I'm the unreasonable one."

"Isn't Shrek's school motto all about picking fights…? Fine." Wang Rui shrugged. "You'll get your chance soon enough."

…Wasn't there a chaotic selection battle coming up? Perfect for dirty tactics.

Deep within that gem-blue vertical eye, a faintly glowing spot of soft lavender-pink brightened.

Rong Nianbing's "recipe book" finally settled on another page.

Somewhere in the void, an echoing "What the hell." could be heard once more.

(End of Chapter)