Chapter 74: Enrollment

Chapter 74: Enrollment

They knocked on the door of the principal's office.

"Come in," a frail voice came from within.

Opening the door, they saw an elderly man sitting inside the office. His hair was entirely white, neatly combed, and his face was covered in wrinkles.

When he saw the two children, he smiled warmly and said, "Children, you can't just barge into the principal's office like this!"

He stood up but did not usher them out. Instead, he rummaged through a cabinet behind him and took out some biscuits and snacks, handing them to Dai Yao and Zhu Zhuqing.

"You're at an age where you should be building your foundation. Don't play too much, go to class quickly," he added.

Seeing the snacks in his hands, Dai Yao couldn't help but laugh. The elder had mistaken him for one of the academy's students.

"Principal, I'm here to enroll," Dai Yao said.

Upon hearing this, the elder burst out laughing. "Not bad, to have the courage to speak of enrolling at such a young age in front of me."

He patted Dai Yao's shoulder and reassured him, "However, some things can't be done just by trying your best. The enrollment period is already over. You'll have to wait for the next round of admissions."

Dai Yao didn't get angry upon being rejected. He took out a letter from Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall, and handed it to the elder.

"This is a recommendation letter from Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Spirit Hall. Please take a look," Dai Yao said.

The elder looked at the letter in confusion and opened it. The soul power fluctuations on the letter were unmistakable—indeed, they matched Salas's power.

After reading the letter, the elder fell silent, his expression shifting through various emotions before finally speaking:

"Even with Salas's recommendation, you still need to have enough talent to enter the academy."

The elder still refused. Dai Yao admired his persistence.

Since talent was required to enter, Dai Yao turned to Zhu Zhuqing and said, "Show your martial soul."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded lightly, and soul power surged as her martial soul manifested. Two yellow soul rings shone with mesmerizing light.

The elder, who had been drinking water, immediately spat it out.

"A Grand Soul Master?" the elder said in disbelief.

He stared at Zhu Zhuqing, swallowing hard, almost as if looking at a monster.

He rubbed his hands together. The rejection from before seemed like a dream, and his tone softened. "Child, how old are you? What level is your soul power?"

Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Dai Yao. Once he nodded, she replied, "I'm eleven years old and a 22nd-level Sensitive Attack Soul Master."

Before coming, Dai Yao had specifically told her to report an age two years older than her actual age, since becoming a Grand Soul Master at nine would be too shocking. Even with the adjusted age, her power was still incredible.

The elder's eyes widened, and he was left speechless, his mouth agape in shock.

After a long pause, he finally regained his composure and said, "Child, your talent is among the top in my long career as a Soul Master."

"All the advanced Soul Master academies in the Tiandou Empire are available for you to choose from. Even the Tiandou Royal Academy would be open to you. To choose our Oakland Academy would be almost like a waste of your potential."

"You should bring your parents here to discuss it. Our academy may not be the best choice for you."

When faced with a talented student, the elder didn't immediately enroll them but instead gave better advice, demonstrating that he was truly a wise teacher.

This was in stark contrast to Shrek Academy, which only accepted monsters of talent and had incomplete facilities and insufficient funds. Had it not been for joining Blue Tyrant Academy, Shrek students wouldn't even have had the chance to participate in the Elite Soul Master Tournament. The only thing that could be praised was their quality of teaching staff.

Dai Yao said, "Principal, you don't need to worry. We can make our own decisions. For personal reasons, neither of us can join Tiandou Royal Academy."

"Well, then Oakland Academy would be happy to have you!" The elder chuckled and stroked his beard.

"By the way, I don't know your soul power level," the elder turned to Dai Yao.

"I'm about the same as Zhu Zhuqing, 23rd-level soul power," Dai Yao replied.

The elder clapped his hands in delight. "Very well! Come in, both of you. Sit down, sit down! I'll bring out all the snacks."

He quickly fetched every snack he could find from the shelves. "Whatever you want, I'll do my best to satisfy you. Whether it's simulated environments, training resources, or even hunting soul beasts, whatever I have, I can provide."

Upon hearing this, Dai Yao silently nodded. The treatment for geniuses truly was different.

As they were talking, there was a knock at the door.

When the door was opened, it was the broad-faced man from before.

"Sorry to interrupt, old principal," the man said with a silly smile.

"No problem, Qianli, come in," the elder said, greeting him warmly. He then introduced the man to Dai Yao and Zhu Zhuqing:

"Dai Yao, Zhu Zhuqing, let me introduce you to this person. This is the captain of our Oakland team, Feng Qianli. Though he's not as young as you two, he's also a talented Soul Master."

Before the elder could continue his introduction, Feng Qianli smiled and said, "No need to introduce me, old principal. I already met them earlier. That battle just now was truly shocking. Zhu Zhuqing's strength made me feel ashamed."

"Battle? What battle?" the elder asked, confused.

"The Tiandou Royal Academy team issued a challenge to us. The Royal Academy Soul Master who delivered the challenge was extremely arrogant, full of contempt for our academy. A student couldn't stand it and suggested a battle," Feng Qianli explained.

"The Royal Academy Soul Masters quickly defeated all the fighters who went up, but then they encountered Zhu Zhuqing. The two of them went up to fight, and we all thought Zhu Zhuqing's age would be a disadvantage."

"But the result was completely unexpected. Zhu Zhuqing took down the Royal Academy Soul Master with a single strike."

"Hmph, Tiandou Royal Academy is getting more and more outrageous! They always try to show off by bullying us first!" The elder's expression grew angry.

Feng Qianli sighed, "Old principal, I've come here to complain. The date for the duel is drawing closer, but we can't even gather enough members for our Oakland team."

"After hearing that we were going to fight Tiandou Royal Academy, no one wants to join the team!" Feng Qianli's voice carried a sense of frustration.

"How serious is it? To shrink back from a strong opponent? That's no attitude for a Soul Master!" The elder's face became serious.

He looked at Dai Yao and Zhu Zhuqing, then smiled. Pointing at Feng Qianli, he said:

"You sly fellow, so this was your plan all along!"

Feng Qianli chuckled but didn't deny it.

The elder helplessly walked over to Dai Yao and Zhu Zhuqing and said, "Dai Yao, Zhu Zhuqing, from our conversation, you should have understood the difficulties our academy is facing. If you don't want to join the team, feel free to say so."

Hearing this, Feng Qianli became anxious and opened his mouth to speak, but the elder stopped him.

"Let them decide for themselves. Don't interfere," the elder scolded.

Dai Yao looked at Feng Qianli and thought about what Lan Yuxuan had said about the talented Soul Master of Oakland Academy. This must be him.

In order to cultivate Feng Qianli, they had arranged for him to participate in this year's tournament, so he would be more mature by the second tournament. It was clear that Feng Qianli was highly valued by the academy and had become the team's captain.

Now with himself and Zhu Zhuqing, they already had three Soul Masters who could rival Five Elements Academy's main team.

As long as the other team members weren't too far off, they should have no problem advancing to the next stage.

Dai Yao smiled and nodded. "We came to Oakland to participate in the Elite Soul Master Tournament of all the Advanced Soul Master Academies. Now that we can face Tiandou Royal Academy's team, we couldn't ask for more."

(End of Chapter)