Su Ming was momentarily stunned when he saw Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong step forward. Both were undeniably beautiful, especially Zhu Zhuqing, whose prominent figure accentuated her graceful form. It reminded him of the saying, "When you can't see your toes when looking down, that's the epitome of beauty."
Ning Rongrong, while also stunning, had one small shortcoming at her current age, her figure was still developing. At best, she could be described as having a "little apple" size. But Su Ming thought it held promise, knowing how perfect her proportions would become in five years.
He handed the crystal ball to Ning Rongrong, who playfully winked at him. Su Ming felt puzzled. While he knew Ning Rongrong had a mischievous streak, winking at a stranger seemed odd.
Something was off. Very off.
Ning Rongrong then infused her spirit power into the crystal ball. Boom! Another genius with spirit power surpassing Tang San's level appeared—she was at rank 34!
Both Li Yusong and Tang San were visibly stunned.
Li Yusong was amazed by the sheer number of talented soul masters emerging this year. It seemed like Shrek Academy was destined to rise!
Tang San, on the other hand, was in disbelief. He had always accepted that Xiao Wu and Su Ming were stronger than him, but now this newly introduced girl also had a higher spirit power level? His teacher had once told him that his twin spirits should give him an advantage in cultivation speed, but now there was yet another exception. And to top it off, this girl was even younger than him, as confirmed by Li Yusong's examination.
Su Ming, however, was the most shocked of all. Ning Rongrong at rank 34? How was that possible?
Ning Rongrong had been covertly observing Su Ming's reaction. Seeing his face twisted in disbelief, she was pleased, feeling that her goal had been achieved. As for whether this would expose anything unusual, she thought that would be up to the system to handle. Either way, it wasn't her problem—she grinned internally.
Xiao Wu noticed Su Ming's expression and silently laughed. She exchanged knowing glances with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, both of whom could see the same diary in front of them.
Su Ming, despite his internal shock, kept his composure. He needed to see Zhu Zhuqing's spirit power level next.
Zhu Zhuqing took the crystal ball from Ning Rongrong and gave Su Ming a polite nod before infusing her spirit power.
Boom! Rank 35!
At this moment, Su Ming knew for sure: something was seriously wrong.
Based on their innate spirit power, it should have been impossible for Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing to reach such high levels at this age, even if they practiced day and night!
Ning Rongrong herself was shocked, her wide eyes and slightly open mouth revealing her disbelief as she stared at Zhu Zhuqing. How could Zhu Zhuqing's spirit power be higher than hers?
Ning Rongrong was on the verge of a breakdown. Based on what Su Ming had told her, Zhu Zhuqing's innate spirit power should have only been around rank 9—at most, rank 10. With the added support of her Glazed Tile Pagoda's jade pendant to speed up her cultivation, how could she still lose?
She recalled her own "ambitious" declarations from the previous day and blushed with embarrassment. She had been so sure that this time, her strength would surpass Zhu Zhuqing's.
But not only was Zhu Zhuqing's figure more impressive, her power exceeded hers as well. This was a double blow.
Ning Rongrong gave Zhu Zhuqing a look of admiration. If Zhu Zhuqing's spirit power was higher, it meant her dedication and hard work far outstripped her own. Ning Rongrong had thought her efforts were extreme, but they paled in comparison.
She remembered how her father and two grandfathers used to worry that her unusually long training hours had affected her mind after her spirit awakening. Now, she found the memory amusing.
Su Ming, on the other hand, was feeling the weight of the situation. "System, explain what's going on. Why are Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's spirit power levels so different from what I know? It's impossible for them to have cultivated this fast with their innate power."
System Prompt: "Ding! It's possible that the host has caused a butterfly effect!"
Su Ming: "..."
He sighed. "System, do I look like a fool? Xiao Wu and Tang San's abilities being different makes sense—they've interacted with me, and the story has changed. But Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing haven't had any contact with me. How could I have influenced them?"
System Prompt: "Ding! I only presented one possible explanation. Another possibility is that you are in a parallel world where the characters are the same, but their abilities differ."
Su Ming, half-skeptical, replied, "Really? Are you messing with me? Shouldn't you know whether this is a parallel world?"
System Prompt: "That's something the host needs to explore for himself. You currently don't have access to that level of information."
Su Ming was speechless.
He was becoming more suspicious that the system was deceiving him, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.
With no further answers from the system, he decided he would have to find a way to subtly question Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing later, once they became closer.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wu had already exchanged contacts with both Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing without Su Ming noticing.
Dai Mubai, upon seeing Zhu Zhuqing's strength, was equally surprised. How could Zhu Zhuqing's power have grown so quickly in just a few years? Even though her innate spirit power was higher than his by one rank, it still didn't make sense. He was currently only at rank 37, and Zhu Zhuqing had already reached rank 35—despite being over three years younger than him!
He was only at level 37 right now, while Zhu Zhuqing had already reached level 35. They were more than three years apart in age!
Dai Mubai thought it might be better to find another opportunity to ask her later. Since Zhu Zhuqing had come to Shrek Academy, it was probably to find him; otherwise, it couldn't just be a coincidence.
Thinking about what he had done in the past three years, Dai Mubai felt a bit ashamed. Although there wasn't much of an emotional foundation between them, and they had barely met, Zhu Zhuqing was still his fiancée. She had crossed the distance between Star Luo and Heaven Dou just to come here. She must have endured a lot of hardships.
At this moment, Dai Mubai was reflecting on himself. He knew he couldn't go on like this anymore. Also, after not seeing her for a few years, Zhu Zhuqing's figure had really developed, and she had become even more beautiful—on a whole different level from yesterday's twins!
Zhu Zhuqing: Thank you, but I was considering joining forces with you to fight Davis and Zhu Zhuyun. Now, though, forget it.
After secretly observing Dai Mubai for the past few days, Zhu Zhuqing was thoroughly disappointed. Instead of staying by his side, she would rather stick with Su Ming. With his system and powerful strength, he could definitely change her destiny!
Besides, with Dai Mubai's lecherous nature, he probably wouldn't change much for her. Even if he did change, it might be like Su Ming, who was probably just interested in her figure!
Soon, seeing that no one else was coming out, Dai Mubai led Su Ming and the others towards the fourth test.
At this point, Dai Mubai was extremely nervous. The fourth test required the group to last a stick of incense's time while fighting him alone. However, the geniuses this year were beyond his expectations!
None of the people in this group were below level 30. How was he supposed to win? It had turned into a situation where he had to last a stick of incense against Su Ming and the others' combined attack. He figured that he'd probably get beaten up in just a few minutes!
Reflecting on his experiences over the past two days, Dai Mubai couldn't help but feel helpless. Yesterday, Su Ming beat him up, and today, Xiao Wu did. Now, he was about to be attacked by the entire group.
And to make matters worse, the referee was Vice Dean Zhao Wuji. There was no way he could just let them pass easily. What a disaster!
Dai Mubai thought for a while, then whispered into Su Ming's ear, "Su Ming, please take it easy on me later. I'm the examiner for your fourth test. Originally, you were supposed to team up and fight me alone, but I can't even handle you or Xiao Wu. Now, I can't imagine facing all of you together, so..."
Hearing this, Su Ming smirked. "Let's see how it goes. I'm just a 'control-type' spirit master with no real damage. I'll need to check with the others first."
Dai Mubai was left speechless:
You? A control-type spirit master?
If you said you were an assault or defense-type, I might believe you.
Oh, wait! Su Ming also healed me earlier with his martial soul!
Holy moly!
Su Ming even has healing spirit abilities! He's practically a jack-of-all-trades!
After responding to Dai Mubai, Su Ming didn't plan on engaging with him further. He decided to take this time to write in his diary. Today's events had truly shocked him, and the system was being cryptic again, which was frustrating!
[Today, Xiao Wu, Tang San, and I arrived at Shrek Academy. This place is indeed run-down, and they really do have the rule from the original story where they don't refund the registration fee.]
[Someone wanted a refund, but the elder at the gate, named Li Yusong, asked Dai Mubai to handle the 'troublemakers.' If Li Yusong, a Soul Emperor, had personally stepped in, I could only have watched. While I estimate that I could beat him with my current strength, that would be far too shocking.]
[No level 43 spirit master should be able to defeat a level 62 Soul Emperor. If I really did, some opportunist would definitely want to dissect me. Although I wouldn't be afraid, it would be way too troublesome.]
The girls reading Su Ming's diary were all stunned. How could Su Ming claim that with his current strength, he could match a Soul Emperor like Li Yusong? That kind of leap in levels was unheard of!
Even though Li Yusong's first spirit ring was white, and his spirit ring configuration wasn't optimal, he was still a Soul Emperor!
The girls began to wonder: Was Wood Release really that strong? Or did Su Ming have other abilities they didn't know about?
Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged glances, then started a discussion via the diary.
Ning Rongrong: Do you think what Su Ming said is credible?
Zhu Zhuqing: I'm not sure. I haven't seen him use any other Wood Release techniques. From what he's shown so far, there's no way he could beat Teacher Li Yusong!
After speaking, the two glanced at Xiao Wu. Since she was the closest to Su Ming, maybe she had seen other abilities of his in private.
Xiao Wu: Don't look at me. I don't know either. My brother hasn't shown me any other techniques. Even that "Tree Barrier" he mentioned in the diary was something I saw for the first time a few days ago.
Xiao Wu: However, according to my brother, that's only his second-to-last defensive spirit ability, so there must be stronger ones. As for offensive techniques, he's only shown us the "Cuttings Technique," so we might get to see something more powerful soon!
Ning Rongrong/Zhu Zhuqing: Makes sense!
Xiao Wu added one final thought: Also, don't forget, Su Ming still has the Sharingan! After six years, who knows if his Sharingan has evolved. But I suspect it probably has!
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged looks. Oh, right! They had almost forgotten about that.
Su Ming rarely used his Sharingan, so its presence was often overlooked!
[Now, it was just like in the original story. Li Yusong asked Dai Mubai to handle the situation as a bouncer, because it wasn't appropriate for a Soul Emperor to do that kind of thing.]
[Dai Mubai, overconfident as ever, bragged that if anyone could defeat him, they'd get their registration fee refunded. Naturally, I couldn't let him off the hook. Not refunding the fee in the first place was already wrong.]
[You have to understand, Shrek Academy's registration fee is ten gold soul coins. The Spirit Hall's stipend for a Grandmaster is ten gold soul coins per month, and their admission requirement is being under 13 years old and above level 20. What a scheme!]
[For those who meet the requirements, they can afford it since it's just a month's stipend. But what about those who don't?]
[In reality, there aren't that many geniuses. Most people don't reach the Grandmaster level by age 13; they're just Spirit Masters. And the Spirit Hall's stipend for Spirit Masters is one gold soul coin per month. That means it would take ten months of scrimping and saving to gather ten gold soul coins, which Shrek Academy would just take from them.]
[So, most of those ten gold soul coins were hard-earned savings. Naturally, I couldn't let Shrek Academy get away with taking other people's registration fees like that.]
[And it's obvious that this rule was made by that stingy and crafty Flender. For the sake of money, he's absolutely shameless!]
[With his strength as a level 78 Soul Saint, making money should be easy for him, but he still resorts to these underhanded tricks. Just look at the shop he runs in Soto City—commoners can't afford anything there, and spirit masters don't care for it either. It was only by chance that Tang San found a piece of plate crystal, and even then, Flender tried to rip him off like a miser who had never seen money before!]
[In the end, he didn't charge for it, but that was only because Tang San happened to be related to Yu Xiaogang. If Flender does business like this, who would ever want to buy anything from him?]
[T/N:
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