Before long, Su Ming and the others, led by Dai Mubai, arrived at the site of the fourth test. Sitting before them was a rugged-looking middle-aged man.
Su Ming guessed in his heart that this man must be Zhao Wuji!
At this moment, Dai Mubai spoke up: "Your fourth test is to assess your combat abilities. Some soul masters may have high soul power levels but lack battle experience. Our academy doesn't accept people like that. As the headmaster said, we don't want anyone who's spoiled and pampered!"
Hearing Dai Mubai's words, everyone fell silent for a moment. Xiao Wu couldn't help but angrily say, "Are you selecting students or picking wives? Your academy is so run-down! I have to ask, how many students have you actually admitted?"
Dai Mubai let out a bitter smile, waving his hand helplessly, "This rule was set by our headmaster, and I can't do anything about it. As far as I know, our Shrek Academy has only admitted a total of 42 students since its founding, averaging about two students per year. If all five of you get admitted this year, that'll set a new record!"
The women watching the livestream were all shocked. They never expected that Shrek Academy had only accepted 42 students in total. What was the headmaster thinking?
Bibi Dong inwardly scorned Flender's rule. If she remembered correctly, Flender himself was a lone man with no family background, just a commoner. He should understand how hard life is for commoners. Since he has this level of strength, instead of doing his best to help, at the very least, he shouldn't run the academy like this. Was this academy just a means for him to make money?
Xiao Wu, still angry, said, "Let's make this clear: I only joined this academy because of my brother. If the teaching quality isn't good, I might drop out at any time!"
Tang San hurriedly added, "Xiao Wu, don't get worked up. Shrek Academy's teaching staff should be quite strong, as you already know. And as for the theory teacher, there's no need to worry about that either. I believe my teacher will come here soon. He's a theoretical master on the entire continent."
Hearing Xiao Wu talk about dropping out, Tang San couldn't help but try to persuade her. He himself wasn't sure why he felt so compelled.
Su Ming glanced at Tang San, wondering why it seemed like Tang San was heading down the path of becoming Xiao Wu's devoted follower.
Xiao Wu shot a glance at Tang San and said, "We'll see when the time comes."
Tang San let out a sigh of relief, then turned to Dai Mubai with a question: "Since you admit so few students each year, with no student intake, how does the academy manage to keep running?"
Dai Mubai sighed, "It's precisely because of a lack of funds that our academy is located in such a remote place. If it weren't for a bit of support from my family, the academy probably would've closed down last year."
Upon hearing this, Su Ming couldn't help but think: With such a dilapidated academy, surrounded by old wooden buildings and lacking any real resources, what expenses do they actually have?
Shrek Academy has been around for so long. Even without students, they should be able to run just from the 'registration fees.' Su Ming suspected that most of Dai Mubai's family support had been pocketed by that miser Flender. Moreover, with teachers of the academy all having at least Soul Emperor-level strength, shouldn't they have some other means of making money?
At that moment, Zhao Wuji opened his eyes and smiled mischievously. "Oh, quite a few new students this year, and they even got through the first two tests without having to try. Not bad, not bad!"
As he spoke, Zhao Wuji stood up, stretched his body, and cracked his knuckles with a loud popping sound.
Then, he glanced at Xiao Wu and said, "I hope you can still talk like that later. Heh heh."
Xiao Wu turned her head, refusing to look at him. Her expression was one of disgust. If it weren't for Su Ming and the restrictions of the system, she wouldn't have come to this scam of an academy in the first place!
Seeing Zhao Wuji approaching, Dai Mubai spoke respectfully, "Teacher Zhao, these are the five new students for this year. Are you ready to begin the test?"
Zhao Wuji took a good look at the five of them, then laughed heartily, "Not bad. The test for the fourth stage is simple. All five of you will team up, and if you can hold out against my attacks for the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn, you pass."
Seeing so many new students this year piqued Zhao Wuji's interest. It had been a while since he had exercised, and he was eager for some fun. Of course, even if they couldn't last a full stick of incense, they would still be admitted. Deep down, he didn't believe these newcomers could hold out that long. He just wanted to push them to use their full strength to make it more entertaining.
Hearing this, Dai Mubai was stunned, "Teacher Zhao, that's not according to the rules! The fourth test is supposed to be surviving one stick of incense against my attacks, not yours. How could they possibly hold out against you?"
Zhao Wuji glared at Dai Mubai. "Rules? The headmaster isn't here, so my rules are the rules. Stop talking nonsense."
Turning back to the five of them, he said, "You have one stick of incense to get to know each other and come up with a strategy. Starting now!"
As he spoke, Zhao Wuji produced a stick of incense out of thin air, lit it with a snap of his fingers, and then flicked it into the ground, where it stood firmly.
He returned to his seat, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes as if he were meditating.
Seeing that Teacher Zhao insisted on it, Dai Mubai had no choice. He also felt somewhat relieved—at least he wouldn't be the one getting beaten up. That saved him some face.
Dai Mubai gathered Su Ming and the others to one side. The five of them huddled together.
Dai Mubai said seriously, "Originally, with your abilities, passing the fourth test would've been easy, especially with these two." He glanced at Su Ming and Xiao Wu before continuing, "But now that Teacher Zhao is personally involved, you're in danger!"
Tang San asked, "Is this Teacher Zhao at the same level as the teacher at the gate, a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse?"
Dai Mubai shook his head, "No."
Hearing this, Tang San smiled, "Then that's fine. With our average strength around the thirtieth level, the five of us working together should be able to hold out for one stick of incense against a Soul King."
Dai Mubai shot Tang San a glance, as if he were looking at an idiot. "Teacher Zhao isn't a Soul King, he's a Soul Sage. He's the vice principal of the academy, second only to the headmaster!"
After saying that, Dai Mubai thought to himself: If Teacher Zhao were weaker than Li Yusong, how could Li Yusong be in charge of admissions?
[T/N:
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