"Arrived!"
Soon, after crossing the training grounds, they reached an open space not far from Dean Flender's 'office.' Chu Chengzhou stopped.
At this moment, Zhao Wujie was sitting on a chair, dozing off. Chu Chengzhou approached and said, "Teacher Zhao, I've brought them for the fourth round of the assessment."
"Hmm? Two more this year?"
Zhao Wujie opened his sleepy eyes and looked at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing in surprise.
Given the poor conditions of Shrek Academy, any candidate who made it to the fourth round was almost guaranteed to be accepted.
Last year, Chu Chengzhou and Xiao Wu arrived halfway through, and Zhao Wujie never expected that two more students would be added to the academy this year.
Could it be that after twenty years of hardship, Shrek Academy was finally turning around?
"Yes, not only did they reach the fourth round, but they were also exempted from the second and third rounds."
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wujie's eyes brightened, and he straightened up.
"Level 25 or above? Not bad, not bad!"
"I'm Zhao Wujie, and this is the last test for your admission. If you pass my test, you'll officially become part of Shrek Academy. However, this test won't be easy."
With that, Zhao Wujie stood up and walked to the center of the open space. He drew a circle with a two-meter diameter on the ground and then showed a mischievous smile. He looked at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing and said, "See this circle?"
"Yes."
The two nodded, though they didn't fully understand.
"The test is simple! Chu kid, you'll stand in this circle. Your task is to force him out of the circle within the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Even if only half of his foot steps outside, I'll still count it as passing the test!"
Zhao Wujie smiled, his hand stroking his chin.
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were stunned.
"Teacher Zhao, our task is just to force Senior Chu out of this circle?"
Ning Rongrong couldn't believe the task Zhao Wujie gave them.
Such a small circle, you could step out of it with just a few steps. Is this looking down on me... or on my partner, who has my support?
"Looking down? Little girl, I must say, your confidence deserves some respect from me!"
"Alright, you two have an incense stick's time to discuss tactics. After that, the test officially begins!"
Zhao Wujie glanced at Ning Rongrong with a strange expression, then took out a stick of sandalwood incense from his storage soul tool, lit it, and stuck it into the ground nearby.
He then sat back in his chair, closed his eyes, and continued his nap.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged looks. They weren't stupid, and they could tell from Zhao Wujie's words that he had great confidence in Chu Chengzhou's abilities.
Perhaps Chu Chengzhou's strength was far beyond their expectations?
Thinking this, they looked toward Chu Chengzhou.
Ning Rongrong's clear eyes flickered, and she summoned her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Martial Soul, bowing toward Chu Chengzhou. "I'm Ning Rongrong, Martial Soul: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile, level 26 auxiliary soul master. I look forward to learning from you, Senior Chu!"
Before non-lethal combat, it was customary for soul masters to announce their martial souls and soul power. Since her martial soul and soul power were already revealed, why not use this opportunity to gather information on Chu Chengzhou?
At the very least, she needed to figure out what type of soul master he was.
"You want to gather intel on me? It's fine, I'll tell you. My martial soul is the True Spirit Flag, level 34 Weapon Soul Master."
Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow, and a flash of blue soul power appeared in his hand. Three soul rings, yellow, yellow, and purple, shone brightly, and a small flag with intricate designs of a tree, a lion, and a phoenix appeared in his hand.
"True Spirit Flag?"
Ning Rongrong frowned, thinking hard, but couldn't recall any information about this martial soul.
A flag martial soul? What type of soul master was this?
An auxiliary or healing type? Definitely not, or else Chu Chengzhou wouldn't have been restricted from stepping out of the circle in the test.
A speed attacker? No, that didn't fit either. Speed attackers usually had beast-type martial souls.
A power attacker or control type? Hmm, that was possible.
Ning Rongrong then pulled Zhu Zhuqing aside to discuss tactics.
Of course, there wasn't much strategy to discuss. She was just a support-type soul master with good copy abilities, able to boost teammates' strength and speed by 30%. As for the rest, it all depended on Zhu Zhuqing.
"Okay, you're responsible for chaos, I'll handle the gagging."
"You two girls have figured out your strategy?"
Soon, the incense stick was burnt out, and Zhao Wujie, still lying in his chair, opened his eyes.
"Ready to begin?"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded.
"Good, Chu kid, step forward!"
"By the way, don't think just because you're facing two younger girls, you can go easy on them. If I catch you holding back, don't blame me for being harsh."
Zhao Wujie lit another incense stick and warned Chu Chengzhou.
Chu Chengzhou: "..."
Go easy? Not a chance!
If I don't go all out, who will take responsibility if the fish I've been planning to catch slip away?
Walking into the circle Zhao Wujie had drawn, Chu Chengzhou crossed his arms and looked at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.
"Seven Treasures, spin out the glass, Seven Treasures, name them: Strength, Speed!"
Ning Rongrong chanted the incantation for her soul skills, and her first and second soul rings flashed brightly. Two streams of colorful light shot from her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile, entering Zhu Zhuqing's body, who had her Martial Soul, the Ghostly Cat, activated.
"Zhuqing, go!"
Ning Rongrong stepped back a few paces, signaling that she would only be assisting.
"Won't you release your Martial Soul?"
Seeing that Chu Chengzhou had already put away his flag martial soul, Zhu Zhuqing frowned and asked.
She wanted to join Shrek Academy, but she didn't need Chu Chengzhou to go easy on her during the test.
"To put it arrogantly, with your strength, you don't need me to use my Martial Soul."
Chu Chengzhou said lightly.
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing gave him a deep look, then her soul power surged, and she transformed into a shadow that charged toward Chu Chengzhou.
"First Soul Skill, Ghostly Stab!"
Her claws glowed with purple light, and her speed surged, aiming directly at the seemingly unguarded Chu Chengzhou.
But just as her claws were about to strike his chest, Chu Chengzhou's right hand shot out, grabbing her wrist with precision.
With a forceful twist, he threw the 100-pound Zhu Zhuqing effortlessly.
Fortunately, as a speed attacker, Zhu Zhuqing was agile. Mid-air, she flipped, and with her long legs wrapped in tight leather pants, she landed on the ground, leaving two long skid marks before stopping, avoiding a tumble.
After this trial attack, Zhu Zhuqing's mood became heavy.
Sure enough, Senior Chu's strength exceeded her expectations. He easily neutralized her two main soul skills.
But giving up was not an option. In her dictionary, there was no such thing as giving up.
Pushing off the ground, Zhu Zhuqing charged again.
Seeing this, and knowing Zhu Zhuqing's battle tactics, Chu Chengzhou's soul power flared, and a transparent blue soul power shield appeared around him.
The next moment, Zhu Zhuqing closed in. Her second soul ring lit up, and she spun rapidly, her sharp claws becoming a blur of shadows, attacking in a flurry.
"Cling! Cling! Cling!"
The sound of claws hitting the shield echoed, but the shield remained intact, showing no sign of breaking.
Compared to the self-created ultimate defense technique that was comparable to a ten-thousand-year defense soul skill, Zhu Zhuqing's hundred-year attack soul skill was still far too weak.
'Ghostly Hundred Claws, spinning and attacking twice with each hand, a hundred attacks... does she really expect to get dizzy after fifty spins?'
Watching Zhu Zhuqing's claw attacks, which seemed more like a cat scratching, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but think to himself.
Perhaps it was due to the peculiar nature of her soul skill? Otherwise, even a Title Douluo wouldn't be able to keep their brain intact after fifty spins in just a few seconds.
This time, Chu Chengzhou didn't counterattack.
His defense skill, now upgraded to black level, could easily withstand the attack, so there was no need to retaliate.
After the hundred claws, Zhu Zhuqing stepped back, staring blankly at Chu Chengzhou.
For a speed attacker, the most dangerous opponent was one with incredibly strong defense.
The Ghostly Hundred Claws, her strongest attack, couldn't even break his defense. What was the point of continuing this battle?
Not only was Zhu Zhuqing confused, but Ning Rongrong, who had been standing aside, was also dumbfounded.
With her support, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't even break through his defense. What was left for them to do? Was this just a show of scratching?
At that moment, Chu Chengzhou's expression suddenly turned pale. His soul power shield dissipated, and he clutched his chest, trembling as he pointed at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Your soul skill is so powerful! Cough, cough... I didn't expect every attack to carry internal force, penetrating my defense... cough, cough, I concede!"
He staggered back a few steps, and one foot stepped outside the circle Zhao Wujie had drawn.
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing looked down at her hands in confusion. My Ghostly White Claws are that strong? I didn't know!
Zhao Wujie: "..."
Ning Rongrong: "..."
"Chu, are you acting with me?"
With a darkened face, Zhao Wujing said with an unfriendly expression.
"Cough, cough... Teacher Zhao, I'm not acting. Cough, cough, I admit, I was careless this time and didn't dodge, but I must say, this junior's soul skill attack is indeed powerful!"
Chu Chengzhou's face turned pale, breathing heavily, pretending to be fine on the outside but actually suffering internal injuries.
"Very well! Chu, tomorrow you'll attend my practical combat class!"
Zhao Wujing cracked his knuckles ominously as he spoke.
"Uh... Teacher Zhao, you must know, thirty years on the east side of the river, thirty years on the west side, don't bully the young when they're poor!"
Chu Chengzhou lowered his head in silence for a moment, then raised his head dramatically and quoted the famous line from Xiao Huohuo, a fiery young man from the neighboring continent.
"Pfft—!"
Ning Rongrong burst out laughing, unable to contain herself.
It seemed like Chu Chengzhou was implying that one day, when he grew stronger, he would be looking for Zhao Wujing for practical lessons every day!
"Good, good, good, as expected of my student, Chu, you're bold! No need to wait until tomorrow, let's have a practical class right now and see where your confidence comes from to speak to me like that!"
Saying this, Zhao Wujing grinned menacingly, clenched his fists, and walked toward Chu Chengzhou.
However, just as Zhao Wujing took a step forward, he saw Chu Chengzhou activate his body technique and, with a whoosh, quickly ran off into the distance, leaving only one sentence behind: "Teacher Zhao, I have something to do, I'm leaving first!"
Taking Zhao Wujing's practical class? He must have been out of his mind to even think about it!
If his third summoned spirit was a Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, he might be able to have a tug-of-war with Zhao Wujing. Even if he lost, at least Zhao Wujing would know he wasn't a soft persimmon to be squeezed at will.
Unfortunately, his third summoned spirit was a Ten-Thousand-Year Fire Phoenix, which was far weaker than Zhao Wujing. Unless he flew into the sky before the fight started, he would only be at the mercy of Zhao Wujing.
"Hmph~!"
Watching Chu Chengzhou's retreating figure, Zhao Wujing snorted coldly, but did not chase after him. He returned to his seat, turned to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, and said, "You two are off the hook!"
"Thank you, Teacher Zhao!"
The two thanked Zhao Wujing.
"Go do what you need to do, don't disturb me from sleeping."
Waving his hand, Zhao Wujing signaled that they could leave.
"Uh~ Teacher Zhao, where should we go next?"
Ning Rongrong was a bit confused. They were new to Shrek Academy and didn't know what to do next. Wasn't there anyone to act as a guide?
Ah, it seemed like the guide had just run off?
"You two should go find that Chu kid."
Zhao Wujing waved his hand impatiently.
Ning Rongrong: "..."
Zhu Zhuqing: "..."
Chu Chengzhou hadn't run very far. Seeing that Zhao Wujing wasn't following, he stopped.
"Chu, thank you for going easy on us earlier!"
Ning Rongrong said with a smile.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't speak but nodded in agreement.
If it weren't for Chu Chengzhou deliberately holding back, they would have never passed the test.
"No problem, you two just arrived, and there's nothing much going on in the academy. I'll take you to your dormitory. By the way, do you want to stay together?"
Chu Chengzhou waved his hand.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing looked at each other and then nodded.
"Alright, follow me!"
Soon, Chu Chengzhou led them to two wooden houses that were very close to each other, one of which even had a corner of the roof missing.
Yes, these two wooden houses were the dormitories where he and Xiao Wu had stayed when they first arrived at Shrek Academy.
Flender was indeed a miser. Even though he had some money, he still couldn't bear to renovate the academy's dormitories.
However, the food in the cafeteria wasn't bad. The nutrition was definitely guaranteed, even if the taste wasn't the best.
"Here, these two dormitories are empty. You can choose one."
Chu Chengzhou pointed to the two wooden houses.
"Uh... Chu, is this the academy's dormitory?"
Ning Rongrong widened her eyes, looking at Chu Chengzhou in disbelief.
"Yes, this is the dormitory for Shrek Academy students."
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
"What about that one?"
Ning Rongrong immediately pointed to a two-story wooden building a few dozen meters away.
Compared to the shabby wooden houses in front of them, the distant two-story wooden building was much larger and looked very refined, with a higher class.
"That one is my dormitory."
Chu Chengzhou shook his head.
Ning Rongrong blinked, somewhat confused.
As a student of Shrek Academy, why was he staying in a refined wooden building, while they were assigned to these shabby dorms that even dogs would turn away from?
Noticing Ning Rongrong's confusion, Chu Chengzhou explained, "The academy's dormitories are old and leak when it rains. I can't stand it. The wooden building over there was built by me, not owned by the academy."
Immediately, both of them were shocked.
Did students have to pay to build their own dormitories when they came to Shrek Academy?!
What if one day the teaching building broke down? Would students have to build a new one?
Flender: Sorry, but our teaching building will never break down because we don't have one.
"Chu, I see that your wooden building is quite big. It should have some empty rooms, right?"
Ning Rongrong asked tentatively.
As a pampered young lady, Ning Rongrong didn't want to stay in a leaky, run-down wooden house.
As for staying in the same wooden building as a male student? As long as they weren't in the same room, what was the big deal?
Many smaller soul master academies had male and female students staying in the same dormitory building.
"There are two empty rooms, and if you want to stay, it's not impossible, but you have to get my sister's permission first."
Chu Chengzhou stroked his chin and said.
"Your sister?"
Ning Rongrong blinked, curious.
"Yes, her name is Xiao Wu."
Just as Chu Chengzhou was about to introduce Xiao Wu, he saw Xiao Wu, who looked somewhat upset, running out of the wooden building toward the academy gate.
"Xiao Wu, over here!"
Chu Chengzhou called out to Xiao Wu.
Hearing Chu Chengzhou's call, Xiao Wu quickly ran over.
"What's with that expression? Did something happen?"
Seeing Xiao Wu's not-so-good expression, Chu Chengzhou hurriedly asked.
"Brother, I'm sick."
Xiao Wu said with some frustration.
Earlier, she had been reading a novel in the house when she suddenly felt a stomach ache. Thinking it was just food poisoning, she went to the restroom, only to find that she was bleeding.
But it wasn't serious. She just needed to find Chu.
The Qing Tree's Xiao Qing was a healing-type summoned spirit, with a healing soul skill that could heal injuries.
The Bright Lion's Xiao Bai was an auxiliary-type summoned spirit, with a soul skill that could remove curses, poison, and other abnormal conditions.
With these two summoned spirits, no matter if it was illness or injury, it could be easily resolved.
"By the way, brother, who are they?"
Xiao Wu pointed at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.
Both of them were very beautiful, and one had an incredible figure. If Xiao Chu got charmed by them, wouldn't Xiao Wu lose out?
"Forget about that for now, tell me what's going on. You were fine earlier, how did you suddenly get sick?"
Chu Chengzhou was puzzled. Soul masters have far better physical constitution than ordinary people, so it's unusual for them to get sick. Xiao Wu had been fine just earlier, so how did she get sick after half an hour?
"I don't know what kind of sickness it is. I just suddenly had a stomach ache, and then I started bleeding."
Xiao Wu couldn't quite explain it herself. She had always been in good health, and since she first took form, she had never been sick!
"Stomach ache, bleeding?"
Hearing this, Chu Chengzhou raised an eyebrow. Could it be that Xiao Wu had started her period?
He remembered that most girls would experience this around the age of thirteen or fourteen, so it wasn't impossible.
Without thinking too much, Chu Chengzhou summoned his healing-type summoned spirit, the Qing Tree.
Then, he activated his healing soul skill. A greenish light radiated from the Qing Tree and entered Xiao Wu's body.
Immediately, Xiao Wu felt comfortable all over, the pain in her stomach disappeared, and she felt warm.
"How is it? Does it still hurt?"
Once the green light faded, Chu Chengzhou asked Xiao Wu.
"It doesn't hurt anymore!"
Xiao Wu touched her stomach and smiled again.
Chu Chengzhou nodded and said, "Xiao Wu, you're not sick. This is just something that happens when girls reach a certain age. If you ever feel uncomfortable, just come to me."
It was just a natural process. With the healing abilities of the Qing Tree, he was definitely a friend to women everywhere.
"Not sick? Something that happens to all girls?"
Xiao Wu was stunned.
But it didn't matter. As long as she felt better, she could just go to Xiao Chu whenever she wasn't feeling well.
"Hello, I'm Ning Rongrong, 12 years old, with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Tower as my martial soul, a level 26 auxiliary soul master, and a new student at the academy."
"Zhu Zhuqing, also 12 years old, with the martial soul: Ghostly Spirit Cat, a level 27 agility attack soul master."
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing each greeted Xiao Wu.
"My name is Xiao Wu, I'm 117 years old, with the martial soul: Soft Bone Rabbit, a level 42 assault soul sovereign. You can just call me Xiao Wu Jie!"
Upon hearing that they were new students at the academy, Xiao Wu let out a quiet sigh of relief and also introduced herself.
Since they were new students at the academy, they were probably not some random fox spirits.
Of course, Xiao Wu didn't fully relax her guard. It wasn't because she wasn't confident, but these two new students were quite beautiful. If she wasn't careful, Xiao Chu might be charmed away.
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong was a bit surprised.
It wasn't that she was shocked by Xiao Wu's age and strength—being a level 42 Soul Sovereign at 17 wasn't too outrageous. There were plenty of geniuses on the continent at this level.
What surprised her was Chu Chengzhou's age. Since Xiao Wu was 17, and she called Chu Chengzhou her brother, that meant Chu Chengzhou was at least 17 years old.
This didn't quite add up!
There were plenty of three-ring Soul Sages in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but Ning Rongrong had never seen someone like Chu Chengzhou, a three-ring Soul Sage with such strong combat power.
Generally speaking, the stronger the combat ability at the same level, the stronger the martial soul, which also meant better cultivation talent.
A 17-year-old at level 34 was not bad, but this didn't match Chu Chengzhou's combat power.
"Xiao Wu, are you really 17 years old?" Ning Rongrong couldn't help but ask.
"Is there any doubt? My brother and I were both born in the year 2625 of the Continental Calendar!"
Xiao Wu said seriously.
She also knew that her soul power cultivation speed was beyond common sense. Except for Dean Flanders who had known it for a long time, she would not tell anyone else her and Xiao Chu's real age.