"Huh?!" Just when everyone thought it was all over, Li Yusong and Ryan were the first to notice something off. There was a flash before their eyes. They had originally thought that the white orb would disappear after hitting the tree as the energy burst out, but not only did it not vanish, it miraculously passed through the tree and then bounced back.
"Boom!" The rebounding orb struck the tree trunk again, creating another loud bang. Right after that, a cracking sound echoed, and the half - man - thick tree snapped and collapsed with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. At the same time, the Deceptive Orb returned to the little guy's head.
After the little guy finished using its first soul skill, it lifted its cute little head and looked at its master. Its bright eyes seemed to be asking if it should use the skill again.
"Alright, put it away," Leo said with a smile when he saw the little guy's look.
The little guy, upon hearing the response, quickly retracted the orb on its head into its body and then scurried back onto Leo's shoulder, nuzzling affectionately against its master's neck.
"Sir, did I pass this round?" Leo asked Li Yusong, who was still in shock.
Li Yusong, who had been immersed in the power of the Deceptive Orb, finally snapped back to reality when he heard Leo's words. He quickly straightened his collar, suppressed his excitement, put on a calm facade, and then casually nodded and said, "Yeah, you passed the first round. But your soul power is only level 20. There are still the second, third, and fourth rounds ahead. Only if you pass the fourth round can you officially become a student of Rekdo Academy."
"Thanks for the heads - up, sir," Leo replied with a nod and a smile. He knew the enrollment process of Rekdo Academy like the back of his hand. He had stayed up for three days and three nights straight when he was binge - watching the anime!
"Alright, Mubai, you take him in first," Li Yusong then said to a strikingly handsome man not far away.
"Yes, sir," Blake also came to his senses at this moment. After answering, he said to Leo, "Come with me." These past two days had brought him so many surprises. First, he met two young soul masters in Soto City, and today he encountered someone with such a strange martial soul. From now on, Rekdo Academy was definitely going to be anything but ordinary.
After Leo followed Blake into Rekdo Academy, the crowd outside finally reacted. There was an immediate outcry, and everyone started whispering among themselves.
"I never expected that teenager to be so powerful. He actually knocked down that big tree! That's crazy!"
"Yeah, yeah! With only level 20 soul power, he can do something like this. It's terrifying!"
"But what surprised me the most was that cute little fox. I thought it was just a pet, but it turned out to be a soul beast. I almost reached out to touch it earlier. Thank goodness I didn't!"
"You're telling me! But come to think of it, aren't humans and soul beasts supposed to be enemies? How did that teenager manage to get a soul beast to fight for him?"
"Who knows? I wish I had a soul beast like that."
While everyone was whispering, Ryan and Xiao Wu were having a conversation as well.
"Big brother, you were right. There's definitely more to it than meets the eye," Xiao Wu said, still shocked by the soul skill of the soul beast just now.
"Yeah, and his martial soul is quite similar to the teacher's. It should be a mutated martial soul," Ryan nodded, thinking about Teacher Gang's martial soul and the martial soul of the teenager just now.
"That's right, big brother! Now that you mention it, I remember. Teacher Gang's martial soul, Luo Sanpao," Xiao Wu said, her eyes lighting up.
"Then if it's similar to the teacher's martial soul, won't he also be unable to break through level 30?"
"Not sure. There must be some differences. The teacher needs to use soul power to summon Luo Sanpao, but his soul beast seems to be able to stay by his side all the time without using extra soul power," Ryan said. Gotta say, Ryan had a sharp eye. He figured out the differences between the two in no time.
"This academy is getting more and more interesting," Xiao Wu said with a smile. First, there was Blake, then the old man in charge of the academy's recruitment showed his Soul Emperor level, and now they saw the power of the soul skill released by the martial soul summoned beast of a passed - student. She was becoming more and more eager for the academy life.
Hearing Xiao Wu's words, Ryan also smiled and said, "Now you won't doubt the teacher's advice, right? This Rekdo Academy is no ordinary place."
"Yeah," Xiao Wu nodded. She had been quite disappointed when she first saw the shabby - looking academy.
While they were talking, another exclamation from Li Yusong came from the front, attracting their attention. Looking over, they saw a girl wearing an elegant and gorgeous cyan short skirt (as per the anime setting). This girl's identity was no ordinary. She was Ava, the only precious daughter of Ning Fengzhi, the master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, who had run away from home.
Ava's appearance made many parents and children feel puzzled. She passed the test directly without even having her soul power checked. Maybe it was because Leo had taken up some time, or maybe there were other reasons. Blake, who had been waiting inside Rekdo Academy, hadn't come out yet, and Aria, who was at the end of the line, also passed the test later.
All of a sudden, the academy got several outstanding students, making Li Yusong extremely delighted. He was full of expectations for this year's students.
Leo had no idea that his actions had caused changes in Rekdo's enrollment process. Even if he knew, he wouldn't care. Hadn't he changed a lot of things already? The Pope of the Spirit Hall was his wife. What was there to be surprised about?
"You guys start the second test here. The teacher will tell you what to do next. I'm going out to take a look," Blake said to Leo when he brought him to the second - test area.
"Thanks for leading the way, senior," Leo said gratefully and then started his long wait.
After some time, a loud hawking sound suddenly came: "Come and take a look! Oscar's Sausage, delicious, sweet, and great value for money! And we also have pure - tasting, refreshing green tea!"
Hearing this shout, Leo perked up a bit. What he was curious about wasn't Oscar's appearance but the mention of green tea! To be honest, ever since he came to this world, he had found that the advertised products from the anime actually existed here, and they were exactly the same as those sold in the supermarkets of his previous life. This made him want to complain. If it weren't for the fact that he could cultivate martial souls, he would have doubted whether this was really the Evans Continent or just a bunch of people putting on a show! Damn, the brand effect was something else! Even goods from another world made their way here. Awesome!