While Xiao Wu was reading the contents of the diary, she couldn't help but agree with Su Ming. If she hadn't seen Su Ming's Wood Release technique as a reference, she might have thought the Dragon Beard Needle was quite powerful. But with a comparison, the sight of the Dragon Beard Needle shredding a blanket didn't seem all that impressive.
At the same time, she had a question in her mind: Is the Dragon Beard Needle really that powerful? Could it really tear apart a soul master's flesh once it penetrates their defenses?
[I remember that in the original story, the Dragon Beard Needle had a significant effect when used against Zhao Wuji, making him suffer greatly.]
This immediately piqued the curiosity of the girls. Facing off against Zhao Wuji? Ning Rongrong thought about it and wondered if this meant they would be fighting Zhao Wuji in their entrance exam. The name Zhao Wuji sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place where she had heard it.
[Tomorrow, when we try to enter Shrek Academy, we'll have to pass four tests to get admitted.]
[The first test is a normal soul power check. Applicants must be under twelve years old and have at least a soul power level of 20, with both soul rings having to be yellow—meaning they must be at their optimal configuration.]
The girls were stunned by this. What kind of academy is Shrek? The requirements are so high!
To reach level 20 before the age of twelve, someone would need at least a five-level innate soul power and then train extremely hard to reach that level. Most intermediate soul master academies didn't have such strict requirements, and this condition alone would exclude more than 80% of applicants. What gave Shrek Academy the confidence to set such high standards?
[Despite these harsh requirements, many people still came to apply, but most didn't know the entrance criteria. Initially, they had to pay ten gold soul coins just to apply—a huge sum for an average family and even more for those from poorer backgrounds!]
[The teachers at Shrek Academy didn't care about that, though. Once you paid the fee, it was non-refundable. Even if you didn't meet the entrance requirements, the academy wouldn't return the money.]
The girls frowned at this. Such an ugly way of doing business?
They don't let people in, yet they don't refund the application fee?
Liu Erlong, deep in thought, realized that this rule must have been set by that penny-pinching Flender.
[This rule is excessive. Sure, they want to make money, but there's a limit. Tomorrow, I'll record how many people get scammed out of their money. I remember there being a long line of applicants, but in the end, only Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing got in.]
[As for everyone else, they didn't even make it through the first round.]
[Then comes the soul power test. In the original story, Tang San and Xiao Wu were both at level 29, Zhu Zhuqing was at level 27, and Ning Rongrong was at level 26—all prodigies, far exceeding the minimum requirements.]
[This impressed the teachers conducting the test, and that's when Dai Mubai showed up, allowing the four of them to skip the second and third tests.]
[If your soul power exceeds level 25 and your soul rings are optimally configured, you get to skip the second and third tests.]
Bibi Dong was left speechless. This Shrek Academy really thinks highly of itself. Even the Spirit Hall's academies didn't have this many conditions.
Over level 25 at twelve years old and still needing a fourth test? That's just too much!
[Let me take a moment to rant about Ning Rongrong's soul power level.]
Ning Rongrong's heart skipped a beat. What did I do wrong?
[Zhu Zhuqing was younger than twelve when she entered Shrek, making her the youngest among them. With her innate soul power of level 7, she still managed to reach level 27 by the time of admission.]
[But look at Ning Rongrong. Not only was she older than Zhu Zhuqing, but her soul power level was also one level lower. Sure, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is a support-type martial soul, and it's harder to cultivate, but with innate soul power of level 9, she should have been able to make up the difference. This gap in levels is a bit disappointing.]
Ning Rongrong's face flushed red. She had always believed her talent and strength were impressive. In her clan, she was the best! How did she end up being the weakest here? She couldn't accept it!
But then, she smiled, confident. This time, I have full innate soul power and the help of the system and the Glazed Tile Pagoda Jade Pendant. There's no way my level will be lower than Zhu Zhuqing's!
[However, this is understandable. Ning Rongrong's talent was the highest in the history of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo must have spoiled her rotten, fulfilling all her desires. Of course, she wouldn't have worked as hard in her cultivation. With such a vast family fortune, it's not like she had to rush her training—they had the resources to take it easy.]
Ning Rongrong: ...
While it was true that after awakening her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul and achieving full innate soul power, her father and two grandfathers had indeed pampered her more, she had almost fallen into that trap of complacency. If she hadn't read Su Ming's diary every day and learned about the world and Su Ming's own training efforts, she might have continued thinking that her clan was unbeatable, and she was an unrivaled genius—a bit of a frog in the well.
But things were different now. Ning Rongrong believed with all her heart that her soul power level tomorrow would definitely not be lower than Zhu Zhuqing's!
[In the previous life, many online readers commented that although Ning Rongrong was pretty, she was too arrogant and spoiled—basically a princess syndrome. Of course, some defended her, saying that as the heir to the richest clan in the world, she had every right to act like a princess.]
[I tend to agree with the latter. But to be honest, in the early stages, Ning Rongrong's personality wasn't exactly lovable. She was sheltered too much by her father and her two grandfathers.]
[To put it nicely, she was just a mischievous little devil. To put it bluntly, she was kind of a brat.]
Ning Rongrong: Ahhh! Su Ming, you jerk! How could you say that? I'm not a brat! Explain yourself!
[I still remember, shortly after enrolling at Shrek, Dean Flender assigned Oscar and Ning Rongrong to run ten laps between the academy and Soto City. Since both of them were support-type soul masters with weaker physiques, they needed extra physical training.]
[But for Ning Rongrong, who hadn't put much effort into training as a child, the distance was simply too much. The result was that Oscar completed the run, but Ning Rongrong ended up taking a break in Soto City to shop and eat.]
Ning Rongrong:
Honestly, with her personality, it did seem like something she would do.
[Afterward, Ning Rongrong lied to Flender, claiming she finished the laps, unaware that Flender's martial soul, the Cat-Eagle, had been watching her every move!]
[When Flender exposed her lie, Ning Rongrong became furious and argued that she was a support-type soul master and didn't need physical training because someone would always protect her!]
[Can you imagine how ridiculous that sounds? Well, you can't entirely blame her. Ning Fengzhi and the others protected her too well, so she never experienced the harsh realities of life.]
[Ning Rongrong then boasted arrogantly that with her talent, she didn't need such training. Then, of course, she got smacked with the truth. Flender pointed out that Oscar was a food-type soul master with innate full soul power, Ma Hongjun had the top-tier Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul, and even Zhu Zhuqing, whose innate soul power was weaker, was a level higher than her. Ning Rongrong was left utterly embarrassed.]
[What happened next was even more intense. Ning Rongrong actually threatened Flender, telling him that he was just a mere Soul Saint, and if she wanted, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan could kill him in an instant!]
[Two words: outrageous! How could Ning Rongrong say something so foolish? If Flender had any murderous intent toward her, she'd be dead before anyone from the clan could arrive to save her!]
Ning Rongrong stared at the diary, her expression serious. Was she really that reckless? Was that truly her? She couldn't believe it.
[I think Ning Rongrong wouldn't die, though. Being the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, she must have had someone secretly following her when she sneaked out. But the problem is that Ning Rongrong herself didn't know this. She actually thought she had escaped unnoticed and was quite smug about it—that's the part where I find her foolish.]
[If she really thought no one was protecting her, how did she have the guts to threaten Flender like that?]
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing glanced at each other, both finding the situation strange. Was Ning Rongrong's temper really that bad? They were going to live together soon, and if her personality was really like that, things might get difficult.
[Her behavior naturally made everyone dislike her, but since they weren't very familiar with each other yet, they didn't say much. They simply ignored her.]
[However, Ning Rongrong didn't stop and continued to dig her own grave!]
Ning Rongrong: Am I really that self-destructive?
[Shrek Academy has two graduation requirements: the first is to reach level 40 in soul power before the age of 20, and the second is to earn the Silver Soul Badge in the Great Spirit Arena of Soto City. Both conditions must be met to graduate!]
The girls were stunned, especially Bibi Dong.
Shrek Academy sure has some guts! Reaching level 40 before the age of 20 is something only real geniuses can achieve, and Shrek is just an intermediate academy. How dare they set such a requirement!
As for the second condition, Bibi Dong wasn't too familiar with it since she never needed to participate in spirit arena battles. However, she knew that achieving the Silver Soul Badge wasn't easy. It required consecutive wins, meaning that soul masters needed to either fight at a high level or possess the ability to surpass their own level in battle.
Losing even once would negate any progress, so the only way was to win continuously. And only the most talented soul masters could do that.
Bibi Dong found herself growing more and more interested in this so-called Shrek Academy. Its entrance and graduation requirements surpassed even those of the Spirit Hall Academy. According to Su Ming's diary, the academy was founded by Grandmaster's brother, Flender. How fascinating!
Without wasting time, Bibi Dong called Chrysanthemum Douluo over and commanded coldly, "Elder Chrysanthemum, go gather all available information about Shrek Academy in Soto City, from its founding to the present. Bring it to me!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo was puzzled. Why is the Pope so interested in a random academy? He had never even heard of it before, which made him suspect it wasn't particularly prestigious.
But as the Pope's right hand, he didn't question orders and simply bowed, "Yes, Your Holiness."
Then Chrysanthemum Douluo left.
Meanwhile, Bibi Dong continued to ponder over the diary. Having someone gather information on Shrek Academy wasn't against any rules. She was curious to see what this obscure academy was all about.
[Before entering the arena battles, students first needed to register and sign up for one-on-one or two-on-two matches. Initially, Dai Mubai wanted to form a team with Zhu Zhuqing, but Zhu Zhuqing had seen firsthand Dai Mubai's behavior with other women. Naturally, she gave him the cold shoulder and refused to acknowledge him.]
[So the two-man team ended up being Tang San and Xiao Wu, called the "Three-Five Combination." After the matches, Ning Rongrong, once again, started digging her own grave by mocking Dai Mubai for being useless. I don't remember exactly what she said, but it wasn't pleasant, and Dai Mubai got furious.]
[He grabbed Ning Rongrong by the throat and coldly threatened to rape and kill her if she kept acting like such a brat!]
The girls were shocked. They were stunned not only by Ning Rongrong's behavior but also by Dai Mubai's response. Didn't he realize Ning Rongrong was the heir to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan? If anyone was protecting her, Dai Mubai wouldn't have the chance to make a move before being killed!
Ning Rongrong, now filled with a sense of dread, was relieved that she had Su Ming's diary. She was far more mature now and would never behave as recklessly as described.
At the same time, her opinion of Dai Mubai dropped even lower.
Zhu Zhuqing shared that sentiment. She couldn't believe Dai Mubai would respond to a mere taunt with such a threat. Was it really necessary to escalate things so far?
You may also Like
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT