Shrek School Begins

Seeing that Amona had quieted down, Kui said, "Amona, I need to remind you of something. Right now, your relationship with those two isn't great, and you don't talk to each other much, but things will be different in the future. So you need to be careful to maintain your image and avoid revealing unnecessary information. I suggest you use the excuse of offending them before to maintain a cold attitude towards them as much as possible and speak less."

Amona exclaimed in surprise, "No way? I gave them such a hard time, and they still managed to come over? Kui, you're not talking nonsense, are you?"

Kui said calmly, "Two reasons. First, Gain isn't stupid. Second... it's about profit."

……

"Brother, that bastard can represent our family in the struggle for the crown prince position, and you expect me to grovel and fawn over him?!"

Upon leaving the council chamber and hearing his brother's words, Geta looked on in disbelief, as if he were meeting his brother for the first time.

Gaines, too lazy to correct some of Geta's statements, explained: "Geta, I know you've always been hostile to Monaldo, but he doesn't actually have any conflict of interest with us."

"How could it not be there—"

Geta stared wide-eyed.

With talent like Monaldo's, isn't he the biggest threat to their right to succession?

Seeing that Geta still hadn't grasped the point, Gain shook his head and gave the answer directly: "His trip to participate in the imperial selection, vying for the crown prince position, has only two possible outcomes. If he fails, there's nothing to say; the winner of every imperial selection has to kill all the losers to ascend to that position. So naturally, we have no reason to harbor hostility towards a dead man. But if he succeeds? Think about it again!"

Getter was stunned. This was something he had never thought about or analyzed before. Now, putting Gain's words into perspective, he finally understood.

He blurted out, "If he becomes emperor, then we'll be the new royal family! Ah...right, whether he wins or loses, he won't get a marquis title."

Getter looked shocked.

Gain nodded: "Even if we don't help him, we should at least maintain a good public relationship with him. That way, if there's even a one in ten thousand chance that he becomes emperor, we can enjoy benefits far exceeding those of a mere marquis. Otherwise... we should be careful that he doesn't get rid of us afterward."

Getter trembled slightly upon hearing this, then a cold glint flashed in his eyes: "Brother, we've already had a falling out with him, and he's not even a candidate yet, so why don't we make our move now..."

"idiot!"

Gain rebuked him angrily, his face full of disappointment: "Have you forgotten what Father reminded us? He is far stronger than us! Don't court death! Put away your unnecessary thoughts! Throughout the history of Star Luo, if we choose to stand by and watch this struggle for the crown prince, we can at least ensure our safety. But if we recklessly get involved, we might not even know how we died!"

Just like in feudal times, even if the sons of noble families and nobles of high status were defeated, they were rarely executed directly, but were mostly taken prisoner.

In the struggle for the crown prince position, the candidates are direct adversaries, but their respective families also leave room for maneuver.

Unless it's a situation where the entire family is betting everything, current enemies may very well become subordinates or friends in the future.

"I understand, big brother..."

Although Getter couldn't grasp that much, seeing Gain's serious expression, he could only nod and purse his lips.

……

While undercurrents were swirling in the Star Luo Empire, Shrek Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire was also welcoming its enrollment season.

Ning Rongrong was also prominently featured in the freshman queue.

Ning Rongrong from the original timeline looked down on Shrek Academy from the very beginning. Now, with this preconceived notion, she felt even more contemptuous when she saw Shrek Academy's recruitment methods and their swindling and cheating practices for a little gold soul coins.

But on the surface, she still maintained the demeanor of an elegant young lady.

This year's freshmen are missing Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing, but the assessment items are still almost identical to those in the original novel.

Although they lost their teammates from the original timeline, they still managed to reach the fourth level of actual combat.

Zhao Wuji was just an ordinary examiner, and Dai Mubai was the one who conducted the assessment and battles.

Ning Rongrong joined Shrek Academy with the intention of fulfilling her father's mission. After her previous visit, she was no longer very interested in the academy itself, but there were still things she cared about and was interested in.

What I care about most... is naturally Dai Mubai's future situation.

While her teammates were still discussing countermeasures, Ning Rongrong looked curiously at Dai Mubai, whose face remained grim: "Did he fight Tang San again later?"

The answer is, of course, yes.

Given Dai Mubai's personality, how could he possibly swallow this insult?

However, after Tang San shed his self-imposed constraints and truly revealed his ruthless side, how did Dai Mubai manage to make Tang San suffer a setback?

Every time Dai Mubai tripped Tang San up, Tang San would retaliate several times over afterwards!

The only area where Dai Mubai could be considered to have the upper hand was in their usual sparring matches.

However, during this period, Dai Mubai's yang energy dropped significantly, and he was exhausted both physically and mentally by Tang San's antics, which also greatly reduced his combat ability.

Furthermore, Tang San had finally grown up and, with his extraordinary combat talent, was able to gradually narrow the gap with Dai Mubai and begin to be able to stand on equal footing.

Unable to vent his anger, Dai Mubai's temper flared up, and he was no longer the spirited man he had been at the beginning.

Now, with his slightly hunched back, stubble beard, and sunken, dark eyes, he doesn't look like a genius at all. Instead, he looks like a low-level blond thug who is ignored in gang fights.

Unable to find their own place, they can only drift aimlessly, living day by day.

In the past, if Dai Mubai had discovered that a pretty girl like Ning Rongrong was peeking at him, he would have confidently turned around and walked over to chat her up. But now, he had no reaction at all, only thinking about completing the assessment task as soon as possible, and then going home to sleep.

"Ning Rongrong, is there anything you'd like to add?"

The other teenagers in the same group cast hopeful glances at him.

He appeared calm and composed, but when Ning Rongrong looked at him, she noticed a brief shift in his gaze.

Not only this boy, but the other two in the same group were also like this.

Ning Rongrong was no stranger to this kind of attention.

"I'd also like to hear your advice."

"Tsk, you two... there's no need to be so cautious. That senior with dark circles under his eyes doesn't look like much."

The other two boys also expressed their opinions, displaying attitudes that were either gentle and refined or domineering and confident.

Ning Rongrong smiled in response: "You guys can discuss it. After all, I'm only in charge of providing support. The key is still your performance."

Seeing the three boys so excited by her smile and words, Ning Rongrong felt a bit bored.

Her thoughts drifted away, and she began to recall that she hadn't seen You Chen for a long time.

Compared to these boring peers, she naturally missed the time she spent with the mysterious, powerful, and interesting Beast Soul senior.

"Thinking back carefully, it seems that Senior Beast Soul has rarely appeared since I received my father's reply last time."

Ning Rongrong's eyes darted around, and she muttered to herself, "Given Senior Beast Soul's spiritual attainments, could it be that he secretly read Father's letters, which is why he's been showing himself less?"

She was guessing.

Otherwise, Ning Fengzhi hadn't asked her to convey any messages; he had only given her a few gentle reminders. There was no reason for You Chen's attitude to change so drastically.

Then he stopped showing up much.

Ning Rongrong felt that there must be a cause and effect relationship here. It must be that some of her father's responses did not meet the expectations of the Beast Soul Senior, which made the other party unhappy.

And this idea cannot be said to be wrong.

How could You Chen not understand the attitude Ning Fengzhi's reply conveyed?

He understood this, of course, but that didn't mean he was satisfied.

What he wanted was for Ning Fengzhi to act decisively and fully support and cooperate with him to bring the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School under his control, not for him to try to hand over the reins to Ning Rongrong through a peaceful transfer, as he was doing now.

Postponing things to the next generation, to ten or twenty years from now? Forget about whether things will change; he simply doesn't have the patience to wait.

But You Chen had no intention of reminding or warning Ning Fengzhi again.

He had regained most of his focus and was now concentrating on the final step of his physical cultivation.

Once they break through, they will become the true supreme combat force in this lower realm.

The next time they come to settle scores, that will be the time to settle accounts. If Ning Fengzhi is still so indecisive and out of touch with reality, then for You Chen, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has no reason to exist.

Ning Rongrong was unaware of all this; she was simply feeling bored.

"I already told Dad that Shrek Academy is like this, so why did I have to come here? Why not just go easy on me and let me be eliminated directly?"

Of course, this idea is just wishful thinking.

Putting aside the fact that she was eliminated from the assessment at such a shabby school, she didn't really intend to disobey Ning Fengzhi's orders.

"Looks like you're all ready?"

Zhao Wuji's voice suddenly came.

There was a moment of silence. Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes and said calmly, "Then let's begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, Dai Mubai, whose eyes were dull and dejected, immediately entered the Martial Soul Possession state and rushed over.

The powerful aura of the top-tier martial spirit made the three previously boastful teenagers gasp for breath.

Even Ning Rongrong's expression tightened slightly: "Such speed!"

Although I had witnessed Dai Mubai and Tang San's battle before, facing them directly was a completely different experience.

This speed doesn't mean that Dai Mubai's speed is comparable to that of agility-type Soul Masters, but rather that his speed is definitely among the best of power-type Soul Masters.

Dai Mubai, having identified Ning Rongrong as a support-type Soul Master, headed straight for her.

As a support-type Soul Master, Ning Rongrong's speed was probably only comparable to a defense-type Soul Master of the same level, but she immediately boosted her speed and shielded the other three in front of her, hurriedly saying, "Don't just stand there, stop him!"

Although she kept getting distracted during the discussion, Ning Rongrong had been practicing the Distraction Control Technique for many years. While she couldn't multitask as well as You Chen, she certainly didn't miss the three teenagers' discussion.

"Okay!"

Reminded by Ning Rongrong, the three teenagers, who had been intimidated by Dai Mubai's aura, finally reacted and, with the amplification of Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, faced Dai Mubai.

After several rounds of fighting, all three boys secretly groaned in pain.

They initially underestimated Dai Mubai, seeing his seemingly weak demeanor, but now, after a direct confrontation, they realized that he was not as formidable as they thought.

All three were Great Soul Masters, but with Ning Rongrong's support, their combat strength was only comparable to that of top-tier Great Soul Masters.

Although Dai Mubai has been weakened during this period, he is still a top-tier Soul Venerable, comparable to the weaker Soul Sect.

The interception by the three great soul masters was on the verge of collapse.

Ning Rongrong frowned. Tactics were no longer meaningful, because she had to maintain the triple soul skill amplification non-stop in order for the three of them to barely resist Dai Mubai's offensive.

"roar!"

Dai Mubai roared suddenly, his body growing larger, and with one claw, he sent one of the boys flying. At the same time, a wave of white tiger light blasted another boy back.

With only one person left, they are completely ineffective at interception.

Dai Mubai went straight to Ning Rongrong.

Even though he was mentally exhausted, his fighting spirit was ingrained in his bones. Without much thought, he knew that to dismantle this group, he first had to deal with Ning Rongrong.

After all, this assessment is time-limited.

No matter how strong the suppression is, if he can't achieve a quadra kill within an incense stick's time, then it's considered a defeat for him.

"not good!"

Ning Rongrong's eyes widened as she watched Dai Mubai charging towards her.

……

Just minutes later, the hastily assembled four-person team was completely defeated.

Ning Rongrong glanced at the three dejected teenagers and sighed silently.

After all, it was a temporary team. She had done her best, but she was only a support. The outcome would ultimately depend on the performance of the Soul Masters.

The gap in raw strength between the four-person group and Dai Mubai was too great; even with her constant use of soul skill enhancements, she was powerless to turn the tide.

"Well, that's not so bad. I tried my best but still failed the test. Now that I'm home, Dad can't say anything to me."

Thinking that she would soon be able to leave this poor, remote place and go home, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but hum softly.

However... things obviously didn't develop as Ning Rongrong had predicted.

Zhao Wuji glanced at Ning Rongrong silently, then said indifferently to the three teenagers, "I'm sorry, you did not pass the test. The gold soul coins will not be refunded. You can leave now."

He then looked at Ning Rongrong, a pleased expression on his face: "Ning Rongrong, right? As a support-type Soul Master, you performed very well. You passed the assessment!"

Ning Rongrong: "Huh?"

"Ning Rongrong, we've dragged you down."

The three teenagers took turns expressing their apologies and resentment to Ning Rongrong.

There was no envious or cursing about Ning Rongrong passing the assessment.

After all, they had all witnessed Ning Rongrong's performance, strength, and renowned martial spirit.

Moreover, she's good-looking and has a pleasant voice.

Even though they failed the assessment, they had no dissatisfaction with Ning Rongrong. On the contrary, they felt regret and resentment at not being able to have a deeper relationship with her.

And so, that year, only Ning Rongrong from Shrek Academy successfully passed the assessment. (End of Chapter)