After hearing
This time it was Dai Mubai's turn to look bitter. "In the twenty years since Shrek Academy was founded, we've enrolled a total of forty-two students. That's a little over two per year on average. If all four of you get admitted this year, it would actually set a record. Before this, the academy hadn't received any new students for two years already. Right now, counting myself, there are only three students still studying at the academy."
"Three?" Almost simultaneously,
Dai Mubai laughed self-deprecatingly. "Across the entire Soul Land, we're probably the only academy where the teachers outnumber the students. Even after admitting all of you, our student body will still never exceed our faculty."
Tang San said, "Then how can the academy survive? Without students, there shouldn't be any income, right?"
Dai Mubai replied, "Why do you think the academy is located in such a tiny village? It's because of the lack of funding. If my family hadn't been providing some financial support, the academy probably would have shut down last year. If no students are admitted again this year, then the three of us currently enrolled will be the very last batch of Shrek Academy students."
"Then why doesn't the academy relax its entrance exam requirements? I saw that quite a few people signed up," the delicate-looking girl said, puzzled.
A trace of reverence appeared on Dai Mubai's face. "The dean once said, better to go without than settle for mediocrity. No matter when, even if Shrek Academy closes its doors forever, it will never accept useless people. Only monsters. Do you know what our graduation requirements are? We're neither a mid-level Soul Master academy nor an advanced one. That's because our standards are entirely different from theirs. We only accept students under thirteen, and they must be extraordinarily gifted. And the graduation requirement is to surpass level forty — surpass level forty before the age of twenty, reaching the rank of Soul Ancestor — before you're allowed to graduate."
"In total, the academy has admitted sixty-two students over the years, but only fourteen have actually graduated. After leaving the academy, every single one of those fourteen became a figure of worldwide renown. The most accomplished among them is now Spirit Hall's youngest elder, with authority second only to the Supreme Pontiff. As for those who didn't graduate — they either failed to complete their cultivation to level forty before turning twenty, or they died while hunting Soul Beasts. The dean always said, if you haven't reached at least level forty-one, don't go out there and embarrass me."
By the end, Dai Mubai's emotions had clearly grown agitated. His respect for Shrek Academy's dean was unmistakable.
Tang San smiled and said to Dai Mubai, "I feel very fortunate to have come here."
Dai Mubai sighed. "The royal family of the Balak Kingdom originally intended to sponsor the academy, but they required that all graduates swear loyalty to the royal family. The dean refused outright. On top of that, Shrek Academy has always been at odds with other academies and has been heavily marginalized, which is how things ended up the way they are now."
Tang San suddenly realized that he was eager to meet the dean Dai Mubai kept talking about. He wanted very much to see what kind of person could maintain such unwavering dedication to building this kind of academy for twenty years straight.
"We're here." Dai Mubai stopped walking. They had arrived at another open clearing. It was considerably smaller than the one from the second test — only about two hundred square meters. A man who appeared to be in his fifties was sitting in a chair, dozing off.
"Teacher Zhao, I've brought people for the fourth test."
"Oh? Someone's actually made it to the fourth test this year? Four of them, no less." The middle-aged man opened his drowsy eyes and looked with some surprise at the four young people before him, as though he'd encountered something truly unbelievable.
Dai Mubai said, "Not only did all four of them make it to the fourth test, but they were all exempted from the second and third tests as well."
Teacher Zhao's eyes lit up, and he rose from his chair. He was not tall, and his features were quite ordinary. Yet he looked incredibly solid. Though he stood even shorter than twelve-year-old Tang San, his frame somehow conveyed a sense of imposing power.
His broad shoulders were like fortress walls, and his outer coat could do nothing to conceal the steel-forged muscles beneath. His expression was mild enough, but his massive build lent him an overwhelming, almost oppressive presence.
"All four above level twenty-five. Not bad, not bad — looks like there are quite a few little monsters this year. I'm the last test. Pass my trial, and you'll officially become members of Shrek Academy. But my test isn't so easy to pass. Practical combat experience is an essential part of every Soul Master's strength. What I'll be testing is your ability in that regard."
His smiling gaze swept across the four of them, warm and gentle. "My name is
(End of Chapter)