15 Shrek Academy (1)

Early the next morning, Durand hastily left his hotel room to find Shrek Academy. According to the address Grandmaster gave to him, Shrek Academy was near the south gate of Suotuo City. After exiting the south gate and traveling for half an hour, Durand could see a small village in the distance. It was even smaller than Holy Spirit village where Durand and Tang San had come from. There was a small fence around the village to guard against wild animals. At the village entrance, there seemed to be a good amount of people gathered for some unknown purpose.

Feeling hungry, Durand paused to take a short break. From his space ring, he pulled out a hot breakfast plate. Loaded with scrambled eggs, ham, seasoned potatoes, and mixed vegetables, Durand summoned his guardian spirit and made his shield float above the ground at knee height, facing upwards. Then he promptly sat on the shield and enjoyed his hearty breakfast.

Just as he finished his food and had stored his now empty dishes back into his spirit ring, he suddenly heard a cheerful female voice coming from the direction of Suotuo City.

"Ge! I can see Durand. Durand! Wait for us!" yelled Xiao Wu.

Turning around, he could see Tang San carrying Xiao Wu on his back. Together, the three of them walked quickly toward the village where the amount of people gathered had grown. As they neared the village, they could see that the amount of people consisted mainly of youngsters similar to their age as well as adults who seemed to be their parents. At the village entrance, there was a desk set up with an old man behind it. Above the village entrance was a faded log arch with a faded engraving, 'Shrek Academy'. Above the two words, there was a green portrait of a humanoid bright green monster's head. A similar green round emblem was found on the chest of the old man's robes. This was clearly the Shrek Academy's crest.

Tang San and Xiao Wu were clearly extremely surprised by how old and run down the academy looked. Nuoding's Primary Spirit Master Academy was far larger and cleaner. Durand though, knew that Shrek Academy had very little students and could not afford the unnecessary extravagance that other spirit academies indulged in. Of course, this was much more due to the extreme and stringent requirements for enrollment.

Smiling to the other two, Durand said, "Come on, let's have a look before we judge the book by its cover."

As they walked forward, they learned from overhearing snippets of the crowd's conversation that Shrek Academy was indeed incredibly prestigious. Spirit Hall, the largest organization on the continent, had informed many of them that graduating from this spirit master academy could allow one to become an imperial viscount.

Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Durand quickly entered the line in front of the desk. At this moment, a young boy had come to the table to apply. By eavesdropping, they could hear what was happening at the front of the line.

The old man lazily said, "The application fee is ten gold spirit coins. Put it into the chest to the side."

The parents following the young boy fished out the money and placed them into the chest.

"Hold out your hand," said the old man.

The old man kneaded on the arm for a little while and shook his head and said, "You are too old. Leave."

The parents quickly came up to speak with the elder, "Teacher, my son only passed his thirteenth birthday recently. Can't you be flexible once?"

Impatiently, the old man spoke again, "Don't hold up the line. Don't you know Shrek Academy's rules? The age limit is 12 years old. Anyone older than 12 years are not accepted. Leave."

"Then our application fee…" the boy's father hesitantly said.

"Application fees generally are not refunded," said the old man impolitely.

The father grew angry and demanded, "We won't leave unless you give us our application fee. This is clearly a scam for money. If I had known Shrek Academy was so rotten, we would not have come."

The old man gave them a glance and indifferently called, "Mubai, someone wants their application fee back. You handle it."

From the side, a figure leapt up and said, "Application fees are returned as long as you can defeat me."

This was the same figure that Durand had passed as he walked away from the Rose Hotel. Releasing his spirit power, his two yellow hundred year rings and one purple thousand year spirit rings floated up and down his body. The surging spirit power radiated out intangible pressure in the air. His evil eyes continuously flashed a cold light as they stared at the obstinate father and son.

These powerful rings frightened the father and son and they quickly left with their tails hidden between their legs. The oppressive force produced by him could not be endured by ordinary people. As his eyes swept over the crowd, a third of them could not stand it and immediately left.

By now, another child had come before the old man with his parents to apply. His mother seemed to be confident as she deposited ten gold spirit coins into the wooden chest and the young girl held out her hand.

Kneading her arm, the old man said, "Exactly twelve years old. Release your spirit, let me have a look."

The girl nodded and released her spirit. A faint green spirit power was released and a single hundred spirit ring rhythmically hovered up and down his body. A long vine spiraled around her body. This spirit somewhat resembled Tang San's blue silver grass, except that her spirt was a vine and looked very similar to the ghost vine that had become Tang San's second spirit ring.

Seeing this, the old man shook his head again, saying, "Not qualified. Leave."

The girl's parents had originally been confident but when they heard the old man's decision, their expressions immediately froze.

The mother quickly asked, "Why? My daughter was a student of great ability at her primary spirit academy. Did you not see that her spirit ring is a hundred year? Spirit masters possessing a hundred year spirit ring cannot be many."

With the same indifference, the old man said, "The first spirit ring being a hundred year spirit ring is naturally pretty good. However, she is only an ordinary person."

The girl's father frowned and said, "I don't understand."

The old man became impatient. Immediately standing up, he faced the parents as well as the applicants lined up behind them and declared, "You should all be clear about the requirements of Shrek Academy since you have come to apply. Without understanding, you are just giving away your money. Right now there is still time for those who have yet to apply to regret. Do any of you know what the meaning of 'Shrek' in our Shrek Academy?"

Most of the applicants stared back with blank expressions.

The old man coldly said, "Shrek is a kind of monster; even among spirit beasts, it is still an odd existence. The meaning of Shrek Academy is that this is an academy only for monsters. One could also say that we only accept monsters and do not accept ordinary people. If you have already turned thirteen years old or your spirit power does not exceed the twentieth rank, you need not waste your time here."

Originally, Tang San had been a little disappointed regarding the Shrek Academy. But after hearing this old man's words, the interest in his heart ticked up. An academy only for monsters? Doesn't 'monster' also mean genius?

While speaking, the old man's body suddenly released an incomparably tyrannical atmosphere. Even with Durand, Tang San, and Xiao Wu's strength, they could not help but shiver all over. An intense red light abruptly released from the old man's body and a long staff possessing countless fine patterns appeared in his right hand. Most terrifying of all were the six spirit rings rising up from under his feet, their dazzling beautiful light immediately became the focus of everyone present.

The six spirit rings' colors were respectively one white, one yellow, three purple, one black. In other words, this meant one ten year spirit ring, one hundred year spirit ring, three thousand year spirit rings and one ten thousand year spirit ring. Unexpectedly, this shabbily dressed old man was a sixtieth rank spirit emperor level.

Even in the entire Balak Kingdom, spirit masters with similar power could be counted with one's fingers. The long staff in the old man's hand, rung with a deep muffled sound out in all directions, making all the people nearby stagger at once.

Facing the dumbstruck three before him and waving his hand, the old man said, "Next."

The light of the spirit rings vanished and all the spirit power also disappeared in a flash. The old man again resumed his previous lazy appearance, as if he had not at all just released that dominating spirit emperor pressure.

If there were still some parents unsatisfied because of the old man's words, then right now they were all keeping quiet out of fear. Who dared offend a spirit emperor? And one with a ten thousand year spirit ring at that? One must know, a spirit emperor's strength was equal to about a thousand elite soldiers.

The disdain and contempt in the eyes of the parents and applicant students vanished instantly and completely. If the teacher responsible for applications was a sixtieth ranked strength, then what was the strength of the upper level faculty at Shrek Academy?

But very soon, the majority of the parents' faces all revealed sad and regretful expressions, silently bringing their children to leave.

To reach the twentieth ranked spirit power at only twelve years old, was extremely rare. Just as the old man had said, that requirement meant that those who could get into the examination possessed a talent truly reaching a monstrous level. The line that originally held more than a hundred applicants quickly dwindled down to less than twenty applicants. The old man did not seem to mind the number of students, and started back with his application work.

The people able to stay behind were clearly were confident to pass this old man. After handing over the ten gold coin application fee, the old man told them their first entrance exam was passed and they could enter the Academy's second entrance exam. The parents could not follow the examinees inside the Academy.

It seemed that Shrek Academy's high standards for enrolling students had excited Xiao Wu and whispered to Tang San and Durand, "This academy is pretty interesting, especially what that teacher said about only accepting monsters and not ordinary people. Truly very smart."

"It seems that we had needlessly doubted Grandmaster. This Shrek Academy is in no way ordinary," said Tang San with a slight smile.

As a result of nearing the front of the line, Dai Mubai could be seen by Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Durand. Just two days ago, Tang San and Xiao Wu had fought to claim the room at the Rose Hotel. Seeing Tang San and Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai gave them a nod in recognition but also spread his hands helplessly to show that they could only enter through their own abilities. When he saw Durand who was close with Tang San and Xiao Wu though, he had a moment of confusion. After all, Durand had not been accompanying the two of them into the Rose Hotel because he didn't want to sleep in such an amorous environment.

Suddenly, the old man behind the desk exclaimed in shock. Durand's attention was pulled to the front where the old man was staring at the young lady in front of him in shock. The young lady had no parents for company and was alone. Wearing a simple white long skirt, she gave people a very neat feeling. Her hair was cut short to ear level and she was about half a head shorter than Xiao Wu. Though she faced away from them, her smooth skin and thin figure gave off a delicate impression.

"May I ask, can I pass the preliminary exam?" asked the young lady.

Her voice was gentle and pleasant to listen to. Though it lacked spirit, it sounded like velvet, giving a very soft feeling. Looking at Dai Mubai, who was nearby, Durand noticed that he was looking at the girl with a wolfish light. It seemed that his philandering nature was still very active.

As the initial astonishment faded, the old man in front frowned and asked, "Do the people at home know that you have come here?"

"Don't they say that education is blind? As long as I meet the Academy's standards, you have no reason to reject me, right?" asked the young girl.

The old man hesitated a moment before gesturing to Dai Mubai to bring her in. After bringing the several examination students that had passed, Dai Mubai returned just in time for Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Durand's preliminary exam. However, when he returned, Dai Mubai's expression transformed staring at something behind the trio in shock. Following his gaze, Tang San and Durand both turned around.

Behind them, a single girl was walking toward the village entrance. She seemed even younger than Tang San and Xiao Wu with long black hair down past her shoulders. She was also about half a head shorter than Xiao Wu and had very fair skin. In contrast though, her body figure was inconsistent with her age and was very developed. Her fiery figure clashed with her cold facial expression though. Indifferent and cold, her black eyes chilled the hearts of those who saw them and seemed to hold not even a trace of vitality.

"Hey, are you applying or not? If not, stop blocking the line," said the old man.

As Durand and Tang San turned back around, they discovered Xiao Wu glaring fiercely at Tang San. This caused Durand to chuckle a little to himself and thought (Even at twelve they already seem like a couple).

"We'll be applying together," said Durand as he dropped thirty gold spirit coins into the chest.

The three of them held out their hands to the old man. Feeling Xiao Wu's hand first, the old man nodded to signal that she was young enough. When he shifted to Tang San though, the old man exclaimed in shock again.

"Is your hand practiced in some sort of spirit ability?" asked the old man with some disbelief.

When Tang San nodded, the old man asked him to raise his calf. After feeling it a few times, the old man also said that Tang San was young enough.

Looking at Durand with an outstretched hand, the old man peered at Durand impatiently.

"Didn't you hear that you have to be under 13 years of age?" asked the old man.

Durand's facial expression turned a little strange and he said, "Sir, I am only twelve years old. You can feel my arm or leg to check."

The old man couldn't be blamed. Durand was already 185 cm (6ft) tall. This was an incredible height for a twelve year old and combined with Durand's incredibly muscular physique, it was easy for others to assume that Durand was already in his late teenage years.

"If you aren't twelve, I'm going to beat you into a pulp," threatened the old man. He truly thought that Durand was an idiot trying to get though him.

"Please just check, sir," requested Durand.

With a face full of doubt, the old man raised his hands to check Durand's hand. As he did so, his face changed into a frown. He continued to feel around for nearly five minutes as his frown grew deeper and deeper.

"Raise your leg," the old man suddenly demanded.

Durand complied with some amusement. It was always a little flattering at a young age when someone mistook your age to be older due to how well developed your height and muscles were. The old man continued to feel about Durand's leg for another five minutes.

Finally, the old man grudgingly said, "Twelve years old."

Looking back at Tang San and Xiao Wu, the old man commanded, "Alright the three of you, release your spirits."

Blue, red, and jade colored light simultaneously flashed as the 6 hundred year spirit rings spiraled up.

Xiao Wu gained a pair of rabbit ears and some white fluffy fur grew from the back of her hands. Her body became even more slender. This was here Spirit Jade Rabbit body enhancement.

In Tang San's palm grew the most ordinary blue silver grass. In a flash, the infusion of spirit power soon transformed it into the grass vine like when he had fought the Armored Elephant with Durand and the Nuoding Academy dean.

Durand had the most significant change though. His entire body except his head was covered in an armor decorated with white jade-like accents. On his right arm, a large 1.5m (~4.5ft.) shield appeared.

The old man casually glanced at Xiao Wu before his gaze landed on Tang San's body.

"Oh? Blue silver grass can cultivate this quickly?" he asked.

With a faint smile, Tang San said, "Teacher, aren't you only accepting monsters here? Don't I count as a monster?"

The old man revealed a rare smile before saying, "Indeed a small monster."

Finally his gaze landed on Durand. A curious look came across his face. Durand's spirit was unrecognizable. Even to Grandmaster, it was rather mysterious. After all, this appearance was only due to a mutation from when Durand absorbed his first spirit ring. Therefore, the old man had never seen a spirit like Durand's Moonlight Guardian.

The old man got up again from behind the table and walked over to Durand. After knocking on the shield and armor a few times, the old man revealed a large smile that seemed completely out of place on his face.

"Another monster," the old man said with a small chuckle, "Alright, Dai Mubai, you can bring them inside."

Led by Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Durand entered Shrek Academy which was also the entire village. Durand was excited: he would soon be passing the exam and entering into Shrek Academy.