"Bro, we've already completed the assessment and settled into the dormitory building..."
"Where are you and Gu Yue-jie right now?"
Two and a half hours later, Tang Luochuan's communicator rang, and Tang Wulin's voice came through clearly on the other end.
"We're currently at..."
"Na'er, where is this place?"
Tang Luochuan was about to say something but paused, then turned to Na'er and asked softly.
"This is Shrek Academy's commercial street, located behind the circular building where you took your assessment. You should be able to find it."
Na'er blinked and explained slowly.
"Wu Lin, Gu Yue, Na'er, and Xinglan are all here with me. You guys should come over too."
Tang Luochuan smiled faintly as he spoke.
"Got it, we'll be right there."
On the other end, Tang Wulin immediately nodded.
"Oh, by the way, boss, Xiaofeng here wants to introduce you to a new friend."
"See you soon."
Xie Xie's voice chimed in as well.
"Huh?"
"A new friend?"
Hearing this, Tang Luochuan froze for a moment, his mind racing as he silently recalled the terrifying older sister Wei Xiaofeng had mentioned. Could it be her?
"There's a new friend?"
Beside him, Na'er and Ye Xinglan looked curious and couldn't help but ask.
"We'll find out who it is soon."
Tang Luochuan shook his head with a smile. Truthfully, he had no idea who this "older sister" Xiaofeng was referring to might be—perhaps a second-year student?
"But where should we meet..."
"Let's go to this restaurant. The food here is pretty good."
Na'er thought for a moment before settling her gaze on a nearby restaurant. The food here was excellent, making it the perfect spot for a gathering.
"Sounds good. I'll give Mu Xi-jie a call too—the more, the merrier..."
With a light chuckle, Tang Luochuan led Gu Yue and the others into the restaurant to reserve a private room while also dialing Mu Xi's number to invite her as well.
"Luo Chuan, we're here."
Before long, Mu Xi and Tang Wulin's group arrived as promised. Among them was someone Tang Luochuan and Gu Yue had never seen before.
"That's..."
Staring at the unfamiliar figure, Tang Luochuan was momentarily stunned. He could sense that this person possessed the cultivation level of a Soul Ancestor—clearly no ordinary individual.
But...
This didn't quite match the image of Xiaofeng's older sister, did it?
"And this is..."
Gu Yue also wore a thoughtful expression, instinctively glancing at Wei Xiaofeng, whose face was the most complicated among the group—especially the way he stared excitedly at Luo Chuan. A realization dawned on her.
Please don't tell her...
This was the same older sister Wei Xiaofeng was deathly afraid of.
"Boss, this is my older sister."
"She's also a student in our grade."
The moment he saw Tang Luochuan, Wei Xiaofeng looked as if he had found his savior, his face lighting up with relief as he hurried over to introduce her.
Only with the boss around did he feel at ease!
"Uh..."
"Hello, I'm Tang Luochuan."
Tang Luochuan hesitated slightly before introducing himself.
Looking at the slender and delicate young woman before him, he found it hard to reconcile her with the violent older sister who supposedly beat Xiaofeng up.
"I'm Xiaofeng's cousin, Zheng Yiran."
"Looking forward to working with you in the future."
Zheng Yiran's gaze fell upon Tang Luochuan, her face wearing a friendly expression as she smiled and said,
"Zheng Yiran."
Hearing this name, Tang Luochuan was momentarily stunned—this was one of the geniuses from the Teenage Genius List, Zheng Yiran, wielder of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Martial Soul.
He truly hadn't expected that Xiaofeng's sister would turn out to be her. After all, while the Azure Shadow Serpent and the Jade Phosphor Serpent couldn't be said to be unrelated, one could only say…
Apart from both being serpent-type Martial Souls, they really had nothing in common!
A swift-attack serpent-type Martial Soul and the poison-based Jade Phosphor Serpent lineage of Dugu Bo were simply worlds apart.
"And how should I address these four?"
Zheng Yiran's eyes shifted toward Mu Xi, Gu Yue, Na'er, and Ye Xinglan, her face filled with astonishment. She could sense that the cultivation levels of these three surpassed her own.
"I'm Na'er."
"Ye Xinglan."
"Gu Yue."
"Mu Xi."
The four of them wore faint smiles as they introduced themselves simply, acknowledging the acquaintance.
"Luo Chuan, how did your assessments go?"
Mu Xi asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Gu Yue and I didn't participate in the assessments. You'll have to ask Wu Lin and Xiaoyan about that."
Tang Luochuan chuckled lightly and shook his head, glancing toward Tang Wulin as he spoke.
"It was really easy."
Xu Xiaoyan replied earnestly, a smile on her face.
Ever since she had cultivated under the starry sky with Luo Chuan, her body had undergone subtle yet significant changes.
Her Martial Soul, the Star Wheel Ice Staff, though still possessing ice and starlight attributes, had shifted three years ago to prioritize starlight over ice.
Now, even during the day, she could harness the power of starlight. Under her absolute control, even senior students a full realm above her couldn't gain any advantage.
As a result, she had dispatched the senior students even faster than Tang Wulin, a Power Attack System Soul Master.
"Very smoothly."
"Those assessments were quite simple. With our talents, unless we made a mistake against a strong opponent in the combat round, there shouldn't be any issues."
Tang Wulin grinned cheerfully, finding the academy's assessments quite entertaining.
One assessment in particular had struck him as the most peculiar—eating steamed buns.
What's more, he could help his companions eat theirs. Naturally, he ended up devouring everyone's share, since not everyone had his appetite.
Truth be told, it had been a long time since he'd eaten so much, reminding him of the days three years ago when he participated in an eating challenge in Eastsea City.
"Speaking of encountering strong opponents…"
"I have firsthand experience with that."
At this point, Wei Xiaofeng interjected with a hint of sorrow.
The opponent he had challenged had seemed the weakest among the senior students—a boy even more delicate than a girl. But…
How was his Martial Soul a giant ape?!
He admitted he had gambled, betting that there was a slim chance the opponent's Martial Soul wouldn't be strong. But the moment it was unleashed, he was utterly dumbfounded.
If not for the points he had accumulated earlier, he might have been the only one among them to fail the entrance exam due to sheer bad luck.
"I think…"
"Aside from that strange eating assessment, the others were fine."
Zheng Yiran chimed in seriously.
Normal people...
Who could eat that much!
"Huh?"
"Yiran-jie, that level..."
"Wasn't it supposed to be a bonus stage?"
Tang Wulin said with a hint of bewilderment on his face.
Getting points for eating...
If only such good deals where you could both eat and gain benefits came his way more often!
"Ah?"
Zheng Yiran wore a thoughtful expression, realizing for the first time that this could indeed be considered a bonus stage.
"Let's order first."
"See what everyone would like to eat."
Na'er and Ye Xinglan passed out several menus, handing them first to Tang Luochuan's direction as they explained.
"Let me see..."
"Hmm? These prices aren't in Federal currency?"
Tang Wulin's eyes immediately lit up, but upon picking up the menu, his face quickly showed confusion again.
What was displayed were meal prices in contribution points. What were contribution points?
"Of course not."
"In the academy, we don't spend Federal currency anymore, but contribution points instead. These can be earned by completing missions."
Na'er explained with a gentle smile.
"Even for meals?"
Tang Wulin couldn't help but fall silent at this. Given how much he sometimes ate, wouldn't he eat himself into poverty?
"Don't worry."
"Food in the cafeteria is free. This restaurant is actually quite different from others."
Na'er shook her head with a laugh. This establishment could be considered the most luxurious in the academy - even the Elders dined here.
"Right, and contribution points can be earned through secondary professions. It shouldn't be difficult for Luo Chuan and everyone here."
Ye Xinglan added with a smile.
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Tang Wulin's eyes immediately sparkled as if he'd discovered a path to riches.
His identity as a Forging Master meant he could not only seek help from the academy's Elder Feng, but apparently could also use it to get rich!
"Brother!"
"We're going to be rich again!"
Tang Wulin turned excitedly toward Tang Luochuan.
"Hahahaha..."
"When you become a Divine Blacksmith one day, you'll be the wealthiest person every single day."
Tang Luochuan smiled gently.
"Um..."
"Na'er, Xinglan, are you second-year students at the academy?"
Zheng Yiran's gaze lingered on Ye Xinglan and Na'er, unable to hold back her question. These two seemed to know much more than the rest of them.
"No."
"We're inner court students."
"We've been at the academy for several years now."
Na'er and Ye Xinglan shook their heads with calm smiles.
"What?"
"Inner court students?"
Zheng Yiran's expression froze. These two girls were actually inner court students!
They were all about the same age, yet while she had just entered the outer court, they had already been at the academy for years?
"You..."
"How are you even more unbelievable than Luo Chuan?"
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