Douluo Continent: Gretchen at the start, empowered by the Star God.

Chapter 28 First Encounter with Shrek

"Ding, [Sudden Mission: Sword Douluo Attack] has been completed. Now calculating rewards."

"Ding, the host has been detected to have completed this mission to an extremely high standard. The quality of the mission reward has been improved."

"Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the mission reward: Soul Power Level +3, Green Quality Earth Dragon Dust Martial Soul Talent Granting Card ×1, Gold Quality Elite 5 Bladeless Sword Talent Effect Granting Card ×1."

"Just use it." Lang Lei, who was holding Gretchen, paused for a moment, then didn't react much.

"Ding, used."

"Congratulations, host, your first martial soul has acquired the talent effect: [Soul Ring Manipulation]"

Talent: Soul Ring Manipulation

Introduction: Understated luxury with substance? Playing dumb to fool others? That's all in the past!

Effect: For oneself, it allows the user to freely change the color of their first spirit ring; for enemies, it can forcibly seal the opponent's first 3 (upgradeable) spirit rings. During the spirit ring seal period, spirit skills cannot be used.

[Item: Indestructible Edgeless Sword (Gold) (Refined to Tier 5)]

Introduction: The dreams of youth, the excitement of embarking on a journey—if these two precious qualities are not sharp enough, then make up for it with courage!

Talent Effect: Unbreakable (Gold). A reflection of the host's inner self, it cannot be destroyed by external forces. Even if only a sliver of courage remains within you, it is unbreakable. In dire straits, grasp it and carve a path!

"You just want me to use a cheat device..." Lang Lei was a little surprised. Although it was only a green-quality talent, it was practically a special attack against Soul Masters!

It's probably because it's specifically targeted at Soul Masters that it was rated green, even if it's aimed at the entire Soul Master group.

After all, most of a Soul Master's skills come from Soul Rings, and very few Soul Masters have their own created Soul Skills. If Soul Skills were banned, then they would probably only be able to fight hand-to-hand or compete to see who has more Soul Power.

A Soul Master with Soul Skills facing off against a Soul Master without Soul Skills would be nothing short of a crushing defeat.

In comparison, the ability to change the color of one's own spirit rings seems like a bonus.

As for the indestructible, edgeless sword...

It might come in handy someday; after all, it's a gold item now, isn't it?

"Brother Lang Lei, there's a village ahead."

Lang Lei looked over; that should be where Shrek Academy was located.

There's a reason why I chose to come to Shrek Academy today.

Lang Lei came to Shrek Academy not only to slightly suppress the original protagonist Tang San, but also to take a look at Ning Rongrong, who was spoiled like a little devil by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

The most difficult thing to determine in order to achieve these two goals is the time. These two things must either be solved together or neither can be solved. He can't keep living in that dilapidated village with Gretchen forever, can he?

Although Gretchen didn't care, he still wanted to give her the best.

Fortunately, the only good thing Dai Mubai brought yesterday was that he confirmed the time. Since Dai Mubai didn't take the twin sisters to the Rose Hotel in Soto City, but instead went to another place, it was highly likely that he was meeting Tang San for the first time.

If we postpone it slightly, Tang San and Xiao Wu's enrollment date will be announced, most likely today.

After seeing the village, Lang Lei and Gretchen walked for a short while before arriving at Shrek Academy's admissions office.

A number of people were gathered at the village entrance, mostly teenagers who looked to be around eleven or twelve years old, with a few older ones as well. Perhaps they were hoping for a lucky break?

Most of them had their parents with them, and combinations like Lang Lei and Gretchen were quite rare.

With Lang Lei's good looks and Gretchen's cuteness, the two caused quite a stir as soon as they arrived. However, Lang Lei was used to it and chatted with Gretchen as if no one else was around.

Gretchen, however, was still a little shy and buried her face in Langley's arms.

Lang Lei looked ahead and saw a table at the village entrance. Behind the table sat an elderly man in his sixties, who must be Li Yusong, whose martial soul was the Dragon Pattern Staff. Not far from Li Yusong was a wooden archway with a somewhat tattered plaque hanging above it, bearing the simple five characters: Shrek Academy.

Despite its dilapidated state, there were still quite a few students queuing up in front of Lang Lei.

Lang Lei also saw a person lying on the tree near the registration area. Unlike the original story, this time it was a large student, who was undoubtedly Ma Hongjun.

Lang Lei was even worried that Ma Hongjun might break the branch he was lying on.

Similarly, Lang Lei also found several other members of the main characters' teams in the group, including the original protagonist "Pure and Immaculate" Tang San Shao and "Unknown Offspring" Rogue Rabbit.

Ning Rongrong, like a dignified young lady, was positioned slightly ahead of him, directly in front of Tang San. Not far behind her was Zhu Zhuqing, just two people away from him and Gretchen.

"Oh, looks like you're not too late. You actually got to witness the famous entrance exam." Lang Lei watched Shrek Academy's so-called entrance exam with a cold smile, but he didn't intend to stop it.

At that moment, a boy who looked quite young came to the desk to register.

Li Yusong said lazily, "The registration fee is ten gold soul coins. Just put it in that box."

The boy's father, who was traveling with him, quickly took out ten gold soul coins and put them into a very simple box made of a few planks of wood.

"Extend one hand," Li Yusong said again.

The young man stretched out his hand to Li Yusong as promised. Li Yusong squeezed his hand twice, shook his head, and said directly, "You are not old enough. You can leave now. Of course, the registration fee is non-refundable."

The boy was stunned and instinctively looked at his father.

The boy's father quickly explained, "Sir, my son just turned thirteen. Could you... perhaps make an exception?"

As he spoke, he casually pulled out a few Silver Soul Coins.

Li Yusong was getting a little impatient.

"Don't disrupt the others who are taking the test later. Don't you know the rules of the Soul Master Academy? We only accept children under thirteen! We only accept children under thirteen! Anyone over thirteen is not accepted! You all need to leave now!"

The boy's father was still somewhat unwilling: "Then what about our registration fee..."

Li Yusong said bluntly, "Are you deaf? I already said, once you register, there are no refunds!"

Feeling cheated by Shrek Academy, the boy's father couldn't help but shout angrily, "You're clearly ripping us off! Refund our registration fee! Otherwise, we're not leaving!"

"If we had known this so-called Shrek Academy was this run-down, we shouldn't have come. Your school environment is even worse than the toilets at Soto Intermediate Academy!"

Li Yusong was somewhat annoyed: "Hongjun, someone wants a reward for their fame. You need to handle it."

Ma Hongjun jumped down from the tree, the branches making a loud crack: "Hehe, finally it's my turn to say that. You want a refund for your name? Fine, beat me up, and I'll give you everything back."

Originally, Dai Mubai should have been standing here, but because of Dai Mubai's serious injuries, even though Flander spent a lot of money to hire a healing-type support soul master, he was unable to restore Dai Mubai's mobility in a short time. In fact, Dai Mubai's manhood and left eye were completely beyond repair.

He has successfully become a "one-eyed eunuch tiger".

Ma Hongjun immediately activated his martial spirit, and two hundred-year spirit rings fluctuated up and down, surging towards the young man's father with a terrifying pressure that would be terrifying to ordinary people.

As mentioned before, among Soul Masters, Soul Rings always hold the most power of discourse, and the restraint of Soul Ring Manipulation on Soul Masters is also reflected in this aspect.

Seeing the two yellow hundred-year soul rings on Ma Hongjun's body, the young man's father's expression changed drastically. He said, "Consider us unlucky," and quickly left with his son.

After witnessing this scene, Lang Lei couldn't immediately say who was right and who was wrong, so he could only look at his adorable Gretchen to cleanse his eyes.

After this farce ended, the number of people waiting in line immediately halved. Nobody wanted to waste money, as ten gold soul coins were already a huge sum for an ordinary family.

Moreover, the appearance of Shrek Academy was truly unappealing; it was dilapidated and didn't look like a proper academy.

……

Just like the farce in the original story, Lang Lei boredly accepted Gretsch's small hands ravaging his face without making any attempt to stop it.

Just then, a familiar voice came from ahead. It was Ning Rongrong. He had seen Ning Rongrong a few times in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and recognized the voice.

"Everyone says that education should be provided to all without discrimination. As long as I meet the college's requirements, you have no reason not to accept me, right?"

"..."

"It's started..." Lang Lei's lips curled into a smile.

"Huh~"

"Brother Lang Lei is like a big bad wolf now."

"So you're the little gray wolf?"

"No, that's not true!"

(End of this chapter)