Douluo Continent: Ink Bamboo as a Cauldron to Break Through Ten Thousand Heavens

"Huh?" Chen Cheng looked up in surprise, stopping his wolfing down his food. He had lost track of time while making the soul tool and had missed a meal, leaving him starving.

"Hmm, there's still a week until the freshman assessment starts. Should we find more people to form a team, or should you, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong go together?"

"With me leading the way, the three of us will definitely be champions!" Wang Dong raised his arm and struck an exaggerated bodybuilding pose, but in reality, he didn't have any muscles at all, making him look quite comical.

Xiao Xiao pouted, immediately tapping her empty bowl with her chopsticks in protest, and retorted, "Wang Dong, let alone with Yu Hao's help, you might not even win a one-on-one fight with any restrictions, and you're leading us? Leading us to dive underground?"

Chen Cheng nearly choked on his food, inwardly complaining, "Hey, shouldn't this girl still be captivated by Wang Dong's stunning good looks in disguise? How come she's already smitten? Also, judging from Xiao Xiao's words, these three little ones have sparred quite a bit. It should be like in the original story, where Xiao Xiao's mental detection is equivalent to bullying Wang Dong. But now it seems that Xiao Xiao's skill level isn't that much different from Wang Dong's? It seems that Xiao Xiao's talent has finally come into play after she stopped being a lazybones in this life."

"Furthermore, even if the three of them have known each other beforehand and sparred frequently, and already have a tacit understanding, it's still necessary to divide them into groups a week in advance. Thinking about it this way, I feel that old woman Zhou Yi's thinking is really a bit problematic. Could it be that she has psychological issues, is addicted to expelling students, and never intended for the freshmen to complete the assessment smoothly, and then justifiably kick them out? Otherwise, why would she keep dragging it out until the day before the assessment was to begin, and only start grouping them the day before? And it wasn't the students in the class who decided who to group with; it was this old woman who assigned them herself. In the end, the extra student was even forced to be assigned to the Soul Guidance Department without consulting anyone else's opinion. What if there were two extra students? Would they be in one group, or would they be assigned to different groups?"

"What's even more outrageous is that during regular classes, they were too intimidated by this old woman's authority to communicate. Without Huo Yuhao's 'lubricant' role, the entire class was like a 'Verdun meat grinder,' ruthlessly eliminating students, and now only a third remain. Can these third, who barely interact with each other, really be confident they'll entrust their backs to their teammates after just one day of practice? You know, although Zhou Yi, this old woman, expels people like it's nothing, those who truly remain are all exceptionally talented and arrogant. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even know the effects of each other's soul skills when they went on stage."

"All I can say is, I wish good luck to that old woman Zhou Yi—oh wait, I mean, to that pervert who likes to wear old woman masks!"

"Hey Chen Cheng, why are you laughing like that again?" Xiao Xiao leaned over and poked him with her finger with a mischievous grin.

"Cough cough, no, no!" Chen Cheng quickly denied, burying his head and continuing to eat.

Everyone at the table burst into laughter, ignoring him and continuing their conversation. Their voices echoed in the large cafeteria, attracting many glances. But after recognizing them, no one said anything more and quietly left.

Just kidding, this group of people dares to bring their own tables and chairs to eat in Shrek Academy's cafeteria! You know, it's been a tradition for generations that you can't bring outside food and there's nowhere to sit in the cafeteria, and these people have been doing this so blatantly for so long, it can only mean that they have powerful connections!

The young sect master of the Xuanming Sect, the great-grandson of the headmaster of Shrek Academy, the young sect master of the Haotian Sect… “Pear blossoms fall before your window…”

"Alright, alright, you guys should take this freshman assessment a little more seriously. The final rewards are quite generous. Uh, quite generous indeed. There are core disciple slots in the Martial Soul Department, and various cultivation resources based on the final rankings. But one thing to note is that some freshmen already possess the strength of a three-ring Soul Master when they enroll. A three-person group formed around them shouldn't be underestimated!" After saying this, Chen Cheng's mischievous side resurfaced. "I've been busy designing and manufacturing Soul Tools lately, and it's basically in the final stages. I'm preparing to take on a mission that involves observing the freshman assessment. Maybe I'll have a chance to give you guys a sneak peek then, of course, only if you beg me..."

"Please, Brother Chen Cheng~"

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Xiao put on a pitiful look and leaned closer. The next moment, Xu Sanshi spat out a mouthful of water and gave Bei Bei a free face wash. The temperature around the two of them suddenly became very hot.

Wang Dong immediately followed suit with a forbidden duet, even more exaggerated and fawning than Xiao Xiao in tone and gestures: "Please, Brother Chen Cheng~"

"Damn it! I'm full, I'm leaving now. See you later, there's always next time!"

Seeing Chen Cheng flee in disarray, even more cheerful laughter echoed in the cafeteria.

Chen Cheng didn't return directly to the Soul Guidance Department. Instead, he went to the mission center, hoping to find a job where he could directly observe the freshmen's assessment. There were such jobs; after all, organizing an assessment for thousands of people, divided into dozens of groups simultaneously, still required a certain number of personnel.

  

"Hmm, maintaining order, guiding candidates, explaining rules, answering questions, and even being a referee—none of them are very good. Isn't there anything a little more freedom, no restrictions on areas? Otherwise, if they're assigned to some boring areas, the whole group won't be interesting at all. It's better to just find someone to open a back door!"

Chen Cheng was feeling somewhat annoyed when he noticed a new task posted: "The Martial Soul Department needs senior students with extensive theoretical knowledge to observe the freshman assessments and record the names of talented students. Those interested should contact Director Du directly."

"Wow, this is practically tailor-made for me! The theory part! The talent discovery part!" Chen Cheng was overjoyed and immediately turned around and headed towards Director Du's office.

"The most important thing is, I've read the original novel, and I remember most of the characters with names. In the end, the core disciples are just a few of them. Once I finish writing all this, I can legitimately slack off. This is so satisfying!"

"Bang bang bang!"

"Enter!"

Chen Cheng stepped inside. The style of the office was nothing compared to Yan Shaozhe's. The two were evenly matched, like two peas in a pod. Even a "clean" thief would have to pay two hundred yuan before leaving! Otherwise, even though he possessed a top-tier martial soul and outstanding talent, he was stuck at level 95. Heaven didn't want him to break through because he was so stingy!

"Oh, Chen Cheng is here. I heard Dean Yan mention you last time. You found a genius for our Spirit Department and preserved his talent! Well done! So, are you interested in joining our Spirit Department? We guarantee to retain your current benefits in the Soul Guidance Department. Please use your discerning eye to help our Spirit Department identify talented individuals!"

Director Du's barrage of compliments almost made Chen Cheng lose his bearings; he was practically about to run out from behind the table and shake Chen Cheng's hand. The obsequious expression gave Chen Cheng goosebumps, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed to meet Director Du's gaze.

"Director Du, please don't make fun of me. I'm just doing my duty as a student, taking on some tasks and completing them responsibly. It's not as exaggerated as you make it out to be. Besides, what's with all this talk about the Martial Soul Department and the Soul Guidance Department? Look at how much help the Martial Soul Department has given me these past few months! I came here this time to help with some of the work for our Martial Soul Department. I rushed over as soon as I saw that new task posted, wanting to do my part and contribute to the Martial Soul Department's development..."

"Anyone can say cheesy things. I want to see how we manage to steer the conversation back on track after all this high-sounding talk, hahaha. Director Du's face is a bit dark; he must be remembering how much money he's spent on me lately. Oh right, there are still three soul tools left for the Martial Soul Department after they're finished. I've been forgetting to give them to them, so I guess Director Du is reminding them this time. The Martial Soul Department is so stingy; they can't even just write a check. Here, fill in how much you want..."

Chen Cheng's face broke into the same smile as Director Du's. He finally became serious, pretending to tidy up the messy documents on the desk, then made room to pour a cup of tea. Picking up the plain teacup, he said, "You always take on these random tasks. Sometimes I wonder, you're clearly not short of money after selling those soul tools you made in the Soul Guidance Department, so why do you still take on tasks, and they're always the kind of tasks that ordinary people wouldn't even look at? Like last time when the new students enrolled, what did you take on? Organizing new student files and assisting with class assignments, right? You actually managed to pinpoint a hidden genius with twin martial souls who most people would never notice. You didn't have some kind of premonition, and then you came to try and take advantage of him, did you?"

Without saying anything more, Director Du picked up his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and seemed to be enjoying a rare moment of rest, waiting for a reply.

"Are you trying to scare me with this cunning act? If I didn't already know that the old man at the dormitory entrance was Mu En, and that Mu En was the head of Shrek Academy, and that I had already spoken to Mu En and knew his attitude, I would have really been frightened by this. So what if the Spirit Department had to pay a little more? So what if you forgot to send over the spirit tool you made over the past three months? You're so stingy. No, I have to say something to tease him."

With a thought, Chen Cheng also put away his smile and became serious as if he really had to report some important intelligence.

"Director Du, you're absolutely right! I have indeed discovered a promising talent this time, and I've been nurturing him for quite some time now."

"Oh, there really is?" Du Weilun originally just wanted to casually mention it to remind Chen Cheng to remember to hand over the three soul tools he promised, but he didn't expect him to say something like that.

"Tell me about it, I'm interested. Who's with you right now? Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan. These are from your class, especially you guys, each one more stubborn than the last! As for freshmen, there seem to be three, one is Xiao Xiao, but we talked about her last time, so we can't count her this time. Tell me, is it Wang Dong or that other one, uh, um." Du Weilun couldn't remember this unknown nobody. After all, Huo Yuhao's talent was undeniable, and even if everyone said he was particularly hardworking, they wouldn't pay much attention to him.

So he quickly took a sip of tea to ease the awkwardness, and gestured for Chen Cheng to speak.

Chen Cheng nodded vigorously, then adopted the same tone as before, saying, "Yes, you're absolutely right! The genius I was talking about is indeed Huo Yuhao! I didn't expect you to give me this opportunity to unravel the mystery; this truly demonstrates your keen eye for talent..."

"Pfft!" Du Weilun couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of water to the side.

"You mean that guy whose first spirit ring is only ten years old, the one who shares a dorm with Wang Dong? There's a limit to your jokes! If you keep spouting nonsense, get out of here!" Du Weilun said rudely, as he used his spirit power to clean up the water on the ground.

"Director Du, I'm not joking, I'm serious! He's an orphan. Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and I met him in the Star Dou Great Forest. I had a strong feeling about him then, and after my 'divination,' oh, you know, I discovered that his future achievements were immeasurable! So I gave him the Xuan Shui Pill, and later introduced him to the Tang Sect, allowing him to enter our academy without taking the entrance exam thanks to the Tang Sect's special quota..."

Du Weilun's face grew increasingly dark as he listened, and he couldn't help but raise his hand to interrupt Chen Cheng: "You mean, a student who can only enter through the Tang Sect's exemption from the entrance exam is the genius you found?"