As Yi Zichen was lining up, he saw the 300 mechas in the sky, and for a child like him who hadn't even turned 12 yet, that was a truly stunning sight.

His confidence in this decision skyrocketed as a result.

He then saw the mechas flying away from the academy, following which he heard a name that he had been hearing throughout his young life thus far: Shrek Academy.

Only then was he made aware that the past number one academy on the continent had reopened, and it seemed that the Spirit Academy he was enrolling at was a direct competitor to Shrek Academy.

He then heard that authoritative declaration:

"the airspace of Shrek Academy is not to be encroached upon!

"

After that, everything became extremely chaotic.

They couldn't really see the battles taking place in the distance, but there were live broadcasts being played everywhere!

Spirit Academy had also rolled out a series of big screens to broadcast the clash between the two powerhouses.

Yi Zichen had always been the best where he had come from, and as a result, he had inevitably developed a hint of pride. In his eyes, he was about to reach rank 30 in soul power; surely he was already a force to be reckoned with in the Soul Master world.

However, only after witnessing the breathtaking matches unfolding on the screens did he realize just how powerful Soul Masters could be, and just how narrow-sighted he had been.

"Shrek Academy is so powerful, Father! Did Spirit Academy lose?

" Yi Zichen asked.

Yi Zichen's father replied with a wry smile,

"I can't tell! I'm just a manual laborer; I don't know anything about Soul Masters. What do you think, Teacher Li?

"

Teacher Li was a middle-aged man, and his eyes were practically glowing as he sighed,

"Shrek Academy is still Shrek Academy! Even the recently rebuilt Shrek Academy is already this powerful. Never did I think that I would get to witness such a titanic clash. It's a pity that the final match didn't happen, but it's further testament to Shrek Academy's dominance that they were able to scare the Spirit Pagoda into retreat; there are five Limit Douluos among their ranks!

"

Yi Zichen's father asked,

"Are Limit Douluos the most powerful Soul Masters?

"

Teacher Li replied with a wry smile,

"Limit Douluos can instantly raze an entire city to the ground with the simplest of gestures; what do you think? To be honest, I'm beginning to regret our decision now; perhaps we should consider enrolling Zichen to Shrek Academy. Many of the people lining up have already gone over to Shrek Academy; it seems like their foundation and tradition weren't wiped away by that explosion.

"

Yi Zichen's father hesitated momentarily before replying,

"Let's stay here. Spirit Academy is offering so many benefits, and surely there can't be that big a disparity between the two academies. I can't earn enough money to support Zichen's cultivation, so I'll have to enrol him into an academy that can provide the resources in my stead.

"

Teacher Li nodded with a forlorn expression.

"I guess we have no choice. In any case, Zichen is a truly exceptional young talent; I'm sure he'll be a brilliant Soul Master regardless of whether he attends Shrek Academy or Spirit Academy. It's just that Shrek Academy is a truly sacred place in the hearts of all of us Soul Masters.

"

Shortly thereafter, they finally reached the front of the line.

Teacher Li and Yi Zichen's father accompanied Yi Zichen toward a young man, who said,

"Give me your hand.

"

Yi Zichen did as he was told, and the young man gently laid a few fingers onto the boy's wrist, upon which a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

"Not bad at all! You can go in there for further examinations.

"

He pointed over at a vortex door of light as he spoke.

Yi Zichen was appraising the young man before him with curiosity in his eyes. This young man appeared to be in his twenties, and was quite handsome in appearance.

"Are you a Soul Master as well, Big Brother? What rank are you?

" Yi Zichen asked.

As a brilliant prodigy, Yi Zichen was very keen to compete with others, and he had always felt that he should always be the best no matter where he was.

The young man smiled, and replied,

"I'm a Soul Douluo.

"

Yi Zichen's eyes immediately widened with shock.

"A Soul Douluo? No way!

"

The young man chuckled,

"I wouldn't lie about something like this. If you continue to work hard, you can do it as well.

" A series of soul rings emerged around him as he spoke, and there was no powerful aura being released, but those were indeed eight soul rings, and what was even more alarming was that the final soul ring in that sequence of eight was a red one.

"That's a 100,000-year-old soul ring!

" Teacher Li exclaimed.

The soul rings faded, and the young man made an inviting hand gesture toward the door of light.

Teacher Li hurriedly extended a respectful salute toward the young man. He was only a Soul Ancestor, so he was vastly inferior to this young Soul Douluo. Yi Zichen still wanted to ask more questions, but Teacher Li quickly dragged him away toward the door of light.

Spirit Pagoda truly was formidable! Even a member of the enrollment staff was a Soul Douluo, AND he had a 100,000-year-old soul spirit. It seemed that they had made the right decision after all.

After stepping into the door of light, the surrounding space warped drastically, and Yi Zichen was so frightened that he wanted to cry out, but found himself unable to find his own voice.

Thankfully, this process only lasted a short time, and in the next instant, they arrived in an independent space.

This was a rather barren place with some very ordinary-looking buildings nearby that were constructed from wood and straw.

There was a group of people lining up in front of a short fence, and Yi Zichen wanted to move, but found himself unable to do so.

In the next instant, he was abruptly teleported near the front of the line.

At the front of the line stood a table, behind which sat an elderly man with a lazy expression.

To put it euphemistically, the elderly man's attire was quite plain and simple. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed to be an old farmer; he wasn't even as well-dressed as Yi Zichen's father!

A young boy arrived at the table, and the elderly man said,

"The registration fee is 10 golden soul coins; put them in that box over there.

"

Yi Zichen's father and teacher both faltered slightly upon hearing this. Who used soul coins nowadays? Everyone was using federal credits!

The young boy's father hurriedly pulled out 10 golden soul coins, which he placed into a box constructed from a few wooden planks.

"Give me your hand.

"

The young boy did as he was told, and the elderly man held his hand for a moment before shaking his head.

"You're too old; you can go now.

"

The young boy faltered slightly before turning to his father.

His father hurriedly put on a fawning smile, and said,

"My son has only just had his 13th birthday; would you be able to make an exception for him?

"

The elderly man waved an impatient hand as if he were swatting away a pesky fly.

"Don't delay everyone else. Don't you know the rules of the academy? We only take children below 13 years of age, so you can go now.

"

"Then what about our registration fee?

" the father asked.

"No returns,

" the elderly man replied in a harsh manner.

The young boy's father couldn't help but flare up with rage.

"This is a blatant scam! Return our registration fee or we're not leaving. If we had known that the so-called Shrek Academy was the base for a scam, we wouldn't have come here!

"

The elderly man took a glance at him, then turned to a nearby young man.

"Mubai, there's someone causing trouble here.

"

The young man immediately stepped forward.

"Defeat me, and you can have your registration fee back.

"

This was a golden-haired young man with an imposing stature and aura. Strangely enough, his pupils were different from one another.

He seemed to be only 13 to 14 years of age, but Yi Zichen was struck by a clear sense of inferiority at the sight of him.

The young man wasted no time with words and immediately released three soul rings, two of which were yellow while the final one was purple.

The father's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and he could only lament his ill-fortune as he hurriedly departed with his son.

After that, the young man sat back down again before appraising the rest of the registrants with a clear threat in his eyes. A three-ring Soul Elder was far too powerful for the average person to contend with, and he was looking like a hired thug.