She only got one point in the sixth test?
In a luxurious room, Elder Cai sat listening to the report from a middle-aged man, her expression strange.
"Yes," the man confirmed. "Miss Forsi really only got one point. At the start of the test, she only ate two steamed buns, and before the allotted time was even up, she asked to end the exam."
Elder Cai's face twitched, and after a moment of silence, she suddenly burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! What an interesting little girl! These days, you don't see many young ones with such a stubborn temper. She's got a bit of the same fire I had when I was young."
Her laughter soon turned into satisfaction.
"But the more she's like this, the more she pleases me. The young should be unafraid of authority, with pride in their bones. Spread the word—adjust the rest of her exams to the lowest difficulty. Make sure that little girl gets into Shrek Academy."
Of course, this was because Forsi was a rare genius. Had it been anyone else, Cai Yue'er would not have been so lenient.
Those zero scores earlier were never meant to truly reject her—they were just to temper her temperament. But to actually let such a prodigy slip away from her grasp? That would be a true disgrace to Shrek Academy.
Nine-element control. Four ten-thousand-year spirit rings. Spiritual power at the Spirit Abyss Realm!
With this combination, who in the entire inner court could compare? Not even the current Pavilion Master's disciple could match her.
And Forsi's proud, unyielding personality—it was exactly like Cai Yue'er in her youth. Her strength back then hadn't been as high, but in terms of spirit, she would never admit defeat.
The more arrogant Forsi was, the more Cai Yue'er admired her. To her, this was the vigor and vitality that belonged only to the young. At the same time, her resolve to take Forsi as her disciple only grew stronger.
If worst came to worst, she would even rope in one of the inner court's powerhouses to back her. One way or another, such a talent could not be allowed to slip away.
She smirked coldly. You dare to reject me, Cai Yue'er? Hmph. You'll come begging to me one day!
Meanwhile, Forsi had arrived at the seventh test.
Unlike the previous ones, this site was already crowded with other candidates still grinding through the assessment.
The seventh test was endurance. Time didn't matter—there were three fixed exercises:
a ten-thousand-meter run,
one thousand squats with fifty kilograms,
and one thousand pull-ups.
Anyone who completed all three would automatically get six points—a passing grade. Finishing within one hour was worth full marks. Every ten minutes beyond that, a point, but as long as one completed all three, six points were guaranteed.
Naturally, power-type and physique-oriented Spirit Masters had a great advantage here.
Was it unfair? Perhaps. But then, hadn't the very first test been easiest for spiritual-type Spirit Masters? The design of Shrek's assessments was like that—balanced across the whole. One group's advantage was another's disadvantage. That was why so few people made it through Shrek's trials with uniformly high scores.
The best part of this endurance test, however, was that there was no time limit for the bare minimum passing score. Some students were still grinding away, determined to grab their six points no matter how long it took.
With Forsi's constitution—the body strong enough to withstand ten-thousand-year rings—getting full marks here would be child's play.
That's what Cang Jingkong thought, at least…
Until she heard Forsi say flatly:
"Teacher, this test is too troublesome. I forfeit."
"What! Are you serious?" Cang Jingkong nearly jumped. "Little sister, listen to your teacher—what Elder Cai did earlier was excessive, yes, but you can't throw away your future just to vent your anger! Don't let your pride today turn into regret tomorrow!"
But Forsi only shook her head slightly. "No, Teacher. The earlier exam already tired me out. I don't have the strength left to complete this one."
The hell you don't!
Cang Jingkong stared at Forsi's perfectly calm face, not even a hint of sweat, her breathing steady and even. With that body even stronger than her own, and the way she'd blasted through the earlier tests at lightning speed… tired? Who did this girl think she was fooling?
But she quickly reminded herself that young ones were often proud and headstrong. Likely, Forsi was still sulking over Cai Yue'er's actions earlier and didn't want to swallow her pride here.
"Then let's rest a bit, alright?" Cang Jingkong coaxed gently. "There's no time limit. Once you've recovered, you can at least grab a passing grade. Better to save your strength for the later tests."
But Forsi only shook her head again. "No, Teacher. I'd rather go straight to the next test."
"…Fine." Cang Jingkong sighed helplessly. What else could she do?
Because of her forfeiture, Forsi's current total score sat at thirty-one points.
The eighth test: Comprehensive Combat.
"You'll face off against one of Shrek's previous intake," Cang Jingkong explained. "They're all students who entered three years ago. Their abilities will be assigned at random. Last ten minutes, and it's a pass. Defeat them, and it's a perfect score. Anything between six and ten will be judged based on your actual performance."
She continued, "In a moment, you'll be presented with ten candidates to choose from. That's part of the test, too—your judgment. Some are strong, some are weaker. Some may counter you, some may be countered by you. Choosing well is critical."
This time, the site was a vast circular arena, far larger than the previous test grounds.
Inside already stood ten students. They looked to be around Forsi's age, maybe a bit older, but all of them were undeniably geniuses who had scored over sixty points three years ago to enter Shrek Academy. Now, with three more years of training behind them, they were even stronger.
"This is real combat between Spirit Masters," Cang Jingkong said solemnly. "Choose wisely. Once chosen, no changes allowed. The only rule—no Spirit Tools. You have ten minutes."
Just then, a man in black approached Cang Jingkong and whispered a few words in her ear.
Her expression instantly turned strange.
Yet when she stepped back to Forsi's side, her voice was calm, like idle murmuring to herself—except every word drifted straight into Forsi's ears.
"Number One is Yuan'en. He looks small and skinny, but don't be fooled. He's actually the strongest of the lot this year. Looks like an Agility-type, but he's really an Attack-type. His Spirit is the Titan Giant Ape, power and defense both—it'll be brutal."
"Oh? Number Two is Chen Fei. I taught him last year. His Spirit lets him summon his own soul beast, a thousand-year Soul-Hunting Mastiff. At the Spirit Elder level, that's nothing to sneeze at."
"Strange. Looks like the academy ordered them by strength. Number Ten, Bai Yifei, is by far the weakest of the group."
Her muttering went on and on, as though she didn't care whether Forsi overheard or not.
Forsi shot her a puzzled look, then quickly realized—
This was… backroom manipulation?!