Chapter 160: A Servant's Strength Shocks Shrek
As soon as Xiao Qiang finished speaking, Nana stepped forward with calm composure and responded,
"Yes, Master."
"Master?"
Her words stunned everyone from Shrek Academy.
"Did he just say he's letting a house slave take the test?"
There was a moment of disbelief, but most of the crowd didn't show too much concern. After all, this was a feudal society. Many students at Shrek came from middle-class noble families or had connections to nobility. For them, it wasn't uncommon to have house slaves at home. Nana calling Xiao Qiang "Master" wasn't strange at all.
In fact, among noble circles, it was considered natural. Those from well-off families often raised house slaves, though these slaves typically had very average talent.
In this world, if a servant were found to have innate soul power above level 7, no matter how humble their origins, they would be promoted from house slave to a family servant. They would be given a new identity and treated like a junior family member, sometimes even marrying into the main house. With enough talent, they could eventually become elders or honored guests of the family.
But the key point was—such promotions were only given to those with extraordinary talent.
Those who remained house slaves were considered hopeless in terms of cultivation potential. Letting someone like that take the soul power test? That was a joke in the eyes of many.
Xiao Qiang, however, was clearly serious.
Nana walked confidently toward the soul guide tester.
"He's actually letting a slave take the test? Is he trying to embarrass himself?"
"Yeah. I know how this works. Even among the royal families, the strongest their servants get is Soul Douluo level—and that's rare. Those types call themselves 'old slaves.' Most just cap out at Soul Emperor."
"Exactly. Our Senior Sister Ling is already a Soul Emperor. Even if she's a control-type, her strength surpasses average Soul Emperors. How could a slave compare?"
"If that girl has even our average level, I'll stand upside down and eat shit."
Mocking voices broke out from the Shrek students. Many of them were still trying to recover from the blow of losing face at the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Competition. This seemed like a good opportunity to vent.
But then the soul guide tester lit up.
Physical Strength: Level 78
Physical Toughness: Level 75
Soul Power Level: 55
Soul Power Condensation: Level 74
Bone Age: 16 years old
Soul Bones: Right Leg Bone (attached), External Soul Bone (back attached)
Silence fell instantly. A deathly, suffocating silence.
Everyone except Xiao Qiang was left dumbfounded. A 16-year-old with a soul power level of 55, and two soul bones? That was on par with Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao—two of the top geniuses in Shrek Academy.
For Shrek's standards, Nana's talent was simply monstrous. A genius of this caliber might appear once in decades.
"Impossible! You cheated!"
A student from Shrek's Soul Guidance Department couldn't hold back and shouted out. In recent years, Shrek's Soul Guidance Department had fallen far behind the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy, both in terms of technology and talent cultivation. The students who had chosen this path were clinging to their Shrek identity just to gain prestige. But now, seeing a "slave" blow all their efforts away, they felt like a joke.
Most had sacrificed martial soul cultivation to focus on soul guidance, only to now be faced with the reality that Shrek might not even be the best option anymore. Their years of training—wasted. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
"If you don't believe it, you can fight her," Xiao Qiang said calmly. "But let's make this clear—life and death are not important."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word landed heavily in their hearts.
Several of Shrek's Soul Guidance students looked crushed. Those not broken still wore faces of disbelief, frustration, and dread. Ling Luochen, who had stepped up earlier to defend Shrek's honor, now looked like a clown.
Nana was sixteen with five rings. Not just that—level 55! When Ling Luochen competed in the All-Continent Tournament last year, she was nineteen and had only just broken through to level 55. Without the assistance of the golden tree, she would barely be at level 58 today.
And now… this girl named Nana had surpassed her in every way.
Ling Luochen wanted to crawl into a hole. Her confidence was shattered.
Meanwhile, Beibei was staring hard at Nana, trying to see through her calm demeanor. A sixteen-year-old Soul King—stronger than himself in raw cultivation—and she even had two soul bones. She was clearly going to be a major threat in the next All-Continent Tournament.
First it was Xiao Hongchen, then Meng Hongchen, now Xiao Qiang and Nana…
As the captain of Shrek's next competition team, Beibei suddenly felt a weight pressing down on his shoulders.
Even with the aid of his ancestral dragon pill, he wasn't sure he could win.
"I will win no matter what. Don't worry, Xiaoya," he muttered to himself. "I'll defeat them… and then find you."
His quiet declaration was still overheard by Ning Tian beside him.
Ning Tian looked away from Beibei and turned her eyes back to Xiao Qiang.
Earlier, when Beibei revealed his talent as a 52nd-level Soul King at 16, Ning Tian had considered altering her plans and choosing him as her future partner. After all, that kind of growth was rare and promising.
A fifteen-year-old Soul Ancestor didn't hold much value, but a sixteen-year-old Soul King? That was worth scheming for. Unlike Xiao Hongchen, who used drugs to boost his cultivation, Beibei seemed like someone who could naturally reach Super Douluo level.
Though Tang Ya was in the picture, Ning Tian believed everything could be influenced by human effort.
She might not be able to win against Meng Hongchen, but Tang Ya? A woman of humble background?
But then came Nana.
A genius who willingly called Xiao Qiang her master. A genius whose strength surpassed even Beibei. And if a slave like her had such talent, what did that say about her master?
Xiao Qiang was the same one who had defeated a 19-year-old Soul Emperor at 15. And he hadn't even taken the test yet.
Ning Tian suddenly had a terrifying thought—was Xiao Qiang's physical strength and soul power already approaching the level of a Soul Douluo?
"I wonder… just how strong is he?" she whispered.
If Xiao Qiang truly had strength far beyond Nana, then maybe…
Maybe being his concubine wouldn't be such a loss after all.