"This guy is really thirteen years old and already a Soul Sect Master?"
Hearing Flander say this, Zhu Zhuqing no longer doubted it, but she was even more shocked. She stared straight at Xu Yunhan.
Meeting Zhu Zhuqing's gaze, Xu Yunhan shrugged and suddenly, a black soul ring appeared on his body.
There was no need to display all four soul rings—just this single black ten-thousand-year soul ring stunned Zhu Zhuqing.
"A ten-thousand-year soul ring? You're not a Soul Sect Master, but a Soul King?" Zhu Zhuqing's big eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Xu Yunhan.
Generally speaking, a soul master who possesses a ten-thousand-year soul ring is at least at the Soul King level.
Soul Master ranks are: Soul Master (one soul ring), Great Soul Master, Soul Honor, Soul Sect Master, Soul King, Soul Emperor, Soul Saint, Soul Douluo, and Title Douluo (nine soul rings).
Based on Zhu Zhuqing's current knowledge, she had never heard of any soul master below the Soul King level possessing a ten-thousand-year soul ring.
It was only natural she suspected Xu Yunhan was a Soul King.
Xu Yunhan shook his head to avoid complicating things with explanations and revealed all four soul rings.
Yellow, yellow, purple, and black!
The four soul rings pulsed rhythmically on Xu Yunhan's body, dazzling to look at—especially that black ring.
"…"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes grew even wider, her mouth agape.
"Haha…" There was no one else in the shop, and Flander laughed heartily, "The students of Shrek Academy are either geniuses or monsters. They are destined to shine across the Douluo Continent!"
He then turned to Zhu Zhuqing, smiling as he invited, "Zhu Zhuqing, right? I'm Flander, the headmaster of Shrek Academy. I hereby solemnly invite you to join Shrek Academy."
Joining Shrek Academy… Zhu Zhuqing still looked at the "monster" Xu Yunhan with some disbelief. "You're really only thirteen?"
Xu Yunhan met Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, stepped closer until he was right in front of her, then extended his hand with a smile. "How about you check my bone age?"
Zhu Zhuqing was momentarily stunned but then seriously grasped Xu Yunhan's wrist and carefully examined his bone age.
It really was thirteen years!
She looked up at Xu Yunhan, standing so close, and after a moment said, "You really are a monster!"
Xu Yunhan "accidentally" grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's hand in return. Zhu Zhuqing seemed unaware and was still lost in shock.
Holding her hand, Xu Yunhan smiled and said, "Zhuqing, welcome to Shrek Academy."
Zhu Zhuqing instinctively uttered a soft "Mm." By the time she reacted, it was already too late.
Flander happily said, "Zhu Zhuqing, from now on, you are officially a student of Shrek Academy. Yunhan, take Zhu Zhuqing back to the academy and introduce her to the teachers and classmates."
Xu Yunhan nodded, "Okay."
He glanced back at Zhu Zhuqing with a smile, "Zhuqing, you're my junior now."
Zhu Zhuqing's face suddenly flushed inexplicably. Somehow, this guy didn't seem so bad anymore.
She still hadn't quite realized it, but Xu Yunhan was still holding her hand.
Until Flander said, "Alright, nothing more to do here. Yunhan, you can take Zhu Zhuqing to explore Soto City."
He seemed to think Xu Yunhan and Zhu Zhuqing made a good match and looked on approvingly.
As for Zhu Zhuqing's talent, martial soul, and soul power level, Flander didn't rush to ask—he trusted Xu Yunhan's judgment.
"The headmaster has spoken. Let's go out and have a walk."
Xu Yunhan pulled Zhu Zhuqing, heading out of the shop.
Only then did Zhu Zhuqing realize someone was holding her hand.
She struggled briefly, but Xu Yunhan wouldn't let go.
Zhu Zhuqing shot a sharp look at her junior and thought for a moment before finally giving up struggling, allowing Xu Yunhan to hold her hand.
Such a pure little kitten.
Holding her hand, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but compare Xu Yunhan to others. The more she compared, the more she thought Xu Yunhan was outstanding and gentle—Dai Mubai was trash in comparison.
"He's also a tiger-type martial soul. I wonder if we can fuse our martial souls…" For a moment, Zhu Zhuqing's thoughts ran wild.
When she came back to her senses, they were already on a busy street.
The handsome young man and beautiful young woman attracted quite a few stares.
Feeling self-conscious, Zhu Zhuqing shyly pulled her hand away from Xu Yunhan.
Seeing this, Xu Yunhan gently persisted for a while before finally letting go.
Zhu Zhuqing shyly gave Xu Yunhan a glare and then quickly found a topic to ease the awkward, ambiguous atmosphere: "When are you going back to Shrek Academy?"
Xu Yunhan looked back and said, "Zhuqing, you can call me Yunhan."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't respond.
Xu Yunhan continued, "Don't you want to explore Soto City a bit?"
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head, "I've basically seen everything here. There's nothing much to see. I'm quite curious about Shrek Academy now and want to visit as soon as possible. Do you have other things to take care of?"
Xu Yunhan thought for a moment. He had found enough soul guidance materials this time to last a while, so he said, "I'm the kind of person who likes to help others achieve their goals. Let's go to Shrek Academy first."
Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes at him.
Unconsciously, the two who had only met three times already felt so familiar with each other.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't realize this, but Xu Yunhan was doing it deliberately.
Xu Yunhan glanced up at the sky—the blazing sun was high overhead. "It's almost noon. Let's eat lunch first before heading back. Shrek Academy is quite a distance from Soto City. We need to be well-fed for the trip."
Zhu Zhuqing had no objections. She hadn't even eaten breakfast and was feeling a bit hungry.
Just as she was thinking this, her stomach suddenly growled, making her blush deeply. She lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at Xu Yunhan.
Xu Yunhan smiled and said, "Let's go. I know a place with great food. You can eat as much as you want."
Rude! Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help glaring at him.
Xu Yunhan didn't dodge the glare. Instead, he boldly grabbed her hand. "I'm holding your hand because the streets are crowded. I don't want us to get separated."
Get separated? Does he think I'm a kid? Zhu Zhuqing muttered to herself but didn't struggle. She let Xu Yunhan hold her hand.
After all, it wasn't the first time.
Only zero times and n times—now that's a truth!
To passersby, they looked like a couple: the guy handsome, the girl beautiful with a stunning figure—making many envious.
"It's her!"
Suddenly, a few men pushed their way through the crowd from the side.
Seeing their Balak Academy uniforms, people around quickly dispersed. Shops hurried to close their doors, wanting to avoid being caught in any trouble.
It was clear how powerful and arrogant Balak Academy students were in Soto City.
The few Balak Academy students had just spotted Zhu Zhuqing, and old grudges made their eyes burn with resentment.
"Those annoying flies again!" Zhu Zhuqing said with disgust.
"With me here, junior sister, you don't need to make a move. Let your senior brother handle this," Xu Yunhan said, blocking Zhu Zhuqing who wanted to act. Such a perfect chance to show off couldn't be missed.
Zhu Zhuqing smiled and agreed.
"You shameless couple, ignoring us! Brothers, activate your martial souls and teach them a lesson! Kill the guy and capture the girl for some fun!"
The Balak Academy students, already arrogant for a while but now ignored, were furious and ready to attack together.