At this point, Zhou Sichen had fully grasped the rules of the Inner Court Examination and turned his gaze to the five portraits before him.
These five individuals were the designated examiners for the Inner Court assessment. To make the test more flexible, candidates were usually allowed to choose their opponent from among them.
After scanning the portraits calmly, Zhou Sichen felt a faint sense of disappointment.
His sister had entered the Inner Court last year—so why wasn't she among them?
According to Du Weilun, the examiners were the most outstanding students from the previous batch of Inner Court entrants.
Yet, Zhou Sichen did not see the person he had been hoping to find among the five.
Still, he had to choose someone.
As he examined their descriptions, he noted that all five were high-level Soul Elders, each just one step away from reaching the Soul King realm.
Suddenly, his gaze locked onto a portrait of a woman with long, emerald-green hair.
Below her image, the description read:
[Name: Dugu Xianmeng]
Martial Soul: Jade-scaled Serpent
Soul Ring Configuration: Two Yellow, Two Purple
"Jade-scaled Serpent?" Zhou Sichen murmured, puzzled. "I don't recall any Jade-scaled Serpent soul masters appearing in the original story."
He was surprised—Shrek Academy had a Jade-scaled Serpent soul master?
Given the unique abilities of such a martial soul, someone shouldn't have remained unknown in the original timeline.
Of course, it was possible that Dugu Xianmeng was not a descendant of Dugu Bo, the legendary Poison Douluo. After all, there were likely other families on the continent with the Jade-scaled Serpent martial soul.
But there was no denying that Dugu Bo was the most famous soul master ever to wield this martial soul.
A thousand years ago, Dugu Bo—the Jade-scaled Douluo—had single-handedly massacred a million people.
Even now, the story of a city blanketed in eerie green light was enough to terrify children into silence.
Zhou Sichen had made his choice.
He wanted to test this Jade-scaled Serpent soul master to see how powerful she really was.
Despite the ten-rank gap between them, Zhou Sichen wasn't concerned in the slightest.
Even without considering his other advantages, A'Da's Ultimate Ice was a perfect counter to poison-based martial souls.
One by one, the candidates took their exams.
Zhou Sichen had already seen four out of the five examiners in action—yet Dugu Xianmeng had not appeared even once.
There was no need to ask why.
Her poison was too terrifying, and all the candidates were too afraid to face her.
But Zhou Sichen didn't care about that.
Since Du Weilun hadn't called his name yet, he simply sat in the waiting area with his eyes closed, resting.
He didn't even bother watching the other duels.
This made him stand out—the other candidates were staring intently at the battles, trying to learn as much as possible about the examiners' strengths and abilities.
They hoped that by gathering information, they could make their fight easier—or even win.
After all, it wasn't unheard of for an Outer Court student to defeat an Inner Court examiner.
Just last year, a true prodigy had managed to do it...
He didn't even spare a single glance at the fights.
Even Du Weilun couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Even if this kid is a monstrous talent... Even if his contract soul beasts are incredibly strong... he's still just Rank 38.
His own combat ability must have limitations, right?
Moreover, Bei Bei claimed that Zhou Sichen was a Rank 3 Soul Engineer—but even that shouldn't be enough to justify this level of confidence...
The more Du Weilun thought about it, the more uncertain he became.
If Bei Bei's claims are true, then maybe this kid really does have the right to be this arrogant.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Combat Hall, behind a soul tool-powered one-way mirror, several figures stood watching Zhou Sichen in silence.
Bei Bei introduced him:
"Dean Yan, Dean Qian—this is Zhou Sichen."
The two men appeared to be in their fifties, but in reality, both were over ninety years old.
The first was Yan Shaozhe, Dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department.
Martial Soul: Radiant Phoenix
The second was Qian Duoduo, Vice Dean of the Soul Engineering Department.
Martial Soul: Black Dragon Shield
Rank 94 Titled Douluo
Rank 8 Soul Engineer, just one step away from becoming Rank 9.
When Du Weilun had sent Bei Bei away earlier, it was to bring these two powerful figures here.
A twelve-year-old at Rank 38, with three purple soul rings, three near-10,000-year-old contract soul beasts, and possibly a Rank 3 Soul Engineer?
Someone had never been recorded in Shrek Academy's history.
If such a monster truly existed, they had to see him with their own eyes.
Now, two of the most powerful Titled Douluo on the continent were essentially spying on a young boy, watching him through a hidden observation window.
But all Zhou Sichen did was sit there with his eyes closed, completely still.
Just by looking at him, they couldn't discern anything.
Still, for someone with this level of talent, they were willing to wait.
More importantly, they could use this time to gauge his temperament.
The Inner Court Examination continued for hours, stretching from afternoon into the evening.
Out of fifteen Outer Court graduates, only four had successfully passed.
By the end, only five people remained in the Combat Hall—the four successful candidates and Zhou Sichen, who had yet to take his exam.
At that moment, Du Weilun finally looked toward him.
"Zhou Sichen, it's your turn."
With those words, the final mystery was revealed.
This handsome newcomer was really here to take the Inner Court exam.
"Is he pulling strings behind the scenes?"
Even if that were the case, he would still need to pass a real test.
Zhou Sichen nodded calmly, then stood up and walked toward the arena with an unhurried, composed demeanor.
Just like the others before him, he announced his choice of examiner.
"I choose Senior Sister Dugu Xianmeng."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the four successful candidates stared at him as if he were an idiot.
They had all gone out of their way to avoid fighting her.
Was this guy just dumb, or had he been asleep the entire day?
Even Du Weilun frowned.
Wasn't he supposed to be a genius?
Had he underestimated her poison?
Or... was he really just that confident?
Meanwhile, in the waiting room, Dugu Xianmeng chuckled, her emerald-green eyes shimmering with amusement and intrigue.
"I was planning to have some fun with this little brother after he joined the Inner Court... but I guess he's giving me the chance right now."
Upstairs, behind the one-way mirror, Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo exchanged knowing smiles.
"This kid... he really is something else."
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