After entering the building and passing through a dome area, they ascended a set of stone steps. Carefully maneuvering through the arched windows on either side, they could see vast expanses of green land, rolling hills, and a variety of plants arranged elegantly. It was impossible to gauge the true size of the main teaching building from the outside, as the circular structure visible earlier was just a part of it. Judging by the opulence, it could easily rival the former royal palaces.
The inner city of Shrek possessed the authority to collect taxes from Shrek City, and the wealth accumulated was enormous. Otherwise, despite being a prestigious academy, Shrek wouldn't have been able to consistently nurture so many "monsters."
Tang Wulin and his group passed through two corridors, with Shen Yi leading them into a round hall. The hall was spacious, its height reaching around twenty meters. On the tall, wide walls, murals were still present.
When Xie Xie looked up, his body involuntarily trembled. The mural depicted only one creature: a massive black dragon with golden eyes. Its wings were spread wide, and it emanated a dark aura. Despite being just a painting, the dragon was portrayed so vividly that its scales could be clearly seen. The pressure from the image was immense.
The group reacted similarly to Xie Xie, their faces turning pale. Tang Wulin seemed least affected, while Gu Yue's reaction was more noticeable. Her body trembled for a moment, and shock flickered in her eyes before she gradually returned to normal.
Shen Yi had disappeared at some point, and Teacher Wu Chang Kong was also nowhere to be seen. In this round hall, only the four of them remained.
The pressure from the black dragon mural intensified, growing like waves.
The four's chests rose and fell rapidly. Tang Wulin's eyes flashed with a hint of golden light, which alleviated some of the pressure, but it wasn't a long-term solution.
"Break!"
At that moment, a voice interrupted everything. A strong wave of blood energy surged, forming an invisible shield that enveloped all four.
"Eh?" A grunt sounded, and Shen Yi emerged from behind a stone pillar, accompanied by an elderly man.
"It's you!" Shen Yi exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing the newcomer.
"Gu You?" Xu Xiaoyan covered her lips in disbelief, staring in shock.
Gu You stretched his neck and smiled. "I'm here to participate in the exam as well. Hey, Shen Yi, you said I needed someone else to get in before, right? Today, I'm here to make things more difficult. You must let me enter Shrek Academy!"
Shen Yi awkwardly smiled and looked at the elderly man beside her. "Li Lao, what do you think?"
Li Lao glanced at Gu You with a serious expression, nodding slightly. People of their generation usually didn't follow the news, so they weren't aware of Gu You's deeds. "Not bad. He has the potential to be a little monster. I've never seen someone who could withstand the golden-eyed black dragon king's pressure like that."
Shen Yi sighed. If Gu You was a little monster, then the inner academy members of Shrek could be considered garbage in comparison.
The mural on the wall was created by a Title Douluo from Shrek Academy, who was skilled in painting. The intense pressure came from a drop of blood mixed into the ink—blood from the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, the strongest being in Star Dou Forest at the time. This blood was collected after a battle between the Dragon King and a powerful Shrek figure.
For the students taking the entrance exam, this was a test of their mental and bloodline power.
The longer one could endure, the stronger their mental energy was. Conversely, those who couldn't endure for long but still lasted a while indicated they possessed something extraordinary within their bloodlines—something worth nurturing, as they were sure to achieve great things in the future.
Shen Yi didn't find Gu You's abilities particularly strange. After all, there were some people capable of enduring the pressure. What truly astonished her was Gu You's stealth. He had entered the exam space so silently that even Li Lao hadn't detected his presence. To achieve that, his mental power and stealth abilities must be incredible. Shen Yi couldn't even imagine the level of expertise required.
This guy had grown so much stronger, she thought. Of course, she had no idea that Gu You had just returned from a battle in the far north. She was still stuck on the memory of him quitting the Heavenly Sea Tournament three years ago.
"Li Lao, what's their score?" Shen Yi asked.
Li Lao scanned the four students and said, "Luck is part of strength as well. I'll give them all eight points."
He didn't notice anything special about Tang Wulin.
"Thank you, Li Lao," Shen Yi said, a look of joy on her face.
Without needing her to instruct them, Tang Wulin and the others had already bowed in respect to the elder.
Li Lao smiled slightly. "I'm just giving some face to that old guy from the polluted world. You came late after all." With that, he turned and walked away, casting one last, deep look at Gu You, muttering to himself before leaving.
"Gu Ge… where have you been these past three years?" Xie Xie approached, his eyes full of longing.
"This... it's a long story," Gu You replied with a smile. The others were already about the same height as him, all reaching around 1.7 meters. Three years ago, Tang Wulin had been shorter than Gu You, but now the difference was almost nonexistent. Gu You hadn't changed much over these years, at least in terms of height, though his overall demeanor had undergone a significant transformation. His face had matured, and he no longer looked out of place at 1.7 meters, unlike when he had been nearly that height at just nine years old.
"You always have this mysterious air about you," Xie Xie shook his head. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get Gu You to reveal what he didn't want to say.
"It's been so long," Gu You said as he looked at Gu Yue.
"Yes, it's been a long time," Gu Yue responded. Compared to three years ago, she had grown. She now had short hair, looking neat and sharp. She had a tall and slender figure, even taller than Gu You. He couldn't help but wonder how the four of them had grown so fast in the past three years. Xu Xiaoyan was still more or less the same, though she was growing rapidly too, but Gu Yue's transformation seemed almost unreasonable. Her figure had become almost perfect, though she still carried a youthful air.
"You've all grown so much? When I see you again, I'll give you a gift for what I owe you from three years ago." Gu You suddenly flashed white light from his hand, and a necklace with a gray gem in the center appeared. If one looked closely, they would see that the surrounding soul power energy was being absorbed by it.
The materials used to create this necklace were from the small black hole that Gu You had sealed before. That thing couldn't store anything, let alone act as an infinite storage cabinet as he once hoped. The item he placed inside it last year ended up…
(End of Chapter)