A few days later, Zhu Ziyang sought out Cai Meier. After Yan Shaozhe went into seclusion, all affairs of the Martial Soul Department in the outer court were entrusted to her.
"Little Junior Brother, what brings you here?" Cai Meier was visibly surprised.
"Hehe, sorry to disturb your work, Senior Sister." Zhu Ziyang smiled. "I wanted to take a look at the files for this year's new students. Would that be alright?"
"Huh?" Cai Meier blinked, then asked, "Why? What's got you suddenly interested in the freshmen? Could it be that someone you know is among them?"
"Something like that," Zhu Ziyang thought of Huo Yuhao but then shook his head. "I heard there are three Soul Elders among this year's students, so I got curious and wanted to take a look."
"Oh, I see." Cai Meier smiled knowingly. "Even I didn't expect three Soul Elders to suddenly pop up this year. It's understandable that you're curious, Junior Brother. Alright, I'll satisfy your curiosity."
As she spoke, Cai Meier took a stack of documents from a cabinet behind her and placed them in front of Zhu Ziyang.
"Normally, this kind of academy intelligence is strictly confidential and not to be shown to outsiders. But you're different. You'll be handling these matters sooner or later, so it's not a bad idea to get familiar early."
"Mm! Thank you, Senior Sister!" Zhu Ziyang nodded enthusiastically as he looked at the thick stack of files.
"This year we've admitted over a thousand new students, the largest intake in the past ten years," Cai Meier said with a satisfied smile. "More than 30% of them come from commoner backgrounds. If this trend continues, imagine what a grand future the academy might have!"
"Over a thousand? That's a lot!" Zhu Ziyang was mildly surprised.
"These files contain detailed background investigations and relational networks of all freshmen. They must not be leaked. Junior Brother, read them here—don't take them out." Cai Meier reminded him. "I have other things to handle and need to step out. Stay here, and when you're done, just leave them on the table."
"Understood." Zhu Ziyang nodded.
After Cai Meier left, Zhu Ziyang began going through the stack of files.
The topmost file caught his eye. He picked it up and read through it carefully.
"Ning Tian, eleven years old, Rank 31, Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul, innate full soul power, no twin Martial Souls, no soul bones. Young master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect. Father: Ning Baicheng, Rank 79 Soul Sage, Sect Master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. Stepmother: Chen Xue, Seven Kill Sword Martial Soul, Rank 87 Soul Douluo, Elder of the Sect. Birth mother: Ning Qiang, Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul, deceased ten years ago..."
Zhu Ziyang was slightly surprised. The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda—renowned as the strongest auxiliary Martial Soul on the continent. With such a background, an eleven-year-old Soul Elder wasn't surprising at all. However, he now understood why Cai Meier warned him not to leak these documents. They were simply too confidential and revealing.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. If the academy's intelligence network could infiltrate even a sect like the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda to this degree, then how deep did their reach into the Sun Moon Empire go? He thought of how the Soul Tool Department had blueprints for numerous Soul Tools they couldn't even manufacture. Perhaps this was how they'd been acquired.
He continued reading. The second file also belonged to a Soul Elder.
"Dai Huabin, twelve years old, Rank 31, White Tiger Martial Soul, innate full soul power, no twin Martial Souls, no soul bones. Youngest son of the White Tiger Duke. Father: Dai Hao, White Tiger Duke, Rank 87 Soul Douluo. Mother: Xu Qiqi, Starlight Martial Soul, Rank 55 Soul King, Princess of the Star Luo Empire..."
"Dai Huabin?" Zhu Ziyang raised an eyebrow, then thought of someone. "Could this guy be Brother Yueheng's younger brother? Huh, he really might be. Brother Yueheng was already incredibly talented, and yet this little brother's even stronger? Now this is getting interesting. The rules of the White Tiger Duke's family are notoriously brutal, after all."
Next was:
"Xie Huanyue, twelve years old, Rank 31, Rubber Elephant Martial Soul, innate full soul power, no twin Martial Souls, no soul bones. Young master of the Elephant Armored Sect. Father: Xie Zheng, Heavenly Elephant Douluo, Rank 93 Titled Douluo, Sect Master of the Elephant Armored Sect..."
"Rubber Elephant? What kind of Martial Soul is that? A variant maybe?" Zhu Ziyang scratched his head. "I thought the Elephant Armored Sect used Diamond Mammoths? This is so bizarre!"
After the three Soul Elders, the next file was Wang Dong. Zhu Ziyang's eyes flickered. He remembered Wang Dong's soul power was only Rank 21. Placed fourth among the new students? Was the quality of the freshmen really so uneven?
Curious, he began reading Wang Dong's file—and was surprised to find that its format was quite different from the first three.
"Wang Dong, eleven years old, innate full soul power, twin Martial Souls: Light Goddess Butterfly and Clear Sky Hammer. Rank 21. Successor of the Clear Sky Sect. Father: Unknown. Mother: Unknown..."
Zhu Ziyang instantly understood why Wang Dong was ranked just behind the three Soul Elders. A twin Martial Soul owner! No wonder. Clear Sky Hammer—successor of the Clear Sky Sect. That was definitely rare. The sect had remained hidden from the world for thousands of years. This was the first time they'd sent someone to study at Shrek Academy. But why the surname Wang? Shouldn't it be Tang?
And the Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul... Zhu Ziyang's eyes narrowed with suspicion. He recalled that Martial Soul had a strong gender bias—one of the few known to pass only to females. Why would it appear on Wang Dong?
Could it be... Wang Dong was a girl in disguise?
That actually made a lot of sense! Zhu Ziyang thought back to the dinner, when Wang Dong's behavior had unintentionally shown a feminine side toward Huo Yuhao. Suddenly, everything added up. Girl disguised as a boy. Same dorm. Twin Martial Souls. Successor of a hidden sect. This was textbook female protagonist material! But wasn't this trope way too cliché for this world?
The Clear Sky Sect was truly eccentric. After vanishing for centuries, they suddenly send a cross-dressing heir to Shrek? Utterly baffling.
Also, the academy's intelligence department was clearly slacking. Why were both parents listed as "unknown"?
"I wonder when Huo Yuhao will realize that his roommate is actually a girl?" Zhu Ziyang thought with a gleam of amusement.
The fifth file was formatted the same as Wang Dong's—another twin Martial Soul owner.
"Xiao Xiao, eleven years old, innate full soul power. Twin Martial Souls: Phoenix Melodic Flute and Three-Life Soul Suppression Cauldron. Rank 23. Father: Xiao Ding, Phoenix Melodic Flute Martial Soul, Rank 82 Soul Douluo, expelled disciple of Lingxiao Sect. Mother: Xiao Chuchu, Soul Suppression Cauldron Martial Soul, Rank 77 Soul Saint, expelled disciple of Xuan Cauldron Sect..."
"Phoenix Melodic Flute and Three-Life Soul Suppression Cauldron?" Zhu Ziyang made a strange face. "Weren't those two sects mortal enemies? Heh, no wonder both parents were expelled."
He kept flipping through the files, but the rest weren't particularly noteworthy. He skimmed through dozens of them before understanding the ranking format, then went straight for the bottom—he wanted to see Huo Yuhao's file.
Unsurprisingly, Huo Yuhao's file was the very last one. His soul power was the lowest among the freshmen, so low that he wouldn't have even passed the entrance exam under normal circumstances.
"Huo Yuhao, eleven years old, Rank 11 soul power. Spirit Eye Martial Soul. Innate soul power Rank 1. Member of Tang Sect. Suspected child of the White Tiger Duke's household servants. Father: Unknown. Mother: Huo Yuner, Moth Martial Soul, no soul power, deceased."
It was a typical civilian file, only documenting easily obtainable public information. The intelligence department hadn't dug deep—commoners weren't usually worth the effort.
"Huh?! Huo Yuhao is actually connected to the White Tiger Duke?" Zhu Ziyang was shocked. He didn't expect Huo Yuhao to be born of household servants in the Duke's mansion. So this is a 'servant's son rises to overthrow the master' kind of story?
If his mother had a Moth Martial Soul, why did Huo Yuhao have a Spirit Eye? A mutation? Or did his father have some kind of eye-related Martial Soul? Could it be... Huo Yuhao was actually the Duke's illegitimate son?
That wouldn't be surprising—nobles were full of such scandals. Zhu Ziyang speculated silently.
Innate Rank 1 soul power? And only Rank 11 at entrance? He might be the worst student Shrek Academy had accepted in centuries. But that only made Zhu Ziyang even more curious about him.
He genuinely looked forward to seeing how Huo Yuhao would astonish the upper echelons of Shrek Academy in the future.
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T/N: I guess you're wondering why Hou Yun'er's Martial Soul is Moth and not Spirit Eyes, The Author changed it, And the Answer will be Revealed in Future Chapters.
(End of Chapter)
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