The next trial took place in a separate courtyard. Several tall crystal pillars were arranged in a circle, glowing faintly with compressed spirit energy. Each pillar could measure a student's soul power level and judge their overall potential.
The line moved slowly.
Yuhao wiped his sweaty palms. "Brother Bei Bei… What if… What if I don't pass this part…?"
Bei Bei placed a steady hand on his shoulder. "Shrek tests potential, not just current strength."
Tianyi nodded. "Your spirit detection ability is unique. They will see that."
Tang Ya slapped Yuhao's back. "Relax! Worst case scenario, we kidnap the examiner and run for it!"
Tianyi stared at her.
Bei Bei sighed. "She is joking."
Yuhao wasn't convinced.
When Yuhao stepped forward for his turn, the examiner eyed him skeptically."A rank 10? At your age? Barely acceptable. Place your hand on the pillar."
Yuhao swallowed, placed his palm on the crystal—
Hum—
A soft blue glow emerged. The crystal pulsed with steady light. The examiner's eyebrows lifted.
"Oh? Your mental strength… is above normal."
Yuhao blinked. "Is… that good?"
"Very. Pass."
Yuhao nearly collapsed in relief.
Tianyi stepped up next.
The examiner stared at the qin case on his back. "A sound-type martial soul? Rare. Let's see your soul power level."
Tianyi placed his hand on the crystal.
For a moment—Nothing happened.
Yuhao's heart stopped. "Tianyi…?"
Then—
WOOOOOOOM—
The pillar lit with a deep azure radiance, spreading outward in rippling circles. Several nearby examinees gasped as the glow washed past them.
The examiner straightened instantly."This resonance—!"
Bei Bei stepped closer, eyes sharp."Tianyi… Are you suppressing your real strength?"
Tianyi shook his head softly. "No. This is simply how my soul reacts."
The examiner stared at the crystal, then at Tianyi, then at the qin case.
"…Your soul power is at rank 14. And your martial soul's elemental fluctuation… is unusual."
Tang Ya jumped in. "Unusual good or unusual bad??"
The examiner ignored her. He fixed his eyes directly on Tianyi.
"You're hiding a special property… I can feel it. But since it is not unstable, you pass."
Tang Ya cheered loudly.
Yuhao sighed in relief.
Bei Bei smiled knowingly.
But—
Far above the courtyard, on a balcony overlooking the tests, a pair of amber-red eyes narrowed slightly.
A tall woman with long crimson hair, tied back with gold rings, leaned against the railing. Flames flickered faintly beneath her skin, though no fire was present.
Ma Xiaotao.Shrek's legendary phoenix.A girl battling the berserk extreme fire within her.
She had sensed Tianyi the moment he touched the crystal pillar.
His resonance…It felt strangely compatible with her scorching flames.
"…Interesting," she murmured."That boy… He might calm the fire inside me."
Nearby, another figure in white robes also watched quietly — a cold beauty with frost shimmering around her sleeves.
Ling Luochen.
Her lips parted slightly."…His resonance feels like ice as well…"
Two extremes.Fire and ice.Both stirred by the same boy's qin.
Lan Tianyi had no idea that two future threads of fate had turned their gaze toward him already.
He only felt the faint vibration within his qin.
A whisper, like destiny plucking a string.