"Sir, our academy only admits students under the age of 25."

Lin Jian furrowed his brows slightly as he scrutinized the burly man before him. He spoke in a low, surprised voice.

He'd thought this man might be a decent candidate, but it seemed he was just here to make trouble.

The burly man puffed out his chest and bellowed like a bell:

"Who are you calling 'sir'? I'm only 23!"

"What? Twenty-three?!"

"No way—that can't be real!"

Gasps of disbelief echoed from the surrounding crowd.

"…Alright, then. Go ahead and take the test," Lin Jian replied helplessly.

"Bone Age: 23. Innate Soul Power: Rank 7. Current Soul Power: Rank 41?"

After testing, Lin Jian was stunned. His jaw dropped.

"…Very well. Proceed inside. Someone will guide you to the second round."

"Understood."

The burly man, named Auro, nodded and walked toward the academy gates.

Meanwhile, the skeptics nearby who had doubted Auro were now left speechless.

"There's no way he's only 23…"

"Look at him—he's clearly over 25."

"C'mon, stop being sore losers. Didn't you see the instructor do a bone-age test? How could they fake that?"

"Heh, guess Monster Academy really lucked out today."

"Getting a young Soul Ancestor-level cultivator to join them."

"Still, they're too young and ignorant. They don't understand the strength of the old-established academies."

"A new academy like theirs—what foundation could they possibly have?"

Spies from the other elemental academies whispered among themselves.

"You guys from Blazing Academy and Elephant Armored Academy, huh?" someone from Godwind Academy asked, curious.

"Yep. And you are?"

"Godwind Academy."

"Hahaha, so you're watching them too?" the others laughed.

"Of course. Ever since our dean heard Poison Douluo was backing this new academy, he's had us observing in secret."

"Ah, fellow scouts then!"

"Look over there—Thunderclap Academy and even Heaven Dou Academy sent people."

A Blazing Academy student pointed toward another group in the distance.

"Haha, alright, let's not chat too long. I need to write a full report on today's results and get it back to the dean," the Godwind scout said and left.

---

Meanwhile, after Auro passed the first round, he caught Lin Feng's attention.

"System, Trait Insight."

[Name: Auro]

[Age: 23]

[Innate Soul Power: Rank 7]

[Martial Soul: Sausage (High-tier)]

[Soul Power: Rank 41]

[Traits:]

[Masterful Cooking (Green)]

[Exceptional Talent (Purple)]

Lin Feng looked at Auro's profile. When he saw the martial soul was Sausage, he narrowed his eyes.

Sausage… could this be related to Oscar?

After all, Shrek Academy has already been absorbed into my academy. I wonder where that Oscar kid ended up…

At the same time, good news came from Lin Xue's side.

"Innate Soul Power Rank 8—congratulations, you've passed the exam."

Her face beamed with satisfaction as she addressed the girl before her, eyes full of encouragement.

Though the academy had temporarily relaxed the age limit for its inaugural class—hoping to recruit talent across all ages—many outstanding candidates had already been recruited by other schools.

Just getting a few decent students was already a success.

Most who came today had done so because of Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's fearsome reputation.

They figured that if they passed, they'd withdraw from their current academy. If not, they'd just return and carry on.

The assessment continued until sunset, concluding smoothly.

By the end, five Soul Elders had been accepted—plus Xuanzi and Auro.

Most Soul Ancestor-level students had already graduated in previous years and wouldn't easily switch academies, especially not to a new one.

Still, Lin Feng managed to identify several high-quality purple-tier traits from the sea of green ones, so the harvest wasn't bad.

As the crowd began to thin—

"Now that the entrance exams are over, I'll take my leave," Prince Xue Xing said respectfully to Dugu Bo. "Should you require any support, the royal family will be happy to assist."

"No need to stay then. We still have a lot to handle on our end," Dugu Bo replied, waving his hand casually.

"Very well, Senior Dugu. Until we meet again."

With that, Prince Xue Xing and his attendants departed, while Dugu Bo led Flender and the others back toward the main office.

---

"Second Uncle," Lin Feng called out quietly as he approached Lin Wuming (Second Uncle btw), who had lingered by the gates. He pointed to a few departing figures in the distance.

"Send someone to keep track of those individuals. Let's try to win them over in private."

Lin Wuming looked puzzled.

Lin Feng leaned in and added in a low voice, "Their physiques are unique—highly compatible with spiritual herbs."

Understanding dawned, and Lin Wuming nodded in agreement.

As Lin Feng recalled the many purple-tier traits he had recorded today, he began forming a long-term plan.

Recruiting these people wasn't just about strengthening the academy now—it was about creating a "trait incubation pool", a strategy to increase the chances of generating rarer gold-tier traits through future refreshes.

He still had one gold-tier trait unused—he was saving it for after breaking through to the Soul Emperor realm.

Although he possessed a twin martial soul, his current limit for soul rings was 30,000 years—too low for his second martial soul.

He planned to delay attaching a soul ring to that one until he reached a higher level.

---

As the crowd dispersed, some onlookers lingered behind.

"Ugh, Monster Academy really hit the jackpot today."

"They got several Soul Elders to enroll. Our dean's going to flip when he hears about this."

"Yeah, this gives them multiple new powerhouses as competition."

"Let's hurry back and report everything."

Several spies from other academies grouped up, quietly discussing their next steps.

---

Inside Monster Academy.

In a modest yet formal room, the seven individuals who had passed the first round sat in a tense circle, nervous anticipation hanging in the air.

They had only just survived the initial exam that morning—and now the second round loomed.

Just then, Lin Feng entered with a composed stride.

"Greetings, Examiner!"

The seven stood up immediately and greeted him with respect.

They now knew who he was—son of the Grand Marshal of the Heaven Dou Empire, and one of the examiners.

"The second round is quite simple, so don't worry too much," Lin Feng said with a light smile, gesturing for them to relax.

Then he turned and stepped into the adjoining room, quietly closing the door behind him.

Inside, Lin Xue, Lin Jian, and the others were already waiting.

"We're ready to begin," Lin Feng said, nodding at Lin Jian.

"Next—Zhang Feng!" Lin Jian opened the door and called loudly.

Zhang Feng took a deep breath to calm himself, then stood up and walked steadily into the room. Lin Jian closed the door behind him.

Inside, Zhang Feng saw Lin Feng seated calmly at the table, with Lin Xue standing silently by his side.

As their eyes met, Zhang Feng suddenly felt dizzy—as if something had pulled his consciousness into a deep, dark vortex.

His awareness faded.

This was Lin Xue's illusion technique.

Anyone ensnared by it would speak only the truth.

"Why do you want to join Monster Academy?"

"Are you a spy sent by another faction?"

"Do you harbor any ill intent towards Monster Academy?"

Lin Feng asked calmly.

---

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