The exam begins.
The entrance of Shrek Academy suddenly became bustling.
The First Year freshmen each displayed their own Divine Abilities, intending to get some travel expenses from their seniors to buy train tickets.
Unfortunately, the seniors were all veterans of this experience.
They had suffered plenty back then, so they were bound to make their juniors suffer through it all over again!
Fortunately, there were many Divine Beings among this batch of freshmen.
Ye Xinglan cooperated with Xu Lizhi to forcibly "borrow money."
Na'er resorted to highway robbery.
Xu Xiaoyan acted cute to seek help; those young aspiring chefs couldn't resist her.
Tang Wulin, on the other hand, had long since vanished; he planned to sneak onto the train without a ticket.
Meanwhile, Gu Yue searched for a long time before finally spotting Arthur Qiue's figure under a large tree at the academy entrance.
He had actually set up a crude roadside stall, with a piece of cloth spread on the ground. There was nothing else on it except for a small Auspicious Beast, who was mimicking a lucky cat by waving its paws, looking utterly adorable.
A striking line of words was written on the cloth: "One hundred thousand federation coins per time. Auspicious Beast's blessing, a bright future, and the safety of your family."
"Arthur, you're..." Gu Yue stepped forward, caught between laughter and tears.
Arthur was shouting: "Come one, come all, don't miss out! The Auspicious Beast's blessing is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You won't encounter this again in your life!"
At the same time, he turned back to her and said helplessly, "Ah, I have no choice. This is all for the children."
"The children?" Gu Yue tilted her head, her face full of confusion.
"There." Arthur gestured with his head.
Over there was a group of classmates who couldn't get any money and were waiting to be fed, looking at Arthur with eyes full of worship.
Shrek students generally weren't short on money, let alone when it came to an Auspicious Beast.
At one hundred thousand a pop, they even felt it was a bargain.
"This is an Auspicious Beast! Forget a hundred thousand, it's worth two hundred thousand!"
A senior squeezed to the front of the stall and took out money without hesitation. "Give me one go! I want to see what this is all about!"
Arthur took the money and lightly tapped the small Auspicious Beast's head with his fingertip.
The little fellow immediately perked up and raised its small paw. A warm golden halo washed over the senior's entire body like flowing water.
"Hiss!" The senior took a sharp breath, feeling refreshed. "Refreshing!"
...Gu Yue stood to the side, helping Arthur collect stack after stack of federation coins.
She shook her head helplessly. "Sigh, Rosy Dawn is really suffering by following you. She's doing all the work for you."
"Who told our class to have so many 'children'?" Arthur turned his head and winked at her, his gaze sweeping over the classmates watching eagerly nearby.
"I've earned enough money. I'll leave the rest to you. I'm heading out first."
"You!" Before Gu Yue could react, Arthur had already disappeared.
Looking in the direction Arthur had vanished, Gu Yue, still holding the federation coins she had just collected, was both angry and helpless. "This guy..."
...Walking into the soul tool train.
"Carriage Five..."
Arthur entered the carriage and found his seat according to the train ticket.
The route passed through ten cities; it didn't matter where he went.
So, the destination of this train was Heaven Dou City.
It was a good chance to visit Zhen Hua and Mu Ye along the way.
Arthur sat down in the window seat.
He gently stroked Rosy Dawn's fluffy back. The little fellow curled up comfortably in his arms, her warm golden fur emitting a faint halo.
"Spirit Ability: Destiny."
He murmured softly, a flash of light crossing his eyes.
In the darkness, an invisible force of Destiny quietly spread.
Like fine threads, it tightly bound the First Year students scattered across different trains and directions together.
Gu Yue and Na'er looked suspicious and uncertain, only relaxing slightly when they realized it was the power of Arthur and the Auspicious Beast.
Xu Xiaoyan suddenly looked at the scenery passing by the window and said inexplicably, "I feel like... I'll run into Brother Arthur very soon?"
Xu Lizhi was worrying about the route when he suddenly slapped his head. "How about going to Heaven Dou City first? I remember the specialty dishes there are delicious."
Even Tang Wulin, who was trying to dodge the fare, inexplicably felt that he should go to Heaven Dou City first.
Rosy Dawn seemed to sense something. She raised her small head, a soft whimper coming from her throat. Her small paw pointed toward the front of the train, a flash of cleverness in her eyes.
Arthur's heart stirred. With the permission of the Douluo Plane, his Spiritual Power reached an infinite height.
Following the guidance of Destiny, he saw that the intersection of the First Year students' threads of fate was exactly as he had thought: Heaven Dou City.
"Destiny... how interesting."
However, the consumption of Spiritual Power was still quite significant.
He withdrew Rosy Dawn back into his Sea of Consciousness.
Watching the scenery outside the window begin to move backward.
Arthur slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep to the sound of the wind outside... On the other side, Tang Wulin was caught not long after sneaking onto the train.
The train conductor, Mo Lan, asked with a hint of curiosity, "Are you really a student of Shrek Academy?"
Tang Wulin nodded repeatedly. "I am Tang Wulin from the First Year."
"A student of Shrek, how could you be dodging the fare?" Mo Lan put down her pen and lightly tapped the table. "A Shrek student shouldn't be unable to afford even a single train ticket, right?"
"It's not that I can't afford it!" Tang Wulin explained hurriedly. " I'm out for my final exam and need to earn my own travel expenses. I originally wanted to sneak onto the train first and then find a way to pay for the ticket when I got to Heaven Dou City, but I didn't expect to be caught..."
As he spoke, his cheeks turned slightly red, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Conductor! There are criminals hijacking the train in Carriage Five. Come quickly for backup!"
The urgent cry from the communicator made Mo Lan's face change drastically.
But she suppressed her panic and immediately ordered through the communicator, "All train staff, open the emergency armory, carry weapons, and rush to Carriage Five. Stay calm and do not alarm the passengers or cause a riot!"
Before her voice had even faded, she rushed into the duty room, opened the safe with a key to take out a soul tool pistol, and turned to instruct Tang Wulin, "Stay here and don't run around."
She was about to rush out after saying that.
"Sister, I'll go with you!" Tang Wulin followed quickly. "I'm a three-ring Spirit Elder from Shrek. I can help!"
Mo Lan held him back and decisively pushed him into the duty room. "This is a matter for us adults. You have a bright future; you can't take risks!"
She then inquired about the situation through the communicator and learned that the criminals were carrying Soul Guidance Ray Guns, small soul guidance cannons, and timed cluster bombs, and had already taken control of some carriages.
The situation was critical. After Mo Lan gave follow-up instructions, she stepped forward alone to prepare for negotiations.
A criminal's cold laugh came from the carriage: "Tell the federal government to release the people arrested twenty days ago. Give us an answer within thirty minutes. The first five carriages are rigged with bombs. If time runs out, we'll all go down together!"
Mo Lan's heart sank. She had never heard any news about such arrests, but she still steeled herself and walked in.
Mo Lan took a deep breath and spoke loudly to the criminals in the carriage: "I am the train conductor, Mo Lan, daughter of the Heaven Dou City Governor and Federal Councilor Mo Wu. I am willing to offer myself as a hostage in exchange for the release of the elderly, weak, women, and children in the first five carriages."
The security captain hurriedly tried to dissuade her, but was pushed aside by Mo Lan. Her sharp gaze and Aura actually made the security captain, a two-ring Soul Master, not dare to look her in the eye.
To prove her identity, Mo Lan walked straight out of cover and exposed herself to the criminals' weapon range. "You can verify it through the Soul Net. My father's identity is sufficient guarantee."
The criminal laughed crazily. "This is truly an unexpected surprise!"
"Release ten people first. After you come over, we'll release the rest. If you try any little tricks... hehe."
As he spoke, as if to prove his point, the criminal casually aimed his gun at a nearby passenger.
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