Eight People, Three Teams (Please Read On, Please Bookmark)

The next morning.

On Shrek Academy's Great Playground, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun wore heavy dark circles, their spirits listless.

In contrast, Ning Tianchen and Oscar stood tall, full of energy.

With the help of the kitchen environment, Oscar successfully broke through to Level 30 in the latter half of the night. Ning Tianchen's Soul Power Level had also risen by one level, reaching Level 34.

Because of what happened last night, the eight of them did not have breakfast together.

As class time drew nearer and the girls still had not arrived, Tang San grew anxious.

He did not want Xiao Wu to be punished on the first day of school.

At some point, Flender arrived at the Great Playground. After his gaze swept over Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, his brow rose. "Someone is still late?"

Tang San hurriedly spoke up for Xiao Wu. "Dean, Xiao Wu must have run into something. Shall I go take a look?"

Ning Tianchen was not worried. With Zhu Zhuqing there, the girls would not be late from oversleeping.

Ning Rongrong's Soul Power Level had long since reached Level 29. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's inheritance, breaking through to Level 30 would not be difficult.

When they parted last night, he had told her to cultivate her soul power. This situation likely meant that Ning Rongrong was on the verge of breaking through.

Afraid that the girls would be scolded because of this, Oscar hurriedly said, "Dean, I broke through to Level 30 last night. As long as I obtain a soul ring, I can advance to Soul Elder."

Flender chuckled softly, his sharp gaze sweeping over Oscar. "In that case, the content of our first lesson will be changed to soul hunting. Later, Vice Dean Zhao Wuji will lead you out to hunt soul beasts."

At the mention of Zhao Wuji, Ning Tianchen remembered that he had not seemed to see the man around the academy lately. He wondered how hard Tang Hao had hit him.

Changing the subject, Flender said sternly, "This is outrageous. Half an Incense Stick has already passed since class began, yet they still have not arrived!"

"Heh, trying to turn the world upside down on their first day as new students!" Dai Mubai suddenly said, intending to use this to teach Ning Rongrong and the others a lesson.

Had he kept quiet, Flender would not have wanted to deal with him. But now he had walked right into the line of fire. "Mubai, Hongjun, why didn't you rest earlier last night? Look at those dark circles—what kind of appearance is this!"

"You two, run ten laps around the entire village. You are not allowed to rest until you finish!"

With last night's lesson still fresh in his mind, Dai Mubai did not dare talk back. He started running along the village roads.

Ma Hongjun gave him a resentful look but did not dare say anything.

Before long, Xiao Wu was the first to run onto the Great Playground.

"Xiao Wu, what exactly happened? Where are Zhuqing and Rongrong?" Flender hurriedly asked.

As the dean, he was also worried that something might have happened to the students.

Tang San could not help asking as well, "Xiao Wu, did something happen to you?"

Xiao Wu shook her head and explained, "Third Brother, Dean, Rongrong was about to break through to Level 30. Zhuqing and I were guarding her. Rongrong just broke through not long ago, so I came over first."

Delight appeared in Flender's eyes, and his earlier displeasure immediately vanished. "Good! That means our academy has gained another two Soul Elders. Since we need to hunt soul beasts, the scheduled lessons are temporarily canceled. This afternoon, Teacher Zhao will take you out to hunt soul beasts."

After saying that, his gaze fell on Oscar. "Oscar, call Hongjun and Mubai back first."

Originally, he had intended to use the first lesson of the school term to cultivate teamwork among the eight of them.

Flender knew about what happened last night, as well as the relationship between Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.

If this continued, Shrek Academy's eight students could form three separate teams!

However, since they were going soul hunting, fostering teamwork during the hunt would be far more effective than any verbal instruction from him.

That was why he chose to abandon today's lesson.

After Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were called back, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at the Great Playground together.

Flender pushed up his glasses and lectured them. "You are a team. When you set out to hunt soul beasts this afternoon, I do not want to hear that any of you are causing conflicts. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" Tang San answered decisively.

Dai Mubai and the girls disliked the sight of one another and did not respond.

Flender could not say who was right or wrong about last night's matter.

He knew what Dai Mubai was like. Back when Shrek Academy had been on the verge of closing down, he himself had given up trying and barely bothered with the students' affairs.

Now, not only could Shrek Academy form a team, but his old friend Yu Xiaogang was also coming.

Whether for the sake of face or not, he had to take some measures.

But while it was easy to foster bad habits, how could they be completely eradicated so easily?

"I do not care what conflicts exist between you. If you fight among yourselves during the soul hunt, every one of you will die. Weigh the seriousness of it yourselves."

Everyone fell silent.

Ning Tianchen knew the dangers of the Star Dou Great Forest. Chen Xin had led them in the previous spirit battles, so there had been no safety issues, but that did not mean danger did not exist.

From what he knew of the original timeline, Zhao Wuji alone could not protect everyone.

Therefore, even if only temporarily, they had to ensure everyone remained united during the soul hunt.

"It is good that you understand the severity of the situation. Now, each of you will eat one of Oscar's sausages. During marches and battles, a Food System Spirit Master's food can both fill your stomach and restore soul power. For your safety, Oscar's sausages will certainly be needed during the soul hunt."

"Overcome your psychological barriers in advance, so you will not make mistakes in battle."

Both Ning Rongrong and Ning Tianchen could eat Oscar's sausages.

But to everyone else, Oscar's sausages were like poison that burned through the gut—impossible to swallow.

The sausages naturally smelled delicious, but combined with Oscar's incantation and that lecherous expression of his, they gave people a distinctly unpleasant feeling, as if they were eating... that.

Oscar kept waggling his eyebrows, looking at everyone with a sleazy grin.

"Tianchen, Rongrong, want a sausage?"

Neither of them refused. They took the sausages and quickly swallowed them.

Tang San hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth and ate one as well.

With someone taking the lead, the others could only pinch their noses and force themselves to eat, no matter how unwilling they were.

"Other than Mubai and Hong Jun, everyone go back and rest. After lunch, gather here. Teacher Zhao will lead the team to hunt spirit beasts."

"Mubai, Hong Jun, keep running."

After several days of recuperation, Zhao Wuji's injuries had mostly healed, aside from a slight limp when he walked.

After hearing Flender explain what had happened, he was startled and hurriedly asked, "Dean, are you sure it's okay for the little monsters to have a conflict like this?"

Geniuses always had the pride of geniuses, and it was extremely difficult for them to get along with one another.

Flender had a headache over this as well.

The best solution had already been used by Tang San last night—raising one up while putting another down.

The problem was that Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong were no pushovers, while Dai Mubai had funded the academy many times. Neither side was easy to offend, leaving Flender at a loss for a moment.