A Gathering of Oddball Students

Ma Hongjun let out a series of screams, the sound echoing across the fields in the early morning.

A few villagers in the distance looked up and glanced in this direction, then lowered their heads and continued working, their faces bearing an expression of "serves them right."

After about a dozen lashes, Ma Hongjun was covered in bruises. His clothes were torn to shreds, and his exposed skin was covered with red welts, some of which were broken and bleeding.

Ma Hongjun's face turned bright red, and his small eyes were filled with tears, whether from pain or grievance, it was hard to tell.

Just then, a surprised voice rang out from afar. "Tang San, stop fighting! Fatty is our classmate!"

Tang San looked in the direction the sound came from and saw Oscar running towards them, panting and waving as he ran, his face full of anxiety.

Tang San lashed out with the whip twice more before stopping.

Blue Silver Grass released his grip, Ma Hongjun fell to the ground with a thud, rolled over once, and grimaced while clutching his buttocks.

"Will you dare to bully ordinary people again?"

"I won't do it again, I won't do it again."

Ma Hongjun lay on the ground, waving his hands repeatedly, his voice full of pleading.

Oscar ran over, pulled out a few Recovery Sausages, and handed them to Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun took the sausage and wolfed down several pieces before the bleeding from his wounds gradually stopped.

Oscar helped Ma Hongjun up, supporting Ma Hongjun arm as they walked towards the dormitory. Ma Hongjun limped, his mouth twitching with every step.

Xiao Wu walked to Tang San 'Tang San side, took his arm, and smiled broadly.

Tang San smiled and said, "Let's go, let's continue looking for a place to cultivate."

The two continued walking along the path. The path narrowed as they walked, and eventually they reached a small hillside. On the other side of the hillside was a cliff.

The cliff is not high, about 10 or 20 meters high, and the cliff face is covered with moss and vines. A stream falls from the cliff, forming a small waterfall. The water flow is not large, but the drop is enough to carve out a sizable pool at the bottom of the cliff.

The pool is surrounded by smooth rocks, and the sunlight shines on the water, making it sparkle.

Tang San stood atop the cliff and looked around. The air was fresh, the environment was quiet, and it was perfect for cultivation.

This is it.

Xiao Wu stood beside Tang San, glanced down, and nodded. "Third Brother, this place is nice."

Tang San smiled, and the two turned and walked down the cliff. They each found a flat rock, sat cross-legged, closed their eyes, and began to meditate and cultivate.

Sunlight bathed the two of them, the water gurgled, and birds sang sweetly.

As evening fell, the setting sun bathed the entire field in a warm orange-red hue.

After Tang San and Xiao Wu finished their day's training, they arrived at the academy and happened to run into Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, who were coming out of the dormitory building.

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. "Where have you two been all day? I haven't seen you anywhere."

Tang San stopped walking. "We found a place to cultivate in the back mountains. There's a small waterfall, the environment is nice and quite quiet."

"Why didn't you take us with you? We'll be cultivating with you starting tomorrow," Ning Rongrong said reproachfully.

Tang San glanced at Ning Rongrong, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Whatever you want. Go if you want, there's plenty of space."

The next morning, today was the first official day of classes after the start of the school year.

As dawn broke, Tang San and Xiao Wu finished breakfast and arrived at the academy's open space. Flender was already standing there, his hands behind his back.

Yu Xiaogang also stood next to Flender, leaning closer to Flender; the two were very close.

Tang San and his companion stopped in front of Flender and nodded in acknowledgment.

Before long, the other students arrived one after another, including Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, who had been whipped by Tang San.

Dai Mubai's injuries have almost healed, while Ma Hongjun still has obvious whip marks.

The two of them knew that Tang San was a new student at Shrek, and their eyes were filled with fear when they looked at Tang San.

Seeing that all the trainees had arrived, Flender cleared his throat and said, "Is everyone here? I'd like to say a few words."

All eyes were on Flender.

"I know you three have a past conflict," Flender said, his gaze sweeping over Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun. "But now you're all students of the Shrek Academy. I hope you can become a team, cooperating and trusting each other. Let bygones be bygones."

"Yes," the three replied in unison.

Flender nodded, then moved aside to create some distance between himself and Yu Xiaogang. Pointing at Yu Xiaogang, he introduced, "This is Yu Xiaogang; you can call him Grandmaster. From today onwards, Grandmaster will be your team's leader and mentor, responsible for everyone's training. He'll be in charge of everything, from tactical arrangements to daily practice."

Upon hearing this, everyone's lips twitched. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, in particular, showed obvious disgust in their eyes.

But forced by Flender's authority, everyone reluctantly accepted the arrangement.

Seeing that no one objected, Flender nodded and announced loudly, "Today is the first day of school, and my assignment for the lesson is that everyone must eat a sausage made by Oscar."

Everyone's expression changed.

It's not that the sausage is bad, but rather that Oscar's incantation is too lewd.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing both frowned slightly, their faces showing a troubled expression.

Xiao Wu couldn't help but complain, "How come Shrek's previous three students were all so bizarre? A lecherous tiger, an Evil Fire chicken, and a sleazy sausage. This academy has such strange taste in recruiting!"

The open space fell silent for a moment.

Upon hearing Xiao Wu's assessment, the three were filled with anger but dared not speak out, their expressions appearing quite unnatural.

Tang San smiled and advised, "Although Oscar's sausage is Food-type Martial Soul, its effects are top-notch. Soul Power recovery, stamina recovery, and injury recovery are all essential in battle. With his sausage, our sustained combat ability will be greatly enhanced. The incantation is a bit... unconventional, but the effect is truly remarkable. Everyone, please bear with it and don't worry too much about the details."

Tang San paused, glanced at Oscar, and continued, "Oscar, make me a sausage first. I'll go first."

Oscar nodded quickly, made a Recovery Sausage, and handed it to Tang San.

Without a word, Tang San swallowed it in one gulp, and even said, "Not bad."

Oscar's expression changed from embarrassment to gratitude; Tang San had helped him out of a major problem.

After hearing Tang San's words, although everyone was still somewhat resistant, they didn't say anything more and all pinched their noses and ate one.

Flender nodded in satisfaction, clapped his hands, and drew everyone's attention. "Alright, now let's assign tasks. Oscar and Ning Rongrong, your task today is to run twenty laps around the village. The rest of you, train on your own. Meet at the village entrance tonight, and we'll head to the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena."

After Flender finished speaking, he turned and left. Yu Xiaogang immediately followed him, but Flender quickened his pace.