Divergence

On the way back to their rooms, Shi Yi asked Oscar, "Xiao Ao, what kind of support do you want to turn yourself into?"

Oscar looked somewhat lost. He scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Xiao Yi, I honestly don't know either. Teacher Shao Xin chose all my Soul Rings for me. You probably haven't met him yet. He's a Food System Soul Saint and one of the academy's teachers."

Shi Yi nodded. "I've heard a little about him. There aren't many Food System Soul Saints in all of Heaven Dou."

"Xiao Yi, then do you have any suggestions for my future development?" Oscar asked curiously.

"Xiao Ao, you need to understand that a Soul Master's development is both controllable and uncontrollable to a certain degree. What's controllable is that Soul Masters can discover certain patterns through development. Take Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul, for example. Their first few abilities generally follow similar patterns. That's a rule the White Tiger clan discovered through years of exploration. What's uncontrollable is the objective reality—just because you want a certain Soul Beast doesn't mean a suitable one will happen to appear before you."

Perhaps because of Dai Mubai's background, Oscar looked at Shi Yi with some surprise. "Then how should a commoner like me choose my Soul Rings?"

"Based on his own experience, Teacher Shao Xin chose recovery and detoxification abilities for you. Those are all excellent abilities during a Soul Master's battles and fully bring out the support characteristics of a Food System Soul Master. Did Teacher Shao Xin ever tell you about the choice for his own Third Soul Ring?" Shi Yi asked with a soft smile.

Oscar shook his head slightly.

"Then I'll explain it simply. Teacher Shao Xin's priority in choosing Soul Rings for you was functionality rather than numerical boosts. Once a Food System Soul Master reaches a high enough level, they can support many people instead of being limited to a small group. So, in order to meet the different needs of most people, Food System Soul Masters need to create food with different effects."

"But wouldn't numerical boosts for many people be pretty good too?" Oscar asked in confusion.

"Can you compete with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in attribute boosts? Can you surpass support Soul Masters who specialize in raw numbers? Compared to a specialized support like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, which provides comprehensive numerical boosts, your future lies on the battlefield." Shi Yi could not help rolling his eyes.

Understanding dawned on Oscar's face, but when the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was mentioned, a trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes.

Seeing this, Shi Yi smiled. "Oscar, you're a Food System Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power. Do you know what that means?"

Oscar looked at Shi Yi in confusion. Shi Yi continued, "It means that as long as you cultivate diligently and don't casually offend people, you can safely become a Title Douluo. A one-of-a-kind Food System Title Douluo. Every force would treat you like a prized treasure. She's just some young lady—is it really worth this? Besides, there are some things you still don't know. According to the rules of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the partner of a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master must be a Battle Soul Master."

After Shi Yi finished speaking, he looked at Oscar and seemed to hear something shatter.

Seeing that, Shi Yi continued and changed the subject.

"You actually have many options, which is why Teacher Shao Xin didn't place special emphasis on your choice of Third Soul Ring. As long as you encounter a Soul Beast with especially distinctive traits, you can choose it. However, I recommend Plant Soul Beasts more. Compared to Animal Soul Beasts, which tend toward physical development, Plant Soul Beasts can grant Soul Masters more abundant Soul Power. In the same amount of time, you'll be able to make more sausages."

Oscar nodded, but that indelible disappointment still lingered on his face.

Shi Yi patted Oscar on the shoulder and chuckled. "Cultivate well. Who knows how many people will want to climb into your bed in the future? Besides, limited by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Ning Rongrong can at most cultivate to rank seventy-nine. But you can become a Title Douluo."

Seemingly moved by the grand future Shi Yi had painted for him, a lecherous gleam flashed through Oscar's peach blossom eyes. He smiled and nodded at Shi Yi.

As they spoke, Shi Yi led Oscar to his residence.

"How do you want me to help you?" Oscar asked Shi Yi.

"You can sleep first. I'll wake you when it's about time, and then you can make sausages." Shi Yi smiled at Oscar.

Oscar yawned and nodded. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Shi Yi smiled. "Make yourself at home."

With that, Oscar slowly lay down on Shi Yi's bed. Watching Oscar lie down so leisurely, Shi Yi could not help feeling a trace of envy. Support had little combat power, but there really was not much to think about. All they needed was to know how to cling to a powerful thigh. They could rest whenever they pleased without delaying their cultivation.

"What a life of toil," Shi Yi murmured.

Then, Shi Yi took two extremely thick leg weights from his Soul Tool. He had specially made them for weight training. The iron blocks inside had all been forged into dense Iron Essence using Disorder Splitting Wind.

Shi Yi had wanted to make thin yet heavy weights that he could wear at all times, but his wallet would not allow it. Metal like that would definitely be an extremely valuable rare material. To achieve such density while keeping the form so small, it would need immense toughness to be forged successfully.

Shi Yi had actually thought for a long time about what he should train. Based on his assessment of himself, if he wanted to further break through in strength, it would take a long time and would not be very cost-effective. But if he replaced strength training with speed, the payoff would clearly be much better. After all, under heaven, only speed was unbreakable.

As for defense, it was the least cost-effective area for Shi Yi. After all, he would not be like someone else and use his head to catch the Sea God Trident. Even if an attack came at him, Shi Yi's first reaction would definitely be to dodge rather than meet it head-on. Defense was also the easiest thing to compensate for with external items, such as Soul Tools and abilities.

Shi Yi had been coveting the top-tier soul abilities Xiao Wu possessed for a long time: Instantaneous Movement, Void, Invincible Golden Body. With abilities like those, he did not even know how he could die.

Thinking of this, Shi Yi strapped the weights onto his calves. For short-term training, Oscar's sausages would be more than enough as replenishment. But if the timeline was stretched out, sausages alone would obviously not suffice. Moreover, Shi Yi would be heading to the Star Dou Great Forest with the main group tomorrow, so this was not the time for training beyond his limits. He was already satisfied with normal intensity. After all, training was a long-term endeavor.

Then Shi Yi began to run with heavy steps. To train his speed, every step was filled with explosive force, leaving deep footprints along the country road.

Once we return from Star Dou, Teacher should have arrived as well. Then I can study a Medicinal Bath derived from Blue Lightning and prepare for sweeping through the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Shi Yi breathed heavily as he thought to himself.

The next day, at dawn.

After Shi Yi simply prepared some breakfast, he headed to the training ground. Zhao Wuji was already waiting for them there. Just as in the original story, Zhao Wuji had been beaten by Tang Hao, and there were still bruises on his face.

Shi Yi smiled and handed Zhao Wuji a warm egg. "Teacher Zhao, rub this on it. It can help reduce the bruising."

Zhao Wuji accepted the egg from Shi Yi. With a casual flick, the shell fell away completely. Looking at Shi Yi in surprise, he said, "Kid, you're not Flender's illegitimate son, are you? Shrek's been open for so many years, but no one's ever successfully gotten in through the back door."

Shi Yi smiled. "Teacher does have ties to the Dean. The Golden Iron Triangle, after all."

Realization appeared on Zhao Wuji's face. "That explains it."

The two chatted casually for a while, and soon almost everyone had arrived. Once the group was complete, Zhao Wuji tossed the peeled egg into his mouth, made a few simple arrangements, and waved his hand as they headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

Given how stingy Flender was, he naturally would not hire carriages for them. He even called it physical training.

Douluo Continent was not like Shi Yi's previous life, where roads had been built everywhere. Across the entire Heaven Dou Empire, only the roads between several major cities and those leading to the borders were fairly decent. For Soul Masters, the fastest way was naturally to follow the map in a straight line. Of course, that meant climbing mountains, crossing ridges, fording rivers, and wading through streams.

With Oscar's sausages supporting them, they arrived near a town on the outskirts of Star Dou by nightfall after only one day.

At that moment, Zhao Wuji casually pointed to an ordinary-looking hotel ahead. "We'll stay here. Rest up for the night and leave tomorrow morning. You'll cover your own lodging and meals."

Everyone slowly entered. Shi Yi casually found a table and sat down. The eight of them split into two tables: Shi Yi, Oscar, Tang San, and Xiao Wu at one table, with the others at the other.

Shi Yi casually ordered several dishes before handing the menu to Oscar beside him. Tang San and Xiao Wu then ordered some things they liked as well. After traveling all day, no one seemed to feel like talking. Even Xiao Wu was unusually quiet, silently waiting for the food to arrive.

At that moment, a group entered the restaurant from outside. Like them, it was a middle-aged man leading seven or eight young students.

Both the middle-aged man and the students wore academy uniforms, with the words Canghui embroidered on their shoulders.

"That girl's pretty good-looking. Boss Dai, these people should be from Canghui Academy, right?" Ma Hongjun said to Dai Mubai, his lust-filled eyes fixed firmly on the only girl in that group.

Dai Mubai curled his lip. "Just some insignificant Canghui Academy. What are they being so arrogant for?"

Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly at this. A trace of disgust flashed through her calm eyes as she instinctively shifted farther away from Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun.

Soul Masters had far better hearing than ordinary people. Since Ma Hongjun had not deliberately lowered his voice, the middle-aged man turned his gaze toward them. Seeing that Ma Hongjun's table contained only a group of children, he frowned slightly.

Oscar perked up. Sitting beside Shi Yi, he chuckled, "This is going to be interesting."

"It's best not to cause trouble when you're away from home," Shi Yi said with a smile.

Oscar imitated Flender's tone. "A Soul Master who doesn't dare cause trouble isn't a good Soul Master... That's what Dean Flender said."

"Oscar, as a Support System Soul Master, would you want your companions to be the kind of people who casually offend others outside? Do you know who the enemy will deal with first in a team spirit battle? You're a genius, not a powerhouse." Shi Yi casually flipped through a book and spoke indifferently.

Oscar's gaze sharpened, and the way he looked at Ma Hongjun changed. He was no fool and naturally understood Shi Yi's words. No one would be willing to pay for someone else's mistakes with their life. Unlike Ning Rongrong, he did not have a powerful sect behind him.

"Senior Disciple Brother, you can't put it that way. We're all classmates..." Seeing that Ma Hongjun's expression had changed as well, Tang San quietly said to Shi Yi.

Shi Yi said nothing further. For Flender's sake, he had already said what needed to be said. People only truly learned after suffering the consequences themselves. In Shi Yi's eyes as a modern person, so-called classmate relationships were worth very little. Even if his teacher had deep ties with Shi Yi's own teacher, perhaps it was only worth one reminder from Shi Yi.

Although they had Zhao Wuji, a Soul Saint, as their teacher, a teacher could not keep them tied to his waist for the rest of their lives. Shi Yi never underestimated the power of any Soul Master. Ordinary Soul Masters without backing could be bullied if they were bullied, but if they kicked an iron plate, then they could only blame their bad luck.

In the original story, Ma Hongjun had not gone without being beaten outside. It was only because the other side had not intended to kill him, and in the end, someone else had cleaned up after him. Shi Yi had no habit of cleaning up after others.

Seeing Shi Yi fall silent, a trace of disdain flashed through Dai Mubai's eyes. He patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder. "What are you afraid of? Fatty, we brothers can't be cowards."

Tang San opened his mouth at those words, but he did not know what to say.

Shi Yi smiled and merely waited quietly for his dishes to arrive.

At that moment, the waiter happened to bring the first dish for their table.

One of Canghui Academy's youths suddenly quickened his pace. Amid the waiter's cry of alarm, he slammed directly into the waiter, sending the dish flying toward Dai Mubai's head.

Dai Mubai moved. Seemingly venting the frustration he had accumulated over the past few days, he slapped out with his palm.

The youth's face changed drastically. He raised both hands, intending to block Dai Mubai's arm, but Dai Mubai's Soul Power completely knocked his hands aside. That palm still landed squarely on his chest.

The youth was rather tall, but Dai Mubai's strike bent his body backward. Like a weightless scarecrow, he was sent flying with the impact, knocking over two tables in succession as he flew toward the Canghui Academy group.

The middle-aged man from Canghui Academy hurriedly rose to his feet and lifted both hands. He caught the youth by the shoulders, stopping him at last. The youth's face turned pale. With a wail, he spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire body becoming much more limp.

Dai Mubai straightened his body, his face full of disdain and contempt. "I'm terribly sorry. My hand slipped."

Seeing Dai Mubai support him so forcefully, Ma Hongjun slowly stood up as well.