Rich Second-Gen's Eighteenth Day

Oscar's new Spirit Skill did not disappoint everyone either. The hundred-year Wind Thunder Scorpion had given Oscar's second type of sausage a miraculous ability: after eating it, one would gain Wind and Thunder attribute enhancement for one minute. It was an excellent amplification Spirit Skill.

Everyone immediately started clapping for Oscar's Second Spirit Skill. Compliments came one after another, flattering Oscar until he beamed and declared that he would make breakfast for everyone.

Ning Rongrong and Ma Hongjun high-fived.

After breakfast, everyone set out once more to find a Spirit Ring for Dai Mubai. Of the eight of them, three had already acquired new Spirit Rings. The others were also working hard, hoping to break through and obtain Spirit Rings before leaving the Star Dou Great Forest.

This time, they began following a river that cut diagonally through the Star Dou Great Forest. "They say this river is a branch of the Goddess River that flows through Calais City," Master explained.

Everyone nodded, though they did not really understand.

They drove off flocks of Explosive Birds, drove off Earth Burrowing Worms, then drove off Golden Spirit Snakes. Little Ma and Ning Rongrong both successfully broke through and smoothly obtained their Second Spirit Rings. By the time even Oscar had lost count of how many waves of Spirit Beasts they had repelled, they had followed the river to a vast lake.

"Isn't this Glow Lake?" Flender looked at Master with some excitement.

Master was somewhat dazed as well. "Yes, we've been here before." That had been many years ago.

The children's chirping interrupted the adults' melancholy. "Why is it called Glow Lake? Does it glow?" Ma Hongjun always had plenty of little questions.

Seeing how Master had been forcibly pulled out of the mood, Flender somehow found it amusing. After thinking for a moment, he said, "When we were young and traveling the continent, we came here too. The lake itself hasn't changed much. Everyone called it Goddess Lake, but there are too many lakes named Goddess Lake on the continent. At night, there are lots of fireflies here, so we gave it a new name—Glow Lake."

Tang San was the one carrying Nian Nian today. Since Nian Nian had grown bigger and ate well, Flender had decided to treat it as a weight for training and have everyone take turns carrying it while they traveled. Nian Nian was not picky either; anyone could hold it. Perhaps it had caught the scent of fish in the lake and desperately wanted to get down from Tang San's arms. But Tang San held it too tightly. Enraged, Nian Nian slapped him with a paw, only for Tang San, who was listening to Flender's old stories, to unconsciously catch that paw and give it a squeeze. Nian Nian huffily gave up.

Everyone decided to stay the night and admire Glow Lake's scenery.

The golden sun sank in the west, and the lingering light reflected off the rippling lake. The evening breeze brushed gently past as Ming Sui and Ning Rongrong leaned against each other to enjoy the view. Xiao Wu was pinching the scruff of Nian Nian's neck. The little thing had just tried desperately to run toward the lake and had been punished by everyone.

Everything would have been perfect if no Spirit Beasts had appeared. Well, not quite, because the Spirit Beast that came was a Diamond Tiger, one that was not quite two thousand years old.

What did it mean when good fortune came at just the right time? What did it mean when someone who had been sleepy for ages finally got a pillow? Tears welled in Dai Mubai's tiger eyes as he threw back his head and howled, "I have a Spirit Ring!"

Dai Mubai slammed his fists together and charged forward first. He kicked the Diamond Tiger's head askew, then drove a fist into its jaw. The poor tiger could not even cry out.

"Too brutal! Zhuqing, that's too brutal." Ning Rongrong muttered to Zhu Zhuqing as she amplified Dai Mubai. That was right—Dai Mubai had waited too long for his Spirit Ring, so aside from himself, he would only allow Support Spirit Masters to join the fight. Of course, pseudo-Support System Ming Sui did not count either. So everyone stood in a row behind them, watching Dai Laoda passionately subdue the tiger.

The aesthetics of violence—look at those bulging muscles, those smooth lines, that black-and-white fur, those sharp tiger claws... Eh, something not very violent seemed to have slipped in there. Ming Sui shook her head. Never mind. A real man should smash his fists together with a bang!

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda and Oscar-brand giant sausages were no joke. The Diamond Tiger was no longer golden or tough. Dai Mubai grabbed its two front paws and swung it back and forth, pounding the ground solid over there. Even Nian Nian stared wide-eyed. In the end, Dai Mubai cleanly and efficiently finished the match.

Zhu Zhuqing was assigned to hand Dai Mubai water. Oscar presented another giant sausage, while Tang San offered a Blue Silver Grass flower crown, which Ma Hongjun placed on Dai Mubai's head. Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Ming Sui praised him nonstop from behind. "That was amazing, Dai Laoda! So mighty! Dai Laoda is the manliest! Dai Laoda, you're a true warrior!"

After Oscar, Dai Laoda was praised until his face turned red as well.

With the greatest concern of this trip resolved, the teachers and students happily began cleaning up the area. They still had scenery to admire, and for the moment, no one was around to punish Nian Nian. It finally dashed toward the lake it had been longing for.

"Sui Sui, Nian Nian ran to the lakeside again." Tang San was the first to notice that the little ancestor was acting strangely.

Knowing it had been discovered, Nian Nian gritted its teeth and sprinted toward Goddess Lake even faster than it ran when competing with Ma Hongjun for meat.

Splash! Ripples spread across the lake's surface.

The sudden turn of events sent Ming Sui and Xiao Wu rushing over to jump in, but Blue Silver Grass dragged them back. "Wait. Let's discuss this together first. We can't just charge in blindly." Tang San pulled the two of them back.

"Nian Nian kept trying to come over here today. We stopped it several times." Ming Sui felt a little regretful. Why had she not kept a closer eye on it?

Tang San looked over the lake. "Sui Sui, this may not be so simple. Nian Nian is a Spirit Beast and naturally possesses Soul Power. This isn't the only river or lake we've encountered, so why did it insist on entering this one? There must be a reason. There may be something unusual beneath this lake. If you and Xiao Wu just go in like that, how can we not worry? We raised Nian Nian together. We definitely can't just let this go."

Flender and the others came over as well, their expressions serious. Master thought for a moment. "I remember this place was originally called Goddess Lake because there was a legend that it was the ruins of some goddess's temple." He looked at Flender for confirmation.

"That's right, but which goddess's ruins they are can no longer be verified. Some say the Angel God's, some say Nature God's, some say the Goddess of Life's, and some say the Beast God's. But they're all just legends," Flender added.

"Then is it possible that Nian Nian sensed something and went into the lake because of it? I have to go down and take a look." Ming Sui looked at everyone insistently.

"I'll go with you." Xiao Wu immediately followed.

"I'll go down first and take a look. I can swim, and I have some means of protecting myself. If anything happens, I'll come back up right away. Dai Laoda is still absorbing his Spirit Ring, so don't act rashly yet." Ming Sui thought it over.

Flender looked at Ming Sui. "Are you confident you can keep yourself alive?"

Ming Sui nodded.

"I'll go down with Ming Sui," Zhao Wuji said.

Ming Sui did not really want Teacher Zhao to enter the lake with her, but this was also Flender's limit.

"Then Old Zhao and Ming Sui will go together. Everyone else waits on shore. Rongrong, I remember you have a Golden Rope. Tie it to them. If anything goes wrong, we'll pull you two back up." Flender made the final decision. The Golden Rope was a magical rope of astonishing toughness. Even a Titled Douluo's full-force strike could not sever it, and it could extend infinitely.

Ming Sui took out plenty of underwater equipment, sent a message to her parents, and went down.

The water was not very cold. That was Ming Sui's first impression after entering the lake. Her second was that there was not a single fish in it.

Zhao Wuji and Ming Sui held Mermaid Pearls in their mouths, allowing them to breathe freely underwater. Once they saw the state of the lake, both frowned. This place was far too strange. There was no aquatic grass, no water insects, no fish or shrimp, no aquatic creatures at all. It was quiet to the point of deathly stillness.

As they sank deeper and deeper, the light grew dimmer. Ming Sui took out a Luminous Pearl to supplement their light source. There was still nothing around them, nor was there any trace of Nian Nian. They could only continue swimming downward.

They did not know how long they had swum down before finally reaching the lakebed. Ming Sui let out a breath of relief and took out several more Luminous Pearls for illumination. Holding their light sources, the two looked around them.

The Emerald Angel's Soul Power was also aligned with life. To strengthen her senses, Ming Sui released her martial soul. Holding the Staff of Life also made her feel safer. At first glance, she felt that the Staff of Life was a little different from usual. Looking closely, she saw that the dragon and vine patterns on the golden staff seemed to be flowing, faintly shimmering with light.

Ming Sui suppressed her doubts and continued forward. Gradually, she could sense an aura resonating with her Soul Power. Zhao Wuji also sensed Soul Power fluctuations. He and Ming Sui exchanged excited looks, quickened their pace, and continued onward. The stronger the resonance became, the more certain they were that they had come to the right place.

On the shore.

Dai Mubai's Spirit Ring absorption was nearing its end. The others were silently cultivating. Once Dai Mubai finished absorbing his Spirit Ring, they planned to all go down and search for Nian Nian.

Flender and Master were silent as well. They were searching every corner of their memories for information about this lake. They would be taking the children down soon, so they had to make thorough preparations. They could not let themselves get caught in some trap. That would be far too embarrassing.

No one had considered the possibility of giving up the search for Nian Nian. What a joke—Nian Nian was Shrek's mascot, its Level One Gravity Training Instructor. Shrek could not be without Nian Nian. That was what Ma Hongjun said.

A tiger's roar rang out. Dai Mubai had finished absorbing his Spirit Ring. He rose and stretched, and crackling sounds of bones colliding echoed throughout his body.

"Eh, why does everyone look so unhappy? Where's Sui Sui? And where's Nian Nian?" Dai Mubai's tone shifted from questioning to murderous.