The Twenty-Fifth Day of a Rich Second-Gen

Dear Dog Egg:

Seeing this letter is like seeing me.

It had been a long time since we last met. The last time, I was still in the village, and we caught fish and roasted them together. But my flames were too hot, and the fish all burned away. The two of us cried our hearts out. I would never forget it for the rest of my life.

I heard from my mom that you had awakened your martial soul too and started school. That was wonderful—I could write letters to you now.

Let me tell you about what I had been up to lately. We had just returned from the Star Dou Great Forest. It was very far away, and we went by carriage, taking many days to get there. The Star Dou Great Forest was huge too, and we spent a long time there. There was a kind of little white flower in the forest that looked a lot like the sweet flowers by the river in our village, except they were not sweet. One night, we even caught a fish longer than I was. We roasted and ate it. This time, I did not provide the fire, so the fish was fragrant and tender. We also caught wild clucking chickens in the forest. Maybe because they exercised more in the wild, they were incredibly delicious. Their bellies were stuffed with freshly picked mushrooms. I only stopped after eating three of them. That was only because the teachers would not let me eat anymore; otherwise, I could have eaten five.

Of course, my friend, the forest was also very dangerous. When you went to obtain your soul ring, you had to be careful and listen to your teachers.

After coming back, I had a happy vacation. I bought pretty clothes and ate lots of delicious meat. But good times did not last. Something happened to me, and through that incident, the teachers found a way to stop me from breathing fire. That was to begin devil training!

It was too painful, Dog Egg. Every day, I had to carry weights and run a full lap around Calais City without being allowed to use Soul Power. Some of our companions could not carry their loads, so I helped bear part of their weight. Even though it was heavier, I felt very proud. I, your good friend Ma Xiaopang, had become a real man who could help his friends. Hahahahaha.

Helping friends made me happy, but devil training was so exhausting. Besides weighted running, we had to fight in gravity fields, go on cross-country marches in the mountains, climb trees, climb cliffs, crawl through caves, swim, evade the teachers' searches, and we were not allowed to bring food. We could only make do with whatever we found, eating wild fruits and game. Oh, and I have good news for you: I could control the temperature of my fire now. During our recent wilderness drills, I had already been able to provide fire for cooking. It brought a little happiness into our training life.

The grueling training made me skinny again. I was no longer Ma Xiaopang. All the flesh I had eaten on during vacation was gone, and that made the training feel less painful. Through training, my fire-breathing problem had improved somewhat. I really had to thank my teachers and the companions who trained with me.

That was my life lately. How had you been? Please write me a letter too. I would look forward to your reply.

Your friend, Ma Hongjun.

The red swelling on Ma Hongjun's body had yet to fade, but he forced himself to write this letter. When his mother came to see him today, she told him that his good friend Dog Egg had awakened a Fire Wolf martial soul and entered Suotuo Spirit Master Academy to study. This time, when she returned to the village, she could bring a letter back for him. Ma Hongjun instantly forgot the pain and exhaustion of training, insisting on finishing the letter for his mother to take away.

Ma Hongjun's mother had been quite distressed to see her son in such a miserable state. But when she heard Flender say that this could suppress Ma Hongjun's fire-breathing, her attitude immediately changed. "Teacher, we really have you to thank. What would our little Ma do without you? Don't worry, I support it a hundred percent. Train him hard! He has plenty of flesh on him—he can take it!"

Ma Hongjun, upon hearing his mother's words: There was no need to be that ruthless.

Training was indeed hard, but the results were equally remarkable. After the teachers finalized the training plan, they reported it to Ming Zhen because the exercises involved running around the city. Who would have thought that Ming Zhen would find the plan insufficiently effective?

Flender had another reason for submitting it: he wanted Ming Zhen to confirm that they could train his precious daughter this way. He had prepared himself for Ming Zhen to reject the plan, but it was indeed rejected—not because it was too difficult, but because it was too easy.

He had worried for nothing, but it felt pretty good.

Ming Zhen did not hesitate for long before bringing in the leading figure of the training world, Tang Yunhua, who had received complete training at the Clear Sky Sect and was in charge of Calais City's defenses.

The first version of the training plan became the first step of the complete version: the most basic exercise of running laps around Calais City with weights. Alternating with this would be gravity-field and wind-field training, where everyone had to battle within Zhao Wuji's gravity field and Flender's wind field.

These two training programs would last for three months. After the first month ended, the third training program would begin: forest survival.

Various mission checkpoints would be set up in the forest. They would not be allowed to bring supplies and had to enter the forest to complete the missions. Along the way, they would encounter attacking soul beasts. For missions that lasted longer, they would have to spend the night in the forest. Everyone would also have to survive in the wild, find food, find water, locate suitable campsites to rest in, and defend against ambushing soul beasts.

After fleshing out the plan, Flender still had some reservations. The first two were manageable, since the teachers could accompany them. But the final one was in the forest, where the danger was far too high. If something happened, it would be disastrous.

Tang Yunhua generously lent them the wilderness training grounds used by Calais City's defense forces, saying that there was already a mature training system in place, backed by powerful equipment. Ming Zhen's researchers had developed Camera Spirit Tools. Powered by Spirit Crystals, they could automatically follow and record a designated target, while simultaneously transmitting the footage to a paired light screen.

Technology changed lives. Ming Zhen quietly hid his achievements and fame.

And so, Shrek's little ones began a life of misery. After two months of tempering, even Ning Rongrong and Oscar, with their defenses in place, could exchange blows with soul beasts.

Today was the first day of the third month. The Shrek Seven Devils, tanned the color of wheat, stood briskly on the training ground. Every one of them looked lean and powerful, much to the teachers' satisfaction.

"Children, training all the time is far too boring. Through your teachers' tireless efforts, I found you an opponent to serve as sparring partners!" Flender said smugly.

So it would not be a mission this time. Everyone quietly waited for Flender to reveal the answer.

"You will compete against Calais City's defense reserve squad. Like you, the reserve squad has eight people. A token has been placed somewhere in the forest. Whichever team obtains the token first wins. Of course, you may also choose to reduce your own pressure by eliminating your opponents."

The rules were simple, but how would elimination be determined? They could not exactly strike to kill.

Dai Mubai asked the question.

"Each person will have a white armband tied around their arm. The armband has been preset with a maximum amount of attack energy it can withstand. During the competition, it will calculate the energy of the attacks you receive. Once it reaches the maximum value, it will turn red, and you will be considered eliminated." Flender had come prepared. "Each person's maximum tolerable attack energy has been scientifically calculated according to their Soul Power and martial soul. You can rest assured about that."

Everyone nodded. At that moment, the defense reserve squad arrived as well. Their strength was close to that of Shrek's group, so it would be a fairly even match.

"Hello. I am the captain of the reserve squad, codename 01. They are 02 through 08, in order," the sturdy youth at the front introduced.

The Shrek group introduced themselves as well.

"Not bad, not bad. We'll hand out the maps today. Same old rules: neither side may reveal their martial souls or Soul Power Levels, and Soul Tools are prohibited. We officially begin at eight tomorrow morning." After Flender finished speaking, he gave each team captain a map.

In the small meeting room, Dai Mubai wore a serious expression.

Tang San did not understand. Their tacit understanding had already formed back in the Star Dou Great Forest, and after these two months of training, they should not have been this troubled even when facing the defense reserve squad.

Dai Mubai gave him a look that said he did not understand. "When they introduced themselves today, they directly gave their codenames. Don't you think that was especially cool?"

Tang San froze for a moment. Oscar was the first to respond. "That's right, Dai Laoda. 'I'm the captain, codename 01.' That's ridiculously cool, okay? We introduced ourselves by name, so we seemed less imposing than them."

The girls nodded as well, to say nothing of Ma Hongjun.

"Why don't we think carefully about what to call ourselves after this match? We've already introduced ourselves today, after all. We can't just introduce ourselves all over again tomorrow, can we?" Dai Mubai was a little annoyed. Why had he not thought of it earlier?

Indeed, studying the map and tactics was more important today. The map for the competition was brand-new, so they had to examine it carefully. Everyone stopped dwelling on nicknames and focused on the map.

Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong's expression was dark. The item had been missing for over two months, yet those old fools only cared about themselves. They had actually called back the people secretly investigating, leaving only the personnel in the open. What could that bunch of idiots accomplish? They were nothing more than decoration.

"Your Holiness, Lord Cole requests an audience," the guard at the door reported.

"Let him in." Bibi Dong composed herself slightly. Cole was the teacher of the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens. Why had he come to see her?

The young red-robed bishop bowed respectfully. Bibi Dong was direct with her confidants. "Why aren't you leading the children in cultivation? What business do you have with me?"

Cole lowered his head slightly, his eyes fixed on the Pope's desk. "Your Holiness, after Holy Son Moro's accident in the Star Dou Great Forest, this subordinate has been reflecting on whether there were problems with my teaching."

Bibi Dong's tone softened. "Not bad. At least you know how to use your brain. You're much better than that pack of fools. So, what do you have to say?"

"This subordinate believes that during cultivation, spirit masters should devote more energy to actual combat in addition to cultivating Soul Power in seclusion. Battles against soul beasts and battles against spirit masters both require accumulated experience, rather than simply engaging in team battles with other spirit master groups."

"The Holy Sons and Holy Maidens are exceptionally talented. Coupled with the Pope's care and favor, their cultivation advances by leaps and bounds. But actual combat also requires matching combat skills and experience. Otherwise, they can only be invincible in the arena, while their effectiveness in real combat may not reach the desired level."

Bibi Dong pondered. Although she had marginalized Moro because he had secretly exchanged messages with Spirit Hall, his strength had still ranked among the best of the reserves. His death in the Star Dou Great Forest had been difficult for her to believe. What Cole said did make sense. "How do you intend to improve their combat skills and experience?"

Cole had prepared for this. "This subordinate requests permission to raise a number of soul beasts for the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens to battle, and to regularly enter soul beast habitats for training."

Spirit Hall was immensely wealthy, and such matters were easy to arrange. After a brief consideration, Bibi Dong agreed. "Handle it as you see fit. Give the orders for whatever you need. But there is one condition: it must not affect their results in the Spirit Master Tournament."

Cole respectfully withdrew.

Outside the forest used for the competition on the outskirts of Calais City, both teams had tied on their armbands and were waiting for the referee's command to begin the match.