The Rich Second-Gen's Forty-Sixth Day

Outside the door, Flender had not used his Spirit Master abilities. After all, the Four-eyed Owl had some of the sharpest hearing among Beast Spirits, yet he naturally could not hear any movement inside. Of course, that was also because Liu Erlong had not beaten up Master.

The door creaked open, and Liu Erlong walked out. Flender stepped forward to meet her, only to find that he did not know what to say.

"Long time no see, Flender. Shall we have a chat too?" Nothing could be read from Liu Erlong's face.

They went to Flender's favorite tea room.

"It's not like I hadn't heard news about you," Liu Erlong was the first to start the conversation. "Some time ago, I heard that an academy called Shrek had been harassed by Spirit Hall's lackeys. I even sent people to ask about your situation, but as soon as they arrived, they heard that you had moved to Calais City."

Once the matter came up, Flender could not stop himself from talking. Leaving out Ming Zhen's identity, he thoroughly vented to his old friend about everything that had happened. Only after drinking several cups of tea did he finally finish.

"No wonder. I remember you hated dealing with nobles the most, but your students don't look like commoners," Liu Erlong probed.

Flender choked. There actually were not that many, were there? Of the eight Shrek Seven Devils, only Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ming Sui were nobles born and bred. The others were probably young, so after following those four around, their manners had gradually changed as well. On top of that, Shrek Academy was now sponsored by Calais City and had no shortage of money. A change of residence changed one's bearing, and proper upbringing changed one's physique. These little brats might not be called noble and refined, but they could at least be said to be poised and graceful.

"Nobles aren't all the same. I'm very happy with our partnership with Calais City, and the students I teach are all Shrek Seven Devils. I've been pretty lucky." Flender spoke with utter sincerity.

Liu Erlong carefully studied Flender's expression. Seeing that he was not speaking against his heart, she relaxed as well. "Sorry, Flender. So many years have passed that I couldn't be sure whether you had changed."

Flender rolled his eyes at her.

Liu Erlong also spoke of her own experiences: hunting Spirit Beasts in the Spirit Beast Forest, then squeezing money out of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to establish an academy. Influenced by Flender, she had also come to prefer commoner Spirit Masters.

"The nobles already have more than enough resources. Whether I'm there or not makes no difference. Unlike Heaven Dou Royal Academy, I prefer children from commoner families. I was a commoner's child myself, so there's nothing wrong with that." Many stories lay hidden beneath Liu Erlong's casual words.

After several rounds of tea, Liu Erlong looked at the awkward Flender and burst out laughing. "Flender, just ask whatever you want to ask."

"You... you and Xiao Gang, um, I mean, you two..." Flender's hesitant manner made Liu Erlong shake her head.

"There's no possibility for us anymore. A breakup is a breakup. What's so hard to talk about?"

Flender had not expected her to be so decisive, and for a moment, he did not know what to say.

"I know you may think that we both gave so much and that it's such a pity. But Flender, the problems between us still exist. He would never resist the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for me, especially while my father—his second uncle—is in power. Rekindling our old relationship would be meaningless to me."

The issue between them had never been whether they loved each other, but whether they dared.

It was not as though Flender did not understand that. He lowered his head, his yellow eyes brimming with pain. "As your friend, I don't know how to ease your pain. I wasn't even by your side when you were going through the hardest times. I'm sorry."

The most awkward person had always been Flender. Liu Erlong and Master were both his good friends. It was awkward when they were together, and even more awkward now that they had fallen apart.

Liu Erlong shook her head. "Flender, just because you're the eldest doesn't mean you have to take every responsibility onto yourself. Him letting me down is his business. It has nothing to do with you." She did not want to dwell on the past anymore. With a soft sigh, she said, "Listen, what's past is past. Since you've found such a good partner, could you introduce them to me too? Maybe our two academies can have exchange studies together in the future."

There were already suspicious wet streaks on Flender's face. He sniffed, tried to speak, found that he could not get the words out, then cleared his throat. "I'll ask the City Lord."

Liu Erlong held back her laughter and took her leave.

The children were frantically catching up on homework at Ming Sui's house. After comparing notes, they discovered that two oddballs had actually finished their assignments!

Thus, Tang San and Ming Sui's homework was confiscated.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had gone off to handle important business as soon as the holiday began, leaving them no time for homework. Xiao Wu and A'tu had other arrangements as well. In any case, the top students had no worries about homework and did not move. Ma Hongjun was the type to scrape by right at the deadline, while Oscar was focused on developing new dishes and had not written a single word.

"Dai Laoda is such a bad influence. He even led Zhuqing astray." Ming Sui held Nian Nian in her arms and whispered into Tang San's ear, only to be ruthlessly thrown out. Before leaving, the arrogant homework-copying squad even kept Nian Nian behind.

What should she do? Today was a rest day, so she did not need to cultivate. Looking at Tang San beside her, Ming Sui suddenly remembered that she still had a pile of little things she had not opened yet. They seemed to be unidentified spirit bones that her biological father had brought back for her?

"Third Brother, I have lots of junk. Come pick through junk with me." Ming Sui's eyes shone brightly.

How could Tang San bear to refuse her?

Spirit bones only had a tiny chance of appearing after a Spirit Beast died. They were extremely precious, and their appearance varied according to their attributes, abilities, and other characteristics. Yet one thing remained constant: all spirit bones were lustrous and radiant.

Unless the spirit bone was damaged or had concealed itself.

There was no need to say much about damaged spirit bones. The spirit bone itself had suffered damage, making it essentially a useless spirit bone with little value.

As for a spirit bone concealing itself, that happened when an unabsorbed spirit bone had not been properly stored. It concealed its outward appearance, changing from beautiful and radiant to dull and gray. One could only tell which part of the body it came from, but not its age or function.

How could one identify a concealed spirit bone? One method was to stimulate it with power of the same attribute and awaken its Soul Power, but that was difficult to do without knowing the spirit bone's condition beforehand.

The other method was to return the concealed spirit bone to a suitable environment and let it recover on its own. This was not something ordinary people could manage either. For one thing, the solution used to store spirit bones was Golden Flower Extract. On Douluo Continent, golden flowers grew near Calais City, and Ming Zhen had monopolized them, making them difficult to purchase elsewhere. For another, nurturing a spirit bone took at least a month, which was a long period of time.

Fortunately, Ming Sui had everything. She had both Golden Flower Extract and time. The last time Ming Zhen had given them to her, she had soaked them all at once. Enough time had passed for them to recover completely.

After asking the housekeeper to take care of the homework-copying squad, Ming Sui took Tang San to the study in her courtyard.

Ming Sui took a large box from her Storage Spirit Tool. Inside, small inky-black jars were arranged neatly in rows. Spirit bones needed to be kept away from light while being nurtured, making them look somewhat like laboratory specimens.

Ming Sui swept out a hand. "Third Brother, pick whatever catches your eye."

Tang San laughed at her and had someone bring water and dry cloths to wash and dry the spirit bones later.

Ming Sui started with the first row, which was entirely filled with skull bones. She carefully took the spirit bone from the first jar out. Oh no, it was damaged. After soaking in the Golden Flower Extract, black marks had appeared where it was damaged. Ming Sui put the spirit bone back into the jar, intending to let Ming Zhen study it and see whether it could still be put to use.

A bad start. Afraid that Ming Sui would be disappointed, Tang San deliberately glanced at her. Only when he saw that her expression remained unchanged did he continue.

Then came the second jar, the third jar, the fourth jar... all the way until the eleventh jar, when something different finally appeared.

Ming Sui unscrewed the lid and used small tongs to remove the spirit bone. Tang San received it with Mysterious Jade Hand, washed it clean in water, then dried it with a cloth. The spirit bone's true appearance emerged.

A gentle golden glow enveloped the spirit bone. "It has a light attribute. It condenses the mind and can enhance Spiritual Power, but it isn't very old—only around a thousand years." Ming Sui carefully sensed it before speaking to Tang San.

Who would dislike a spirit bone for not being old enough? Having one at all was already fortunate. Tang San chuckled. "Only you would say that. You don't lack spirit bones."

Ming Sui seriously reflected on herself. It did seem a little disrespectful.

But the spirit bones they opened afterward were all damaged.

Their blind box opening was interrupted by Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua returning home. Hearing that they were both at Ming Sui's courtyard, they came straight over.

Ming Sui had only opened one-fifth of them. Seeing that her parents seemed to have something to discuss, she put them away.

Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua were beaming with joy. "Xiao San, we received a message from your father. He has come out of seclusion. We'll return to Calais City tomorrow and prepare to awaken your mother," Tang Yunhua said.

Tang San's eyes lit up, making his handsome features shine even more brightly. "Really? What do I need to do?"

Seeing the look on her Third Brother's face, Ming Sui swallowed. Fortunately, no one noticed.

"The process itself is simple. When the time comes, Sui Sui and Nian Nian will use Life Aura as a safeguard. You need to release your Spiritual Power and awaken your mother. As long as she wakes up, she can absorb power on her own." Ming Zhen made it sound simple, but none of the steps would be easy.

Ming Sui was only a Two-Ring Spirit Master, while Nian Nian had only one golden stripe. Put simply, both the girl and the beast were weaklings. In particular, they needed to separate Life Aura from their Soul Power, which made it even harder. They simply could not hold out for long.

As for Tang San awakening Ah Yin, that was even less certain. Who knew what method would wake her? Would merely calling out to her a few times work? Would Spiritual Power need to touch her? Or would they need essence blood? All of it was unknown, and Tang San had to complete it within the limited time available. Otherwise, all their efforts would be for nothing.

But no matter what, they now had a chance to try. Tang Hao had waited for so many years, and Tang San had never seen his mother since the day he was born. How could they not give it everything they had?

Ming Sui decided to bring Nian Nian back tonight to cultivate. Even last-minute preparation was better than nothing.

Wait, no. Nian Nian seemed to still be with Zhuqing and Xiao Wu.

"Ah, Father, Mother, after we watched the competition today, Dean Flander and Master ran into Dean Liu from Blue Tyrant Academy. They went to the other residence to catch up, and they told everyone to come to our house. Are the other friends coming back to Calais City with us too?"