Level 30, Dai Mubai

Time flew like water. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed. At just eleven and a half years old, Oscar's Soul Power had broken through from Level 27 to Level 30. He only needed one Spirit Ring to become a true Soul Elder.

Over these two years, aside from never falling behind in his Soul Power cultivation, Oscar had also made tremendous progress in the way of the sword.

He could now truly be called a swordsman. He had become thoroughly familiar with the Frost Moon Sword Manual, and his swordsmanship was no worse than anyone's.

What satisfied Oscar most was that he had mastered a swordsman's most essential core skill: Sword Flight.

That was right—controlling a sword.

Besides Sword Flight, Oscar had also mastered sword qi. However, his sword qi was still somewhat different from that of Gai Yue and Chen Xin.

Whether it was Chen Xin or Gai Yue, both had grasped true sword intent. Their sword qi was no weaker than Spirit Abilities, and in some ways, it was even more practical.

Oscar's sword qi, on the other hand, incorporated the condensing properties of his External Soul Bone. Although it lacked sword intent and might have been somewhat less powerful, before Acquiring Spirit Rings up to the Seventh Spirit Ring—meaning against opponents without a Martial Soul Avatar—Oscar would not be at a disadvantage.

And by the time Oscar could face opponents with Seventh Spirit Ring Martial Soul Avatars, he might already have comprehended true sword intent, and his sword qi would naturally improve as well.

So although the External Soul Bone could not allow Oscar to absorb Spirit Rings, what it gave him was no less valuable. It had already granted him strength comparable to an Assault System Spirit Master.

It could be said that Oscar's progress over the past two years had been obvious and enormous. Even Gai Yue, his teacher, had lost count of how many times he had marveled at Oscar's exceptional talent.

Aside from Oscar, the teachers of Shrek Academy had also improved considerably, all thanks to the Whale Rubber they had hunted and captured at sea two years ago.

Gai Yue's Soul Power had broken through once again, reaching Level 84. Flender's and Zhao Wuji's Soul Power had also reached the levels they possessed when they first appeared in the original story: Level 78 and Level 76, respectively.

It was not just the two of them. Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, and Li Yusong had also reached the levels they possessed when they first appeared in the original story.

Shao Xin was still just short of it. Like Oscar, he had reached a bottleneck. Only after obtaining a Seventh Spirit Ring would he truly possess the strength he had in the original story.

At Level 70, Shao Xin only needed one Spirit Ring to become Shrek Academy's third Soul Saint.

Besides the teachers, Ma Hongjun had risen from Level 22 to Level 25. His strength had continued to improve at a steady pace, and he had not slackened either.

Moreover, over the past two years, his Self-Created Soul Skill had been refined considerably, greatly enhancing his close-combat ability.

Most importantly, however, was his Second Spirit Ability. Just as in the original story, it was called Phoenix Bathed in Fire. When activated, it increased the power of his flames by fifty percent.

But beyond that, this Spirit Ability had another trait: it could consume his Evil Fire to further enhance its power.

In other words, the Evil Fire Ma Hongjun accumulated through cultivation could not only be released through this Spirit Ability, but when there was enough of it, it could also increase the ability's power and make his burst strength even greater.

It could be said that the second Spirit Ring with Phoenix Bloodline that Flender had carefully chosen for him had completely changed Ma Hongjun, freeing him from worrying about Evil Fire.

Whenever he felt he could not hold it in anymore, he just had to use his Second Spirit Ability and fight someone. It had greatly reduced the effects of Evil Fire on Ma Hongjun.

Now that Oscar and Shao Xin had made breakthroughs, Shrek was naturally filled with joy once more. However, they did not immediately go out to acquire Spirit Rings, because today was the day the academy accepted applications from new students.

It was already noon when Oscar broke through to Level 30, but he was not especially excited. He had expected this for a long time.

There was, however, one matter Oscar cared about. Based on his age, this year should have been the year Dai Mubai enrolled at Shrek. He just did not know whether that guy had come to Shrek Academy as he had in the original story.

It was not that Oscar had any particular thoughts about Dai Mubai. It was simply that, having read the original story, he knew that Shrek Academy had basically had no students in recent years. If Dai Mubai joined them now, he could at least bring a little life to the academy.

And honestly, judging from the original story's perspective, Dai Mubai's talent was not bad. When he first appeared in the original story, he was fifteen years old, yet his Soul Power had already reached Level 37.

And that was despite him wasting his talent chasing girls every day. If that was the case, Dai Mubai's talent was definitely not poor. It was even better than that of most geniuses.

It was just that the original story had shaped him into a somewhat off-putting figure, one most people would find difficult to like.

Still, Oscar would not form any opinions of Dai Mubai simply because of the original story. After coming to this world, he had discovered that novels and reality were vastly different.

So no matter what Dai Mubai was really like, Oscar could only find out after experiencing it for himself.

He just did not know whether Dai Mubai had come to register at the academy. With that thought in mind, Oscar did not even eat lunch and headed straight for the registration area.

As he crossed the courtyard, Oscar saw quite a few people inside the academy. Being able to enter meant they had passed the first test, but Oscar knew that, just like in previous years, they would be eliminated in the later rounds.

Still, it was worth mentioning that although the academy looked simple, it lacked none of the things it should have. Its surroundings were also as beautiful as Shangri-La, which had indeed attracted quite a few applicants.

The only thing missing was a Simulated Training Ground of the kind a true Advanced Spirit Master Academy possessed. But building one was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive; it was also a massive bottomless pit for funding. Shrek Academy did not currently have one.

Oscar had, however, set up a simple Simulated Training Ground for himself. Since his Martial Soul was Sausage, he had arranged a kitchen. Though it could not really be called something he had set up, since he had simply remodeled Shao Xin's kitchen.

But since Shao Xin had already broken through to Level 70, an ordinary Simulated Training Ground basically had no effect on him anymore.

Thus, it was only somewhat useful to Oscar. Still, it did not increase his cultivation speed by much. Instead, his cooking skills had advanced rapidly, and Oscar could now make quite a good meal himself.

Oscar made his way to the Spirit Dueling Platform in the square. Two people stood upon it. One was Ma Hongjun, while Oscar guessed the other had to be Dai Mubai, because his appearance was truly distinctive.

His golden hair flew freely in the wind. Twelve-year-old Dai Mubai was around 1.78 meters tall, with heterochromatic eyes, handsome features, and an extraordinary bearing.

Although Ma Hongjun was only nine years old, he had already absorbed two Spirit Rings and stood 1.68 meters tall, only about ten centimeters shorter than Dai Mubai.

However, in terms of bearing, while Ma Hongjun did not possess Dai Mubai's noble air, his handsome and masculine face carried a composure and confidence that Dai Mubai lacked.

He had learned that over the years by following Oscar around. In Ma Hongjun's eyes, among those their age, only Oscar was worthy of being his big brother. Everyone else had to step aside!

What was more, Dai Mubai's Soul Power Level was the same as his—only Level 25. By then, Oscar had already reached the raised platform before the Spirit Dueling Platform. Zhao Wuji, acting as referee, as well as Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai, who were preparing to fight, all noticed him.

Seeing Oscar, Zhao Wuji chuckled. "Xiao Ao, you broke through?"

"Nothing much." Oscar nodded, then looked at Dai Mubai. "And this is?"

Ma Hongjun spoke up at that moment. "Brother Ao, he should be the only student this year with a chance to enroll at Shrek Academy. His name is Dai Mubai."