Chance Encounter with Oscar and Flender

Having made up his mind, Xue Tianxing began considering when to go to Heaven Dou City—only there would he have a chance to get acquainted with Dugu Yan.

Over the following year, Xue Tianxing completely settled down to cultivate in the royal palace and stopped running around.

Two months after his seventh birthday, the Soul Power within him suddenly broke through its bottleneck and steadily settled at Level 30—Xue Tianxing had become a Soul Elder at the age of seven.

Such cultivation speed was naturally inseparable from his talent, but it also owed much to Xue Zhe's full support.

To provide his Ice Phoenix Spirit with the best possible cultivation environment, Xue Zhe spent a fortune constructing a Mimicry Cultivation Room deep within the palace. The floor was laid with Thousand-Year Profound Ice brought from the Land of the Extreme North, Soul Condensing Jade was embedded in all four walls, and even the air was suffused with pure ice-attribute energy. Every piece of material had been found only after he sent people to scour the frozen plains of the Extreme North.

Under such uniquely favorable conditions, Xue Tianxing's Soul Power naturally advanced by leaps and bounds.

When it came time to obtain his third Soul Ring, Xue Tianxing set his sights on an eight-thousand-year Spirit Beast. Spirit Beasts of that age already possessed considerable intelligence and formidable strength, so they could no longer simply be captured and brought back to the palace as they had been the first two times. He could only go personally to a Soul Beast Forest and hunt one down.

Xue Zhe immediately invited Liu Tianfeng, a Kingdom Enshrined, and asked him to accompany Xue Tianxing.

Liu Tianfeng was one of the pillars of the Balak Kingdom:

His Martial Soul was the Frosty Cold Wind Sword. An agility-attack Spirit Douluo of Rank 89, he could send frost winds sweeping across the ground with every sword strike, moving as swiftly as lightning.

He had been sworn brothers with Xue Tianxing's grandfather. After the old master of the Xue Family died and the throne passed to Xue Zhe, Liu Tianfeng remained in the palace as an enshrined elder and had devoted himself to assisting Xue Zhe all these years.

He had neither children nor daughters, and he regarded Xue Zhe and Xue Tianxing as if they were his own son and grandson.

When Xue Zhe asked for his help this time, he agreed without a second word.

Early on the day of departure, Liu Tianfeng arrived at Xue Tianxing's palace beneath the morning light.

He was dressed as usual:

A plain cloth robe hung from his body, an ancient-looking longsword rested at his waist, and his hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin. He looked like an ordinary old man, save for his eyes, which shone like tempered cold stars and carried the sharpness of someone long hardened by battle.

Xue Tianxing was sitting in the courtyard, nurturing his Soul Power. When he saw Liu Tianfeng arrive, he immediately stood and bowed, his voice full of respect:

"Grandpa Liu, you're here."

He sincerely admired this old man who had protected the Xue Family for three generations.

Liu Tianfeng chuckled and patted his shoulder, the strength in his palm carrying an elder's affection:

"All right, little Tianxing. Have you prepared everything? Let's set off and find you the most suitable Soul Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest."

Xue Tianxing then left Barak City with Liu Tianfeng and hurried toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

With a Spirit Douluo like Liu Tianfeng at his side, the two traveled swiftly. In less than half a day, they had reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Standing at the edge of the forest and looking at the lush, endless woods before him, Xue Tianxing felt a distinct sense of novelty—this was his first time truly standing outside a Soul Beast Forest.

The wind blowing from the woods carried the damp scent of grass and trees. From deep within came the faint sounds of heavy beast roars, mingled with the cries of unknown birds, making the entire forest seem both mysterious and dangerous.

Liu Tianfeng looked up at the sky. The setting sun had already sunk behind the treetops, staining the horizon with a dim yellow hue.

He turned to Xue Tianxing and said:

"Little Tianxing, it's getting late. We'll rest in the small town ahead tonight and enter the forest tomorrow."

Xue Tianxing nodded and followed Liu Tianfeng into the small town built beside the forest.

The two chose a fairly clean inn near the town entrance. The moment they stepped inside, Liu Tianfeng instructed the waiter:

"Prepare two upper rooms, and bring us a table full of good dishes."

The waiter agreed briskly and led them to a table.

Before long, steaming dishes were brought out. Just as the two were about to pick up their chopsticks, the inn door was pushed open again and two people walked in.

Leading the way was a boy of eight or nine with especially striking peach blossom eyes. When he smiled, the corners of his eyes lifted slightly, making him look clever and likable.

The middle-aged man behind him was truly not much to look at—his chin jutted forward slightly, his cheekbones were noticeably broad, his face looked rather flat, and his nose was hooked and slightly curved. Put together, his features somehow brought to mind the sole of a shoe. Combined with his constantly darting eyes, he looked somewhat sly.

Most bizarre of all was the pair of black-framed crystal glasses perched on his face. The stiff, square frames only made his already strange appearance even more indescribably peculiar.

As Xue Tianxing was observing them, he heard the boy look up at the middle-aged man and say:

"Dean Flender, shall we eat and rest here?"

The middle-aged man curled his lip and replied:

"Fine, we'll rest here. We'll leave early tomorrow to find your second Soul Ring. But let's be clear—you're paying for dinner and lodging yourself. I'm not covering it."

After saying that, he did not wait for the boy to respond. He walked straight to the waiter, efficiently booked a room and ordered a meal, then found a table and sat down.

The boy seemed long accustomed to his behavior and did not get upset. He booked his own room and meal, then carried his tray over to sit across from the middle-aged man. He picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat.

Listening to their conversation and looking at the middle-aged man's miserly manner, Xue Tianxing already had a good idea of who they were. Based on what he knew of the Douluo Continent, these two were most likely Flender, the dean of Shrek Academy, and Oscar—the one and only person on the continent whose Martial Soul belonged to the Food System yet possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

Xue Tianxing quietly withdrew his gaze and laughed inwardly. What a coincidence. I actually ran into them here.

Looking at Oscar silently eating over there, Xue Tianxing had already begun entertaining the thought of recruiting him.

Xue Tianxing knew Oscar's value all too well. He was the only Food System genius on the entire continent with Innate Full Soul Power. Leaving aside that exceptional talent, he was only eight or nine now, still carrying the refreshing air of youth, and he was still a normal person—not yet the pathetic bootlicker who would later constantly hover around Ning Rongrong after following Tang San.

From the day he transmigrated here, Xue Tianxing had understood just how important the word "talent" was.

Moreover, Xue Tianxing knew that if he wanted to deal with the protagonist group led by Tang San in the future, as well as reshape the continent's power structure and unify the Douluo Continent—

Then if he did not bring such a rare Food System genius under his command early, Oscar would likely become tied to the protagonist group once Tang San entered Shrek Academy a few years later. Trying to win him over then would be difficult, and that would be a truly enormous loss.

With that thought, Xue Tianxing raised a hand to summon the waiter, whispered a few words into his ear, and slipped him a Gold Soul Coin.

The waiter beamed as he agreed. He pocketed the coin and quickly walked over to Flender and Oscar's table.

"Gentlemen,"

The waiter bent at the waist and smiled:

"The young master and the old gentleman over there would like to invite you both to join them. They say they feel you are kindred spirits and would like to treat you to a simple meal."

As he spoke, he deliberately pointed toward Xue Tianxing's table.