Oscar's Third Spirit Ring

After enduring the double blow of the Titan Giant Ape and the Demon Spider beast tide.

Shrek's morale had now sunk to rock bottom.

Everyone was like startled birds; the slightest rustle would leave them tense for ages.

Oscar especially just wanted to go home.

Perhaps even the heavens thought these children had suffered enough and wanted to offer some compensation.

Just as they were preparing to leave, they discovered another Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent in the bushes not far away.

However, this one's body was clearly a size smaller than the previous one.

"About eleven hundred years."

Zhao Wuji judged its age at a glance, frowning.

"It's still a thousand-year Spirit Beast, but it seems far inferior to the last one. Oscar, do you want to keep looking?"

"No! This one will do!"

Oscar waved his hands frantically. He did not want to stay in this damned place for even one more second.

"As long as it suits me, that's enough. I'm not being picky anymore."

Seeing how thoroughly frightened Oscar was, Zhao Wuji shook his head helplessly.

Before long, the unlucky snake became Oscar's third Spirit Ring.

As the fluctuations of Soul Power around Oscar gradually settled, the purple Spirit Ring beneath his feet completely stabilized.

Yellow, yellow, purple.

Although the color of this third Spirit Ring was somewhat dim, for a Support System Spirit Master, crossing the threshold of level thirty was already a qualitative leap.

"Whew..."

Oscar opened his eyes and let out a long breath, a long-lost smile finally appearing on his face.

No matter what, he was now a Soul Elder.

He could also go to Spirit Hall and collect more money.

"Xiao Ao, how is it?"

Zhao Wuji asked impatiently.

"What is the soul skill? How effective is it?"

The others crowded around as well. Though everyone was exhausted, they were still curious about the new soul skill.

Oscar chuckled, a lecherous gleam flashing through his eyes. He then extended his right hand, struck an exceedingly flamboyant pose, and recited that utterly embarrassing incantation.

"Flying Mushroom Sausage!"

Pfft.

A pink sausage with translucent wings appeared in his palm.

Ning Rongrong turned her head away in disgust, while Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless. Only Ma Hongjun, that fat guy, swallowed hard.

"Eat it and try it." Zhao Wuji urged.

Oscar nodded and swallowed the sausage in one bite.

The next second.

Whoosh!

A pair of illusory, pale pink wings spread from Oscar's back.

Though they looked rather flimsy, they truly carried him slowly off the ground, leaving him floating in midair.

"A flying ability!"

Tang San's eyes lit up. "It's actually the rarest flight ability among Support System Spirit Masters! This greatly improves our team's mobility!"

"What about its effects?" Zhao Wuji pressed. "How long can you fly? How fast are you?"

Oscar flapped twice in the air, but his expression turned somewhat awkward.

He scratched his head, landed, and said a little sheepishly:

"It can fly."

"It lasts for one minute."

"But as for the speed..."

Oscar tried accelerating again. Yet even as he desperately beat his wings, his movement speed looked no faster than an ordinary person running on the ground.

"The speed can only stay at an ordinary person's running pace."

"And its carrying capacity is poor. If I carry someone, the speed will be cut in half again."

Silence fell over the group.

"This..." Dai Mubai opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only comfort him.

"It's still not bad. At least you can fly. It'll be more convenient when we encounter cliffs or steep walls in the future."

"Flight is a rare skill."

Oscar smiled contentedly.

"Yeah, it's better than nothing. Being able to fly is always a good thing."

"Even many Spirit Douluo can't fly. At least Teacher Zhao can't."

Zhao Wuji smacked Oscar on the head.

"You little brat, daring to make fun of me."

"Don't linger here, everyone. Let's head back early."

With the Spirit Ring acquired, they did not stop any longer.

The atmosphere on the return journey was terribly oppressive.

Everyone looked like wilted eggplants after a frost. They did nothing but hurry along, and even Ma Hongjun, usually the chattiest one, kept his mouth shut.

The lingering aftermath of fear still hung over every heart.

The Titan Giant Ape's roars and the Demon Spider swarm's shrieks seemed to still echo in their ears.

Ye Liuyun walked at the very back of the group.

As he walked, he tossed the expensive pills Ning Rongrong had given him into his mouth like candy beans.

Feeling the medicinal power turn into thin streams that nourished his damaged meridians, some color finally returned to his previously pale face.

Although Ning Rongrong walked ahead, she would occasionally slow her pace or fix her hair, always keeping neither too close nor too far from Ye Liuyun.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, clung tightly to Ye Liuyun like a little guard warding off thieves. Her large eyes swept the surroundings like radar, particularly targeting Ning Rongrong's back.

Two days later.

When the familiar outline of Suotuo City appeared on the horizon, everyone felt the urge to burst into tears.

"We're finally back..."

Ma Hongjun plopped down onto the ground.

"I never want to go to that damned place again."

Supporting one another, the group dragged their exhausted bodies step by step back to the little village where Shrek Academy was located.

At the academy entrance.

The lingering glow of the setting sun cast two elongated shadows across the ground.

One belonged to Flender, the bespectacled dean whose crafty face was tinged with exhaustion.

The other belonged to a stern, rigid middle-aged man in stiff black clothing, with cropped hair and his hands clasped behind his back.

Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang.

Seeing that this group of bedraggled students had all returned alive, Flender's suspended heart finally settled.

"Looks like you've suffered quite a bit. It's good that you're back!"

Flender hurried forward to greet them.

But Grandmaster remained where he was.

His sharp, scrutinizing gaze passed through his thick lenses and swept over them one by one.

It first lingered on Tang San for a moment. Seeing that Tang San was safe and that his aura had grown steadier, the corners of his stiff mouth relaxed slightly for an instant.

Then, his gaze fell on the very back of the group.

On Ye Liuyun, who had changed clothes but still could not conceal his weak aura, his face carrying an unconcerned expression.

Grandmaster's brows instantly furrowed into a deep crease.

Grandmaster watched that indifferent youth. The hand hidden within his sleeve clenched unconsciously, his nails digging deeply into his flesh.

Six years.

A full six years.

That scene was like a thorn lodged in his heart.

It had been the first day of school at Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy.

He, the theoretically unrivaled Grandmaster, had personally extended an olive branch to a child with Innate Full Soul Power. Even Tang San, a Twin Martial Souls genius, had submitted to him.

But what happened?

That little brat named Ye Liuyun had merely acted as though it were nothing.

He hated it most when others did not take him seriously.

For the past six years, he had recalled that scene every moment of every day.

Every time he thought of it, his teeth itched with rage.