This is eight years old?!

Early in the morning, Oscar was woken up by Ma Hongjun.

He rubbed his eyes. The little chubby boy seemed to have improved a lot again. When Oscar asked him about it, Ma Hongjun only gave a sheepish grin and said he didn't know anything—he'd just broken through to level eighteen last night.

Oscar nodded slightly. Although Ma Hongjun hadn't been born with Innate Full Soul Power, after evolving his Evil Fire Phoenix into a Pure-blooded Fire Phoenix, his talent was almost on par with someone who had.

It was only natural for Ma Hongjun to reach level eighteen in two years. If he hadn't learned the Taiji Technique, which required him to store far more Soul Power for each level than a Soul Master of the same rank, he might already have reached level twenty.

A twenty-year-old at not even nine...

"Let's eat first, then get straight to training."

Oscar rubbed the little chubby boy's head and spoke softly.

"Senior Brother, Teacher said I should go with you too."

Ma Hongjun said with a sheepish grin. When he saw his senior brother's brows knit slightly, he pointed to the little bag at his waist.

"I've packed my things already, Senior Brother."

Oscar could only shake his head helplessly. The little chubby boy seemed to have become far too diligent lately, but that was a good thing, so he said nothing.

Besides, they were going to hunt Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest. With the two of them, even if they couldn't win, they could still run.

What's more, Dean Flender and Teacher Zhao Wuji would protect them along the way. If they still ran into danger, they might as well find a block of tofu and bash their heads against it!

"Come on, let's eat first. But you have to follow orders along the way, understand?"

Ma Hongjun nodded, and only then did Oscar lead him to the Shrek Academy cafeteria. Shao Xin had already prepared breakfast.

When the two youngsters walked in, Shao Xin's eyes lit up. He piled two plates high with meat and handed them over.

"Xiao Ao, make sure you eat plenty. Once we go out to hunt for Spirit Rings, we won't have anything good to eat for days."

"We? Teacher Shao Xin, are you coming too?"

Ma Hongjun took the plate and tilted his head.

"That's right, I'm going with you. We're hunting Soul Beasts on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest this time, and all the teachers are coming along."

Shao Xin rubbed Ma Hongjun's head. Ma Hongjun could be called Shrek's darling.

It couldn't be helped... He had pure Phoenix Fire. Now that it had burned away every impurity from Ma Hongjun's body, he looked like a porcelain doll.

On top of that, he was honest and sensible, so everyone liked him.

Oscar took his plate and sat down without saying anything, absently rubbing his chin.

Yesterday, Li Yusong had told him that Dean Flender and Teacher Zhao Wuji would be joining the Soul Hunting trip. Oscar had felt something was off; the academy was taking this outing far too seriously.

Thinking it over carefully today, he understood what the teachers had in mind.

His talent for studying Martial Souls, which he'd shown earlier, had already drawn their attention. This trip to the Star Dou Great Forest probably wasn't just about helping him obtain his Second Soul Ring.

More than anything, they wanted him to encounter more wild Soul Beasts and gain experience.

While he was thinking, Dai Mubai had already walked in.

Dai Mubai's expression was terrible. That was understandable—what Power Attack Battle Soul Master could stomach being beaten up by a Support Soul Master?

The worst part was that he'd used two Soul Skills and given it everything he had, yet still ended up getting pummeled into the ground.

It hurt. It really hurt!

"Sit down, Mubai. You've got good talent. Don't lose heart."

Oscar filled a plate with food for Dai Mubai, set it on the table in front of him, and patted his shoulder.

"..."

Dai Mubai raised his head slightly, then quickly lowered it again. He picked up his chopsticks and started pushing the food around. He wanted to say something, but closed his mouth again.

He was a Power Attack Soul Master, yet he'd been beaten by a Food System Soul Master. It was humiliating...

"All right, don't look so down. After a while, I'll teach you my fighting style."

Oscar picked up a piece of meat and popped it into his mouth, his voice as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Really?"

Dai Mubai looked up, his Evil Eyes narrowing to pinpoints.

Only someone who'd fought Oscar would know how outrageous his fighting style was!

He had a top-tier Beast Spirit! His Soul Power was higher than this guy's, too! And he'd still been beaten into that sorry state...

"Of course. But not now. We're going out to hunt Soul Beasts today."

"Hm?"

Dai Mubai glanced at the little chubby boy beside him. That kid wasn't even ten yet... Could he already be level twenty?

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm the one who needs to hunt a Soul Beast."

"Hm?"

Dai Mubai looked at Oscar, completely dumbfounded.

"You mean you didn't have a second Spirit Ring when you fought me?!"

Spirit Rings didn't just provide another Soul Skill. They also transformed a Soul Master's Martial Soul and body!

A level-twenty Soul Master with a second Spirit Ring was worlds apart from one without a Spirit Ring!

"Don't look so shocked. You'll get stronger too once you learn it."

Oscar shook his head helplessly and said to Dai Mubai.

Just then, Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Li Yusong arrived at the cafeteria one after another.

"Not bad. You're in great shape today."

Flender patted Oscar's shoulder and nodded with satisfaction. Then he raised his brows and looked at Dai Mubai.

"You're the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire. You came to Shrek to study because the struggle for the throne has begun, right?"

"Yeah..."

Dai Mubai always felt like no one at this academy knew how to talk. Why did they always rub salt in his wounds?

"Don't worry. As long as you're here, you'll have a real chance of surpassing your elder brother and winning the succession struggle."

"That's too hard. You know he's six years older than me. I can't catch up."

Dai Mubai sighed. A major reason he'd fled to the Heaven Dou Empire was that he'd felt he had no chance.

"You're looking at it the wrong way. Now that you've joined Shrek, Shrek is your strongest support.

"This is Oscar, a food-system Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power. He's not even eleven, but he's already level twenty.

"You fought him yesterday, so you should have felt his talent."

Flender patted Oscar, a gleam of wisdom shining in his eagle eyes.

Oscar knew that his adoptive father had his sights set on Dai Mubai's wallet.

Looking at Dai Mubai's increasingly bright Evil Eyes, Oscar felt a little sorry for him. The poor guy had fallen for the pitch.

"The little chubby boy is Ma Hongjun. His Martial Soul is a Fire Phoenix, a top-tier Beast Spirit. He's only eight, but he's already level seventeen... Hongjun, did you break through?"

Flender looked at the little chubby boy in amazement.

"I was lucky. I happened to break through last night."

Ma Hongjun scratched his head with a sheepish grin and glanced guiltily at Oscar.

Senior Brother didn't notice that I changed my cultivation method, did he?

"Eight? This damn kid is eight?!"

Dai Mubai cried out in shock. He hadn't even realized he was swearing.

It was just too outrageous!

Awakened his Martial Soul at six, and level eighteen at eight!

Even with Innate Full Soul Power, that kid was advancing far too quickly—eight levels in two years!

At this rate, he'd definitely be level thirty-four by the time he was twelve!

A twelve-year-old Soul Elder!

Ma Hongjun scratched his head bashfully. Since he often trained with his senior brother, he knew well that his senior brother's body had taken a long time to recover from his injuries. Although the ordeal had increased his fighting strength by more than a little, his Soul Power had still developed somewhat slowly.

In effect, the two of them hadn't spent very different amounts of time cultivating. By that measure, his senior brother's cultivation speed was much faster than his.