Dai Mubai Runs Away (Part 1)

A year ago, after Le Bai began strengthening the physical training for Oscar and Ma Hongjun, he had to take charge of the meals for all three of them. Three meals a day, and they had to eat a massive amount just to satisfy the trio's rapidly growing physical demands.

However, the room Le Bai lived in was a single, the kitchen was too small, and the capacity of the pots, pans, and other utensils was only suitable for one or two people.

To maximize efficiency, Le Bai moved his kitchen to the Shrek Academy cafeteria.

At first, the cafeteria's head chef and the older aunties scoffed at a child like Le Bai, feeling that even if he were a Lord Soul Master, he couldn't possibly surpass them in culinary arts.

Then, Le Bai won the group over with a simple bowl of Egg Fried Rice.

Now, the head chef and the aunties are all loyal fans of Le Bai—though in reality, Le Bai just taught them some cooking techniques to avoid having to eat terrible food on days he didn't feel like cooking himself.

Judging by the results, everyone is very happy, so that is fine.

Afterward, the place where Le Bai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun ate naturally shifted to the academy's cafeteria as well.

After finishing the workout and taking a shower, Le Bai arrived at the cafeteria to find that Oscar had already started eating: "Did you come straight to the cafeteria after training?"

Oscar swallowed the food in his mouth: "If I had gone back to the dormitory first, I might not have made it to the cafeteria!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed a Chicken Leg and stuffed it into his mouth.

"I didn't see you this hungry a few days ago."

Le Bai slowly piled food into his bowl: "Could it be that you didn't eat your fill at noon?"

"No, it's probably because my Soul Power has increased again recently, and my body has started to develop further."

Oscar replied casually, then looked up at Le Bai: "Although I've seen it many times, I still can't accept it—why can you so naturally chew up and swallow chicken bones? Your body is really getting further and further away from being human!"

"Look at you, it's just chicken bones."

Le Bai chewed with a crunching sound: "Besides, I couldn't do it at the beginning either; it's all thanks to Soul Power. As long as you use Soul Power to strengthen your teeth, even large bones can be chewed to pieces."

"Is the point whether you can chew them or not?"

Oscar pointed the chopsticks in his hand at the Chicken Leg in Le Bai's hand: "The problem is, why do you have to chew the bones and swallow them? Even though we are called Monsters, we are still human after all. Have you ever seen anyone eat bones as naturally as you do? It's not like it's cartilage."

"I just don't want to waste the meat and marrow attached to the bones, but gnawing on them bit by bit takes too much time."

Le Bai explained simply: "If I eat it all, I don't have to worry about waste."

"I don't believe a word of it."

Oscar lowered his head and continued to eat.

"I'm telling the truth."

Le Bai said casually, glancing at his panel; the progress bar for the [Eating] skill was increasing.

A while later, Ma Hongjun arrived, walked in, and grabbed a Chicken Leg to gnaw on.

By the time they finished their meal, the sky had basically turned dark.

The hardware conditions at Shrek Academy are poor, and there are no lights at night, so if they aren't going out and choose to stay in the dormitory, cultivating Soul Power is almost the only pastime.

In fact, since arriving at Shrek, Le Bai and Oscar have always done this, and Ma Hongjun has only been able to do so recently.

The night passed quickly, the horizon began to brighten, and a new day began.

First was the customary gathering at the academy's playground.

Later, if a teacher came, they would follow that teacher to class.

If not, it meant today was free time.

"Not bad, the three of you are very punctual today."

Flender, who hadn't appeared for a few days, made a long-awaited appearance: "Today, I want to introduce a new classmate to you."

Needless to say, when they saw Flender, Le Bai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun all noticed the tall figure following behind him.

"Mubai, introduce yourself."

Flender introduced him briefly: "Although these three are younger than you, they all enrolled earlier."

"Yes, Dean!"

The tall figure bowed respectfully to Flender, stepped forward, reached out to the three of them, and a bright smile appeared on his handsome face: "Hello! My name is Dai Mubai, I'm twelve years old this year, my Martial Soul is a White Tiger, and I am a Level 25 Battle Soul Master! Please look after me in the future!"

"Hello!"

Le Bai was the first to step forward, shook the hand Dai Mubai extended, and immediately let go: "My name is Le Bai, 'Le' as in musical instrument, 'Bai' as in white. I am eleven years old this year, my Martial Soul is Bread, and I am a Level 13 Support System Tool Soul Master."

"My name is Oscar."

Oscar followed Le Bai's lead, shook Dai Mubai's hand, and introduced himself: "I am eleven years old this year, my Martial Soul is a Sausage, and I am a Level 22 Support System Tool Soul Master."

"My name is Ma Hongjun."

Ma Hongjun wasn't very enthusiastic because he didn't like men who were more handsome than him, especially those who were much more handsome, and he didn't shake Dai Mubai's hand: "I am nine years old this year, my Martial Soul is a Phoenix, and I am a Level 19 Battle Soul Master."

Flender looked at the four children greeting each other with satisfaction: "Starting today, you are companions. Mubai just arrived today, so spend the morning showing him around our academy, and start training in the afternoon."

After saying this, Flender turned to leave.

Just as he took a step, he suddenly turned back and instructed: "By the way, Mubai, your dormitory will be with Hongjun; there happens to be an empty bed."

Dai Mubai straightened his body: "Understood, Dean!"

Ma Hongjun muttered unhappily: "There are clearly empty dorms, why does he have to squeeze in with me..."

"Ahem!"

Le Bai coughed twice, drawing the attention of the three toward himself: "Since the Dean has given us a task, we should get it done properly. Let's discuss it: should we all take a tour of the Academy together, or should one of us be chosen to show Dai Mubai around while the other two continue their daily training?"

"Sorry, let me interrupt for a moment."

Dai Mubai raised his hand, signaling the others to stop talking: "I heard from the Dean that our Shrek only recruits monsters. Oscar and Hongjun's Soul Power levels are both very high, at least higher than mine were at the start. But Le Bai, your Soul Power seems quite ordinary, so why are you also in this Academy?"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Ma Hongjun cast a look of appreciation and sympathy toward Dai Mubai.

Oscar's expression was such that he was only missing a slice of watermelon in his hand.

"I didn't expect you to care about this."

Le Bai scratched his head: "If I say it myself, it might sound like I'm bragging... Although my Soul Power isn't high and my Martial Soul is just an ordinary Food System type, if it comes to pinning a Level 25 Battle Soul Master like you to the ground, I can still manage it."

"That's a really interesting thing to say!"

Dai Mubai laughed out loud: "You're a Support System Soul Master whose Martial Soul has no attack power, and your Soul Power is only Level 13, yet you're talking about pinning me to the ground? Hahahaha!"

"You're quite right, my Martial Soul has no attack power, and my Soul Power level is a full twelve levels lower than yours."

Le Bai nodded, calmly stating the facts: "However, just because my Martial Soul has no attack power doesn't mean I have no attack power myself, and having a low Soul Power level doesn't mean I have no Soul Power."

"Oh?"

Dai Mubai stopped laughing, looking somewhat surprised.

Because of his own experiences, his mindset had always been contradictory; he didn't want to give up, yet he couldn't see any hope of successfully resisting. Even after choosing to run away, this contradictory state of mind had not changed.

In Dai Mubai's eyes, Le Bai's situation was that of a completely ordinary soul master who would never achieve anything great in his life. The best-case scenario would be to play a minor role in the army or become a chef; it was impossible for him to become a powerhouse: "Can you let me witness it? This so-called strength of yours that can pin me to the ground."

"Of course, no problem!"

Le Bai smiled like a child.

He had wanted to test his own combat strength for a long time, but unfortunately, he had never been able to find a suitable sparring partner: "Come, walk this way, let's go find a teacher."

"Why find a teacher?"

Dai Mubai asked in confusion: "Does this Academy require a teacher's permission for students to spar?"

"No, don't misunderstand."

Le Bai explained with a smile: "It's just that I'll feel more at ease if a teacher is watching. In case one of us accidentally uses too much force, it could lead to one side being seriously injured. But if a teacher with high Soul Power is present, that kind of situation can be avoided as much as possible."

"Heh, so you're afraid of getting hurt yourself!"

Dai Mubai revealed a "that makes more sense" smile.

Le Bai just smiled and didn't say anything.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun glanced at Le Bai's smile and looked at each other, certain in their hearts:

"This guy Le Bai is definitely worried that he might accidentally beat Dai Mubai into a cripple!"