A year ago, after Le Bai began putting Oscar and Ma Hongjun through more intense physical training, he had to handle the meals for all three of them by himself. Three meals a day, and every meal had to contain a great deal of food to meet their ever-growing physical demands.
However, Le Bai lived in a single room. The kitchen was too small, and the pots, bowls, and other utensils were only large enough for one or two people.
To improve efficiency as much as possible, Le Bai moved the kitchen to Shrek Academy's cafeteria.
At first, the cafeteria's chef and Aunt looked down on a child like Le Bai. They believed that even if he was a Lord Soul Master, he could not possibly surpass them in cooking.
Then Le Bai won them over with a simple bowl of Egg Fried Rice.
Now, the chef and Aunt were both loyal Le Bai fans—though in reality, Le Bai had taught them a few cooking techniques so that he would not have to eat unbearably awful food on days when he did not feel like cooking.
Judging by the outcome, everyone was happy, so that was good enough.
After that, the place where Le Bai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun ate naturally shifted to the academy's cafeteria.
After finishing training and washing up, Le Bai arrived at the cafeteria to find Oscar already eating. "Did you come straight to the cafeteria after training?"
Oscar swallowed the food in his mouth. "If I went back to the dormitory first, I might not make it to the cafeteria!"
With that, he immediately picked up a chicken leg and stuffed it into his mouth.
"You didn't seem this hungry a few days ago."
Le Bai leisurely piled his bowl high with food. "Didn't you eat enough at noon?"
"No. It's probably because my Soul Power has increased again, and my body has started developing further."
Oscar answered casually, then looked up at Le Bai. "I've seen it many times already, but I still can't accept it—how can you just casually chew up and swallow chicken leg bones? Your body really is getting farther and farther from human!"
"Listen to yourself. They're just chicken bones."
Le Bai crunched away. "Besides, I couldn't do it from the beginning either. It's all thanks to Soul Power. As long as I use Soul Power to strengthen my teeth a little, even large bones can be chewed to pieces."
"Is whether you can chew them the point?"
Oscar pointed the chopsticks in his hand at the chicken leg Le Bai was holding. "The problem is, why are you chewing up and swallowing all the bones? We may call ourselves Monsters, but we're still people. Have you ever seen anyone eat bones as naturally as you do? It's not even cartilage."
"I just don't want to waste the meat and marrow attached to the bones, but gnawing them bit by bit takes too much time."
Le Bai gave a simple explanation. "If I eat all of it, I don't have to worry about wasting anything."
"Yeah, right."
Oscar lowered his head and continued eating.
"I'm serious."
Le Bai said it casually, glancing at the Panel. The progress bar for the [Eating] skill was increasing.
A while later, Ma Hongjun arrived as well. He came in, grabbed a chicken leg, and started gnawing on it.
By the time they finished eating, the sky had basically turned dark.
Shrek Academy's facilities were poor, and there were no lights at night. So if they were not going out, cultivation of Soul Power was practically the only pastime available in the dormitory.
In fact, Le Bai and Oscar had been doing that ever since arriving at Shrek, while Ma Hongjun had only recently managed to do the same.
The night passed quickly. The horizon gradually brightened, and a new day began.
First came the usual gathering at the academy's Playground.
If a teacher showed up later, they would attend that teacher's class.
If no teacher came, then it meant today was free activity time.
"Not bad. You three are on time again today."
Flender, who had not appeared for several days, finally showed his face again. "Today, I want to introduce a new classmate to you."
There was no need to say more. The moment they saw Flender, Le Bai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun all noticed the tall figure standing behind him.
"Mu Bai, introduce yourself."
Flender gave a brief introduction. "The three of them may be younger than you, but they all enrolled before you did."
"Yes, Dean!"
The tall figure respectfully bowed to Flender, then stepped forward and extended his hand toward the three of them. A bright smile appeared on his handsome face. "Hello! My name is Dai Mubai. I'm twelve years old, my Martial Soul is the White Tiger, and I'm a level 25 Battle Soul Master! Please take care of me from now on!"
"Hello!"
Le Bai stepped forward first and shook Dai Mubai's outstretched hand before immediately letting go. "My name is Le Bai. Le as in music, Bai as in white. I'm eleven years old, my Martial Soul is bread, and I'm a level 13 Support System Tool Soul Master."
"My name is Oscar."
Oscar followed Le Bai's lead, shaking Dai Mubai's hand as he introduced himself. "I'm eleven years old, my Martial Soul is Sausage, and I'm a Level 22 Support System Tool Soul Master."
"My name is Ma Hongjun."
Ma Hongjun was not particularly enthusiastic, because he disliked men who were more handsome than him—especially those who were much more handsome. He did not take Dai Mubai's hand either. "I'm nine years old, my Martial Soul is Phoenix, and I'm a Level 19 Battle Soul Master."
Flender watched the four children greeting one another with a satisfied expression. "From today onward, you are companions. Mu Bai only arrived today, so spend the morning showing him around our academy. Training will begin in the afternoon."
After saying that, Flender turned to leave.
He had only taken one step when he suddenly turned back and added, "Oh, right. Mu Bai, you'll stay with Hongjun in the dormitory. There happens to be one empty bed."
Dai Mubai straightened up. "Understood, Dean!"
Ma Hongjun, however, muttered unhappily, "There are obviously empty Dormitories. Why does he have to squeeze in with me..."
"Ahem!"
Le Bai coughed twice, drawing all three of their attention to himself. "Since the Dean has assigned us a task, we should handle it properly. Let's discuss this. Should we all take Mu Bai around the academy together, or should one of us show him around while the other two continue their usual training?"
"Sorry, but let me interrupt."
Dai Mubai raised his hand, signaling for the others to stop talking. "The Dean told me that Shrek only accepts Monsters. Oscar and Hongjun both have very high Soul Power, at least higher than mine was back then. But Le Bai, your Soul Power seems rather ordinary. Why are you here too?"
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
Ma Hongjun gave Dai Mubai a look of admiration and sympathy.
Oscar's expression was only missing a slice of watermelon in his hand.
"I didn't expect you to care about that."
Le Bai scratched his head. "It would sound like bragging if I said it myself... Although my Soul Power isn't high and my Martial Soul is only an ordinary Food System one, I can still pin a level 25 Battle Soul Master like you to the ground and rub you into the dirt."
"That's really interesting!"
Dai Mubai laughed aloud. "You're a Support System Soul Master whose Martial Soul has no offensive power, and your Soul Power is only level 13, yet you're talking about pinning me to the ground and rubbing me into the dirt? Hahahaha!"
"You're right. My Martial Soul has no offensive power, and my Soul Power Level is a full twelve levels below yours."
Le Bai nodded, calmly stating the facts. "But a Martial Soul having no offensive power doesn't mean I have no offensive power. And having a low Soul Power Level doesn't mean I have no Soul Power."
"Oh?"
Dai Mubai stopped laughing, somewhat surprised.
Because of his own experiences, Dai Mubai had always been conflicted. He did not want to give up, yet he could see no hope of successfully resisting. Even after ultimately choosing to run away, that conflicted mindset had not changed.
In Dai Mubai's eyes, Le Bai was a completely ordinary Soul Master, someone who could never amount to anything in this life. At best, he could play some role in the military or become a chef; he could never become a strong person. "Can you let me see it? This strength you claim can pin me to the ground and rub me into the dirt."
"Of course!"
Le Bai smiled like a child.
He had wanted to test his own combat ability for a long time, but unfortunately, he had never found a suitable sparring partner. "Come on, this way. Let's find a teacher."
"Why find a teacher?"
Dai Mubai asked doubtfully. "Do students in this academy need a teacher's permission to spar?"
"No, don't misunderstand."
Le Bai explained with a smile. "I just feel more at ease with a teacher watching. If one of us accidentally hits too hard, one side might end up seriously injured. But if a teacher with high Soul Power is present, that can prevent such a situation as much as possible."
"Heh, so you're afraid of getting hurt!"
Dai Mubai wore a smile that said, Now that makes sense.
Le Bai merely smiled and said nothing.
Oscar and Ma Hongjun looked at Le Bai's smile, then exchanged glances, both certain of one thing:
Le Bai is definitely worried that he'll accidentally cripple Dai Mubai!
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