Whale Rubber

Feeling the scrutiny of the others, Oscar awkwardly scratched his chicken-nest hair.

"Actually... it's a side effect of my Martial Soul. My hair just grows a little faster. I'm only fourteen this year, I'm really not lying to you."

As he spoke, he took several grilled sausages from the small cart beside him and offered them over with an expectant look.

"I've got some sausages here. Do you want any?"

Seeing the sausages, which looked, smelled, and tasted delicious, Ning Rongrong could not help feeling tempted.

But having just arrived, she still maintained some reserve. Rather than reaching out to take one, she looked toward her companions beside her.

Jiang Chen raised a brow as he looked at the sausages still giving off wisps of heat in Oscar's hand.

He had to admit, Oscar's sausages looked pretty good. But when he thought about how those sausages came into being...

"I don't like sausages. You guys go ahead."

Jiang Chen shook his head, declining Oscar's offer.

"You're not eating? Then I won't either."

Xiao Wu had originally wanted to try one, but seeing that Jiang Chen was not eating, she lost interest as well.

Seeing that neither Jiang Chen nor Xiao Wu accepted, Oscar eagerly offered the sausages to Tang San instead.

Tang San glanced at the glistening, oily sausages. After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately waved his hand politely. "Thank you, Senior, but I'm not hungry yet."

Seeing this, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing naturally did not reach out either.

Oscar's hand, still holding the sausages, froze in midair, and his smile gradually turned awkward.

"Alright, alright then..."

He awkwardly withdrew his hand and muttered under his breath, "Looks like this year's new students are all pretty wary."

Xiao Wu had sharp ears and heard his muttering. Blinking, she asked, "Wary? What do you mean?"

"Cough, cough, it's nothing, nothing!"

Oscar hurriedly waved his hands and quickly changed the subject. "Come on, I'll take you to the assessment first!"

After saying that, he pushed the sausage cart and headed briskly into the village, his back carrying the unmistakable air of someone fleeing in defeat.

The others did not notice and followed Oscar into the village.

The so-called "academy" was truly shabby. A few crooked wooden houses, a patch of packed dirt serving as the training ground, and several broken wooden posts piled in one corner.

"This... is really a Soul Master Academy?" Ning Rongrong could not help muttering softly.

As the princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, it was her first time seeing such a rundown place.

Though Zhu Zhuqing said nothing, her brows faintly furrowed as well.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, had long since become numb to it all and did not even feel like complaining anymore.

"Don't let its current simplicity fool you. Our Shrek Academy has produced quite a few powerful figures! And our current dean is a Soul Saint!"

Oscar puffed out his chest, trying to salvage a little of the academy's image. "Besides, our dean said it himself: Soul Masters cultivate not for appearances, but for results!"

The moment he finished speaking, the door of the wooden house beside them opened with a creak.

A tall, thin middle-aged man walked out while yawning, sleepily scratching his messy hair.

It was Flender from the shop yesterday.

He narrowed his eyes at Oscar. "Little Ao, what are you making such a fuss about... Hmm?"

Before he could finish, Flender's gaze landed on Jiang Chen and Xiao Wu, and more than half of his drowsiness instantly vanished.

"Why are you two here?"

Could these two have realized I ripped them off yesterday and come looking to settle the score?

"Swindler? What are you doing here?" Xiao Wu gave him a suspicious glance and asked irritably.

Hearing Xiao Wu address the dean that way, Oscar silently gave her a thumbs-up in his heart.

Finally, someone had said what he never dared to say.

Flender ignored Xiao Wu's form of address and strode up to Jiang Chen in a few steps. "Do you still want that Whale Rubber we agreed on yesterday?"

Jiang Chen raised a brow. "You have it now?"

"Hehe, I got lucky. A piece of seven-hundred-year Whale Rubber came in this morning."

Flender rubbed his hands together, smiling like a fox that had spotted a fat sheep. "But the price... will have to go up a little."

"How much?"

"Not much. Just one hundred Gold Soul Coins."

"Didn't you say yesterday it would be the original price?" Jiang Chen asked with a half-smile.

"The original price was at the blacksmith shop, but now we're at the academy. Different location, different price, naturally," Flender said without even blushing.

Xiao Wu's eyes widened at his words. "Swindler! Raising the price on the spot!"

Flender acted as though he had not heard her, merely staring at Jiang Chen as he waited for his response.

Jiang Chen did not waste any words. He directly took out a bag of Gold Soul Coins from the Green Lotus Pendant and tossed it over.

"The goods."

"Straightforward!"

Flender caught the money pouch and weighed it in his hand. Yet instead of putting it away, he took one Gold Soul Coin from it before handing the pouch back to Jiang Chen.

"Forget it. Since we're so fated, I'll give you a discount this time."

As he spoke, he also took out a palm-sized chunk of dark red, gelatinous material and handed it over.

Jiang Chen accepted the money pouch with one hand and the Whale Rubber with the other.

It felt warm to the touch, with faint Soul Power fluctuations. Its quality was indeed quite good.

Tang San was now preparing to obtain his third Soul Ring, and this piece of Whale Rubber would be perfect for strengthening his body.

That would not only earn him a returned reward, but also raise Tang San's Soul Ring limit.

It was simply killing two birds with one stone.

Oscar stared in dumbfounded disbelief from the side.

When had the dean changed his ways? He was actually not squeezing every last coin out of money already in his hands?

And this new student had pulled out a hundred Gold Soul Coins without even blinking. Could he be some hidden wealthy young master?

"Alright, money and goods are settled."

Flender seemed to be in a very good mood. He patted Oscar on the shoulder. "Hurry up and take them to the assessment. Don't waste time."

After saying that, he yawned again and swayed back into the house to catch up on sleep.

Oscar came back to his senses and hurriedly led the five of them deeper into the training ground.

Since they had already tested their Soul Power at the earlier stages, they directly skipped ahead to the fourth assessment.

The fourth assessment site was set before the largest wooden house.

A burly middle-aged man with a face full of stubble stood there with his arms crossed. His muscles bulged all over, and he radiated a powerful presence.

It was Zhao Wuji.

Oscar stepped forward respectfully. "Teacher Zhao, these are the new students who passed the initial test this year."

Zhao Wuji opened his eyes. When he saw the five young boys and girls before him, he grinned.

"I didn't expect five people to make it this far this year. Not bad, not bad."

But when his gaze shifted to Oscar's scruffy face, he frowned.

"Little Ao, why are you the one leading the new students through the assessment? Where's Dai Mubai?"

Oscar gave an awkward smile. "Well, Boss Dai got into a fight with someone yesterday and seems to have been injured a little. He's still recuperating in his room."

"Hmph, that guy has always been too arrogant. It's good for him to suffer a little," Zhao Wuji snorted coldly.

Dai Mubai had not come to report the matter to them, which indirectly proved that this had been a fight between people of the same age.

"Dai Mubai? Isn't that the hooligan from yesterday?"

Hearing their conversation, Xiao Wu could not help muttering softly.

Ning Rongrong noticed that she seemed to know some inside details. Pulling her aside, she asked curiously, "Xiao Wu, do you know what happened?"

Even Zhu Zhuqing cast her a curious look.

"It was nothing much, really..."

Xiao Wu briefly told the two of them what had happened at the Rose Hotel yesterday.

When they heard that Dai Mubai had entered the hotel with a pair of beautiful twin girls in his arms, both of them showed expressions of disgust.

"Tsk, tsk. So he's a womanizing scoundrel." Ning Rongrong curled her lips, and her impression of Dai Mubai worsened even further.

Zhu Zhuqing, meanwhile, faintly frowned, a trace of disgust passing over her cold face.

"Exactly. If Brother Chen hadn't stopped me, I definitely would've given him a few more kicks," Xiao Wu said indignantly.