Rapid Progress

Shrek Academy boys' dorm.

Jiang Chen stood in the room, muttering to the Purple Sky Dragon Spear.

One soft, one hard, one support, one offense... If I can combine the two and switch freely in battle...

Pity my current soul power can only maintain one.

Both martial souls were massive consumers of soul power, especially the Purple Sky Dragon Spear... If not for the Creation Green Lotus Art granting him boundless soul power, maintaining it for even an incense stick's time would be a question.

In Jiang Chen's impression, Tang San could also only use the Clear Sky Hammer for extended periods after reaching the Soul Saint rank.

Yet his own Purple Sky Dragon Spear was stronger than the Clear Sky Hammer; to use it for long periods, he would probably have to wait until he became a Soul Ancestor or even a Soul King.

Forget it, I won't think about that much for now.

Jiang Chen flipped his wrist, the Purple Sky Dragon Spear transforming into a streak of purple lightning to withdraw into his body, and with a roll directly lay down on the bed.

Today, to evade the tracking of that Title Douluo, he had expended too much mental energy.

I wonder why that person happened to fixate on me.

Jiang Chen stared at the ceiling, calculating in his mind.

Being targeted by Spirit Hall at this stage was certainly not a good thing, plus that fellow Tang Hao was nowhere to be found; if a real fight broke out, he would only have room to run.

Yet upon careful thought, matters were not as terrible as Jiang Chen had imagined.

Qian Renxue appeared in the guise of Xue Qinghe, proving that this move was purely her own will.

A crown prince lurking in the Heaven Dou Empire, followed by two Title Douluo, just to watch a Soul Fighting Field rookie match?

Ghosts wouldn't believe that reason.

Eight chances out of ten, my support ability was seen by her, and she developed an interest in me... Tch, troublesome.

He should have kept a low profile earlier, letting Ning Rongrong fight for two more minutes before winning the first match.

Yet who could have predicted that Qian Renxue would appear in tiny Suotuo City?

However, given Qian Renxue's status, she won't stay in Suotuo City for too long. As long as I keep a low profile during this period, it'll be fine.

As Jiang Chen thought and thought, he felt a wave of sleepiness wash over him, lying on the bed and falling soundly asleep.

In the following days, the Shrek crew formed a formulaic routine.

They underwent training in the day and fought in the Soul Fighting Field at night, which could be called immensely fulfilling.

Naturally, ever since that day, neither Jiang Chen nor Ning Rongrong had gone to the Great Soul Arena again.

For one, those battles held no real meaning for Jiang Chen.

For another, Ning Rongrong was a purely support-type soul master and only needed to learn a bit of self-protection capability; if it truly came down to her having to fight, the Shrek few would be at their limit.

A few days later, the news of Oscar breaking through to level thirty exploded across the entire group during morning exercise.

"Wah! You've got it, Little Ao!"

Ma Hongjun was the first to pounce over. "You fellow, did you secretly do extra training at night?"

"Fatty, let go..."

Oscar's face turned red with strain. "This is called accumulating strength and bursting forth! Understand?"

"Tch, go on and put on airs." Ma Hongjun felt a wave of sourness in his heart.

He didn't know when he would ever reach level thirty.

"Um, actually I've also reached level thirty."

At this moment, Tang San also announced his rank to the crowd.

As early as a few days ago after consuming the Whale Rubber, his rank had reached level thirty.

Yet he still needed to condense and compress his soul power, which was why he hadn't told everyone immediately.

"What?! Even Tang San is level thirty!" Ma Hongjun covered his face and cried out.

It was fine if Oscar was a higher rank than him since there was at least age to use as an excuse, but Tang San was actually more than a year younger than him!

Just as the crowd remained immersed in shock, Xiao Wu beside them blinked those ruby-like large eyes of hers, the corners of her mouth lifting into a crafty smile.

"Hehe, well... actually I also just reached level thirty not long ago."

The air went quiet for a split second.

"No way, Xiao Wu?!" Ma Hongjun wailed aloud. "You guys one by one, are you leaving any room for people to live! Fatty here is still lingering at level twenty-nine!"

Ning Rongrong sidled up beside Xiao Wu, smiling brightly as she nudged her with her elbow. "Oh you, hiding it deep! When did this happen?"

"Just the past few days." Xiao Wu stuck out her tongue, somewhat embarrassed. "I saw Little San never brought it up, so I didn't say anything either... Anyway sooner or later we're all going to hunt soul beasts together."

Flender watched the little monsters chattering and making a ruckus together, his eyes behind his lenses already narrowed into slits.

"Good, good, good!"

He said the word 'good' three times in a row, smiling so hard his mustache trembled. "Our Shrek suddenly gained three Soul Elders; this is truly a grand occasion! The Dean is happy today, and tonight I'll treat everyone to a big feast!"

"Long live the Dean!"

Ma Hongjun was the first to jump up, instantly casting that tiny bit of depression to the winds.

Zhao Wuji stood aside with his arms crossed, his face also carrying a hint of a smile. "Three level-thirties appearing all at once... The team's strength is about to double this time."

Ning Rongrong was infected by this atmosphere, and thinking of her own rank, she couldn't help curling her lip. "Pity, if I had known I would've worked a bit harder, maybe I could've broken through to level thirty."

These days under Jiang Chen's special training, her progress could be described as terrifyingly fast; not only had her soul power risen to level twenty-eight, but her physical fitness had also gained a massive boost.

Yet there was still a certain gap compared to Tang San and the others.

Zhu Zhuqing at the side took in this scene, feeling happy for her friend in her heart while simultaneously producing a trace of bewilderment.

Although her talent was considered pretty good, compared to people like Tang San, there was still a very large gap.

It wasn't obvious at first, but as time went on, this gap seemed to be quietly widening...

No matter how hard she tried, she seemed unable to catch up to their pace.

Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing thought of what Xiao Wu had said a few days ago.

If you guys had experienced that fellow Jiang Chen's second soul skill, you'd understand what it means to be reborn.

Thinking of this, Zhu Zhuqing's dark eyes subconsciously looked toward Jiang Chen.

"Zhuqing, what are you thinking about?"

Xiao Wu hopped over, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Envious, right? Rest assured, with your speed, you'll definitely catch up soon!"

Zhu Zhuqing barely tugged at the corners of her mouth and said nothing.

At this moment, Flender cleared his throat and announced, "Since there are suddenly three people who need soul rings, there's no time to delay. Teacher Zhao, tomorrow you'll lead the team and make a trip to the Star Dou Forest."

"Right, it seems Jiang Chen reached level thirty a long time ago. We can just take this opportunity to acquire soul rings together."

"Ah? Going tomorrow?" Oscar startled. "Dean, so urgent?"

"Soul master cultivation emphasizes pressing on with a single bound. The earlier you acquire a soul ring after breaking through, the more beneficial it is for subsequent cultivation."

Flender pushed up his glasses. "Besides... acquiring soul rings for four people all at once is a heavy workload. Tch... forget it, I'll go with you guys as well."

Considering the difficulty of acquiring suitable soul rings for the four of them, Flender still decided to make the trip himself.

Zhao Wuji nodded and said in a rough voice, "Alright, then we set off early tomorrow morning. All of you get your dry rations and equipment ready; the Star Dou Forest is no place for an outing."

"Understood!"

The crowd responded in unison.