Flender looked at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. With a heavy snort of disappointment, he barked:
"Enough. Get lost and train. Stop being an eyesore."
With that, he grabbed Lin Feng by the shoulder. The gray-black Cat-Eagle wings behind his back suddenly spread wide, and he shot into the sky, flying toward the Star Dou Forest.
Lin Feng smiled and tried to comfort him.
"Dean, some people's natures can't be changed. They were born that way. They understand every principle better than anyone, but they simply refuse to change. There's no use getting angry. Keep it up, and you might shave a few years off your life."
He paused, then changed the subject with a teasing grin.
"By the way, Dean, you're already getting on in years. Are you really planning to stay a bachelor your whole life? You should hurry up and find a suitable woman, get married, and have children. That's the proper path."
Over the past three years, Lin Feng had not failed to try pulling Ma Hongjun out of the mire, but that guy used his Evil Fire as an excuse every single time, then turned around and threw himself back into the arms of pleasure. He had not improved in the slightest.
Since he could not wake someone pretending to sleep, Lin Feng could only give up. Everyone had their own fate, and some things could not be forced.
Flender's tightly furrowed brow relaxed, and he said with amusement:
"How rare. You, a Gold-Swallowing Beast that never gives up a single coin, actually know how to care about me."
"But I'm curious. Why are you always urging me to get married? I've seen old people nagging the young, but this is the first time I've seen a youngster constantly nagging an old man."
Lin Feng said solemnly:
"Uh! Actually, I'm worried that you'll grow old and die before paying back the ninety million Gold Soul Coins you owe me. As the saying goes, a father's debts are paid by his sons. I don't want the money I worked so hard to earn to go down the drain in the end."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Dean, tell me honestly. Do you have some unspeakable physical problem? Or perhaps... the girl you liked ended up falling in love with someone else?"
The more Flender listened, the darker his face became. In the end, he completely snapped.
"Shut up, you brat! Let me tell you, I'm never getting married in this life. And as for your debt, I'm defaulting on it!"
"What sin did I commit in my past life? What exactly is wrong with this academy? Why isn't there a single normal person here? You're all a bunch of lunatics!"
Lin Feng rolled his eyes and shot back.
"Listen to yourself. What normal person would come to your freakish Shrek Academy? Of course only abnormal people would come here."
In the inner region of the Star Dou Forest,
Ancient trees rose endlessly into the heavens, their canopies blotting out the sky and sun.
Damp miasma drifted through the woods. From the shadows, ghostly green beast eyes flashed from time to time, while low roars echoed in the distance.
Flender led Lin Feng through the forest at low altitude, concealing their auras as his sharp hawk eyes swept every direction.
Even as a level seventy-six Soul Saint, Flender did not dare let down his guard in the inner region of the Star Dou Forest.
This was a human forbidden zone where ten-thousand-year soul beasts could be found everywhere. One careless mistake could mean a life-or-death crisis.
"Most soul beasts have relatively balanced offensive and defensive attributes. Soul beasts that only attack and do not defend are rare to begin with. And the one you need must rely purely on physical attacks, without elemental attributes. That makes it even harder."
"It won't be easy to find. We may have to stay here for a while."
Lin Feng pondered for a moment before speaking.
"You can decide for yourself, Dean. There's only one core requirement: we absolutely must avoid soul beasts whose elemental attacks are especially strong. Otherwise, it'll be awkward if I unlock magic equipment."
Between physical attack and magic, he chose the former without the slightest hesitation. As for why he did not choose magic—
Among everyone he knew, aside from Ma Hongjun, not a single one seriously followed a magic-based path. Unlocking magic equipment would be a waste.
Besides, he had been coveting that Endless Great Sword for a full three years.
Flender also knew that this concerned the future development path of Lin Feng's martial soul, so he did not dare be careless in the slightest.
The two of them searched the inner region cautiously, and that search lasted an entire week.
At noon that day, just as they crossed a stream and entered a deeper part of the forest, Flender suddenly stopped. The wings behind his back instantly folded away, and he silently landed with Lin Feng on a thick horizontal branch.
In a clearing among the trees crouched an enormous beast.
Its entire body was covered in dark golden fur that gleamed with a metallic luster under the sunlight. Every strand looked as hard as a steel needle, as though it had been born wearing an indestructible suit of armor.
Most terrifying of all were the five half-meter-long Terror Claws on its forepaws. They glinted with cold, black light, and merely looking at them made one's hair stand on end.
"Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear."
A glint flashed through Flender's eyes. He quickly estimated its age, then frowned deeply.
"One of the land overlords among soul beasts. It possesses ultimate pure physical attack power. Legend says it can wrestle a Giant Dragon with strength alone. It perfectly meets your requirements."
"Unfortunately, while this one hasn't reached five thousand years, it is at least forty-five hundred years old. That's too high. Let's find another."
Lin Feng stared at the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, determination flashing in his eyes. He grabbed Flender, who was about to fly away, and said in a low voice:
"Dean, there's no need to keep looking. This Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—I want its soul ring."
"No. Absolutely not!"
Flender refused sternly without even thinking, his tone utterly firm.
"This one is too old. The risk is too great. With your physical condition, if you forcefully absorb it, you'll have at most a fifty percent chance of success. What's the difference between a fifty percent success rate and throwing your life away?"
As he spoke, he was about to carry Lin Feng away, but Lin Feng grabbed his arm and said urgently:
"Dean, I have room for error. I know very well what happens if I fail to forcibly absorb a high-age soul ring, but I have the confidence to guarantee that I absolutely won't die. Even if the absorption fails, I still won't die."
"Trust me..."
Flender's body suddenly stiffened, and he turned to look at him.
"What do you mean? Let me tell you, soul ring backlash is no joke. At best, it leaves your entire body crippled; at worst, you explode on the spot. What room for error could there possibly be?"
Lin Feng took a deep breath, met his gaze, and slowly explained:
"You know my martial soul. It can unlock all kinds of defensive equipment. Right now, I have a trump card I've kept hidden away. At the instant I'm on the verge of death, it can pull me back from the line between life and death and directly restore half my condition."
"Even if the absorption fails and I suffer soul ring backlash, it would only mean serious injuries for me. I definitely won't lose my life."
"Dean, I'm not joking with you. I'm serious. In these three years, when have I ever done anything without being sure of it?"
He did not dare say the word Resurrection.
The ability to return from death was far too heaven-defying. It was a method only deities could possess. Once exposed, it would surely bring a fatal disaster upon him, so he could only vaguely describe it as life-saving equipment.
Tang San's Invincible Golden Body only had the effect of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. Spending ten thousand Gold Soul Coins to forge one Death-Escaping Golden Body was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?
Flender's entire body went stiff. Even his breathing paused for half a beat as he said in disbelief:
"Death... Death-Escaping Golden Body? Is what you're saying true?"
"Not ninety million, not nine million, and not even nine hundred thousand."
Lin Feng raised two fingers and pitched it enticingly.
"Since we're so familiar, I'll give you a bargain price. One use costs two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. Dean, two hundred thousand for one life—this is a guaranteed profitable deal. Want to reserve a life in advance?"
Before you continue