After entering the city, Li Luo went shopping with the two girls. Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong each took one of his hands, walking on either side of him.
Tang San found a blacksmith's shop and continued forging his Hidden Weapons.
Zhu Zhuqing stayed with Li Luo the whole time, but didn't get anything out of it.
One thing worth mentioning was that as soon as they entered the city, Zhu Zhuqing shook off Dai Mubai, who had been following her.
When Dai Mubai lost sight of the person he'd been tailing, he simply put Zhu Zhuqing's affairs aside and took Ma Hongjun to a high-class brothel to enjoy themselves.
Everyone had their own things to take care of.
By the time they returned to Shrek, dusk had fallen.
There was nothing else to do that day, so everyone went back to rest.
One thing worth mentioning, though: after Oscar finished his twenty laps, Flender was still angry and added another twenty.
Oscar ended up running a full forty laps. When he finished, he was exhausted and collapsed into bed, fast asleep.
--
The next morning, the whistle woke everyone, and they gathered on the field.
It was called a field, but in reality it was just an empty patch of ground.
As usual, Li Luo and Tang San arrived first, followed by Zhu Zhuqing, who was known for her speed. Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong came after them, while Ma Hongjun was the last to arrive.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven!"
Flender counted everyone and realized one person was missing.
Oscar still hadn't shown up.
"Oscar must be sleeping in again. Mubai, go wake him up."
Unhappy with Oscar's laziness, Flender sent Dai Mubai to wake him.
Dai Mubai had just started to move when Oscar's voice came from not far away.
Oscar hurried toward the gathering spot, then stopped in front of Flender, panting.
Flender looked displeased at Oscar's state and was just about to lose his temper when Oscar spoke up first.
"Dean, I wasn't slacking off. I broke through to level thirty last night."
Oscar was extremely excited. As he spoke, he glanced at Ning Rongrong.
He was hoping that news of his breakthrough to level thirty would catch Ning Rongrong's attention.
Clearly, Oscar still hadn't given up.
Ning Rongrong had never hidden her relationship with Li Luo. It had always been out in the open.
But Oscar considered himself the first and only auxiliary-type Soul Master on the Douluo Continent to possess Innate Full Soul Power, so he thought very highly of himself.
He believed his talent made him a perfect match for Ning Rongrong. As for looks, Li Luo was handsome, but Oscar didn't think he was bad-looking either. So Oscar arrogantly believed he could still compete with Li Luo.
That was Oscar's baffling self-confidence.
When Flender heard Oscar had broken through to level thirty, he frowned at first. Then his expression changed, and uncontrollable joy spread across his face.
Oscar was a talented boy Flender had brought back from a small village. He had grown up at Shrek Academy since the age of six and could be considered one of the academy's own.
And Oscar was only fourteen, yet he had already reached level thirty. He was just one Soul Ring away from becoming a Soul Elder.
With talent like that, he could be called a genius even in Heaven Dou City, or even at Spirit Hall.
Flender was delighted.
Flender placed a hand on Oscar's shoulder and faced the other seven, his pride impossible to hide.
"Oscar is fourteen years old, and his Soul Power Level has already reached thirty. He is also the only auxiliary-type Soul Master on the entire continent with Innate Full Soul Power, and even among auxiliary-type Soul Masters, he's a rare Food-type Soul Master. He's a true genius—no, a monster."
As he spoke, Flender looked at Ning Rongrong and raised an eyebrow, gazing down at her.
"I know you all consider yourselves geniuses. And, of course, you are. But you need to understand one thing: there's always someone better, and there's always a higher sky above the sky."
"Some people look down on this and that because they think their birth is noble and their talent exceptional. They even dare to defy their elders' guidance."
"Tell me, what kind of future will a student like that have?"
Flender was still showing off his PUA tactics. Some of those present might not have understood what he meant, or who he was talking about.
Ma Hongjun and Xiao Wu, for instance.
Ma Hongjun considered himself special because he had a mutated Phoenix Martial Soul—though it was really just a useless Grass Chicken—and was arrogant enough not to care who Flender was criticizing.
Xiao Wu, meanwhile, was simply a bit dim-witted.
But Ning Rongrong and Oscar, the two people involved, understood perfectly well what Flender meant.
When Oscar heard Flender use him to belittle Ning Rongrong, he raised his head proudly, like a rooster being praised.
Ning Rongrong clenched her fists, her expression defiant. She lifted her chin and stared Flender down.
Flender looked right back at Ning Rongrong, his eyes openly challenging her.
At that, Ning Rongrong immediately blew up at Flender.
"Flender, you're nothing but a mere Soul Saint. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has plenty of Soul Saints like you. And stop using your little tricks to put me down, miss."
As she spoke, Ning Rongrong glared at Oscar, who had been staring at her. Her glare startled him, and he quickly turned his head to avoid her gaze.
"Hmph, what's so impressive about that? You're already fourteen, and you've only just broken through to level thirty. I'm only twelve, and my Soul Power Level has long since reached twenty-nine."
Only in front of Li Luo was Ning Rongrong a quiet, adorable Hajimi. With everyone else, she always showed her Little Demoness side.
Flender and Ning Rongrong faced off, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Ning Rongrong didn't back down and held her ground, so in the end, Flender was the first to yield.
It wasn't that Flender's presence was weaker than Ning Rongrong's. It was just that as the dean of Shrek Academy, he couldn't spend all his time dealing with her.
For now, getting Oscar a Soul Ring was what mattered most.
So Flender stopped arguing with Ning Rongrong and turned to find Zhao Wuji, preparing to have him take Oscar and the others to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain a Soul Ring.
As the dean, Flender still had to guard the academy, so Zhao Wuji usually led the groups going out.
That was one rare advantage Shrek Academy had over other academies.
For students, having a Soul Saint who was a renowned figure in the outside world lead them to obtain Soul Rings was exceptional treatment.
Even the students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the highest institution in the Heaven Dou Empire, wouldn't get that kind of treatment.
After Flender left, Zhao Wuji appeared before the group.
With Food-type Soul Saint Shao Xin's help, Zhao Wuji's bruises and swollen face had healed without leaving any noticeable marks.
But Zhao Wuji still looked at Tang San with some resentment. He hadn't hurt Tang San at all that day; in fact, he'd been the only one injured. Yet Tang Hao had beaten him without hearing either side of the story, leaving Zhao Wuji feeling terribly wronged.