Daily Training!

"Shao Xin, bring more meat!" Oscar shouted.

"Not enough storage space," Flender said without looking up.

After thinking for a moment, Ma Hongjun said, "We can take fewer bones. Bear hide is more useful than bones. Take more meat; just bring enough bones for the medicinal baths."

Flender glanced at him and nodded.

In less than half an hour, the Vajra Bear's corpse had been completely dismantled.

One intact bear hide was folded up and stuffed into the Storage Soul Tool.

Several bear bones were selected, choosing the thickest ones with the fullest marrow.

One bear gallbladder was carefully placed into a jade box.

Four bear paws, each as large as a washbasin, were wrapped in cloth.

Several portions of bear meat were wrapped in broad leaves and crammed into the last available gaps in the storage space.

The rest could only be left in the forest to become food for other soul beasts.

"Let's go." Flender clapped his hands and turned toward the edge of the forest.

--

On the way back, Oscar kept staring at his right hand.

His palm had already returned to normal, without the slightest sign of anything unusual.

But as long as he activated his Soul Bone, that golden bear claw would immediately appear, granting him strength far beyond that of an ordinary person.

"Little Oscar, stop staring at it." Ma Hongjun patted him on the shoulder. "You won't grow flowers out of it no matter how long you look."

Oscar chuckled. "It just feels so unreal. Yesterday, I was still a support who could only make Sausages. Today, I've become a warrior who can split rocks. Do you think I might be dreaming?"

Ma Hongjun reached out and pinched him.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Not a dream," Ma Hongjun said with a smile.

Oscar rubbed the spot that had been pinched and grinned.

"Hongjun, thank you."

He suddenly spoke, his voice much more serious than usual.

"If you hadn't said those things to me, I might never have dared to imagine myself fighting on the front lines. I might have spent my whole life hiding behind others like every Food-Type Soul Master."

Ma Hongjun shook his head.

"I only said a few words. The one who truly made the choice was you."

Oscar looked at him, his eyes reddening slightly.

He nodded firmly and said nothing more.

Some words did not need to be spoken aloud.

Flender walked at the very front, but his ears had been perked up the entire time, and he heard every word the two boys said.

He did not turn around, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

Shrek Academy might be shabby, poor, and have only two students.

But those two students would surely stand at the pinnacle of the continent one day.

He was confident of that.

--

It was already late at night when they returned to the inn.

After eating something simple, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, Ma Hongjun's mind was still replaying everything that had happened today.

The Vajra Bear's Soul Ring, the golden bear claw External Soul Bone, and the sight of Oscar splitting a huge rock with one claw...

All of it proved one thing.

The path of an all-around Food-Type Soul Master was viable.

Not only could this path be walked, it could be walked very far.

Ma Hongjun closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.

Next, it was time to keep moving forward.

Oscar's second Soul Ring had been settled. Next, it was his own turn.

What should he choose for his second Soul Ring...?

A Light Element soul beast, older than his first Soul Ring—at least seven hundred years old, preferably close to a thousand.

Would there be such a soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest?

Thinking all the while, Ma Hongjun gradually fell into a deep sleep.

The day after they returned from the Star Dou Great Forest, the intensity of their training doubled.

Before dawn had even broken, Oscar dragged Ma Hongjun out of bed.

"Hongjun, get up! Teacher Zhao said we're adding extra training today!"

Ma Hongjun opened his eyes, glanced at the still-dark sky outside the window, and silently sighed.

This was the road he had chosen. Even if he had to crawl on his knees, he would see it through.

In the courtyard, Zhao Wuji was already waiting. Two sets of heavy metal armor lay at his feet, gleaming with a cold sheen in the morning light.

"Starting today, the two of you will train in these every day." Zhao Wuji pointed at the armor on the ground. "Each set weighs fifty jin. You are not allowed to take them off while eating or sleeping."

Oscar looked at the armor, his face turning a little pale.

"Teacher Zhao... even when sleeping?"

"Even when sleeping." Zhao Wuji remained expressionless. "When fifty jin feels like you're wearing nothing, I'll raise it to a hundred."

Oscar opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he silently picked up the armor and put it on.

Ma Hongjun did not waste any words and put his on directly.

The fifty jin of weight immediately pressed down on him, and his shoulders felt a heavy burden. Breathing became somewhat difficult, and his knees had to endure greater impact with every step.

But he did not complain.

What was this little weight?

In his previous life, those special forces soldiers ran dozens of kilometers during loaded cross-country training. He was only carrying fifty jin, while they carried dozens of kilograms.

Once they had put on the armor, Zhao Wuji led the two of them on their morning run.

The dirt road circling the mountain behind the academy was about two kilometers per lap.

On the first lap, Oscar could still keep up.

On the second lap, he began breathing heavily.

By the third lap, his pace had visibly slowed. Sweat streamed down his cheeks, soaking his training clothes.

"I can't run anymore..." Oscar bent over with his hands braced on his knees, gasping for air.

"If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl." Zhao Wuji's voice came from ahead, leaving no room for negotiation. "Five laps today. Miss even one, and you don't get breakfast."

Oscar gritted his teeth, straightened up, and continued running.

Ma Hongjun stayed beside him, slowing down to match his pace.

"Little Oscar, regulate your breathing," Ma Hongjun said. "Inhale for two steps, exhale for two steps. Don't pant wildly."

Oscar tried it and immediately felt a little better.

"Hongjun... how are you... not tired at all?" Oscar asked as he ran, so out of breath that he could barely get the words out.

"Because I'm used to it," Ma Hongjun said. "You'll get used to it too."

By the time they finished five laps, it was already broad daylight.

Oscar dropped onto the ground, looking as though he had been fished out of water, soaked from head to toe. Running ten kilometers under fifty jin of weight really was his limit.

Ma Hongjun was tired as well, but he did not sit down. Instead, he bent over and walked slowly, allowing his body to transition steadily from the intense exercise.

"Get up. Don't sit." Ma Hongjun pulled Oscar to his feet. "You can't sit right after running. Walk around a bit."

Oscar was dragged up, his legs feeling as though they had been filled with lead. They trembled with every step.

But he gritted his teeth and walked forward step by step.

Breakfast was soul beast meat soup.

Shao Xin stewed a huge pot of Vajra Bear meat. The soup was milky white and fragrant. The meat had been stewed until tender enough to melt in the mouth, and the rich essence of Soul Power burst across their tongues.

Ma Hongjun drank three bowls in one go and ate two large chunks of meat.

Oscar wolfed down even more, eating until sweat covered his forehead.