Future Companions Are Still on Their Way!

Shao Xin was in charge of dinner.

The ingredients were plentiful: fresh vegetables, rice, and flour brought before their departure, along with the remaining dried meat from the Vajra Bear they had hunted last time.

Shao Xin sliced the dried meat thinly and stewed it with wild vegetables and mushrooms into a huge pot of soup. He also steamed a large basin of white rice.

The aroma drifted through the forest clearing, drawing a few howls from some unknown soul beasts in the distance. However, intimidated by the aura emanating from this group, they did not dare come closer.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar each held a large bowl and noisily wolfed down their food.

"Hongjun, can your Light Spear turn?" Oscar asked as he shoveled rice into his mouth.

"No."

"Can you fire it repeatedly?"

"No. After using it once, I have to wait a few seconds before I can use it again."

"Then can it—"

"Can you just eat properly?" Ma Hongjun picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into Oscar's mouth.

Oscar's mouth was blocked. He could only make muffled noises and chew the meat while glaring with wide eyes.

The teachers smiled as they watched the two children bicker.

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

But this feeling was nice.

--

After dinner, night fell completely.

Zhao Wuji set up a simple warning formation around the camp. Although it was unlikely that any powerful soul beasts would break into this outer region, it never hurt to be careful.

Ma Hongjun and Oscar lay side by side in their tent, staring blankly at the tent roof.

"Hongjun." Oscar suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Shrek will have more students in the future?"

Ma Hongjun fell silent for a moment.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Really." Ma Hongjun's voice was calm. "And not just one. There'll be many. We'll be the Shrek Seven Devils, not the Shrek Two Devils."

Oscar was amused by the term "Shrek Two Devils." After laughing for a while, he grew serious again.

"Seven Devils... seven people? Then where are the other five?"

Ma Hongjun did not answer.

Of course, he knew where those five were.

Dai Mubai was in the Star Luo Empire, fighting his elder brother for the position of crown prince.

Tang San was in Holy Soul Village, relying on each other for survival with his father, Tang Hao.

Xiao Wu was deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, neighbors with the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python.

Ning Rongrong was in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, cherished like a pearl in the palm of their hand.

Zhu Zhuqing was in the Star Luo Empire, enduring the oppression of her family just like Dai Mubai.

They were currently scattered across every corner of the land.

But one day, they would gather at Shrek.

That was fate.

"They'll come," Ma Hongjun said. "One day."

Oscar did not know why he was so certain, but he chose to believe him.

--

Early the next morning, the group set off on their return journey.

Nothing unexpected happened on the way. They completed the two-day trip without incident.

By the time they returned to Shrek Academy, it was evening.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the crumbling courtyard walls, dyeing the earthen walls gold.

The wooden stakes were still there. The white lines were still there. Those dilapidated classrooms were still there.

Nothing had changed.

But Ma Hongjun knew that he had changed.

He stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking at the old crooked locust tree, the stone table and stools beneath it, and the dormitory in the distance where he had lived for three months.

This place was shabby and poor. It did not even have a proper training ground.

But this was his home.

"Brat, quit standing around." Flender's voice came from behind him. "Starting tomorrow, your training volume doubles."

Ma Hongjun turned around, looked at Flender's harsh face, and suddenly smiled.

"Teacher, can't you at least let me rest for a day?"

"Rest for a day?" Flender snorted. "You just obtained your second Soul Ring. Your Martial Soul is at a crucial stage of evolution. Resting for one day means wasting one day. Get up before dawn tomorrow. Increase your load to one hundred and twenty jin."

Ma Hongjun took a deep breath.

"Alright."

Flender looked at him, a trace of satisfaction flashing through his eyes, then turned and left.

Oscar popped up from behind him and patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder.

"Hongjun, my condolences."

"You won't be getting away either."

"Of course I won't, but watching you suffer makes me feel better."

"...Oscar, are you really my brother?"

"Of course! Even brothers settle accounts clearly!"

The two exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time.

The setting sun stretched the shadows of the two youths long and far across the battered courtyard walls.

Shrek Academy, two students.

But soon, there would be more than two.

Another day of training had ended.

Ma Hongjun lay sprawled across the bluestone floor of the courtyard, limbs spread wide like a dried-out starfish.

A one-hundred-and-twenty-jin weighted run, five hundred push-ups, three hundred pull-ups, plus two hours of practical sparring had pushed his body to its limit.

Oscar lay beside him, panting even harder than he was.

"Hongjun... tell me... what are we training like this every day for..." Oscar asked weakly.

Ma Hongjun gazed up at the sky and did not answer.

The sky was grayish blue, with several white clouds drifting lazily across it.

In the distance stood low earthen walls, several clumps of wild grass growing atop them and swaying gently in the evening breeze.

Farther away were several ramshackle classrooms. Quite a few roof tiles were missing, exposing the thatch beneath.

This was Shrek Academy.

A place so poor it rattled, where they were nearly unable to afford enough food to eat.

Ma Hongjun turned his head and looked at the crooked table outside the cafeteria.

Tonight's dinner was multigrain porridge with pickled vegetables. The porridge was so thin that it could reflect a person's face, while the pickles were so salty they tasted bitter.

Shao Xin was a six-ringed Soul Emperor. Outside, he could easily become a retainer for any great clan and live in comfort.

Yet he chose to remain here, accepting a meager monthly salary and using his superb cooking skills to make the plainest meals taste slightly better.

Flender was a seven-ringed Soul Saint. He could have become an elder even at Spirit Hall, yet he guarded this broken-down place and could not bear to buy himself even a decent set of clothes.

The robe on his body had been washed until it was faded white, its cuffs worn into frayed edges, yet he still wore it.

Zhao Wuji was also a seven-ringed Soul Saint. He would have been more than qualified to become a general in the Star Luo Empire.

Yet he had followed Flender to hole up in this godforsaken village, training two green boys every day until he was exhausted like a dog.

Li Yusong, Lu Qibin, and Shao Xin—three Soul Emperors. Any one of them could have made a fine living elsewhere.

But none of them had left.

As Ma Hongjun thought about this, an indescribable feeling rose in his heart.

When he had read the original novel in his previous life, he had only thought the Shrek Seven Devils were inspiring, Flender was miserly, and Zhao Wuji was reckless. But now that he was truly among them, he understood how precious these people were.

To remain steadfast despite being this poor, they relied not on money, but on conviction.

But conviction could not fill an empty stomach.

Ma Hongjun sat up. His gaze fell on Shao Xin, who was clearing bowls and chopsticks in the corner of the cafeteria, before shifting to Oscar, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

--

"Teacher Shao Xin, I want to ask you something."

After dinner, Ma Hongjun did not rush off to soak in his medicinal bath. Instead, he went to find Shao Xin.

Shao Xin was scrubbing a pot in the kitchen. Hearing him, he turned around and looked at him with a smile.

"What is it?"