Dai the Boss Becomes Dai the Junior!

Dai Mubai had thought that this blow would at least knock his opponent back, but when the white light faded, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Oscar stood where he was, not retreating a single step.

The sleeve of his school uniform had been blasted apart, revealing an arm covered in a faint golden sheen.

That glow had blocked most of the damage from the White Tiger Intense Light Wave, while his body had endured the rest head-on.

A charred patch had appeared on his arm, but he did not even furrow his brow.

"Your White Tiger Intense Light Wave is very powerful. Without enough defense, no one could take even one hit."

Oscar offered his assessment, then charged forward again.

Dai Mubai instinctively raised his arms to block.

Bang!

A massive force traveled through his arms, as though a real bear had slapped him.

His body slid backward several steps, his feet scraping two pale marks across the bluestone slabs.

His arms had gone numb—not the numbness from being scorched by flames, but numbness caused by pure, overwhelming strength.

What kind of freakish strength was this?

It was actually more terrifying than Ma Hongjun's flame attacks!?

Dai Mubai cursed inwardly.

This was supposed to be food?

This was absolutely not a Food-Type Soul Master. This was a strength-based Battle Soul Master wearing the skin of a Food-Type Soul Master.

"Daddy Has a Strength Sausage!"

Oscar recited the incantation again and ate another sausage.

His strength surged once more, and he rushed in with another punch.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Punch after punch came crashing down, each one heavy and powerful.

Dai Mubai was forced back again and again, the shield of the White Tiger Barrier flickering violently beneath the barrage of punches.

His defense was not weak, but if this continued, it would eventually be broken through.

He could not keep this up.

Dai Mubai gritted his teeth. His second Soul Ring lit up, and a White Tiger Intense Light Wave gathered in his palm.

Rather than retreating, he advanced. He took Oscar's punch head-on, then fired the beam at the instant his body arched backward.

The beam struck Oscar squarely in the chest.

This time, he had used his full strength.

Oscar was blasted back five or six steps. The chest of his school uniform was blown to tatters, exposing the muscles beneath.

A charred mark lay across his skin, but it was only a superficial wound and did not affect his movements.

He lowered his head to look at the charred mark on his chest, then reached out and dusted off the ash.

"That one actually hurt quite a bit."

Dai Mubai panted heavily, feeling as if he were dreaming.

He had been fighting a Food-Type Soul Master for so long, yet his opponent still looked perfectly fine.

"Where did your strength and defense come from?"

Dai Mubai asked.

"My second soul skill, Strength Sausage."

Oscar pulled another one from his pocket and waved it around.

"A seven-hundred-and-fifty-year Vajra Bear Soul Ring. After eating it, both strength and defense increase drastically. Plus, my ex—"

He nearly blurted out the words "External Soul Bone," but his tongue twisted in his mouth, and he forcefully swallowed them back.

Dai Mubai did not continue fighting.

It was not that he did not want to, but that he could not go on.

His arms were red and swollen from Ma Hongjun's flames. The place where Light Pierce had grazed his shoulder burned fiercely. The few punches he had taken from Oscar had numbed the webs between his thumbs and fingers. There was not a single part of his body that did not hurt.

Yet he did not feel bad inside.

More accurately, he had never felt this exhilarated before.

Back in the Star Luo Empire, his opponents came in two kinds.

One kind was weaker than him. Fighting them was boring, and even winning brought him no joy.

The other kind was stronger than him, such as his elder brother, Dai Weisi. Against them, he could not fight back at all, and losing only left him feeling stifled.

But today was different.

Ma Hongjun was three years younger than him, yet his Soul Power was one rank higher.

Oscar was one year younger than him and was also level thirty.

Both possessed Innate Full Soul Power. Both were monsters among monsters.

He had lost, and he accepted that loss wholeheartedly. There was no excuse he could make.

But he realized that he did not hate this feeling at all.

"Were you about to say something starting with 'ex' just now?"

Dai Mubai looked at Oscar, narrowing his mismatched blue and green eyes.

Oscar's expression stiffened for an instant, then he broke into a grin.

"Ex... extra meals! I eat a lot every day! Teacher Shao Xin said that you have to eat well if you want to fight well!"

Dai Mubai glanced at him and did not press further.

He was not stupid. He could see that Oscar had not finished what he was about to say, that there were clearly more words after "ex," but Oscar did not want to reveal them. Dai Mubai had no standing to force the matter.

Flender's voice sounded at just the right moment, breaking the subtle atmosphere.

"Dai Mubai, the two practical combat tests are over. Is there anything you want to say?"

Dai Mubai turned to face Flender.

He fell silent for a moment, organizing his thoughts.

"Before I came here, I heard that Shrek Academy was a dump."

His very first sentence made Zhao Wuji's face darken slightly.

"Poor as dirt, unable to recruit students, and about to shut down."

"But now it seems that those rumors were complete bullshit."

Flender did not interrupt him.

Dai Mubai continued.

"Your academy may not be as luxurious as the Royal Academy, but it has walls, gates, and training grounds. It has everything it should have; nothing is lacking. That flag is the most beautiful one I have ever seen—simple, grand, and imposing. And those school uniforms..."

He paused.

"I have never seen school uniforms that looked so good. They're incredibly handsome and perfectly suit my temperament!"

Ma Hongjun stood nearby. At those words, the corner of his mouth lifted slightly for an instant before quickly returning to normal.

Dai Mubai did not notice the change in his expression.

"So?"

Flender's tone remained calm.

"So I want to stay."

Dai Mubai raised his head, his mismatched eyes looking straight at Flender.

"I did not choose this place because I had nowhere else to go. I chose it because this place is worth staying in."

"What makes you think you deserve to stay?"

Dai Mubai did not hesitate. His voice was clear and resolute.

"Ten years old, a peak level-twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, White Tiger Martial Soul. My talent may not be the best, but my willpower will not lose to anyone's. I left the Star Luo Empire not to run away, but to become stronger."

His gaze swept across Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

"Here, I found the path to becoming stronger."

Flender fell silent for a moment. His gaze moved away from Dai Mubai and swept over the teachers behind him.

Zhao Wuji nodded.

Shao Xin nodded with a smile.

Li Yusong nodded expressionlessly.

Lu Qibin pushed up his glasses and nodded.

Flender withdrew his gaze.

"Dai Mubai, you passed. From today onward, you are a member of Shrek Academy."

Dai Mubai stood there without cheering or getting excited. There was not even much change in his expression.

But his hand clenched slightly, his nails digging into his palm as if to confirm that this was not a dream.

"Congratulations."

"From now on, you're our Junior Dai."

Ma Hongjun stepped forward and held out his hand to him.

Dai Mubai looked at that hand. After hesitating for less than half a second, he grasped it.

Ma Hongjun's palm was dry, his knuckles distinct, and thick calluses covered his hand—the marks left by long-term training.

It was not the hand of someone pampered in luxury. It was a warrior's hand.