Celebration Feast, Toasting in Good Cheer

As night fell over Soto City, the entire city lit up with lanterns.

The Shrek group marched grandly through the busiest main street and stopped before the largest restaurant in the city amid the curious gazes of passersby.

The three-story, upturned-eaved building hung with dozens of bright red lanterns bore the three gilded words Heavenly Fragrance Tower on its signboard. The two silk-clad attendants at the entrance immediately bowed and came forward when they saw the group approaching.

"Honored guests, would you prefer a private room or the main hall?"

"The best private room." Flander swept his sleeve, displaying a rare bit of generosity. "Bring out the most expensive dishes and the finest wine!"

The attendant's eyes lit up. He repeatedly agreed and led everyone up to the third floor.

The private room was indeed spacious. Windows on three sides overlooked Soto City's nightscape, while a large round table in the center could seat more than a dozen people. Exquisite porcelain tableware sat atop the sandalwood table, calligraphy and paintings adorned all four walls, and a burner of sandalwood incense smoldered in one corner.

Flander dropped into the seat of honor, with Zhao Wuji sitting beside him. The two Soul Masters who taught theory, Li Yusong and Shao Xin, took their seats as well, while Lu Qibin, who was in charge of practical training equipment, was pulled over by Zhao Wuji to sit nearby.

The eight students occupied most of the table, while the remaining empty seats kept things from feeling too crowded.

"Come on, sit down, everyone!" Zhao Wuji picked up a cup of tea and drained it first, his bell-like eyes sweeping across every face. "Eat as much as you want tonight! No one leaves hungry!"

Ma Hongjun was so hungry his eyes had gone green. He flipped through the menu, glanced at the prices in front, and sucked in a breath. "Dean, one of these dishes costs as much as half a month of my food allowance..."

"I'm paying tonight!" Flander waved his hand grandly, then calmly added, "We're using the money we won back anyway."

Everyone burst into laughter.

The dishes soon arrived.

First came a tableful of delicate cold platters, followed by hot dishes flowing in one after another: braised soul beast ribs, steamed icefish, chicken soup stewed with spirit mushrooms, jade bamboo shoots stir-fried with crisp fungus, and honey-glazed roast duck.

Every dish came in generous portions, beautifully presented, their mingled aromas filling the private room.

Xiao Wu was the first to lose restraint. She picked up a soul beast rib and took a bite, and her eyes immediately lit up.

"Delicious! A hundred times better than the academy cafeteria!"

"Obviously. This meal costs as much as half a month of cafeteria food," Oscar mumbled through a mouthful of sausage.

Ning Rongrong ate more composedly. After all, the food at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was no worse than what Heavenly Fragrance Tower offered. Still, caught up in everyone's eager scrambling, she took a few extra bites as well.

Zhu Zhuqing sat beside Xiao Wu and ate quietly. Whenever Xiao Wu placed food in her bowl and she could not refuse it, she silently ate it.

The wine arrived as well.

Zhao Wuji filled a large cup for himself and Flander, then poured a cup for each of the other teachers. After thinking for a moment, he poured one for Yun Tian too and pushed it before him. "Kid, you're the star tonight. Have a drink."

Yun Tian did not refuse. He raised his cup, clinked it against Zhao Wuji's, and tipped his head back to drain it.

The fiery liquor burned down his throat, but his expression did not change. Zhao Wuji praised his drinking capacity and turned to refill Flander's cup.

"This toast is to our god of wealth!" Zhao Wuji rose to his feet and raised his cup toward Yun Tian. "In all my years of teaching, this is the first time I've made money off a student!"

"Listen to you, Old Zhao, making it sound like we used to be dirt poor." Flander leisurely picked up the thread while holding his wine cup, then failed to hold back his own laughter. "Well, we were dirt poor. Before tonight, I wouldn't even dare look inside Heavenly Fragrance Tower when I passed its entrance."

The teachers were usually not particularly talkative, but the atmosphere had livened them up as well.

Li Yusong adjusted the reading glasses on his nose and spoke after some consideration. "Yun Tian's battle has made a name for Shrek. This afternoon, plenty of people at the Soul Arena were asking where this academy was and how they could enroll."

Shao Xin added, "That's true. When I left, I heard several parents asking around. They said they wanted to send their children here. Old Flander, shouldn't you start planning for recruitment?"

Flander smiled and waved a hand. "No hurry. Quality over quantity. We should focus on raising this group of little monsters first. Still, we can consider renovating the academy later."

"Now that's something I like to hear from the Dean," Ma Hongjun agreed vaguely with his mouth stuffed full of chicken.

After three rounds of wine, the mood at the table grew increasingly lively.

Zhao Wuji's face was flushed red from drinking as he dragged Lu Qibin into discussing details of that afternoon's Soul Arena match, gesturing wildly as he spoke.

Flander leaned back in his chair with a wine cup in hand. Though his face looked normal, his eyes had begun to show signs of intoxication.

The students grew bolder too. Ma Hongjun grabbed Oscar and demanded three drinks with him. Oscar claimed he could not hold his liquor, yet after three cups, his face had not reddened at all.

Xiao Wu unusually sat there quietly gnawing on a chicken leg, while Zhu Zhuqing took small sips of tea beside her.

Dai Mubai sat by the window with a wine cup in hand, staring blankly at the night view outside.

Yun Tian noticed that his gaze occasionally drifted toward Zhu Zhuqing, but each time it retreated the instant it touched her.

Tang San sat beside Yun Tian and said softly, "That battle today was well fought. But Shi Wei held back in his final attack. Otherwise, it should have taken more out of you to receive that move."

Yun Tian raised his cup and took a sip. "I know. He's not a bad person. He knows where to draw the line. Meeting an opponent like that in the Soul Arena is good fortune."

Tang San nodded without saying anything more.

Halfway through the meal, Ning Rongrong suddenly stood up. Raising her teacup in place of wine, she toasted Yun Tian. "Yun Tian, this cup is for you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known Shrek could be this interesting."

She paused, then added, "Though really, I should thank you for making me rich."

Everyone laughed again, and Xiao Wu slapped the table. "Rongrong, just tell us how much you won!"

Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes at her. "I'm not telling you! Anyway, it's enough for me to eat at Heavenly Fragrance Tower for a long time."

Oscar counted on his fingers. "Then it really is a lot."

Ning Rongrong made as if to hit him with her little fan. Oscar immediately ducked behind Ma Hongjun, and the two of them broke into giggling laughter as they tussled together.

Zhao Wuji opened another jar of wine and rambled on about the students he had taught over the years, going on about how well this one or that one was doing now.

Flander listened with a smile always on his lips, occasionally cutting in to expose Zhao Wuji's boasting.

The teachers began discussing their own experiences traveling across the continent in their younger days. Li Yusong spoke of nearly failing to return after encountering a thousand-year soul beast in the Soul Hunting Forest when he was young, while Shao Xin recounted the embarrassment of getting his students lost the first time he led a team.

The private room on the third floor was brightly lit, with laughter and the clinking of cups spilling out in waves.

Outside the windows, the myriad lights of Soto City spread across the ground like stars, lending the small city's night a gentle, bustling glow.

Yun Tian sat in his seat, watching the teachers and companions around the table laughing and playing together.

Six years ago, he had walked alone along the field ridges of Yun Family Village. He had had nothing beside him, only the silent Earth Shadow Stone in his palm.

Yet today, he sat in the best restaurant in Soto City, surrounded by people who could fight at his side and elders not far away who were sincerely happy for him.

These six years had not been spent in vain.

Zhao Wuji leaned over and poured him another cup. "Yun Tian, tell us, what exactly can your fourth soul skill do?"

"Fourth soul skill, Immovable Mountain." Yun Tian explained simply, "It draws upon the power of the earth veins to condense a mountain phantom. It can defend while releasing gravitational suppression. At present, it can reach roughly seven or eight times gravity at most. Once my soul power rises, it should be able to go higher."

Zhao Wuji smacked his lips. "Seven or eight times gravity... No wonder that old Shi Wei dropped to his knees so readily. If you rise a few more levels, even us old fellows will have to think twice."

"You're being too modest." Yun Tian smiled and raised his cup. "If you had used your Martial Soul True Body from the start during the entrance exam that day, the five of us would have been on the ground long ago."

Yun Tian's words pleased Zhao Wuji greatly. He laughed heartily and drained his cup in one gulp.

The night deepened, while the lanterns of Heavenly Fragrance Tower glowed one by one.

The Shrek group continued eating and drinking boisterously in the private room, from daylight until nightfall, from a table covered in dishes until only soup remained, from the first jar of wine until the third.

By the time they left Heavenly Fragrance Tower, it was already late at night.

Few pedestrians remained on Soto City's streets, and only several streetlamps still cast their dim yellow light.

Flander walked at the front, humming a tune. Zhao Wuji's steps were so brisk that no one would have guessed he had been drinking for most of the day.

The students walked behind in groups of two or three. Ma Hongjun and Oscar supported each other as they walked, Xiao Wu linked arms with Zhu Zhuqing and whispered some private secret to her, while Tang San and Yun Tian walked side by side at the very back.

The night breeze was faintly cool, carrying the scent of grass and trees from distant fields.

Yun Tian looked up at the starry sky overhead. Though Soto City's lights were bright, they still could not conceal the stars filling the heavens.

There was still a long way to go, and a long life ahead.

But at least this celebration feast had been worth it.