Journey to the Star Dou Great Forest

As the most famous Soul Beast forest on the Douluo Continent, the Star Dou Great Forest contained ten-year, hundred-year, thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, and even legendary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Of course, finding them required both luck and strength.

"Defensive formation, restore your strength! Oscar, tofu!"

"Here!"

The group from Shrek Academy traveled through the forest, led by the oldest, Dai Mubai. Their destination was a hunters' village outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

After several days of travel, everyone was exhausted. The instant the hunters' village came into view, Ma Hongjun burst into tears on the spot.

"Damn it, we finally made it!"

Ma Hongjun plopped down on the ground without a shred of dignity. As Oscar pulled him back up, he stuffed a piece of tofu into Ma Hongjun's mouth. The group soon arrived at the hotel where they were to gather. Compared to the travel-worn Dai Mubai and the other six, Su Sanjia looked exceptionally relaxed. Since he had to match everyone else's pace, this journey had been little different from a stroll for him. Coupled with the abundant Soul Power within him, there was not even a trace of dust on his body.

"You little brats, you're five minutes late!"

The moment they entered the hotel, a deep, familiar voice rang out. It was Zhao Wuji! Behind him stood two others. One was Lu Qibin, the Soul Emperor with the Star Luo Chess Martial Soul who had once helped Su Sanjia hunt for a Soul Ring. The other was Li Yusong, the Soul Emperor with the Dragon-Patterned Staff Martial Soul who had overseen the first test on the academy's recruitment day.

A Soul Saint and two Soul Emperors were naturally unnecessary just to obtain Oscar's third Soul Ring, but everyone knew that Su Sanjia was the true focus of this mission! A monster whose third Soul Ring already exceeded five thousand years—his appetite this time was probably astonishingly large.

Two assault-type Soul Masters and one control-type Soul Master made for a very reasonable lineup.

On the first floor of the hotel, only Su Sanjia and the Shrek Seven Monsters remained. The eight of them chose a large table, and as soon as they sat down, Ma Hongjun snatched up the menu.

"Boss, make me two copies of everything on this menu!"

"You fat bastard, are you trying to bleed us dry?"

The bill would be split among everyone, so Dai Mubai naturally saw through Ma Hongjun's scheme. He unceremoniously seized the menu and ordered more than a dozen dishes. Speechlessly, most of what he ordered was fish...

"No, if you're ordering, order something good! All fish? Aren't you afraid Zhu Zhuqing will end up built like me?"

After a round of bickering, the Shrek group regained their usual vitality. During their casual conversation, Oscar, seated beside Su Sanjia, suddenly asked.

"Brother Sanjia, do you have a target for your fourth Soul Ring this time?"

Everyone's attention shifted to Su Sanjia. He had never concealed the ages of his Soul Rings, and everyone knew how terrifying his third Soul Ring was. Its age was already comparable to the fourth Soul Ring of an ordinary Soul Ancestor. Could Su Sanjia's fourth Soul Ring possibly be measured against the fifth Soul Ring of a Soul King?

A ten-thousand-year one?

"I'm not entirely sure, but there are a few Soul Beasts I have my eye on. As for the exact age, it should be around fifteen thousand years!"

Tang San could no longer hold back.

"Um, Su Sanjia, a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring is nothing like a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Besides the immense Soul Power it contains, there's also spiritual shock! A Soul Master can only possibly endure it after reaching level fifty. Choosing a ten-thousand-year ring for your fourth Soul Ring—isn't that too risky?"

There was no malice in Tang San's words. Su Sanjia raised an eyebrow upon hearing them. Tang San was not quite as he had imagined.

"That's true, but a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring is no problem for me. The limit of the Soul Rings a Soul Master can absorb is not fixed; it depends on the Soul Master's physical strength. Xiao San, your theories are quite good, but relying solely on theory without considering the actual circumstances is an extremely foolish approach."

Ever since transmigrating here, Su Sanjia had not held any unusual opinions about the characters from the original story. Aside from the Grandmaster, he treated everyone normally. If someone was polite to him, he was polite in return. If someone was willing to treat him sincerely, he was willing to do the same.

"But my teacher once said that the maximum Soul Ring a Soul Master can absorb..."

Tang San's voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, until even he was too embarrassed to continue. What could he say? That the upper limit for a first Soul Ring was four hundred and twenty-three years? Yet Su Sanjia's first Soul Ring had exceeded five hundred years. His very existence was the greatest refutation of Xiao Gang's so-called theories!

"Your teacher? Xiao San, you already had a teacher?"

Dai Mubai looked astonished. A teacher's status was also extremely important on the Douluo Continent. So Tang San had actually had a teacher. Someone capable of teaching a genius who had reached level twenty-nine Soul Power at the age of twelve must have been truly remarkable, right?

"Xiao San's teacher is an incredible person! He's known as the Grandmaster, the one whose theories are said to be invincible in the world!"

Xiao Wu immediately took Tang San's side, introducing his teacher with a faint trace of pride in her tone.

"Then what level is your teacher's Soul Power? Is he a Soul Emperor? Or a Soul Saint?"

Ma Hongjun's teacher was Flender. In his eyes, someone who could teach a genius like Tang San must have had an extraordinary background, perhaps even stronger than his own teacher!

Xiao Wu fell silent. Under everyone's expectant gazes, Tang San finally spoke.

"Although my teacher's Soul Power is only level twenty-nine, his theories are number one in the Soul Master world!"

Ma Hongjun's expression froze. Dai Mubai did not know what to say for a moment. Oscar nudged Su Sanjia with his elbow, Zhu Zhuqing remained silent, and a hint of disdain appeared in Ning Rongrong's eyes.

A level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster had taught a twelve-year-old level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster? Number one in theory?

Although Su Sanjia had long known Tang San's teacher's identity, he was still speechless at this moment.

Tang San had attained his current Soul Power cultivation because of his innate talent, along with the boost from the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Put simply, Tang San had been a genius from the start. Even without Yu Xiaogang's instruction, he would still have been a genius. As for those so-called theories, what one learned at a junior Soul Master academy was enough to last through the second Soul Ring. After attending an intermediate Soul Master academy, or simply coming directly to Shrek Academy, there would be plenty of teachers to teach such theories. They might not be as detailed as Yu Xiaogang's, but they would absolutely be sufficient.

Noticing the awkward atmosphere at the table, Oscar hurriedly tried to smooth things over. Just then, the sound of a door opening rang out.

A group of Soul Masters wearing robes embroidered with the words "Canghui" entered. The leader had long dark-green hair, and the Soul Power fluctuations around him were not weak. The students following behind him all wore arrogant expressions, shouting noisily the moment they entered.

Su Sanjia merely glanced at the group from Canghui Academy before returning his attention to the food before him.

"Who are those people? They're awfully arrogant."

"They're just some insignificant Canghui Academy."

The instant Dai Mubai finished speaking, the noise in the restaurant vanished.

Ye Zhiqiu shot Dai Mubai a cold glance, and a chill spread through the air...