Lesson 1: Seek Within

After this!

Boom!

Another three years passed!

The sea of flowers before Shrek Academy bloomed once more. It had always been one of Jodio's favorite places. Though it had once been deliberately withered, it had now been restored.

"Hmph. Oscar, I admit your Spin Technique is sneaky. But what if I told you I'm about to use my full strength? Heh, how would you stop me then?"

Dai Mubai stood amid the flowers in Martial Soul Possession, speaking with wild arrogance. Forget a food-type Soul Master—even a combat-type Soul Master would struggle to withstand a single exchange with him! At level thirty-nine, he had nothing to fear. He was already half a step from becoming a Soul Ancestor. Who among the Soul Elders could so much as ruffle a hair on his head?

"Hmph, Junior Dai, don't boast too soon. Your 'Tiger's Might' may surpass my 'Super Big Sausage' in strength and speed, but your precise control of Soul Power is far worse!" Oscar struck a pose and pointed at Dai Mubai.

"My Steel Ball will knock you down with ease, Dai Mubai. If you don't believe me, come closer." Oscar rolled the blue Steel Ball between his fingers as he advanced.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Oscar! Today I'll show you what it means to move second and strike first!"

Dai Mubai unleashed his third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation. His body swelled to more than twice its size, while his skill, strength, and defense all doubled. Power surged through him as though he could never exhaust it. Bolstered by the skill, Dai Mubai felt victory's flames calling to him, urging him to defeat Oscar.

"This is my 'Tiger's Might'! Its extraordinary strength and defense are beyond any ordinary Soul Master! Oscar, die!"

Oscar did not panic. His expression held a trace of detachment, a chill of indifference, a hefty dose of mockery, and just a hint of contempt. With effortless ease, he hurled the blue Steel Ball. It traced a perfect arc through the air, spinning toward Dai Mubai in a Golden Spin before slamming into his arm. The impact twisted his arm out of shape!

"Gah! Oscar! You've signed your own death warrant!" Dai Mubai roared.

"Soul Power rotation: thirty-nine hundred horsepower! Black Tiger Takes the Heart!"

"Hmph! Dai Mubai, you had to learn the hard way! Don't you know how to respect your seniors? Today I'll make you crawl out of this sea of flowers on your knees! Like a child in tears after his loving father takes a belt to him! Like a student whose teacher has beaten his palms with a broom handle! Like a kitten frozen stiff when its mother grabs it by the scruff! Like a leopard cub crouching motionless in the grass after spotting a lioness on the savanna!"

"Spin rotation: thirty-six hundred horsepower! Conductive Spin!"

Oscar swiftly threw another Steel Ball. It grazed the first as they passed, and at the instant of contact, a vast amount of energy flowed between them. The returning Steel Ball replenished Oscar's Soul Power. The new one carried the transferred energy into Dai Mubai, striking him with even greater force. His chest tightened, and he sensed trouble!

"Heh! Oscar, you slipped up! Draining a little Soul Power and landing a heavy blow? That's just another day for a power-type Soul Master!"

"Hey! What are you two messing around with?"

A lazy voice interrupted their fight. A huge blue hand descended from the sky, followed closely by Jodio himself. The hand caught the trunk of a tree beside the flowers, anchoring him as he swung into its branches like a pendulum. He landed steadily and looked down at the two with lofty curiosity.

"Oh! Boss Jo! Finished hunting soul beasts?"

"Boss Jo! What new Stand did you get?"

The two promptly stopped fighting, flexed their wrists and chests, and walked toward Jodio. He hopped down from the tree with a grin and stretched his limbs, feeling utterly refreshed.

"In theory, my new soul skill should solve Little Ma's martial soul problem. Of course, that's only in theory. I don't know whether its repair effect works on martial souls. If it doesn't, we'll have to use plan B," Jodio said with a smile.

"Why might it fail?" Oscar asked.

"Because I can fine-tune what my repair ability does. I'm not sure whether that fine-tuning has a limit. If it doesn't, we're set!" Jodio explained.

"Besides, if plan A fails, there's plan B. If plan B stalls, there's actually a plan C. But that would take a long time. I'd have to master the Radiant Technique again," Jodio said confidently.

"Anyway, what were you two fighting about?" Jodio asked.

"He doesn't respect his seniors!"

"He doesn't respect the strong!" Oscar and Dai Mubai accused each other at the same time, both red-faced with anger. Jodio only found it amusing. He burst out laughing, tucked one head under each arm as he had years ago, and began teasing them both.

"Why, Brother Oscar! Brother Dai! There you both are!"

Ma Hongjun's hearty voice drifted down from the sky. Oscar and Dai Mubai looked up, still breathing hard, just in time to see the show-off glide down and land stylishly in the flowers, setting a patch of blooms alight. Both immediately put on the same expectant expression. Hmph. Let's see how long you stay Boss Jo's favorite now!

At the sight of the burning flowers, Jodio's face instantly darkened. Mortified, Ma Hongjun hurried to stamp out the flames before they could spread—or his standing with Jodio could sink any further.

"Ma Hongjun, how's your third soul skill? Did you find one you liked?" Oscar asked, straightening up with delighted interest. At last, all four of their crew were Soul Elders. Now they could say it with pride.

"My third soul skill is Phoenix Nebula Split. It immediately boosts my speed and soul skill damage by thirty-three percent and makes me 'unstoppable' for three seconds," Ma Hongjun said, suavely sweeping back his hair.

"Pfft. That's it? My White Tiger Protective Shield sounds better," Dai Mubai mocked.

"Impatient? I haven't told you the rest! During those three seconds, I can make one targeted melee attack that ignores a defensive soul skill. How much of the defense it bypasses depends on my Soul Power Level!" Ma Hongjun said with a grin.

"Bullshit! That's no excuse for stealing the name Phoenix Nebula Split. My White Tiger Nebula Split sounds far more impressive! Boss Jo said the original Nebula Split was created by a tiger martial soul user! You plagiarist!" Dai Mubai cursed.

"Hey! Don't you know how to respect your seniors? I've taken you on so many missions. Can't you let your elder brother have the name? Keep talking, and I'll take your dendrobium too!"

"All right, all right. Stop arguing." Jodio made a helpless downward gesture. They were making a racket, and he wanted to test his fourth soul skill far more than he wanted to listen to these clowns bicker.

"Boss, that lesson you mentioned before—what was it?" Oscar suddenly asked.

"That course you used to talk about. You kept saying I'd finished the first lesson, but I don't think you ever told me what it meant," Oscar explained.

"Oh, that!" Jodio tipped his head toward the sky. He really hadn't explained it carefully when teaching Oscar. If he remembered right, Lessons One through Four had been summaries another man had made of his own experience. Jodio had already taught Oscar and the others the techniques and built their confidence. What else could he sum up for them? What other insight could he offer?

"This will do." Jodio gradually found his answer. He took Oscar's Steel Ball and slowly set it turning in his palm, guiding it into a Golden Spin.

"Lesson 1: Seek within!"

"Yes. Seek within," Jodio said earnestly.

"As a wise person once said, the weak seek strength outside themselves; the wise seek it within. Oscar, the mind's power has no limit. Your will and your sense of self can lead you to every answer. So seek within!"

"Can I seek within and find a girlfriend?" Ma Hongjun asked, his eyes shining.

"Fantasizing again? About a cool girl with pale-blue hair and an Ice Phoenix martial soul who falls for you and thinks you're the only one for her?" Jodio asked.

"It's not a fantasy! Maybe there'll be two! I'll take ten!" Ma Hongjun cried, throwing up a hand as he dreamed.

"Get lost! What nonsense! Stop making a fool of yourself!" Jodio laughed and cursed as he kicked Ma Hongjun away.

A heavy pressure suddenly swept through Jodio's heart. The External Soul Bone on his back grew faintly hot. He looked up at the sky again, his expression turning grave, as though he had sensed something out of the ordinary.

"The Divine Realm has been cut off. Looks like he's getting impatient too. Hmph. Then let him come."

Jodio was afraid of nothing. Ever since he had returned alone to ten thousand years in the past, he had been ready to fight to the death. This battle was a pure zero-sum game. Victory belonged only to those willing to use everything at their disposal, to those willing to act with all they had. Tang the God King's initial hesitation—his fear that the gods of the present would discover him—had been his greatest mistake! He had let Jodio survive two divine attacks and grow stronger. Now it was his turn to suffer.

At that thought, Jodio could hardly keep the grin off his face. He looked beyond the academy at the crowds beginning to gather for enrollment and found himself intrigued. Come on, Tang the God King. It's time we met and saw what countermeasures you prepared for your past self ten thousand years ago.

"Now that the Kindling has been gathered, let the flames burn. Let them burn."

To be continued.

(End of volume.)

Break down, break down—yes, I go!

Preview: The curtain rises, and the story enters its main plot. Jodio and Tang San are about to clash. The Pincer Attack across time intensifies, as does the clash of ideas. How will it all unfold? Look forward to Volume Two: Academy Tide!

Oh, I want you, I don't know if I need you...

But, oh, I'd die to find out...