Ma Hongjun and Oscar Both Reached Level 20

After resting for half an hour, the three of them had Teacher Zhao use Gravity Crush on them again. The pressure was the same as before, but this time, they managed to jog.

They progressed from jogging under Gravity Crush to sparring with soul skills while they ran.

They trained under Gravity Crush for two hours in the morning and three in the afternoon. Soon, evening arrived.

Dai Mubai returned from Suotuo City. After Lin Hao told him they had two hours of Gravity Crush training with Teacher Zhao the next day, Lin Hao went back to the dormitory, sat on his bed, and began meditating.

Over the next few days, Lin Hao and the other two usually added three hours of Gravity Crush training to the two hours Teacher Zhao required.

For the first two days, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Dai Mubai left as soon as their two hours were up and went about their own business.

But Lin Hao and the others' extra training inspired them. All three asked Teacher Zhao for more training, and Zhao Wuji was happy to oblige.

On the tenth day of Gravity Crush training, Ma Hongjun and Oscar both broke through to level 20. Once they obtained their second Soul Rings, they would become Soul Grandmasters.

Zhao Wuji, who was watching nearby, was delighted to see Ma Hongjun and Oscar sit down cross-legged after breaking through to level 20 Soul Power.

"Good! Excellent!"

Ma Hongjun and Oscar cultivated for another half hour after their breakthroughs. Only once their level 20 Soul Power had fully stabilized did they open their eyes.

Oscar sprang up the moment his eyes opened.

"Woohoo! I've reached level 20! Hahaha!"

Ma Hongjun stood up, just as thrilled.

"Haha! I've reached level 20 too."

Lin Hao and the other three stepped forward to congratulate Ma Hongjun and Oscar on reaching level 20 Soul Power.

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks! You too!"

As they spoke, Ma Hongjun and Oscar turned to Zhao Wuji together.

"Teacher Zhao! When are you going to take us to get our second Soul Rings?"

"Yeah! When are we going, Teacher Zhao?"

Zhao Wuji thought about it. Helping Ma Hongjun and Oscar hunt for their second Soul Rings would be a good chance to put the newcomers through their paces.

Before leaving, Flender had told him the trip would take no more than half a month. Ten days had already passed.

"Before he left, Dean Flender told me he'd be gone for no more than half a month. It's been ten days already. If he isn't back in five days,

I'll ask Li Yusong and Lu Qibin to come along. The three of us will take all six of you to the Star Dou Great Forest to help Ma Hongjun and Oscar get their second Soul Rings. The rest of you can gain some experience while we're there."

All six cheered in unison.

"Great!"

The next four days passed without incident. Apart from Teacher Zhao's Gravity Crush training, Lin Hao and the other five spent their time meditating.

They also made a trip to Suotuo City, where Dai Mubai treated them to a lavish meal.

On the fifteenth day—the last day Flender was due to return—everyone waited for news.

Sure enough, before noon, a huge owl flew in from the distance and landed steadily in Shrek Academy's Central Square.

It was where Zhao Wuji was training the six students with Gravity Crush.

The moment Ma Hongjun saw his master return, he forgot all about how tired he was. His back no longer hurt, and his legs no longer ached.

He got to his feet and hurried over to Flender.

"Master! You're finally back! You've been gone so long. Take a look—notice anything different about your precious disciple?"

Flender had failed to find his good friend Yu Xiaogang on this trip. When he asked around in Notting City, he learned that Yu Xiaogang had left half a year earlier. Flender found out where he had gone and immediately set off after him.

But he still failed to find him. Yu Xiaogang had already left the Heaven Dou Empire and was taking two newly accepted disciples to the Star Luo Empire.

Both disciples had Blue Silver Grass as their martial soul. One had innate Soul Power of level 0.5; the other had level 2.

After Spirit Hall awakened the villagers' martial souls, it sent information on anyone found to have innate Soul Power to one of the two Spirit Temples on the Douluo Continent.

Information from the Heaven Dou Empire went to the Spirit Temple in Heaven Dou City, while information from the Star Luo Empire went to the Spirit Temple in Star Luo City.

Yu Xiaogang had found information on the two at the Spirit Temple in Heaven Dou City. He had then gone personally to where each of the children with Blue Silver Grass and innate Soul Power lived and taken them on as disciples.

The sight of his disciple Ma Hongjun at level 20 Soul Power swept away Flender's bad mood.

Flender was about to offer a few words of praise when he heard another voice. It was Oscar.

"Dean! Dean! I've reached level 20 too!"

With another piece of good news, Flender was overjoyed.

"Good! Excellent!"

He looked up at Zhao Wuji on the other side of the square.

"Old Zhao, let's take all six of them to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow. We'll help Ma Hongjun and Oscar get their second Soul Rings and give the others some experience while we're at it!"

Zhao Wuji nodded.

"No problem!"

After Flender left, the six resumed their Gravity Crush training.

Half an hour later, their two hours of morning training were over.

"All right, it's nearly noon. After lunch, you can skip the afternoon's Gravity Crush training.

Go get your things ready. We're heading to the Star Dou Great Forest. We can't expect the Soul Beasts we need to be waiting for us, so we'll have to search. Prepare everything you'll need for shelter, food, and drink—enough for at least a month."

"All right, dismissed!"

Once dismissed, Lin Hao and the other five headed straight for Suotuo City instead of the dining hall.

The dining hall's food was good, but it couldn't compare with a real chef's cooking, so...

This time, Lin Hao was treating them.

After a big meal together, the six split up. Lin Hao took Xiao Wu shopping across the city, buying dozens of portions of everything they might need, from insect and snake repellents to food and drink.

They had the whole afternoon, which was plenty of time. Once they had everything ready, Lin Hao took Xiao Wu by the hand and returned to Shrek Academy.

Early the next morning, after breakfast, everyone gathered on the training ground. Zhao Wuji and Flender were already waiting for them.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Flender stepped forward and spoke.

"All right, everyone's here. Let's go. Mubai, can you lead the group?"

Dai Mubai nodded, his expression turning serious. "The Star Dou Great Forest is no place to fool around. It's full of Soul Beasts, and they're extremely aggressive. They're not fond of humans, either. Everyone needs to stay alert."