Sent to Shrek to Fight Four Hundred People for a Toilet

Several more days passed in the blink of an eye, and the date the three had set for their departure arrived.

Inside Nine Treasure Hall, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Jiang Yu stood side by side. Ning Yunxiu looked at them with pride and reluctance before offering one final reminder.

"I've said all this many times, but there's one point I need to stress again."

"Shrek isn't the sect. Once you're there, try to follow its rules and make plenty of friends. As for food, clothes, lodging, and travel... uh, don't skimp on food, clothes, or travel. If you see a treasure you like, buy it. If you're short on money, use the sect's credentials."

"Most importantly, if anyone picks a fight with you, don't hold back. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect doesn't go looking for trouble, but we've never been afraid of it."

"Also, keep an eye on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. They're famously narrow-minded and overbearing. After the losses they suffered last time, there's no way they'll let it go."

All three answered respectfully.

Ning Yunxiu nodded, her gaze passing over each of them. Her feelings were tangled.

As a mother and an elder, watching three children she had loved and pinned so many hopes on since childhood leave home to study made her feel as though a piece of her had gone missing. The emptiness dragged her spirits down.

But she didn't want the children to see her vulnerable side, so she forced a smile.

"All right. Time to send you off to Shrek to fight four hundred people for... ahem..."

Halfway through, Ning Yunxiu realized she had let her words slip and hurriedly corrected herself.

"Go on, children. If anyone gives you a hard time out there, remember you can always come home. The other elders and I will stand up for you."

All three were moved.

Jiang Yu held up well enough, but the more sentimental Ning Tian and Wu Feng already had tears in their eyes.

The world beyond home might be vast and dazzling, but there was still no place like home...

Well, compared with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, it was the outside world that looked more like a doghouse. Still, the point stood.

After one last bow, the three turned to leave. Just before they stepped out of Nine Treasure Hall, Ning Yunxiu's voice sounded in Jiang Yu's ear.

"Jiang Yu, the Grand Elder asked me to tell you that the Heart of Space has an extraordinary origin. It contains an immense amount of mental and spatial energy. Even when she probed it with her mental power, that power vanished into it without a trace."

"She refused to leave it at that and sent in the source of her mental power to investigate. The power inside the Heart of Space struck back. Fortunately, she withdrew in time, so her sea of consciousness suffered only minor damage, but she'll still need at least a year to recover."

"In the end, she reached the same conclusion I did: the Heart of Space is very likely a treasure on the same level as the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. Until you've grown strong enough, you must be extremely careful with it!"

Jiang Yu's steps faltered for a moment. Then he hurried after Ning Tian and Wu Feng.

Before reporting to Shrek Academy, the three still had one important task.

They needed to hunt the spirit beast Ning Tian required for her third Spirit Ring.

In fact, it had been nearly five months since Ning Tian broke through to Soul Elder.

She had delayed obtaining her third Spirit Ring so she could refine and compress her Soul Power as much as possible. With the help of medicine, she could then thoroughly improve her physique.

During that time, she had also cultivated Heart Separation Control, a technique passed down through the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for ten thousand years, to the level of Three Apertures Control Heart.

Three Apertures Control Heart meant she could use three spirit skills at once to precisely support companions who needed different enhancements.

Beyond Three Apertures Control Heart lay four more stages: Four Apertures Constant Heart, Five Apertures Dispersed Heart, Six Apertures Wishful Heart, and Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart.

For Ning Tian to reach Soul Elder at twelve and master Three Apertures Control Heart made her only the second person to do so in nearly a thousand years of Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect history.

The first, of course, was Ning Yunxiu.

Her mother had her beat, hands down.

Their destination was once again Star Dou Great Forest, though the journey there was much quieter than usual.

That was because Wu Feng, normally the one who kept everyone entertained, had barely spoken.

Bright and outspoken as she usually was, she had, for once, put on a veil and a broad hat. Even when she did speak, her voice came out muffled.

When they reached Star Dou Great Forest, Ning Tian comforted her softly.

"Wu Feng, don't be so upset. Great-Grandmother said the color would fade in seven days at most. If I remember right, today's the sixth day."

Wu Feng gave a quiet reply. A breeze through the forest lifted the edge of her veil, revealing a glimpse of a remarkably vivid color.

Jiang Yu glanced at her, then looked away.

To be fair, that color did need covering. Red and green together on Wu Feng made for quite a comical sight.

Since they would soon have to report to Shrek Academy, Wu Lie took the three straight to the southwestern region of Star Dou Great Forest. Though this area did not face Shrek Academy directly, it had been one of the main routes of the Beast Tide years ago.

As a result, even after the Beast Tide receded, it remained one of the areas with the highest density and quality of spirit beasts in the forest's outer reaches.

Ning Tian's first two spirit skills enhanced strength and speed. Her third could enhance Soul Power, defense, or attack, and all three options suited Jiang Yu and Wu Feng.

That meant finding a suitable spirit beast for Ning Tian would not be difficult.

After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's enhancement increased by a fixed ten percent with each advancement in cultivation. A Spirit Ring's quality did not affect the strength of that enhancement, though a higher-quality ring reduced the Soul Power needed to use the skill.

Once Wu Lie had brought them to the designated area, he disappeared from sight. Jiang Yu and the others could not live under their elders' protection forever. Ning Tian needed a spirit beast just over two thousand years old, and the three of them together could easily handle one.

They searched in their usual formation, with their support-and-control fighter in the center and their combat and agility fighters on the outside. Before long, they were lucky enough to spot a spirit beast suited to Ning Tian.

It resembled a crocodile, with a jet-black body over three meters long, limbs as thick as barrels, and a layer of armor plating that looked hard at a glance.

"A Scale-Armored Beast. Looks close to two thousand years old."

Jiang Yu looked at Ning Tian beside him.

According to the records, Ning Rongrong, an ancestor of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, had obtained a Spirit Ring from a Scale-Armored Beast. Ever since, the beast had held a place on the sect's list of must-have Spirit Rings for inner disciples and core disciples.

Hesitation crossed Ning Tian's face.

A Scale-Armored Beast would undoubtedly give her a defense enhancement, but that did not fit her plans.

Jiang Yu and Wu Feng were both powerful combat soul masters, and each carried more than one defensive Soul Tool. A defense enhancement would be far less useful to them than an enhancement to Soul Power or attack.

With that in mind, Ning Tian shook her head and spared the Scale-Armored Beast, which had no idea how close it had come to death.

Jiang Yu and Wu Feng said nothing. They simply went around it and continued their search.

Nearly an hour passed. It was close to afternoon before they finally found another spirit beast suited to Ning Tian.

It was a massive beast over seven meters long, covered from head to tail in dark purple scales. At first glance, it looked like a giant lizard, but a closer look revealed a head much larger than an ordinary lizard's, with two curved horns rising from it.

"A Demon Lizard Dragon of the Earth Dragon genus. Judging by its size, it's about two thousand years old. These beasts are incredibly strong and vicious. They slaughter other spirit beasts even when they aren't hungry, and they're as notorious among spirit beasts as the Man Faced Demon Spider."

Well read as ever, Ning Tian recognized the formidable beast at once.

At the same time, the Demon Lizard Dragon spotted them.

It roared, spread the six gill-like wings on its back that stirred the air, and charged without hesitation. Despite its enormous size, it moved so fast it left only an afterimage.

"Ning Tian, enhance us. Wu Feng, same as always."

The three had known one another and fought side by side for more than four years. They needed no further explanation.

Four streaks of colored light entered Jiang Yu's body. Three Spirit Rings—yellow, purple, and purple—rose beneath his feet. His Light Dragon Dagger scraped across the Demon Lizard Dragon's thick scales, sending out a shower of sparks.