What Are You Blathering For? Get Going!

Huh?

Buy one, get one free?

Nice, nice. Looks like this...

The moment that thought arose, Yang Jian's brows furrowed. He immediately sat cross-legged and circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill he had just learned. Jade-colored Soul Power wreathed his hands as he guided the immense Soul Power inside him, which was already on the verge of overflowing.

He had already been a level-forty Quasi-Soul Ancestor. Now, another four levels of Soul Power had suddenly flooded his body. Unless he channeled it in time, even someone as strong as Yang Jian would find himself trapped in a fatal predicament.

"Bastard Yang? What's wrong with you?!" Dai Mubai, who hadn't thought much of a mere Soul Elder like Tang San in the first place, happened to catch Yang Jian sitting down with an ugly expression out of the corner of his eye.

Although Yang Jian was only a month older than him and just a shade stronger in Soul Power, he had stolen Dai Mubai's position as Shrek's boss.

Still, the two of them had become friends through fighting.

Normally, Dai Mubai was annoyed that he lost every verbal sparring match with Yang Jian, but he certainly didn't want anything to happen to him.

"Boss?!"

"What's wrong? Don't scare me!"

"Boss!!"

Seeing that something was wrong with Yang Jian, the fatty, Ma Hongjun, immediately turned and ran over to him.

At the same time.

Flender also flashed over and crouched in front of him, lifting his hand and beginning to channel Soul Power into him.

"Hiss!"

"What's wrong, Dean?"

"Dean..."

Seeing Dean Flender pull his hand away in pain the instant he touched Yang Jian, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others immediately pressed him for answers.

"Hahahahaha..." Flender suddenly stood up and laughed.

"Dean? Have you gone crazy?!"

"Crazy, my foot!" Seeing that Ma Hongjun had no filter whatsoever, Flender gave him a sharp flick on the forehead.

"Ow!" Ma Hongjun rubbed his forehead in pain. "Then what are you laughing about?"

"Yang Jian's Soul Power has reached the threshold of level forty. He'll be fine once he comes out of his cultivation state."

[Ding! Detected Dai Mubai's unusually excited emotions. Reward: one hundred years added to the age of all current Soul Rings.]

[Ding! Detected Ma Hongjun's unusually excited emotions. Reward: one hundred and twenty years added to the age of all current Soul Rings.]

[Ding! Detected...]

This wave alone had earned Yang Jian twelve hundred years from everyone present.

That very contribution strengthened Yang Jian's body a little further, and his Soul Power seemed poised for another breakthrough.

"Level forty? A Quasi-Soul Ancestor? How old is he?!"

Tang San's heart tightened, and he abruptly asked.

"Fifteen."

Dai Mubai delivered the answer expressionlessly.

Clearly.

Being fifteen himself, he also found it difficult to accept that Yang Jian was about to become a Soul Ancestor-or rather, it had dealt him a heavy blow.

Shrek Academy had always prided itself on accepting only monsters.

Naturally, he had his own pride as someone who had managed to enter Shrek Academy.

Now that someone his own age had surpassed him in such an overwhelmingly dominant fashion, it would have been a lie to say he was unaffected.

"What?!"

Tang San instinctively cried out in shock.

[Ding! Detected violent fluctuations in Tang San's emotions. Reward: upgraded Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges-the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems Jade Belt.]

[Thirty-Six Heavenly Stems Jade Belt: composed of 36 unique pieces of jade, each providing 10 cubic meters of storage space. The 36 pieces of jade provide a total storage capacity of 360 cubic meters. Can store living things.]

"Well? Now you know how awesome my boss is, right?"

"Now you know what it's like when you can't beat him in a fight or outtalk him, right?"

"When I told you to shut up earlier, you acted like I was trying to hurt you."

Once the fatty, Ma Hongjun, realized that Yang Jian wasn't in trouble and that this was actually a good thing, he returned to his usual flippant manner.

"Hah! He's just a fifteen-year-old Soul Ancestor. With my teacher's guidance, I'll definitely be able to do the same!"

Tang San delivered his bold declaration with plenty of defiance.

Then he immediately slunk away, supporting Yu Xiaogang as they headed straight for their lodgings.

"All right, all right. Everyone, disperse."

Seeing that the matter had come to an end, Flender began sending everyone away. "Hongjun, when this brat wakes up, make sure you call me right away. If it's too late, forget it."

"Mm-hmm. Yes, Dean!"

Ma Hongjun answered.

Flender nodded. Outwardly, he walked toward the teachers' dormitory where Yu Xiaogang was staying with his hands clasped behind his back and a stern expression.

Inside, however, his heart was blossoming with laughter.

Ever since he had lost ground in their last contest over Liu Erlong, it had been a thorn in his side.

Now that his own student far surpassed Yu Xiaogang's, he was naturally delighted beyond measure.

He wished he could summon Liu Erlong right then and there to witness this historic moment.

"Boss Dai, are we just going to stay here and keep watch?"

After the dean and the teachers left, the others gradually departed as well.

Only Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai remained.

"Hey, that's not quite right. There's no 'we.'" As Dai Mubai spoke, he tried to put his hand on Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder. Sensing a wave of killing intent, he sheepishly withdrew it, pillowed both hands behind his head, and headed for his dormitory. "You keep a good watch. Isn't he your big brother?"

To Ma Hongjun, there was a considerable difference between "Boss Dai" and "Boss."

Roughly the difference between a vice dean and a dean.

So Dai Mubai wasn't wrong to say that.

"Oh, right! Rongrong, your Brother Yang..."

"Hmph! That damned man isn't keeping me from my sleep. Zhu Zhuqing, let's go."

With that, Ning Rongrong pulled Zhu Zhuqing along and returned to their dormitory.

Although she had come to Shrek Academy because her father had learned of Yang Jian's existence, she considered her beauty peerless. And as the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she certainly couldn't throw herself at him.

Of course, it absolutely wasn't because she had tried approaching him before and hadn't received a pleasant look from Yang Jian.

That was what Ning Rongrong told herself.

"Ah, fine. There goes tonight's fun again."

"Boss, once you wake up, you'd better give me a proper acupuncture treatment. Otherwise, what a loss for me!"

The fatty, Ma Hongjun, plopped down beside Yang Jian, then tipped straight over and lay next to him. Before long, he was snoring.

He didn't believe anyone would come looking for trouble with him here at Shrek Academy.

If he hadn't wanted to know Yang Jian's condition the moment he woke, he would have gone straight back to his room to sleep.

The night passed without incident.

The stars and moon retired indoors, and the morning sun slowly climbed up to perch on the mountaintop.

"Ow!"

With Ma Hongjun's howl, the entire village seemed to come alive.

"Fatty, still sleeping? Where's the old man? Get ready. We're heading into the mountains."

Yang Jian smiled.

"Boss, you're awake?! The dean probably isn't up yet. Why are we going into the mountains? Haven't we still got some of Xiaotian's dragon meat left?"

Ma Hongjun rubbed his backside where Yang Jian had kicked him, looking baffled.

"Oh, right. The Evil Fire inside me is flaring up again. Boss, could you give me some acupuncture?"

"Sure." With a casual flick, Yang Jian sent six needles flying into key points on Ma Hongjun's body.

In an instant, Ma Hongjun deflated like a punctured balloon, his entire body going limp with relief. "That feels amazing!"

"All right, all right. Go call the old man. We're getting ready to head to the Star Dou Great Forest."

"The Star Dou Great Forest? Boss! You're really going to become a Soul Ancestor?!"

"What are you blathering for? Get going!"

"Oh, oh... I'll go right now! Dean! Dean!! Boss really broke through to Soul Ancestor!!! Boss really broke through to Soul Ancestor!!! Boss..."

The fatty had barely nodded before he turned and ran, shouting as he went, as though afraid someone might miss the news.

Sure enough, before long, a succession of coughs rang out from one of the teachers' dorm rooms.

[Ding! Detected that Yu Xiaogang, a wielder of the same type of Martial Soul, has been overwhelmed by rage. Reward: one piece of Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon flesh.]