The azure sky looked freshly washed, a blazing sun hanging overhead.
Yet outside Shrek Academy's dining hall, no one paid any heed to the sweltering heat.
Flender, Zhao Wuji, Li Yusong, and the other teachers were there.
Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Tang San, and the other students were all waiting.
"Boss, do you think Oscar and the others can really get back before lunch?"
Ma Hongjun calculated the time. There were less than fifteen minutes left before lunch.
"They probably won't make it back. I secretly went over to check earlier, and Your Holiness, the Thunder Emperor, wasn't helping Ning Rongrong and Oscar cheat. With their constitutions, getting back before we finish eating would already be fast."
Dai Mubai voiced his opinion.
In truth, he and Ma Hongjun weren't the only ones concerned about this. Who among those present wasn't?
Otherwise, why would they all be standing around waiting like fools?
Time ticked by, second by second, until the dining hall's lunch bell rang.
"Forget it."
"They're not coming. Let's eat."
"Ning Rongrong and Oscar really are hopeless..."
Some people had already begun making suggestions.
"Boss, I think Your Holiness, the Thunder Emperor, wouldn't have made an empty boast when he said they could finish the task. Why don't we wait a little longer?"
Zhao Wuji spoke in a low voice.
"It's impossible. Oscar and Ning Rongrong's constitutions are what they are. If they really had to finish twenty laps on their own, it would probably take until well after midnight."
Flender chuckled.
He had their limits pinned down perfectly.
"But Your Holiness, the Thunder Emperor..."
Zhao Wuji couldn't help trying to say more, but Flender stopped him. "I know what you're trying to say, but human potential has its limits. Even a Titled Douluo can't raise that ceiling. Otherwise, Xiaogang would..."
At that point, he fell silent.
"I see..."
Zhao Wuji understood the deeper meaning behind Flender's words.
He had heard that Yu Xiaogang came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects. The clan had a Titled Douluo presiding over it, yet even he could do nothing about Yu Xiaogang's worthless aptitude, could he?
"Let's go."
With that, Flender led the way into the dining hall.
Zhao Wuji, Li Yusong, and the others followed close behind.
Dai Mubai and the other students came after them.
However.
The moment Flender saw what was inside the dining hall, he was dumbfounded.
He froze where he stood, as though struck by lightning.
"You... why are you here?"
He asked in disbelief.
There before him, Qin Xiao, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar were seated at a table.
"Eating. Is there something wrong with that?"
Oscar answered first, utterly baffled as to why Flender would ask such a question.
"Dean, why are you standing here instead of going in?"
Behind Flender, Zhao Wuji and the others walked around him and entered the dining hall.
Then, one after another, they looked as though someone had cast a paralysis spell on them, disbelief spreading across their faces.
"Oscar, you... you..."
"It really is you!"
Dai Mubai rubbed his eyes incredulously, making sure he wasn't seeing things. Qin Xiao, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar really had returned.
Everyone outside had heard Flender and Zhao Wuji's conversation clearly.
With Ning Rongrong and Oscar's stamina, there was no way they could complete his task.
But now...
What the hell!
Instinctively, everyone looked at Qin Xiao.
That mysterious young man, that incredibly young Titled Douluo, Your Holiness...
He was the one who had made the impossible possible!
As for cheating...
No one would think that.
What Titled Douluo would throw away his dignity over such a trivial matter?
After lunch.
Ning Rongrong quietly approached Qin Xiao.
"Need something?"
Qin Xiao asked, puzzled.
To get Ning Rongrong to finish the task, he had certainly done plenty to motivate her in his own way...
Throughout the run, Ning Rongrong had showered Qin Xiao with complaints.
She had even said she would go back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and call in reinforcements to make Qin Xiao suffer the consequences...
Of course, that had only earned her even harsher motivation from Qin Xiao...
"Great Fiend, your training methods are twisted, but they're also pretty thrilling..."
"If I'd relied on myself alone, I never could have finished Dean Flender's task. Thank you."
With that, she jogged out of the dining hall.
Qin Xiao: ???
What?
Had all that motivation actually stirred up feelings?
What a cursed bond!
Now he understood why the system's rewards included 20 affection points. So that was how feelings developed?
Involuntarily, he looked at Oscar.
Sure enough.
Oscar silently rose to his feet and left the dining hall as well.
Qin Xiao pondered this. That was definitely a loss of 10 affection points.
"Your Holiness, I'm arranging the students' second lesson tonight. Would you like to... offer them some guidance?"
Once only a few people remained in the dining hall, Flender approached Qin Xiao.
The second lesson?
Qin Xiao didn't answer immediately, seemingly lost in thought.
In reality, he was waiting for the system to issue a mission.
Yet the familiar mechanical voice never sounded.
So there was no mission?
Qin Xiao immediately gave a curt reply. "Not going!"
What was the point of watching a bunch of fledglings peck at each other? He might as well spend that time getting struck by lightning... no, honing his cultivation.
"Very well. I won't disturb you, then, Your Holiness."
Flender felt a little regretful.
If Qin Xiao were willing to enter the ring, wouldn't he make a killing?
After all, the Soul Fighting Arena offered plenty of betting opportunities. Getting rich overnight was no mere dream.
Time flew, and another five days passed in the blink of an eye.
Qin Xiao spent those five days cultivating in peace.
By now, Shrek's square had become a forbidden zone.
Day and night, it was shrouded in lightning, with hardly a moment's respite.
Qin Xiao had left everyone at Shrek Academy, teachers and students alike, speechless.
Could a human being really withstand such an utterly deranged method of cultivation?
At the very least...
They shouldn't be able to!
[Ding! Seven-day intensive cultivation mission complete. Rewards have been issued.]
At last, the system's notification sounded in Qin Xiao's mind again.
Immediately afterward, a mysterious power flowed into his body, and his soul power began surging like an erupting volcano.
Within just a few breaths, he felt as though he had broken through an invisible membrane, and his whole body suddenly relaxed!
"It worked. My soul power has increased quite a bit again."
The corners of Qin Xiao's mouth lifted slightly, a trace of delight appearing on his face.
The increase in strength filled him with satisfaction.
System, I wouldn't complain if you gave me more missions like this.
Qin Xiao added inwardly.
The system gave no response.
Damn system, playing dead again!
Qin Xiao cursed inwardly.
The system remained silent.
At a loss for words, Qin Xiao abandoned his attempt to communicate with it.
With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the dark clouds floating overhead, revealing a sliver of crescent moon.
"So it's late at night again."
Just as Qin Xiao was about to reflect on how cultivation made the years slip away unnoticed, a strange expression suddenly crossed his face.
An aura settled on him, conveying a distinctly unfriendly message.
"Tang Hao?"
In a single instant, Qin Xiao identified the owner of that aura.
It was the man who had been spying on him for several days.
Who else could it be but Tang Hao?
"Heh, can't hold back any longer? I'd like to see what you have to say to me."
With that, he headed off in the direction the aura had come from.
P.S.
The plot changes drastically from here onward. Fans of the original, proceed with caution.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Before you continue