The day after Yu Xiaogang left with Xiao Wu and Tang San, Su Ling and his companions also set out for Heaven Dou City.
The original Shrek Seven Devils had fallen apart because of Su Ling's arrival.
It was a shame, but going their separate ways sooner was not necessarily a bad thing. Everyone who remained now acknowledged Su Ling.
Actually, Tang San and Xiao Wu had not been all that willing to leave either. But Yu Xiaogang insisted, leaving Tang San no choice but to follow.
With Tang San gone, Xiao Wu naturally followed. Add Dai Mubai's absence, and the Shrek Academy team from the original story was now missing three members.
That left Su Ling at level forty-six, Zhu Zhuqing at level thirty-two, Ning Rongrong at level twenty-seven, Oscar at level thirty-one, and Ma Hongjun at level twenty-eight.
There were also Tai Long, originally from Blue Tyrant Academy, at level thirty-six, along with Jiang Zhu, Jing Ling, and Huang Yuan, all at level thirty-three.
The nine of them barely made up enough people to enter the Advanced Soul Master Tournament.
If necessary, Blue Tyrant Academy's advanced class still had nearly twenty Soul Elders at levels thirty-one or thirty-two. They could always select another two or three from among them.
As for Feng Yu'er, her age prevented her from entering this tournament.
On the journey back, Su Ling continued leading everyone through weighted training.
They traveled by day and cultivated their soul power at night.
During this process, Su Ling occasionally gained some affection points as well.
On the fourth night of their return journey, Ning Rongrong took another Beginner Soul Power Pill and successfully reached level twenty-eight, earning Su Ling another three affection points from her.
A month later!
Inside Blue Tyrant Academy, Heaven Dou City.
"From today onward, Blue Tyrant Academy will officially be renamed Shrek Academy. I will serve as vice dean, while Flender will take the position of dean."
"Hello, everyone. My name is Flender. My martial soul is the Four-Eyed Cat Owl, and I am a level seventy-eight Power Attack System Soul Saint. I'm very pleased to..."
Blue Tyrant Academy had been successfully renamed after all. Su Ling stood below, listening to Flender's speech.
Meanwhile, before his eyes, he was reviewing his gains from a month of traveling and cultivation.
First came affection. Over this month, Ning Rongrong had risen from level twenty-seven to level twenty-nine, advancing two levels, and the Beginner Soul Power Pills deserved much of the credit.
Her affection had therefore reached fifty-nine, just one point short of the sixty needed to bind her. It probably would not take much longer; when she broke through to level thirty, it should rise again.
Feng Yu'er's affection had reached eighty-three.
Jiang Zhu's affection had reached fifty-eight.
Zhu Zhuqing's remained unchanged at ninety-four.
Liu Erlong's affection had also risen a little, from seventy-six to seventy-eight!
As for soul power, besides Ning Rongrong's improvement, Oscar had advanced from level thirty-one to level thirty-two.
Ma Hongjun had risen from level twenty-eight to the peak of level twenty-nine. After all, Su Ling had given him Beginner Soul Power Pills too.
Su Ling himself remained at level forty-six, but he had also been taking Advanced Soul Power Pills. He estimated that one more dose would let him gain another level.
With the Intermediate Soul Power Pills Su Ling had given her, Zhu Zhuqing had reached level thirty-three over the past month.
Feng Yu'er remained at level forty-five.
The others originally from Blue Tyrant Academy had not gained any levels either, but every one of them had made considerable progress, clearly cultivating much faster than when they had followed the academy's usual routine.
Overall, the pills' help was quite obvious. It was like having a cheat.
However, the effects of the Soul Power Pills also changed. The first dose worked best, and each subsequent pill lost a certain amount of effectiveness.
Thus, each person could take at most nine pills at each stage. Perhaps that was why every batch of Soul Power Pills Su Ling received contained nine.
Besides affection and soul power improvements, Su Ling had also gained some chests.
Four White Chests, two Yellow Chests, three Purple Chests, and one Black Chest.
Looking at his total number of chests, Su Ling felt it was time to open some again.
Remaining unopened chests: white ×94, yellow ×25, purple ×6, black ×3
He had three Black Chests and six Purple Chests!
"System, open all three Black Chests!"
[Ding... Three Black Chests opened. Congratulations, host. You have received Heavenly Treasure Map ×1, supreme ten-thousand-year whale glue ×3, Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone Enhancement Liquid ×1.]
Three items. Su Ling knew about supreme ten-thousand-year whale glue. He had already consumed three portions, greatly strengthening his body. It was definitely good stuff.
What were the other two?
Su Ling immediately opened their descriptions.
[Heavenly Treasure Map: Shows the location of a heavenly treasure. Host must seek it out personally.] [Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone Enhancement Liquid: Can be used on soul bones below the hundred-thousand-year grade. Each use can increase their age by up to ten thousand years. Note: Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone Enhancement Liquid cannot raise a soul bone to the hundred-thousand-year grade.]
Not bad either. I can use it on my Golden Dragon Armor.
"Open all six Purple Chests too."
[Ding... Six Purple Chests opened. Congratulations, host. You have received Hidden Weapon Blueprints ×1, Intermediate Soul Power Pill ×5, thousand-year purple ginseng ×2, deep-sea silver mother ×100 kilograms, Jade Spirit Art ×1.]
Some of the items from the Purple Chests needed no close examination, such as the familiar Intermediate Soul Power Pills, thousand-year purple ginseng, and deep-sea silver mother.
[Hidden Weapon Blueprints: Methods for crafting thirty-six types of hidden weapons.] [Jade Spirit Art: A cultivation art suitable for women, with no attribute restrictions.]
Not bad. Everything from this batch seems pretty decent.
Su Ling was not opposed to hidden weapons, but neither was he obsessed with them. He could give the Hidden Weapon Blueprints to someone else.
The Jade Spirit Art was useful. Wouldn't all his goddesses be able to practice it?
This was another way for him to farm affection.
Looking at the remaining White Chests and Yellow Chests, he saw no need to open them for now. He could simply let them accumulate.
By the time he finished opening the chests, Flender's speech had also ended.
At the new Shrek Academy, Su Ling was assigned a private dormitory room. Given his soul power and his relationship with Liu Erlong, he was bound to receive special treatment.
Liu Erlong had even invited Su Ling to live in her wooden cottage.
Su Ling certainly wanted to, but moving in seemed somewhat inconvenient.
Thus, he chose a dormitory reserved for teachers instead. It had the standard bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom, with roughly fifty square meters of interior space.
Back in his dormitory, Su Ling took out the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone Enhancement Liquid from the system.
After glancing at the instructions, Su Ling immediately summoned his external soul bone, the Golden Dragon Armor, enveloping his entire body.
The method was simple. He only needed to pour the bottle of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone Enhancement Liquid directly onto the soul bone.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Bone Enhancement Liquid resembled ordinary water, only slightly thicker. Once poured onto the Golden Dragon Armor, it was absorbed instantly.
Before long, Su Ling felt the Golden Dragon Armor changing.
On the system panel, the Golden Dragon Armor's age kept increasing. It had originally been 10,086 years, but in just a few breaths, it rose to 12,139 years.
The number soared madly. After an incense stick's worth of time, the Golden Dragon Armor's age reached 20,086 years. It had promised a ten-thousand-year increase, and delivered exactly that, no more and no less.
As he felt the Golden Dragon Armor's increased age, all its attributes had improved, especially its defense.
Putting away the Golden Dragon Armor, Su Ling took out the Hidden Weapon Blueprints again and glanced through them.
There were no hidden weapon handling techniques inside, only crafting diagrams and the like, thirty-six types in total. It seemed to include all of Tang San's hidden weapons, along with some Su Ling had never seen.
After a quick look through them, Su Ling put them away.
Crafting these things would require considerable manpower, resources, and all sorts of materials.
Su Ling was not going to bother with that.
Then Su Ling picked up the Heavenly Treasure Map and examined it. The location was actually in the Far North, and it was marked very clearly.
The Far North?
An idea formed in Su Ling's mind. His Five Elements War Bow had successfully incorporated the ice attribute. Water could become ice, and ice could melt into water, so the best choice for his fifth soul ring would be an ice-attribute soul ring.
Moreover, he had undergone Ice and Fire Body Tempering. Absorbing an ice-attribute soul ring would be ideal, and would not cause the soul power conflicts he had experienced before.
"In that case, I'll go to the Far North for my fifth soul ring."
"There's still a year and four months or so until the Advanced Soul Master Tournament. With the help of the Advanced Soul Power Pills, I should be able to reach level fifty."
In the blink of an eye, Su Ling had spent half a month at the new Shrek Academy.
"Level forty-seven. Finally!"
Without drawing on the goddesses' cultivation gains accumulated in the system, Su Ling had finally broken through to level forty-seven through his own cultivation and the Advanced Soul Power Pills.
[Ding... Ning Rongrong's affection +2. Congratulations, host. You have received White Chest ×1.] [Ding... Ning Rongrong's affection is greater than or equal to 60. Would the host like to bind her?]
"An affection increase first thing in the morning? Did Rongrong break through to level thirty?"
"Bind her!"
[Ding... Congratulations, host. Goddess Ning Rongrong successfully bound.] [Bound Goddess: Ning Rongrong] [Goddess Overall Rating: 93] [Current affection: 61 (quite fond of you)] [Binding effect: The host receives 10% of the bound goddess's daily cultivation gains. This will not reduce the bound goddess's cultivation speed.] [Binding skill 1: Support (Even when Ning Rongrong is absent, the host can apply Ning Rongrong's support skills, excluding Martial Soul Avatar, to himself. However, their effects are only 10% of those produced by Ning Rongrong herself.)]
Support?
Ning Rongrong's support boosts were currently only thirty percent. Ten percent of thirty percent-didn't that mean an increase of just three percent?
"All right, even a mosquito has a scrap of meat. Once Ning Rongrong's soul power and affection rise, this skill will definitely be useful. I can provide support for myself."
"Right, I haven't given them the Jade Spirit Art yet. It's time. Jiang Zhu's affection is now at fifty-nine too. Today will do."
That morning, Feng Yu'er, who served as Su Ling's maid, brought him breakfast. Su Ling asked her to arrange for the girls to meet him after their midday classes.
After lunch, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Jiang Zhu, and Feng Yu'er arrived in Su Ling's living room.
"You really do get the best treatment, Big Brother Su. We all have to share a room with someone," Ning Rongrong said, her face filled with envy as she entered.
"Everyone, take a seat. I asked you here today because there's something I want to give you."
With that, Su Ling took out the Jade Spirit Art.
"Big Brother Su, what is this?" Zhu Zhuqing asked curiously.
Su Ling said, "This is an art for cultivating soul power, but it's only suitable for women. There are no attribute restrictions. Practicing it should speed up your cultivation and even make your soul power stronger."
"Really? That's wonderful!"
"Big Brother Su, are you really giving this to us?" Jiang Zhu could hardly believe her eyes. She had never expected there to be a share for her too.
Su Ling said, "Since I invited all of you here, of course there's a share for everyone. But while you may practice it, you must not pass it on to anyone else. If you want to teach someone, you'll need my permission first. Understood?"
"Understood!" Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong nodded. Both came from great clans, so they naturally understood how precious such things were.
"I understand, Big Brother Su." Feng Yu'er and Jiang Zhu also nodded.
"Good. Read through it together, then spend the afternoon cultivating here. Ask me if there's anything you don't understand," Su Ling said.
[Ding... Jiang Zhu's affection +2. White Chest ×1 obtained.] [Ding... Jiang Zhu's affection is greater than or equal to 60. Would the host like to bind her?]
"Bind her!"
[Ding... Congratulations, host. Goddess Jiang Zhu successfully bound.] [Bound Goddess: Jiang Zhu] [Goddess Overall Rating: 91] [Current affection: 60 (quite fond of you)] [Binding effect: The host receives 10% of the bound goddess's daily cultivation gains. This will not reduce the bound goddess's cultivation speed.] [Binding skill 1: Recovery (Passive skill. Increases the host's own recovery ability by 10%.)]
Very nice. Jiang Zhu is finally bound!
All the goddesses around me have now been successfully bound. It's time to improve my own soul power too.
That afternoon, with Su Ling's help, Ning Rongrong was the first to begin cultivating the Jade Spirit Art, taking just over an hour. Zhu Zhuqing followed less than an incense stick's worth of time later.
Jiang Zhu and Feng Yu'er both began cultivating the Jade Spirit Art after two hours.
Before they knew it, the sky had darkened. By the time Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing awoke, it was around one in the morning.
Seeing that Feng Yu'er and Jiang Zhu were still cultivating, the two got up and followed Su Ling outside.
Ning Rongrong was the first to burst with joy. "Big Brother Su, this cultivation art is amazing! I feel like I'm cultivating so much faster than before."
"What about you, Zhu Zhuqing?" Ning Rongrong asked, turning the question to her.
[Ding... Ning Rongrong's affection +5. White Chest ×2 and Yellow Chest ×1 obtained.]
"My cultivation really has become faster, and it flows much more smoothly too. I'd estimate it's about twenty percent faster than before," Zhu Zhuqing said.
[Ding... Zhu Zhuqing's affection +1. Black Chest ×1 obtained.]
Excellent, another Black Chest!
Zhu Zhuqing's affection has reached ninety-five too.
"As long as it helps you!" Su Ling said with a smile.
"Thank you, Big Brother Su!" Ning Rongrong said.
As she looked at Su Ling, Ning Rongrong's face seemed full of smiles, but inwardly, she felt a little dejected.
Su Ling's potential was no longer what it once had been. He had the Five Elements War Bow, and his soul power had already surpassed level forty-five before he was twenty.
Being an ordinary disciple of her sect no longer seemed good enough for him, and she felt her affection for Su Ling growing stronger and stronger.
Then she looked at Zhu Zhuqing beside her. Those two had already given their hearts to each other.
No, I can't fall for Big Brother Su. He already has Zhu Zhuqing.
How could I compete with Zhu Zhuqing for a man?
No. Absolutely not!
At that thought, Ning Rongrong briefly fell into a daze, which Zhu Zhuqing beside her happened to notice.
"Rongrong, what's wrong?" Zhu Zhuqing asked.
"I... I was, I was thinking about my third soul ring. My soul power reached level thirty today. Big Brother Su, Zhu Zhuqing, could you take me to find my third soul ring?" Ning Rongrong hurriedly found a topic. She could hardly admit that she had just been thinking about the relationship between Su Ling, Zhu Zhuqing, and herself.
Su Ling said, "Rongrong, congratulations on breaking through. No problem. Once you're ready, we can leave whenever you like."
"Mm, thank you, Big Brother Su, Zhu Zhuqing," Ning Rongrong thanked them again.
Two hours later, Jiang Zhu and Feng Yu'er awoke at the same time.
They too had experienced the benefits of the Jade Spirit Art and thanked Su Ling one after the other.
Along with their thanks, both women's affection rose a little.
Jiang Zhu's affection increased by four points, bringing him three White Chests, while Feng Yu'er's rose by three points, bringing him two Purple Chests.
Before you continue