"Third Brother, why are you only just coming out too? Everyone else has already gone over!"
Tang San and Oscar had just left the dormitory when they happened to run into Xiao Wu, who was jogging along with a carrot between her lips.
She looked at the two of them curiously. As far as Xiao Wu remembered, Tang San never arrived at the last second or showed up late. What was going on today?
"Little Ao broke through to rank thirty, so we were held up for a bit. What about you, Xiao Wu? Why are you so late too?"
"Um, I'll go on ahead!"
Xiao Wu certainly wasn't going to admit that she had overslept. Although someone had called her, she had still been sleepy and gone back to bed, which was why she was almost late.
"Slow down, Little San! My jar isn't steady!"
Only after the two reached the field did they see that everyone else was already standing in formation. Even Flender and Li Changsheng had arrived.
"Headmaster! Teacher Changsheng!"
"See? I told you Little Ao was about to break through to rank thirty."
Li Changsheng smiled slightly at Flender. This time, Flender had no choice but to concede. He took a Gold Soul Coin from inside his clothes and handed it over.
"You really had this all worked out. I should never have bet with you!" After heaving a sigh of feigned regret, Flender raised a hand to signal for the two to join the line.
"I, I-"
Oscar fidgeted awkwardly, actually freezing where he stood for a moment.
Seeing this, Flender frowned. What was going on today?
"Oscar, why don't you just do it? Why are you acting like some woman?"
"Headmaster, it's not that I don't want to. If I do, won't your jar shatter?" Oscar sounded rather meek. He had just been about to make tofu when he discovered that the moment he showed any sign of mobilizing his Soul Power, the portion sealing the mouth of the jar behind him would become unstable.
Only then did Flender remember that Oscar was still carrying the jar. He turned to Li Changsheng again and asked, "Changsheng, should we let Little Ao put it down first?"
"Just do it! I'll compensate Flender for his pickles."
That snapped Oscar wide awake. His hands immediately moved into position as he chanted with conviction.
"Cute, fragrant, tender tofu!"
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Amid a faint flicker of light, several pieces of white, tender tofu appeared in the large pot that had long since been prepared beside them.
Contrary to its name, Oscar's tofu gave off a strong smell from every part of it.
It wasn't particularly foul, but it didn't smell pleasant either.
"Huh?!"
Just then, Oscar looked up and saw Li Changsheng watching him with a satisfied smile.
He himself had also noticed something.
"My jar didn't break?!"
Standing in the student formation, Ning Rongrong also stared at Oscar in astonishment. He had never encountered Heart Separation Control, yet he could already accomplish this?
After all, the jar on Oscar's back had been sealed with Soul Power the entire time. He hadn't withdrawn it even while making tofu.
Of everyone present, only Li Changsheng wore a knowing smile.
His [Scholar Aura] could actually affect this too!
That was right. Oscar's learning process could also count as an unconventional form of Self-Created Soul Skill, and therefore could trigger Scholar Aura.
From Li Changsheng's perspective, a faint golden light was indeed radiating around Oscar.
This was what happened when the aura took effect.
"All right, Little Ao, don't get too full of yourself. We'll need you to make tofu on the way to the Star Dou Great Forest later. That'll be the real test!"
"Understood!"
Oscar grinned. He was very confident now.
"Since everything's packed, let's set off!" Li Changsheng swept his hand, and everyone headed out of the academy.
Flender remained where he was, watching them leave. He took out the document Li Changsheng had given him earlier, his eyes crinkling with a smile.
"Changsheng, Shrek Academy really has you to thank this time!"
"But this tofu-"
Looking at the pieces of tofu in the pot, Flender wore a troubled expression. He wasn't opposed to eating Oscar's tofu, but eating so much in one
sitting wouldn't be easy.
"Teacher Changsheng, is it just us going? Aren't any other teachers coming?"
On the road, Dai Mubai questioned Li Changsheng curiously. It wasn't that he thought Li Changsheng was weak, but the Star Dou Great Forest was no place to play house.
It was the most expansive forest on the Douluo Continent. Most of the Soul Beasts within were fierce and savage, and the deeper one went, the more dangerous the Soul Beasts became!
"There is someone else. He'll wait for us in the town on the outskirts."
Li Changsheng answered Dai Mubai's question as he summoned Luo Sanpao.
"Luo!"
Sanpao was extremely excited the moment he appeared. These days, he had mostly come out at night to accompany Li Changsheng while he cultivated. He rarely got to come out and travel like this.
"Wow! Sanpao is so cute!"
The moment Luo Sanpao appeared, he caught the attention of both Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong. Even Zhu Zhuqing kept glancing at him.
Such a cute little fellow, yet his fighting strength was tremendous!
"Teacher, can we hold Sanpao? We've been watching him for so long, but we still can't get enough. The more we look, the cuter he gets!"
Xiao Wu looked at Li Changsheng expectantly. Beside her, Ning Rongrong wasn't quite so uninhibited yet, but her purple eyes held some anticipation too.
"Luo, luo!!"
Before Li Changsheng could speak, Luo Sanpao ran straight over to the two girls, asking to be held.
"You really have a plump little bundle of courage. Aren't you afraid of strangers at all?"
Xiao Wu was one thing; they had at least spent so much time together. Yet Luo Sanpao didn't keep his distance from Ning Rongrong at all despite not knowing her.
That left Li Changsheng feeling a little like an outsider.
"All right, let's go. Keep your formation. I shouldn't need to teach you that, should I?"
The moment Li Changsheng finished speaking, Dai Mubai charged straight to the very front.
Ma Hongjun and Xiao Wu took the left and right flanks, while everyone else also rushed into the distance in formation.
The hunters' town on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest wasn't particularly far from Suotuo City. As long as they relied on Soul Power throughout the journey, they could arrive that same night.
"Ning Rongrong, you and Oscar take turns boosting everyone. I don't need it."
"Got it!"
Ning Rongrong and Oscar each carried a small jar on their backs, so they were a little slower. The others kept the two support members at the center, maintaining a similar speed.
"Seven treasures emerge, revealing glazed splendor! Second: Speed!"
The small pink pagoda shone brilliantly in her hand. Several pink beams shot straight toward herself, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun.
"Cute, fragrant, tender tofu!"
"Go!"
Oscar steadied his mind and tossed the tofu he had made to Dai Mubai at the very front, Xiao Wu, Tang San, and Zhu Zhuqing on the outermost flank.
"Not bad. Your first attempt at working together went very smoothly!" Li Changsheng commented from the side.
There was no frantic scrambling and no disagreement, only quiet boosts and wordless cooperation.