As Xiao Wu began kneading the dough, pale pink Soul Power enveloped her little hands as they worked up and down.
The next second, the dough seemed to come alive. No matter what shape Xiao Wu worked it into, it showed no sign of falling apart, the complete opposite of when Dai Mubai had kneaded it.
"Th-this is practically a miracle!"
"Xiao Wu, you're amazing!"
Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong were both dumbfounded. Xiao Wu's control over her Soul Power was actually so perfect that she seemed even better than Tang San.
Xiao Wu was, after all, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form. Her innate talent spoke for itself.
Otherwise, so many people would not have said that as long as Xiao Wu did not let love go to her head, she could even cultivate faster than Tang San.
Soon, Xiao Wu had divided the dough into little portions. They only needed shaping before they could be steamed.
"Xiao Wu, when did you learn to do that?"
Tang San, who was nearby, was also a little surprised when he saw this. Xiao Wu had actually been hiding this skill? What a surprise.
Oscar paid no attention to what was happening. Instead, he kept sneaking glances at Ning Rongrong. Whenever she looked his way, he immediately averted his eyes and pretended nothing had happened.
"Hehe, I only learned it recently! The training Teacher Changsheng assigned me was Soul Power control!" Xiao Wu raised a finger to her lips and spoke in an innocent tone.
Xiao Wu had plenty of close-combat techniques, but her ranged attacks were less than ideal. Thus, Li Changsheng had simply told her to try controlling her Soul Power and releasing it outward to form a shockwave.
This was the very same Mi Tu Shockwave that appeared in the comic!
"Ah, you have it easy, Xiao Wu. Not only do I have to knead dough, I have to go smash vats later! Releasing Soul Power outward, releasing Soul Power outward-it's just too hard!"
"Mubai, I don't think you should try to control the whole lump of dough right from the start."
"Think about it. Spreading your Soul Power throughout it in such a short time can easily leave it unevenly distributed. Doing it bit by bit, working from a single point to the whole surface, would be the safest approach."
Tang San looked serious. He felt that Soul Power control was a gradual process. Trying to achieve everything in one step from the outset would only make one fail faster.
Hearing this, Dai Mubai nodded thoughtfully. Tang San did have a point. He had been a little too impatient. It seemed that mindset was important too!
Only after everyone finished dealing with these tasks did they see Zhu Zhuqing, who had yet to appear until then, at breakfast.
"Little Qing, where did you go? Why haven't we seen you anywhere?"
"Catching fish."
"Catching fish?!"
Everyone cried out in surprise. Although they had not spent all that long together, they knew a few things about one another.
Among those things, they knew that Zhu Zhuqing was afraid of water-in other words, she could not swim-yet she liked eating fish.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. There was nothing to hide about it.
"It's very simple. As an Agility Attack System soul master, Zhu Zhuqing needs a high degree of precision, so I had her catch fish in the nearby stream."
"All right, go have breakfast first. Today's training will still be very demanding. Keep working hard."
Seeing everyone make such a fuss, Li Changsheng did not know what to say for a moment. Wasn't it just going into the water to catch fish? What was so strange about that?
Once everyone finished breakfast, they began a full day of training.
Everyone had different training tasks, but they were connected in certain respects.
Tang San sat cross-legged in a secluded grove.
Scattered components lay on either side of him, while a solid block of wood sat directly ahead.
"I'll start with the chessboard!"
With a determined gaze, Tang San steadied his breathing and focused, beginning to move the Life Spider Spears on his back.
Scrrrape!
Lines appeared across the wood's surface. They were far from haphazard; every horizontal and vertical line was perfectly orderly. And he had used only two Spider Spears for this.
Tang San did not use his hands, because he was also holding a jar full of pickled vegetables. The slightest lapse in attention would send the pickled vegetables spraying into his face.
As he steadily increased his Soul Power, two more Spider Spears began moving, this time assembling a Sleeve Arrow.
All eight Spider Spears moved together, working in pairs on separate tasks.
He was not fast, but he was steady, with nothing going out of control.
Tang San's training progressed in an orderly fashion. Oscar and the others, by contrast, were having some trouble.
First of all, Oscar could not carry a jar of pickled vegetables on his back while performing various tasks, such as trimming flowers, planting vegetables, and tilling the soil.
Multitasking was truly more than he could handle. If he only needed to divert some Soul Power to make tofu, he could manage, but the current situation was an entirely different matter.
Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, could not only wander around with the jar on her back but even multitask with ease.
Should I go ask Rongrong? Ask her for some pointers?
Oscar gritted his teeth. He really wanted to ask her for advice, but some inexplicable pride inside him kept him from swallowing his pride.
He clearly wanted to pursue her, yet now he actually had to ask her to teach him. It was too embarrassing.
Boom!!
"Holy shit!"
Just then, an explosion rang out nearby, startling Oscar so badly that he nearly made his jar explode.
"What happened?!"
"Ma Hongjun blew up the kitchen!"
Always happy to stir the pot while watching a spectacle, Xiao Wu went around spreading word of Ma Hongjun's glorious achievement.
"I have to ask! At this rate, I won't be able to improve at all!"
Oscar's gaze grew determined. If he did not improve, Rongrong would definitely look down on him. Then he would ask!
With that thought, Oscar stood up and walked toward Ning Rongrong, who was planting vegetables nearby.
The closer he got, the faster his heart beat. He even began thinking of backing out.
"R-Rongrong, I'd like to ask you for some advice..."
"Hmm?"
Ning Rongrong turned around and looked at Oscar curiously. Ever since he had broken through level thirty, she had vaguely begun regarding him as a rival.
She wanted to prove that her talent was not poor either. So what if he had Innate Full Soul Power? She had been born at level nine herself!
While Shrek's special training was in full swing, Yu Xiaogang's situation was rather miserable.
Inside an inn not far from Shrek Academy, a figure dressed in black lay slumped over a table on the ground floor.
Empty wine cups covered the table in front of him.
"Why, why?! Flender won't acknowledge me, and Tang San hates me too. They're all leaving me!"
"Uh, sir, when will you be settling your drinks bill?"
Bang!
Yu Xiaogang slammed his hand heavily onto the wooden table, leaving several Gold Soul Coins on it.
"Hmph! Do you think this Grandmaster can't afford your paltry drinks bill?"
Seeing Yu Xiaogang produce the money, the waiter said nothing more. The customer was king. As for his tone, the waiter simply treated him as someone who had been dumped.
Yu Xiaogang sat in his chair, staring blankly at the wine bottle before him. He did not know what else he could do. Without a suitable disciple, there was nowhere for him to put the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul into practice.
"I have to take a disciple. Even one who's a little worse will do. As long as I can make him a Titled Douluo, I can prove that I, Yu Xiaogang, am right!"
With that thought, Yu Xiaogang hurriedly tidied himself up. After leaving the inn, he headed toward the very center of Suotuo City, where the city's largest landmark stood: the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena!
If he could not go to Shrek Academy, he would try his luck here. Who knew? He might just sift out some gold!