Shrek Academy.
As night fell, a bonfire blazed once more in the hills behind the academy. Everyone gathered around the tables, with the teachers seated together as before while all the students cooked beside the stoves.
They were not relying on cooking skills alone; they also had to use abilities they were currently learning, such as projecting Soul Power outward.
Li Changsheng stood a short distance from the kitchen, watching the students work earnestly, satisfaction in his eyes. The Intermediate Scholar Aura alone had allowed them to gain an initial grasp of these techniques.
What if it were a high-tier one?
Wouldn't a high-tier one mean that he could offer a few pointers, and they would comprehend them the very next second?!
"Teacher!"
Just then, Tang San walked over to Li Changsheng, his face full of anticipation. "Teacher, take a look at this!"
As he spoke, Tang San took a board out of Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. He had carved it with his Life Spider Spear that day. Though the lines were a little crude, that did not affect its use.
"Oh? You actually finished it in a single day?"
This surprised Li Changsheng somewhat. By his estimate, carving a board should have taken at least a day or two, especially with the Life Spider Spear that Tang San was not yet proficient at using.
Yet he had succeeded in less than a day. His rate of improvement was plain to see.
"Hehe, it's all thanks to your teaching, Teacher! Your student has already comprehended it!"
Taught him well?
What did I teach him?
Li Changsheng looked rather dumbfounded. I said you'd mastered it, and now you're telling me you've comprehended it?
Had Tang San awakened some other conceptual skill?
Taking the board, Li Changsheng examined it and found that it was indeed very standard, no different from what he had seen in his previous life, though a few details differed slightly.
After all, Tang San came from a martial arts world, which, in a sense, was also a hundred years behind the world of Li Changsheng's previous life. Some differences were normal.
"Mm, not bad. It's a little rough, but I don't see any mistakes!"
"It's just a shame I didn't have time to make the stones. Otherwise, I would have liked to play a game with you today!"
At the mention of stones, Li Changsheng took two small stones out of his storage space. Their colors happened to be black and white.
Tang San's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the two little stones. Had even this been part of his teacher's calculations?
"Well, how about a game? I expected you to finish the board soon, so I've made some preparations over the past few days too."
"Then let's play!"
Teacher and student walked to opposite sides of an empty table nearby and placed the board between them.
After guessing to determine who went first, Tang San took black and made the opening move.
Teacher, this is the only place where your disciple might win against you once. Little San won't hold back!
With that thought, Tang San began his game against Li Changsheng.
Their activity drew the other teachers' attention, and Flender, Zhao Wuji, Li Yusong, and the others gathered around.
"What is this? It's a board, but I've never seen this kind before."
"One plays white, the other black. Interesting, but what are the rules?"
Everyone chimed in, but neither Li Changsheng nor Tang San spoke. Not only should spectators remain silent, players should also avoid speaking as much as possible, or their train of thought would be thrown into disarray.
Before they knew it, many more moves had been played. Gradually, beads of sweat began to form on Tang San's forehead, and sweat was starting to soak his back.
No matter how he attacked, Li Changsheng could easily neutralize it, even managing to attack and defend at the same time. The pressure was even greater than when Xiao Wu asked him where he had gone the night before!
Seeing Tang San go from playing quickly at the start to propping up his head with a deep frown, even Flender and the others, who could not understand the game, felt the pressure coming from Li Changsheng.
"Dean, Tang San's at a disadvantage, isn't he?"
"No kidding. Can't you see the state he's in? Look how much pressure the boy's under. Changsheng doesn't even know to go easy on him."
"Tsk, I think I'm starting to see some of the rules. It seems you have to surround territory and capture stones. Look at Teacher Li's white stones. They're already starting to form an encirclement!"
Lu Qibin had indeed begun to make out a few things. His Martial Soul was Star Luo Chess. Although it looked rather similar to the Go that Li Changsheng and Tang San were playing, its rules were entirely different.
Sure enough, after another few moves, Tang San finally chose to concede.
"Teacher, I lost. Old ginger really is spicier. You're incredible!" Tang San wore a bitter smile. Without realizing it, he had become drenched in sweat. Even the daytime training had not done this to him!
Moreover, judging by Li Changsheng's play, he was definitely no beginner. Such skill at the game astonished Tang San.
"Little San, as the saying goes, fish must be fried slowly; impatience turns elbows to mud. Not just in a game-you must never underestimate any enemy in battle either!"
"Thank you for the lesson!"
Though Tang San did not quite understand what Li Changsheng meant by the first half, how could he fail to understand the second? Never underestimate anyone. He could relax, but he must never be dismissive!
"Then, Teacher, I'll go cook now. There are a few dishes I need to handle."
"Go ahead."
Tang San rose and greeted the teachers before running toward the kitchen.
The moment he left, Flender sat down in his seat and asked curiously:
"Changsheng, hurry up and teach us. This game looks pretty interesting!"
"Sure. Since the Little Monsters are still cooking, I'll teach you. It's actually quite simple."
While Li Changsheng taught the game, the Shrek Seven Devils were busy preparing dinner.
Ma Hongjun carefully lit the firewood, Dai Mubai kneaded dough, and Xiao Wu shaped the dough he had kneaded into various little animals.
Oscar was in charge of cooking. As the team's food system Soul Master, the food he made was sure to have plenty of flavor-except, of course, for what he made with his Soul Skills.
"You know, cooking for ourselves after a full day of training is pretty nice. It feels like we've put what we learned to good use!"
"Exactly. I feel like I've improved a lot in using Soul Power. I can already use it freely now, though sometimes I still lose control..."
"The fish are here."
Just then, Zhu Zhuqing walked slowly over from nearby, carrying a fairly large basket.
"Let me handle these. It'll give me a chance to train."
Tang San hurried forward to take the basket, then tossed it into the air under everyone's astonished gazes.
The Life Spider Spears emerged from his back.
"Swish, swish!"
In just a few strokes, he scraped off all the fish scales. Then one Spider Spear hooked the basket while several others flicked the airborne fish into it.
"Wh-what is that!? A spider?!"
"Little Ao, have you been reading lately? Teacher Changsheng's Soul Beast Compendium mentions it. It's a kind of external soul bone, but I don't know which Soul Beast produced it."
Dai Mubai held his chin as he examined it. Little San really did keep surprising them. When had he acquired an external soul bone too?