"Ahem, these are called Life Spider Spears. Don't worry, they're not poisonous, so the fish will still be safe to eat!" Tang San explained to everyone with a smile.
"As for where they came from, didn't I go back to Holy Soul Village with Teacher Changsheng a while ago? You could call it a fortuitous encounter!"
"So that's how it is."
Understanding dawned on Dai Mubai. He had wondered why Tang San had acted so strangely before. Had it actually been because of these Spider Spears?
Behind them, Ning Rongrong looked at the Life Spider Spears, her eyes filled with shock. An External Soul Bone!
Even ordinary Soul Bones were extremely precious, let alone External Soul Bones.
Although she did not know where Holy Soul Village was, anywhere called a village was surely unlikely to be too close to a forest. In other words, Tang San was lying!
Then could Li Changsheng have given him this External Soul Bone?
What an extraordinary teacher...
Ning Rongrong felt she had seen the truth, but she said nothing more. As Li Changsheng's personal disciple, even if he used his position as a teacher to favor Tang San, there would be nothing to say about it.
Besides, he had done no such thing, treating everyone equally instead.
Medicinal baths, special training, instruction-he had shared every one of them equally with the group.
If that did not make him a good teacher, what would?
With Tang San joining in, dinner preparations soon picked up speed again, and before long, the food was ready to serve.
"I'll go get the teachers."
Dai Mubai volunteered and ran toward Zhao Wuji and the others nearby.
"Teacher Zhao, Teacher Zhao..."
"Shh!"
Zhao Wuji hurriedly turned around and motioned for Dai Mubai to keep quiet. He was engrossed in watching.
Seeing the teachers' serious expressions, Dai Mubai assumed they were discussing something important, so he obediently stood to one side and waited.
But curiosity still gained the upper hand. Unable to resist, Dai Mubai quietly edged closer to see what they were doing.
Looking more closely, he saw Flender and Li Changsheng sitting opposite each other, with a Go board on the table between them. From Flender's woeful expression, he was clearly about to lose.
"Ah, the dean really is determined to win a game!"
"No matter how you look at it, there's no way he can win now. Teacher Li has victory in the bag!"
Playing a board game? What sort of game could make the dean look like that?
Dai Mubai studied the Go board on the table for a moment. No matter how he looked at it, it was nothing like the kinds he had seen before, yet the teachers were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
"Ah, I'm done, I'm done! This is too hard. I need to find someone at my level to practice with!"
Flender slapped the board and scratched his hair with both hands, on the verge of falling apart. Playing against Li Changsheng was plainly like an old man toying with a mischievous child. He had no chance of winning whatsoever!
"What are you looking at me for? Shouldn't we go eat? It's already dark!"
Looking up, he found Zhao Wuji and the others all staring at him, which only made him angrier. When had a Soul Saint like him ever suffered such indignity?
He could not stand one bit of it!
"Ahem, let's go, let's go. Mubai's here too, so let's eat!"
Everyone headed toward the kitchen. Li Changsheng gave a helpless smile, put away the board and all the stones, then followed them.
As they gathered around the dining table, it meant another day of special training had ended for the Shrek Seven Devils.
"Hongjun, what happened to you? You look completely drained!"
Seeing how weak Ma Hongjun looked, Flender almost thought he had been starved for dozens of days.
"I-I'm fine. When can we eat?"
The little fatty slumped listlessly in his seat. His weakness was apparent from his voice alone. He had constantly needed to ignite the firewood while controlling the strength of the flames. The slightest carelessness would blow up the kitchen.
Under those circumstances, he could not slack off even if he wanted to.
"Look how hungry you are. Hurry up and eat first. How was your Evil Fire today? It wasn't too serious, was it?"
"My Evil Fire... huh? I don't think my Evil Fire flared up today?"
At the mention of Evil Fire, Ma Hongjun even sat up straight. He, too, had noticed the overlooked detail: his Evil Fire did not seem to have appeared today.
"What?"
Flender made no attempt to hide his surprise, immediately drawing everyone else's attention.
"How is that possible? Surely burning firewood for a few days couldn't have cured it?"
"It hasn't been cured. It's been used up. Hongjun has been constantly expending his Soul Power to burn firewood these past few days. That means his Evil Fire emerged without him noticing, and he used it up along with everything else."
Li Changsheng set down his bowl and chopsticks, explaining as he wiped his mouth.
Flender was stunned by the explanation. That works too? At that thought, he wanted to ask something else, but Li Changsheng cut him off.
"If you're going to suggest treating it with this method alone, I can tell you clearly: it won't work! This is a shortcut, and it treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. Truly resolving the Evil Fire will still depend on a fortuitous encounter."
"I see. Still, that's not a bad thing. At least we've found another way to suppress the Evil Fire. Hahaha!"
Flender was not discouraged. At least Ma Hongjun was still doing well, wasn't he? Besides, he believed his good brother Li Changsheng could solve this problem!
After dinner, it was once again time for the Shrek Seven Devils to soak in medicinal baths for relief, but Flender stopped Tang San before he left.
"What is it, Dean?"
"Ahem, Tang San, that board from today... could you make another one? If it's convenient, make one for me too."
Slightly embarrassed, Flender was asking someone for a favor like this for the first time. But he had no choice. Go was simply too addictive. He had racked his brains without ever getting the better of Li Changsheng. It was far too frustrating!
"Oh, you mean the Go board. No problem. I've been practicing with my Life Spider Spears lately, so this will be perfect training!"
"Then that's wonderful. There's no need to rush to finish it tomorrow. Take your time!"
Worried he might even interfere with Tang San's special training, Flender reminded him not to hurry. He could always use Li Changsheng's board in the meantime.
Watching Flender walk away, Tang San smiled faintly. He had not expected Go to be so popular.
"Little San, what are you standing around for? Let's soak together!"
"Coming, coming!"
Inside the teachers' dormitory.
Li Changsheng had already returned to his room. During this period, cultivating alongside Luo Sanpao through the Mind Link Method, together with the Enhanced Mysterious Heaven Skill, had brought his Soul Power Level to fifty-nine, very close to sixty!
"Sanpao, whether we can do it tonight is up to us!"
"Roar!!"
Sitting cross-legged, Li Changsheng drew a deep breath. As the surrounding Soul Power poured steadily into his body, the Mysterious Heaven Skill began circulating at full force.
Beside him, Luo Sanpao lay on the floor with his eyes tightly shut. The pair of small, jade-like horns on his forehead gave off a faint glow. Platinum light continually gathered upon the dragon horns, like two whirlpools constantly drawing in the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth.
Behind him, a faint phantom in the shape of an eastern dragon coiled in midair.
"Hum-"
From outside, light could be seen flickering constantly inside Li Changsheng's room. Even Ah Yin, the Blue Silver Emperor on the windowsill, sensed this power and began swaying involuntarily.