"Dean!"
A loud shout shattered the quiet of Shrek Academy's square.
Flender was standing in the center of the square with Lin Kong and the others. He turned toward the voice and saw Oscar waving his arms as he sprinted toward them, his face brimming with excitement. Golden sunlight spilled over him, casting a long shadow and making his barely containable joy all the more apparent.
Flender's already stern face darkened. His brows furrowed, and displeasure crept into his voice. "Oscar! Look at the time! You're late!"
Oscar did not mind in the slightest. He rushed up to the group, panting heavily, but the smile on his face only grew brighter. "Dean! I've reached level thirty!"
"Haha! Good! Very good!" Flender froze for a moment before taking it in. His displeasure vanished like smoke, replaced by sheer delight and surprise. Laughing, he patted Oscar on the shoulder. "On behalf of Shrek Academy, congratulations!"
The others crowded around as well, talking over one another to congratulate Oscar. The square immediately came alive.
Flender cleared his throat, quieting their chatter, and announced in a booming voice, "Today's classes are canceled. You may spend the day as you please. Make the most of the time to get yourselves into good condition. Tomorrow morning, Zhao Wuji will take you to the Star Dou Great Forest to help Oscar obtain his third Soul Ring! On this trip, I hope you can truly come together as a team. Understood?"
"Dismissed!"
With that, Flender clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely left the square.
Free time?
For a moment, everyone pondered what to do.
Lin Kong beckoned to Oscar, his tone casual. "Oscar, come to Suotuo City with me."
"Huh?" Oscar paused and gave him a puzzled look.
Lin Kong smiled and raised the Storage Soul Tool on his wrist. "I only got this thing yesterday. I'll go shopping today and buy some things to fill it up, and buy a map. Hmm... I'll also pick out a few things while we're at it and give our dorm room a proper makeover."
Shrek's dorm assignments were simple: Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Tang San shared one room; Lin Kong and Oscar shared another; Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing shared the girls' dorm room.
Hearing that, Oscar immediately nodded in agreement. "Sure! I'm not in the mood to cultivate today anyway."
After all, once he obtained his third Soul Ring, his Soul Power would shoot straight to level thirty-one. There was no harm in setting cultivation aside for now. Taking an occasional day off would actually help him get into better condition.
"I'm coming too!" Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she immediately skipped over, her face alight with excitement. "Shopping is my favorite!" As she spoke, she deliberately looked at Lin Kong, her eyes curving into crescents as she gave him a sweet, lovely smile. "Brother Lin, you don't mind me tagging along, do you?"
"Of course not." Lin Kong readily agreed.
Watching this scene, Oscar immediately understood. He tentatively edged backward and said quietly, "How about... um... I don't go after all?"
The implication could not have been clearer-you two are obviously going on a date. What would I be doing, getting between you as a third wheel?
Ning Rongrong's cheeks flushed scarlet in an instant. She stole a quick glance at Lin Kong and saw that his expression was perfectly natural, which only deepened her embarrassment. She hastily stamped her foot and protested coyly, "What are you talking about! Don't say things like that!"
"What are you running away for!" Lin Kong slung an arm around Oscar's shoulders, stopping his retreat, then turned toward the others. "Hongjun, you take it easy today. Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Boss Dai, what about you three? Want to come along?"
From beginning to end, his gaze never once fell on Tang San. He ignored him completely.
Tang San's expression darkened. With a cold snort, he turned and left without another word, his retreating figure exuding aloof pride and coldness.
Xiao Wu watched Tang San leave, then looked back at the group before her, a troubled expression crossing her face. Biting her lip, she said apologetically to Lin Kong, "Sorry, Brother Lin. I... I won't be going."
With that, she hurried after Tang San.
"I'll go." Zhu Zhuqing spoke quietly, a faint glimmer flashing through her cool eyes. "I need to buy a few things and tidy up the dorm room anyway."
"Exactly!" Ning Rongrong immediately chimed in, curling her lips in disgust. "That dorm is so run-down it's practically falling apart. That cheapskate dean definitely won't pay for it, so we'll fix it up ourselves!"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Dai Mubai naturally would not be left out. He quickly said, "Sure! Count me in! Our dorm room could use a proper sprucing up too!"
At that moment, the camps among Shrek's eight students were already as clearly divided as the Jing and Wei Rivers.
Most of them gathered around Lin Kong, while Tang San remained alone in a corner. Xiao Wu worried about Tang San, yet could not bear to leave the larger group either.
Sunlight spilled down, stretching the figures of the two groups into starkly different distances.
On this trip to Suotuo City, Lin Kong bought some daily necessities and stuffed them into his Storage Soul Tool. Then came fixing up the dorm room. It was simple: flooring went down over the black dirt floor, and wooden boards went up over the brick-and-tile walls. The room immediately looked clean, bright, and spacious rather than dim and oppressive.
Early the next morning, everyone from Shrek assembled in the academy square on time.
Before long, Zhao Wuji came into view, looking decidedly worse for wear-several conspicuous bruises marked his face, and heavy dark circles hung beneath his eyes. At the sight, everyone held back their laughter, their shoulders shaking slightly, but no one dared make a sound.
Zhao Wuji wore a stern expression, his brows knotted tightly. He had intended to give a shout to establish his authority, but when his gaze swept over Tang San in the crowd, Clear Sky Douluo's terrifying figure flashed through his mind. He forcibly swallowed the roar on the tip of his tongue, gave two dry coughs, and said stiffly, "Everyone ready? If there are no problems, let's set off!"
As he spoke, Zhao Wuji raised a hand and pointed at Dai Mubai in the front row. "Mubai, you're the captain. You'll be responsible for arranging the team's journey."
Dai Mubai straightened his chest at that and called out with an easy expression, "Simple! We'll take carriages straight to the little town beside the Star Dou Great Forest."
"What?" Zhao Wuji froze, his eyes going round as though he had heard something inconceivable. "Carriages?"
As he recalled, whenever he had taken students to the Star Dou Great Forest before, hadn't he always made them run there? It trained their stamina and tempered their will. Why had these brats suddenly changed the rules?
Dai Mubai nodded firmly, his tone certain. "Teacher Zhao, you heard right. We're taking carriages."
"Wait!" Zhao Wuji raised a hand to stop him and was about to object, but Lin Kong spoke first.
Lin Kong cast him a sidelong glance, his voice level but carrying a sharp edge. "Choosing to run when there are carriages available, passing up comfort just to seek out suffering-there must be something a little wrong with that brain, right?"
While shopping in Suotuo City yesterday, they had specifically reserved several spacious, comfortable carriages. There was no need to put themselves through that ordeal.
"Exactly!" Ning Rongrong immediately agreed, looking as though it went without saying. "Carriages are so comfortable, and we can conserve our strength too!"
"Mm-hmm! Running is exhausting. Would we even have the strength to look for Soul Rings once we reached the Star Dou Great Forest?" Oscar nodded repeatedly as well, thoroughly agreeing.
Seeing this, the others also chimed in over one another, each convinced that taking carriages was the wise choice.
Once again, Tang San and Xiao Wu stood apart from the group!
Zhao Wuji opened his mouth, only to find himself struck speechless by their retorts. He turned toward Lin Kong, his gaze full of astonishment, and could not help thinking, This brat really doesn't play by the usual rules. Interesting, far too interesting!
What level of leadership was this?
How many days had it even been since school started?
And he was already the boss?
He had even eclipsed Dai Mubai!
Impressive!