Oscar was a year younger than Dai Mubai, only fourteen years old. Reaching rank thirty in Soul Power at fourteen was already a staggering achievement. More importantly, Oscar had a Food-type Martial Soul, one of the hardest kinds of Martial Soul to cultivate.
In a sense, reaching rank thirty was much harder for Oscar than it was for a Battle Soul Master. And each time a Food System Soul Master's strength advanced to a new stage, the support their food provided would improve enormously.
If a Soul Grandmaster-level Food System Soul Master could sustain a hundred people's food consumption, then a Soul Elder, even one who had only just broken through rank thirty, could supply food for over five hundred people. That number would continue to rise with their rank. At the same time, reaching rank thirty meant that the food a Food System Soul Master provided would gain a third additional attribute. Their contribution to a team would increase greatly.
Flender then began the lesson. Its content was for everyone to eat one of Oscar's sausages to get used to them in advance.
At first, everyone found this very hard to understand, especially Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, but after Flender explained and talked them through it, they were all able to accept it.
Flender nodded in satisfaction. After some words of encouragement, he said, "Now, all of you go back and prepare. Tomorrow morning, everyone will set out. Teacher Zhao Wuji will lead you to the Star Dou Great Forest to help Oscar obtain his third Soul Ring. This isn't just Oscar's business; it's training for all of you. Until you encounter a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Teacher Zhao won't intervene lightly. You'll have to rely on yourselves for everything. All right, dismissed."
Early the next morning, after breakfast, everyone gathered on the training ground to find Zhao Wuji already waiting there.
The students were all rather taken aback when they saw Zhao Wuji. They wanted to laugh but did not quite dare.
Zhao Wuji did indeed look rather battered. At least three dark bruises had yet to fade from his face, and the panda-like black eye around his left eye in particular made it hard to suppress a laugh.
Of course, even as they found it funny, all seven students, including Tang San, were shocked. How had Zhao Wuji ended up like this? Tang San remembered very clearly that, although he had caused Zhao Wuji some trouble that day, he had left no injuries on his face. The injuries on Zhao Wuji's face had clearly been caused by blunt blows. With his strength as a rank seventy-six Soul Saint and the defensive power of the Great Strength Vajra Bear, who could have injured him? Could it have been Dean Flender? But Flender, whose Martial Soul was the Cat Owl, was an Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Master. It seemed impossible for him to injure Zhao Wuji like this either.
"What are you staring at, you little rabbit brats? Are you itching for a beating?"
Xiao Wu was clearly unhappy at the words "little rabbit brats." She muttered, "Why not say little blind bear cubs?"
Zhao Wuji glared. "Xiao Wu, what did you say?"
Tang San instinctively stepped sideways, waving a hand behind his back at Xiao Wu as he shielded her behind him. His protectiveness was plain to see.
At the sight of Tang San, a trace of embarrassment visibly crossed Zhao Wuji's face. He did not pursue Xiao Wu's jibe any further, merely snorting. "All right, let's get moving. Mubai, take the lead."
Everyone began running toward the Star Dou Great Forest. With Oscar's sausages to replenish them, the exertion from running was nothing at all.
Meanwhile, Tang Feng sat on the second floor of a hotel, watching the people passing back and forth through the window. As the sun sank in the west, he finally spotted the targets he had been waiting for.
After a full day of running, the Shrek group arrived in the small town, covered in the dust of the road.
By then, everyone was somewhat tired from traveling, so Zhao Wuji gave the order to rest.
Zhao Wuji pointed at an ordinary-looking hotel ahead, which happened to be the very hotel Tang Feng was staying in. "We'll stay here. Rest for the night and set out early tomorrow morning. You'll cover your own lodging and meals."
Having said that, Zhao Wuji headed into the hotel first, with everyone following behind him.
People came and went inside the hotel, most of them Soul Masters preparing to head to the Star Dou Great Forest.
After checking in, the Shrek group found a suitable spot in the dining hall and prepared to enjoy a big meal.
Ma Hongjun's shifty little eyes roamed everywhere, and from time to time he whistled to tease other girls.
Unsurprisingly, with Dai Mubai's arrogance over his own talent and Xiao Wu's willingness to stir up trouble, Shrek soon clashed with the students from Canghui Academy who arrived afterward.
Having secretly watched the entire conflict from the second floor, Tang Feng was utterly speechless.
First they say a Soul Master who doesn't dare make trouble isn't a good Soul Master, then they say academy students are the easiest to bully and there's no need to worry about the consequences. Nobody else could make bullying the weak and fearing the strong sound so righteous.
And just what kind of people are these? Every one of them is a troublemaker, especially Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Xiao Wu. One's lewd, one's arrogant, and one doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. She's lived for a hundred thousand years without ever growing a brain.
Tang San keeps saying he won't let Xiao Wu suffer the slightest harm, yet he never tries to curb her troublemaking nature. Sooner or later, he'll suffer badly for it.
Their talent is good, but before that talent becomes strength, they'd better not act too conspicuously.
In the world of Soul Masters, some trouble must never be provoked. Once they offend someone they shouldn't, and that person takes revenge afterward, they could capsize in a gutter. The consequences would be unthinkable.
Tang Feng watched for a while. A major fight was unavoidable, and he no longer wanted to watch. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he went straight back to his room to rest.
Apart from Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong, who had said little, the other four were sorely in need of a lesson. But those three would surely be dragged into the fight too.
Sure enough, the fluctuations of Soul Power moved from inside the hotel to outside. The fierce battle lasted nearly an hour before ending.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, when the sky had only just begun to lighten, everyone left the town and soon entered the Star Dou Great Forest.
Tang Feng followed quietly behind, scattering various powders over himself to conceal his scent and presence, always keeping at the edge of their perception.
Once they reached the forest, the air became much more pleasant, as though even the temperature had dropped a little.
Xiao Wu, however, did not seem to consider this a dangerous place at all. She did not know that a pair of keen eyes had been watching her all along.
Not long after entering the forest, they encountered the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent and quickly subdued it.
Just as Oscar was about to finish off the Soul Beast, two women, one old and one young, emerged. They were Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang and her granddaughter, Meng Yiran.
Meng Yiran looked sixteen or seventeen. Her fitted combat clothes hugged her already well-developed figure, and she was very beautiful.
The two had come to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain Meng Yiran's third Soul Ring. This Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was the quarry they had been pursuing all along. Frightened, it had fled without choosing its path, entering the Shrek group's field of view and being subdued by them.
Their appearance startled everyone, but when they saw that Chao Tianxiang had six Soul Rings, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, since ancient times, strength had reigned supreme in the Soul Master World. Zhao Wuji's seven Soul Rings were not merely for show.
After a battle of sharp tongues, Snake Granny proposed that Meng Yiran and Oscar fight to decide who would get the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. But Oscar was only a Food System Soul Master. Rather than saying the current Oscar had not a shred of offensive power, one could only say he had absolutely no offensive power whatsoever.
As they stood at an impasse, Tang San volunteered to fight in Oscar's place.
After they demonstrated their respective strengths, Snake Granny was also shocked by the Shrek group's strength and talent.
Tang San and Meng Yiran's match began. Meng Yiran was a Power Attack System Soul Master, while Tang San was a Control System Soul Master. The Control System already tended to counter the Power Attack System, and Tang San also possessed various Tang Sect techniques, including Purple Demon Eye and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Meng Yiran's fierce attacks were completely ineffective against Tang San, and she soon lost.
Snake Granny had no choice but to concede. Unwilling to accept it, she made some threats toward Zhao Wuji before leaving with Meng Yiran in frustration.
About an hour later, Oscar finished absorbing the Soul Ring. His Soul Power reached rank thirty-one, and he obtained a flight-related support Soul Skill. Everyone congratulated him repeatedly.
Just as everyone was preparing to leave, Tang San broke through to rank thirty thanks to the battle earlier, so they began searching for his third Soul Ring as well.
Another two days passed in a lengthy search, but they still had not found a suitable Soul Beast for Tang San.
Not far away, Tang Feng continued to watch them silently, his presence suppressed to the utmost. It should be about time now, shouldn't it?