Don't worry, Xiao Wu, Brother has already thought of a solution!

Ning Liu held "Ning Rongrong's Dark Ledger" and immediately could not help himself. He read it again from beginning to end, carefully, thoroughly, in every last detail.

The more he read, the stranger the smile on his face became, until at last he could not hold back a snort of laughter.

"Ning Rongrong, oh, Ning Rongrong. You little girl, you really are... not someone who can be judged by appearances."

He had originally thought Ning Rongrong was just a spoiled, willful young lady, at most a little clever.

Now it seemed this little girl had quite the rich inner world.

"Now, do you still think you can escape from your senior brother's grasp?"

Ning Liu toyed with the notebook in his hand, the smile on his face growing brighter and brighter.

If this thing were really taken to auction...

He could almost imagine Ning Rongrong looking utterly furious yet completely helpless, until in the end she could only obediently hand over the money.

"Still, this Shrek Academy really is special!"

Ning Liu rubbed his chin.

He carefully put the ledger back into the Spirit Charm Star Luo Ring, placing it together with the Moonlight Spirit Rabbit Soft Armor.

This thing would probably become Ning Rongrong's nightmare for quite a long while.

Ning Liu shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

The most urgent matter was still to improve his own strength.

He sat down cross-legged and began meditating in cultivation. Soul Power slowly flowed through his body, nourishing every limb and bone.

The next morning.

Shrek Academy.

The morning mist on the field had yet to fully disperse, carrying a slight chill.

Dean Flender stood before Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the other students with his hands clasped behind his back, his face ashen.

In those small eyes of his, raging fury was now burning.

"What?!"

Flender's voice suddenly shot up, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Ning Rongrong went straight home?!"

"Outrageous!"

He stomped his foot fiercely, making the ground tremble.

"Expel her! She must be expelled!"

"Our Shrek Academy won't accept a student like that, who refuses discipline and shows no respect for her elders!"

Flender was so angry his beard was trembling.

He had worked so hard to recruit a few decent little monsters, and in the end, one with a young lady's temper had just left as she pleased?

Where was he, the dean, supposed to put his face after this?

Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, but neither spoke.

Dai Mubai frowned slightly, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

Ma Hongjun, however, wore the expression of someone watching a good show, the corners of his mouth straining to hold back a laugh.

Flender's anger had yet to fade as his gaze swept over everyone.

"Hm?"

He suddenly let out a questioning sound.

"Why isn't that brat Oscar here either?"

"Where did he run off to? Does he want to be expelled too?!"

Flender's voice rose a few more notches.

No sooner had he finished speaking than—

"Dean! Dean!"

A somewhat excited voice came from the distance.

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw Oscar jogging over, his beard unkempt and his eyes ringed with dark circles, yet his spirits were high.

As he ran, he waved his arms.

"Dean! I broke through!"

Oscar ran up to Flender, a little out of breath from his hurry.

"I broke through to rank thirty!"

His face was full of joy, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement.

The moment those words came out, the training field instantly fell silent.

Everyone's gaze focused on Oscar.

Surprise flashed through Dai Mubai's eyes. Ma Hongjun's mouth fell open, the fat on his face trembling.

Tang San and Xiao Wu also looked astonished.

Even Zhu Zhuqing, who had always been indifferent, gave Oscar a couple more looks.

"Rank thirty?"

Most of the anger on Flender's face vanished in an instant, replaced by delight.

He looked Oscar up and down, a sharp gleam flickering in his small eyes.

"You brat, you're not lying to me?"

Oscar puffed out his chest.

"Absolutely true!"

"When I went back to cultivate last night, my Soul Power had already reached the bottleneck of rank thirty!"

"I only need one soul ring, and I'll become a true Soul Elder!"

The muscles on Flender's face twitched a few times, a sign of extreme excitement.

"Good! Good! Good!"

He said "good" three times in a row.

"A genius! Oscar, you brat, you really are a genius!"

Flender excitedly patted Oscar on the shoulder.

"A food-system soul master reaching rank thirty at fourteen years old—across the entire continent, that's as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns!"

The others also came back to their senses one after another.

"Damn, Little Ao, you're something!"

Ma Hongjun said with a face full of admiration, and Dai Mubai also nodded.

"That does count as genius."

Tang San was secretly amazed as well.

Although Oscar's martial soul was only a support-type sausage, this cultivation speed truly was not slow.

Flender took a deep breath, trying hard to calm his excitement.

He cleared his throat.

"Ahem, since Oscar has broken through as well, that works out perfectly."

"How about this? I'll have your Teacher Zhao take you on a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain soul rings."

Flender looked at everyone.

"However, I won't be going."

He paused, a somewhat inexplicable expression appearing on his face.

"That Grade D Auction House in Suotuo City will be holding another auction in two days."

"I need to go prepare and see if I can pick up anything good."

Hearing this, Dai Mubai explained:

"What the dean means is that, for us, going to the Star Dou Great Forest is also a trial mission."

"It'll let us improve our actual combat ability and get familiar with team coordination."

His tone was very calm, as if he had no interest in the auction.

Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance.

Then Tang San took a step forward.

"Dean, may I ask for leave?"

Flender looked at him.

"Oh? Tang San, what is it?"

Tang San said calmly:

"I also want to prepare for that auction."

Flender was somewhat surprised.

"You're interested in the auction too?"

He thought about it. At the previous auction, the hidden weapons Tang San had made had sold for a high price!

"All right, then."

Flender nodded.

"Since you're interested, go take a look."

"But don't forget—cultivation is what matters most!"

"All right. Thank you, Dean."

Tang San bowed slightly.

Dai Mubai watched him and curled his lip.

"What's so interesting about an auction?"

"Only growing stronger is the real truth!"

As he spoke, the corner of his eye unconsciously flicked toward Zhu Zhuqing beside him.

Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless, giving no reaction at all.

Dai Mubai withdrew his gaze and said to Oscar and Ma Hongjun, "Let's go find Teacher Zhao."

"We're setting out right away, to the Star Dou Great Forest!"

He took the lead and strode off.

Zhu Zhuqing followed silently.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun hurried after them as well.

Before long, only Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the thoughtful Flender were left on the training ground.

Xiao Wu tugged at Tang San's sleeve, leaned close to his ear, and asked quietly, "Brother, that Soft Armor or whatever has a starting bid of One Hundred Thousand Gold Soul Coins."

"How are you planning to make money?"

"Are you going to keep making those Godly Zhuge Crossbows?"

She was a little worried.

"But there are only two days left. Judging by the price from the last auction, you'd have to make more than a dozen of them!"

"How could you possibly make that many!"

One Hundred Thousand Gold Soul Coins was an amount they once wouldn't even have dared to imagine!

A confident smile appeared on Tang San's face.

He rubbed Xiao Wu's hair, his tone filled with certainty.

"Don't worry, Xiao Wu."

"I've already thought of a way."

"Forget one hundred thousand—even if it's two hundred thousand, I guarantee you'll have enough money in hand when the time comes to buy whatever you like."

Hearing this, Xiao Wu blinked her beautiful big eyes and looked at Tang San.

She did not know what method Tang San had, but she chose to believe him.

She had to buy that Soft Armor!