The journey there and back took half a month each way. After nearly a full month away, Oscar and Zhao Wuji finally returned to Shrek Academy.
With his ninth birthday less than two months away, Oscar had already reached Spirit Master Level 22. That left him with approximately 38 months to achieve the goal he'd set earlier: Level 30 before age 12.
He still needed 8 more levels, meaning that as long as he could average one level every 4.75 months roughly five months he would succeed. But based on his current pace of advancing one level every 3–4 months, he was likely to hit Level 30 by age eleven.
Of course, the further one progressed as a Spirit Master, the slower cultivation became. But Oscar's commitment never wavered. Excluding extreme or unexpected setbacks, his pre 12 Level 30 milestone remained completely viable.
Don't mistake this for exaggeration Oscar had fundamentally diverged from the version in the original narrative. In the canon timeline, Oscar reaching Level 30 at age 14 as a food type Spirit Master was already regarded as genius level. But that version of Oscar could hardly compare to this one whose work ethic had ascended beyond genius into obsession.
These days, Oscar trained nearly every night without fail. Daytime was split between physical conditioning, knowledge acquisition, and, when time allowed, more cultivation. He was operating at a hyperdisciplined, monastic rhythm.
Being born with innate full spirit power, he faced no cultivation bottlenecks at this stage. His ceiling was high, and although he lacked heavenly treasures for now, pure discipline alone kept his cultivation steadily climbing.
This was his greatest advantage: Unlike the typical novel protagonist who must hunt for miracle herbs to awaken their latent potential, Oscar didn't need external shortcuts. His raw talent, especially as a foodtype innate full spirit master, made him nearly unmatched among peers.
In the future, assuming the world followed the original plotline, Tang San would eventually enroll at Shrek Academy. When that happened, Oscar only needed to maintain a decent relationship, just like in the novel.
Although Tang San wasn't overly friendly to outsiders, he genuinely treated the Shrek Seven Devils and their teachers well.
A
He didn't idolize Tang Sanbut he didn't hate him either. After all, that was just a storyline in a book. This was reality, and in this world, he was living it.
It was this awareness that revealed the fundamental difference between fiction and lived experience. Novels are structured around the protagonist's perspective, often minimizing the depth of side characters. But in this real world, every detail, every soul master, every decision mattered and that made the world far more vivid.
Shaking his head, Oscar stopped indulging in hypotheticals. No matter how much he speculated, only time would verify what lay ahead.
That's why he trained so hardwhat if Tang San never came to Shrek?
What if he did, but never offered Oscar any immortal grade herbs?
Oscar understood that the storyline could deviate he'd already experienced the impossible by transmigrating. So divergence from canon was not only possibleit was expected.
As Zhao Wuji led Oscar toward Flanders' office, he noticed Oscar shaking his head.
"What's on your mind, Little Ao?" he asked.
Oscar smiled. "Nothing much, Teacher Zhao. Just thinking about Hongjun. I've been away for a few dayshe's probably been slacking off. I was imagining ways to 'bully' him a little. But then I remembered how hard he's worked recently, so I decided to let it slide."
Zhao Wuji laughed, "You're not even nine yet, and already this mature? If it weren't for the fact that we oldtimers are still useful to you, I'd mistake you for one of the teachers at Shrek!"
Oscar chuckled. "Isn't this what a student should be doing? Besides, I'm the senior most student here. As the 'big brother' of the Academy, it's only right I keep the younger ones in line."
Zhao Wuji nodded approvingly. "Little Ao, in the 20 plus years since Shrek was founded, you're the most mature and dependable student we've ever had. If you could take over the academy one day…"
He glanced at the door to Flanders' office, now within reach, and leaned in to whisper:
"You'd do a far better job than Flanders ever did."
Oscar smiled. "Now you're teasing me. If the dean hears you, I'm afraid your already meager salary will take another hit."
Zhao Wuji's expression changed immediately. "Hey! You brat! After all I've done for you you're plotting against your dear old Teacher Zhao?!"
At that moment, the office door opened. Flanders appeared with his usual thermos in hand, blackrimmed square glasses perched on his nose, and a calm demeanor.
The moment he saw Oscar and Zhao Wuji, a subtle joy flickered in his eyes, though it vanished quickly.
"How'd it go? Any breakthroughs for Little Ao?" he asked.
Zhao Wuji gave Oscar a look, then clapped Flanders on the shoulder. "Boss, Little Ao's luck this time was off the charts. Let's discuss it inside."
Seeing Zhao Wuji's enthusiasm, Flanders' eyes lit up again, staring at Oscar as if he were the future hope of the academy.
"Tell me everything."
Zhao Wuji proceeded to explain Oscar's second soul skill and his acquisition of an external soul bone.
The moment he finished, Flanders froze. Even the tea in his cup seemed to still.
Then, slowly, his face lit up with uncontainable excitement.
Even putting aside the external soul bone, Oscar's second soul skill alone was staggering:
It could neutralize poisons of the same level.
It granted five minutes of total immunity to all negative effects.
And critically this immunity had no level restriction.
This made it a decisive trump card against spirit masters who relied on debuffs, poisons, or control techniques.
The continent had over 100,000 spirit masters, with every kind of martial spirit imaginable. Many of them wielded disgusting abilities that applied multiple negative buffs.
If Oscar's second skill were auctioned, its value would be astronomical.
It wasn't just good for combatsoul masters regularly entered the Spirit Beast Forest, where negative status immunity could be a matter of life and death.
But what truly excited Flanders was the external soul bone.
Though he'd seen soul bones before in his nearly 50 years of life, this was his first time witnessing an external soul bone.
He understood their unique evolutionary property: unlike the six main soul bones, external soul bones could grow in strength as the soul master advanced.
If Oscar continued to cultivate, it was entirely possible for his external soul bone to evolve to the 100,000year level.
Hence why external soul bones are known as:
"The No. 1 soul bone beneath the hundred thousand year tier"
Even more importantly, they cannot be looted or stolen.
Once merged, they become part of the soul master's physical body. Killing someone to take their bone doesn't work for external soul bones.
Of course, if the bone became too powerful and enemies learned of it, they might attempt to eliminate Oscar preemptively to stop him from maturing into a threat.
Luckily, though Shrek Academy was full of eccentrics, they were deeply protective of their own. For now, Oscar had no cause for concern.
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