Time flew by like an arrow two months passed in a flash. Oscar's spirit power had already reached the mid stage of Level 23.
Back when he absorbed that piece of whale glue, Oscar was just a hair's breadth away from breaking through to Level 23. After returning to the academy and going into seclusion for a week, the breakthrough came naturally.
Ma Hongjun's spirit power had also progressed from early Level 14 to late Level 14. Though he hadn't reached Level 15, it was still a substantial improvement.
Unfortunately, despite the passage of two months, Flender still hadn't found any more whale glue. After all, in this era, whale glue wasn't considered anything special its true value unknown to most. So its scarcity was understandable.
Flender had even begun considering taking the Shrek Academy teachers out to sea. With a group of Spirit Sages and Spirit Emperors, acquiring some whale glue shouldn't be too difficult.
Today was Oscar's ninth birthday marking that he had reached Level 23 in spirit power at just nine years old.
This wasn't just a new record for Shrek Academy it was likely a record for all food type spirit masters, and perhaps even for the entire spirit master world.
On Oscar's birthday, the teachers at Shrek Academy all set aside their work to organize a full day of celebration for him.
Early in the morning, Shao Xin prepared a lavish breakfast, letting Oscar eat to his heart's content.
But after breakfast, Zhao Wuji gave Oscar a "birthday present": a full set of training combos.
That's right training. It was a Shrek Academy tradition. Painful yet joyful.
By the time training ended, it was already noon. Oddly, they didn't head to the dining hall immediately.
Only then did Oscar realize he hadn't seen Flender all morning. Usually on his birthday, Flender would prepare a gift. But today? Not a trace.
In fact, Flender had been missing for over half a month. Even on Oscar's birthday, he was nowhere to be seen.
When Oscar asked Zhao Wuji, the old man just laughed it off, pretending not to know. But Zhao Wuji was a terrible liar. He definitely knew where Flender had gone he just wasn't saying.
While Oscar was mulling it over, Flender returned accompanied by a thin middle aged man of similar height.
The man looked a few years younger than Flender, with sword like brows and bright, starry eyes. He was extremely handsome, exuding an indescribable aura.
He was like a sword a cold, unsheathed blade.
Seeing him, Zhao Wuji immediately walked up and greeted him heartily, though the other teachers at Shrek didn't seem to recognize the man.
"Gai Yue, old brother, you've finally agreed to come out of seclusion!" Zhao Wuji said, clapping him on the shoulder.
Gai Yue gave a slight nod. "Brother Zhao."
His tone was cold, but Zhao Wuji didn't mind he seemed used to it.
Oscar grew increasingly puzzled.
In all the original story, he couldn't recall anyone at Shrek Academy by the name of Gai Yue. Was this someone he had overlooked?
Worried he had missed something, Oscar wracked his memory but confirmed: Gai Yue had never appeared in the original.
Then again, that made sense. Perhaps Gai Yue wasn't a teacher at Shrek Academy and simply never crossed paths with the protagonist's group hence his absence from the narrative.
After all, the original story was told from the main characters' point of view. Now that Oscar was inside this world, encountering some unique individuals outside the canon was to be expected.
While Oscar was still pondering, Flender began introducing Gai Yue to the other Shrek teachers.
Gai Yue was cold to the point of indifference. Even toward friends like Flender and Zhao Wuji, his demeanor remained icy. So the other Shrek teachers just exchanged simple greetings.
Then Flender waved at Oscar. "Little Ao, come here."
Oscar snapped out of his thoughts and walked over.
As he approached, he noticed Gai Yue's eyes were fixed on him calm and piercing, as though trying to see through his very soul.
Oscar didn't like that gaze, but since the man was a friend of Flender's, he didn't show any outward displeasure. Still, he remained composed.
"Dean, what is it?" Oscar asked.
Flender smiled mysteriously. "It's your birthday, and I've prepared a gift for you. But whether you can receive it or not… depends on your own ability."
Oscar gave him a confused look that seemed to say: "At least show me the damn thing before making me decide!"
Sensing Oscar's expression, Flender leaned in and whispered: "Didn't you say you wanted to train in the way of the sword? This man beside me may not be as renowned as Sword Douluo Chen Xin, but he's absolutely a top tier swordsman. If you can earn his approval, he'll stay on as your swordsmanship instructor. The rest is up to you."
Oscar's eyes lit up.
Now he understood why Flender had disappeared for half a month he had likely gone to find this man.
With Oscar's intelligence, it wasn't hard to deduce that Flender had gone out of his way to search for a sword master specifically for him. Whether out of guilt or care, it was a deeply moving gesture.
This… is the true spirit of Shrek, isn't it?
Why hadn't the original story conveyed these emotions? It only talked about how Shrek recruited monsters and how many of them died.
But these moments this heartfelt devotion was what Oscar now understood most deeply. Every one of the faculty members, from Dean Flender to Li Yusong and Lu Qibin, silently sacrificed for their students.
Oscar nodded seriously. "Dean, rest assured."
Flender then whispered something into Gai Yue's ear before leaving the space to the two of them.
Gai Yue looked at Oscar and said coolly, "Is there a training arena?"
Oscar nodded. "We have a Soul Arena. I'll take you there."
Without a word, Gai Yue followed.
Flender and Zhao Wuji acted like they didn't notice anything and went back to their business. But as soon as Oscar and Gai Yue disappeared from sight, the rest of the teachers and Ma Hongjun secretly followed them.
As Oscar walked ahead, he didn't seem at all nervous. While leading the way, he casually asked, "Senior, is your sword style focused on lethal force or speed?"
Oscar didn't know swordsmanship, but based on the original story, he understood that sword paths varied due to differences in martial spirits.
For example, Sword Douluo Chen Xin's Seven Kill Sword focused on overwhelming lethality, while the Wind Sword Sect one of the four lower sects specialized in highspeed assaults.
Gai Yue was clearly caught off guard by the question. He hadn't expected a nine year old to ask something that insightful.
After a brief pause, he answered, "Lethal force."
Just two words but enough to make Oscar beam internally.
Why? Because his own martial spirit the Sky Azure Spirit Jade Sword was more suited for deadly offensive sword styles, not agile ones.
As for Gai Yue's cultivation? Oscar didn't need to ask. If Flender had gone out of his way to bring him here and treated him with such respect, then at the very least, the man had to be a Spirit Sage (Soul Saint).
According to the original story, Spirit Sages might not be considered that powerful later in the timeline but right now? This wasn't twenty years into the future, where Title Douluos were everywhere and Spirit Douluos were common.
In this era, a Spirit Sage still held serious weight.
And frankly, Oscar believed a Spirit Sage was more than enough to serve as a sword mentor. He wasn't expecting someone like Sword Douluo himself.
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