Oscar immersed himself in studying the Blue Covered Sword Manual late into the night. After thoroughly reviewing it, he gained a deeper understanding of swordsmanship and the Dao of the Sword, along with a clearer recognition of its difficulty.
Yet this only solidified his resolve to walk the path of the sword. After all beyond everything else sword play looked damn cool.
Putting the manual aside, Oscar cultivated for another two hours, restoring his spirit to its peak. At 6 AM, he left the dormitory invigorated.
Following his routine, he first trained physically for half an hour, then had breakfast with Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun, now just as diligent as Oscar, no longer slacked off. After breakfast, Ma Hongjun headed to Mr. Lu Qibin's theory class, while Oscar walked toward the peach grove in the east where Gai Yue lived.
When Oscar arrived at the small courtyard, Gai Yue was already practicing his sword in the yard. Oscar sat quietly on the side, attentively observing, trying to grasp the intent within his master's sword techniques.
But sword intent is something that can only be sensed, not described. So at this point, Oscar didn't truly understand it. He could only feel that every move from Gai Yue flowed naturally, as if not wielding a sword but being the sword itself.
It echoed what Gai Yue had told him yesterday: "Use the body as sword, and conceal the sword within the heart."
To be both man and sword this was the state of Man Sword Unity.
But even Gai Yue admitted that he had only made modest progress along this path. To become a true sword cultivator, he still had a long way to go.
Gai Yue's current goal was to reach the realm of Sword Dao Dustless Mind
Oscar's ambition wasn't so lofty yet. His present objective was to catch up to his teacher, and only then surpass him.
After a long while, the sword practice ended.
Oscar poured Gai Yue a cup of tea from a nearby stone table. Taking a sip, Gai Yue passed the cup back and asked:
"What did you think?"
Oscar received it and offered an honest evaluation:
"Impressive. I just don't know how long it'll take for me to reach that level."
Gai Yue chuckled:
"That depends on your talent and willpower."
After adjusting his robes slightly, he said calmly:
"Let's begin your first lesson now."
Oscar sat cross legged in the center of the courtyard, fully attentive to Gai Yue's instruction.
At just nine years old, Oscar began his true first sword cultivation lesson.
From this day onward:
Morning: physical training for 30 minutes after waking.
Post break fast: sword practice, centered around the Frost Moon Sword Manual (霜月剑谱).
2 PM–5 PM: personal instruction and sparring with Gai Yue.
5 PM: pharmacology studies and self compounding using herbs he purchased.
6 PM: dinner followed by summarizing daily sword Dao insights and reflecting via guided questions from Gai Yue.
Night: soul power cultivation and crafting his soul sausages (First and Second Soul Skills) until depletion of spirit power.
This not only helped Oscar better master his soul skills but also pushed his cultivation efficiency through consistent spiritual exhaustion and recovery.
Since starting this intense training, Oscar had adhered strictly to a rigorous, measurable daily schedule. He even raised his own standards, much to Gai Yue's praise.
Gai Yue openly said:
"If I had your determination back then, I'd be at an even higher level today."
To him, taking Oscar as his disciple was perhaps the best decision of his life. Watching Oscar train even inspired himself to strive harder.
It wasn't just Gai Yue. Flender and Zhao Wuji felt similarly.
Since Oscar's admission to Shrek, in just three years:
Flender was about to break through to Rank 77.
Zhao Wuji was approaching Rank 75.
In the original story, when Tang San and the others joined at age 14 (five years from now), Flender was only Rank 78, Zhao Wuji Rank 76.
Now? They were almost at that level already.
All of this, triggered by Oscar's butterfly effect. His discipline influenced the entire Shrek Academy toward transformation.
Meanwhile, Flender frustrated by failing to find more whale glue finally made a decision:
Take the Shrek faculty "to the sea."
They had witnessed firsthand the incredible benefits of whale glue from Oscar. Oscar had stated clearly that even with their cultivation levels, higher grade whale glue would still be extremely beneficial.
Plus, those old guys hadn't moved around much lately it was a good excuse to get some exercise and experience.
Oscar himself hadn't expected his actions would bring about such a significant change to Shrek. This wasn't in the original story at all.
Still, he supported the move. It would secure more cultivation resources for him in this time window before the other Shrek Seven Monsters arrived.
Oscar knew that no one would be enrolling at Shrek during this period especially not any of the future Seven Monsters. Apart from himself and Ma Hongjun, the earliest to arrive Dai Mubai wouldn't show up for another two years.
Meaning the faculty had months of freedom.
Before they left, Oscar advised Flender:
"You don't have to hide your trip, but the purpose must be kept secret."
Why?
Because if the special effects of whale glue got out, major powers might monopolize it blocking their access.
Flender, being a top tier schemer, already had the same thought. He had even investigated in secret, finding out that currently whale glue was only used for "male enhancement"no one had tapped into its true power.
Thus, he wanted to harvest as much as possible before the secret spread.
However, due to his limited connections and his conflict with Soto City's Lord he couldn't easily gather more intel.
And as a Soul Saint, he couldn't be seen openly buying large quantities of a "male tonic" without raising suspicion. So he created a fake identity claiming he had "that problem" and tried to find it discreetly.
But with little success.
Hence, he now decided to lead a whale glue hunting expedition himself. With the current Shrek lineup, even 10,000year level whale glue was within reach:
Gai Yue: Rank 82 Soul Douluo
Flender & Zhao Wuji: Soul Saints
Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, Li Yusong: Soul Emperors (with Shao Xin nearly at Soul Saint level and a powerful food type soul master)
A formidable lineup.
So, one month after Oscar's birthday, the Shrek faculty quietly departed, disguised as ordinary travelers, heading toward a coastal city to begin their mission.
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