After Yun Chuan left her room, the sweet scent of cake still lingered in the air.
Sitting on her bed, Ning Rongrong stared at the delicate little cake on the table. Her throat worked as she swallowed involuntarily, cursing her body for betraying her.
In her mind, she told herself she wanted nothing to do with this "charity," but her honest, gnawing hunger told a different story.
No! I can't eat it!
Talking to herself, she muttered, "That bastard thinks he can buy me off with a piece of cake? Hmph! Does he think I'm some country bumpkin who's never seen sweets before?"
—
Outside the room, Yun Chuan leaned against the wall, eyes half-shut, a faint smile curving his lips. His sharp hearing easily picked up her voice from inside.
It was… actually quite a cute sound.
—
Some time later, the door creaked open. Ning Rongrong stepped out, her expression calm and poised once more — the very image of a proper young lady.
"All thought it through? Then let's go."
Yun Chuan smiled at her, those clear, beautiful eyes holding a strange gentleness, like a breeze brushing over her heart.
For reasons she couldn't name, Ning Rongrong thought that while this guy was still annoying, he wasn't entirely unpleasant to look at.
With a faint huff, she walked past him out of the dorm.
In the end, she did finish the twenty laps.
Oscar was stunned, thinking, She's really something… Went off earlier, and in no time came back and actually finished.
—
Evening, at the training field.
The students gathered, waiting for someone's arrival.
Soon, Flender strode in and said without preamble, "Next, I'll be taking you to your first real class. Rongrong, Oscar — you two exerted yourselves too much earlier, so you'll just watch. This will be part of your regular training from now on. If you can't meet my standards, don't blame me for being ruthless later."
"Follow me."
With that, he led them toward Soto City.
This time, Yun Chuan didn't bother tagging along. He stayed in his quarters and took a nap — after all, it was just the usual trip to Soto Great Spirit Arena. That was student business; as a teacher, he had no reason to join.
—
The next morning, back at the training field.
Tang San and the others had been waiting quite a while before Flender ambled in.
"Oscar? Sleeping in again?" the headmaster asked, spotting only six students, his tone edged with displeasure.
"I saw him cultivating this morning," Tang San explained quickly. "Maybe he went into deep meditation and couldn't wake in time."
Flender frowned. "We can't have class without him today. Tang San, go get—"
Before he could finish, Oscar came running up, his face alight with excitement.
"What is it now, another run?" Flender asked, eyeing him.
Oscar shook his head. "No, Headmaster — listen, I broke through! I've reached level thirty!"
"What?!"
Everyone turned to stare at him in shock.
He was only fourteen. Hitting rank thirty at that age was remarkable enough for a battle-type… but for a food-type soul master — the most difficult to cultivate — it was astonishing.
On the continent, soul masters above rank thirty were already uncommon. Rank forty and beyond was rare; rank fifty food-types were vanishingly rare, and above sixty… almost unheard of except in major sects or the Spirit Hall after years of resources.
And here, their little Shrek Academy had one.
Flender broke into a laugh. "Good! Very good! Oscar — you're the second of our current students to hit rank thirty. That's what it means to be a Shrek student!"
Dai Mubai clapped him on the shoulder. "Congrats, Xiao Ao. You may have been a bit slower than me getting here, but for a food-type, you're the greatest talent I've ever seen."
The others came forward with their congratulations. Only Ning Rongrong stood where she was, her eyes holding a complicated light as she looked at Oscar, while Zhu Zhuqing kept her head bowed, lost in thought.
"Alright, let's start today's lesson," Flender's voice cut through the chatter.
"Today is simple. Oscar — you're the star. Everyone except Oscar will eat at least one of each of his two types of sausages, freshly made with soul power."
"What?" Xiao Wu blurted, aghast.
"Headmaster, what kind of class is this?"
"This," Flender said with a straight face, "is adaptability training. Which matters more, your life or your pride? If you have to pick one, which do you choose? Oscar's incantations might be… inelegant, but the spirit sausages he produces are the best food-type martial soul products I've ever seen.
"You're going to be training together in the future. If you can't coordinate with one of the best support partners you could ask for, you'll be wasting his talents."
He paused, letting that sink in. "It's also a mindset exercise. If you can't get over something this small, how do you expect to survive in the soul master world?"
The three girls in the group all looked distinctly uncomfortable now, expressions twisted with reluctance.
(End of Chapter)