"This is a lesson every one of you must complete. If you can't, then there's no reason for you to stay here. Oscar, begin." Flender's voice was like ice, his expression hard and unyielding — leaving no room for negotiation.
Oscar didn't hesitate. He raised both hands and chanted his two soul skill incantations.
"Your big brother's got a Big Sausage!"
"Your big brother's got a Little Sausage!"
With a flash of soul power, one thick and one thin sausage — each with its own distinct flavor — appeared in his palms.
"Who's first?"
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had both been through this exact "lesson" before, and were just about to step forward when someone unexpectedly beat them to it.
"I'll go."
Ning Rongrong strode up to Oscar without a flicker of hesitation and directly grabbed both the Big Sausage and the Little Sausage.
No one had expected her to be the first to step up. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun froze mid-step, and everyone else stared to see what she would do — would she actually eat Oscar's martial-spirit-conjured sausages?
Her expression remained calm as she chomped down in a single, savage bite. The fierceness of it made everyone blink.
Watching her face, Oscar instinctively took a step back. For some reason, he felt a phantom twinge somewhere very specific.
Within just a few bites, Ning Rongrong had finished both.
With a girl taking the lead, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun also stepped up, each eating their share. Tang San came up next, a bit resigned as he accepted the newly-made sausages from Oscar. If even a delicate young lady can do it, what reason do I have to refuse?
With that thought, he swallowed both sausages in two quick bites.
Now, only Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing remained.
Xiao Wu looked at Tang San almost pleadingly, as if to say, Do I really have to?
Tang San gave her a reassuring smile. "It's fine. They taste alright. Just pretend it's street food."
Unwilling though she was, Xiao Wu became the fifth to step out. She ate the two items with her eyes squeezed shut — and her face still looked like she'd just swallowed something foul.
That left only Zhu Zhuqing.
Every gaze turned to her.
Her beautiful, frosty face betrayed not a moment's hesitation. She walked up to Oscar in long strides, snatched the two sausages from his hands, and downed them even faster than Xiao Wu had.
With everyone having completed the task, Flender finally nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. You've all passed today's lesson.
Go get ready — tomorrow morning, Teacher Tang will lead you to the Star Dou Forest to help Oscar obtain his third spirit ring.
Alright, dismissed."
The students returned to their dorms. Geniuses though they were in their generation, even the Seven Treasures Glazed Clan's pampered princess knew just how much cultivation meant to them.
Tomorrow we head to Star Dou Forest… What spirit ring should I get to best enhance my sausage's support effects?
Oscar didn't need to focus on training today; his mind was consumed with thoughts of acquiring his ring.
But spirit rings depended on opportunity. Spirit beasts came in endless varieties, and no one could predict what they would encounter — it would all come down to luck.
And the Star Dou Forest was a perilous place indeed — cradle of spirit beasts, a treasure ground for powerful soul masters… and also the place where soul masters most often met their deaths.
(End of Chapter)