At this moment, Bu Le wore a mask of pain. With the jade sword pressed coldly against his throat, he no longer cared about the shame of having his clothes burned away. He dropped to his knees.
"Master! Killing in Soto City is against the law! You must calm down!" Bu Le shouted desperately, raising his voice as though terrified that no one would hear.
But he had always lorded his spirit master status over the poor district, bullying others at will. Now that he had fallen, the onlookers were more eager to gloat than to help.
Oscar looked at Bu Le's shameless, groveling face without much change in expression.
To be honest, though he had lived two lives, he had never killed a man before. He had slain soul beasts, yes—but in his eyes, that was no different from slaughtering livestock in his previous life. No psychological burden.
This Bu Le wasn't a good person, true. But asking Oscar to cut him down in cold blood? That was harder than expected.
After all, while Bu Le had beaten Ma Hongjun badly, he hadn't committed any unforgivable atrocities.
Still, sparing him entirely was out of the question.
Ignoring Bu Le's wails, Oscar's voice was flat and icy:
"Make another sound, and I'll cut out your tongue."
The instant those words landed, Bu Le went silent, eyes wide, staring pitifully at Oscar.
"I won't kill you. Hand over your soul tool. Then close your eyes."
Though reluctant, Bu Le complied immediately. He was genuinely afraid Oscar would finish him on the spot.
His soul tool was a bracelet. Oscar took it, examined the contents, and his face instantly went green.
The bracelet had a storage space of three cubic meters. Inside, two whole cubic meters were stuffed with women's underwear. Red, yellow, purple, blue, green… every color imaginable.
If not for the soul tool's ability to seal off scents, Oscar could already imagine the smell.
He slipped the bracelet away into his own storage. Then he leaned close, voice colder than before:
"From today onward, I don't want to see you in Soto City again. And you will not use your spirit master status to commit evil or bully innocents. Otherwise…"
Bu Le's head bobbed like a rattle-drum. He even shouted out loud, playing along:
"The young master is right! Before, I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. Please forgive me, young master. From now on, I will turn over a new leaf!"
Watching him grovel, Ma Hongjun suddenly felt yesterday's beating wasn't so bad after all. In fact, seeing Bu Le like this gave him a wicked sense of satisfaction.
But the more pathetic Bu Le acted, the more Oscar knew this man could never truly change.
After a moment's thought, Oscar moved. Bu Le still had his eyes closed, oblivious that Oscar had shifted positions.
Ma Hongjun frowned in confusion, then froze as he realized what Oscar was about to do.
Oscar slowly raised his right foot, gathered strength, and brought it down hard between Bu Le's legs.
A scream like a slaughtered pig tore through the air, louder than Ma Hongjun's phoenix cry moments ago.
"AHHH! My… my…!"
Two howls later, Bu Le collapsed unconscious, writhing weakly as his lower body twitched from time to time.
Oscar's calm voice followed:
"Forget it. People like you can't change. Better to deal with it once and for all."
He withdrew the jade sword and said to Ma Hongjun, "Let's go."
Ma Hongjun gave him a stunned look, then glanced again at the fainted Bu Le. A chill shot through him, and he instinctively crossed his legs before quickly trotting after Oscar.
Hidden in the shadows, Zhao Wuji watched, a look of approval spreading across his face.
Killing openly inside the city would have brought endless trouble. But Oscar's method not only avoided that, it stripped Bu Le of the very tools he relied on to commit evil. Two birds with one stone!
This was what Shrek should stand for: hatred of evil, courage in action!
Even Zhao Wuji was surprised Oscar had truly managed to defeat a thirty-sixth rank Spirit Elder with only his twenty-second rank power. But this also proved Oscar's combat ability was extraordinary—his strength was real.
He had already surpassed what ordinary spirit masters of his level could dream of.
Granted, Bu Le's strength was mediocre among Spirit Elders, probably near the bottom. Still, he was a Spirit Elder!
For Oscar, this fight had been a valuable experience. And though Bu Le wasn't strong, the victory demonstrated a crucial truth: Oscar now possessed the ability to contend with Spirit Elders.
His soul power was only at the twenty-second rank, yet his physical strength alone had already reached the level of a high-tier Spirit Elder.
With the Skyjade Spirit Jade Sword's fusion abilities—condense and cut—combined with his physical prowess, Oscar's strength was far beyond that of an ordinary weapon spirit master.
After leaving the market, Oscar and Ma Hongjun rejoined Zhao Wuji. This time, Zhao Wuji hadn't even needed to show himself—Oscar alone had handled Bu Le.
On the road, Ma Hongjun gazed at Oscar with pure admiration.
"Oscar, you were so cool today! I want to be just like you in the future!"
Oscar chuckled.
"That was nothing. As long as you work hard, you'll definitely surpass me one day."
He patted Ma Hongjun's shoulder and added,
"After all, my spirit is only food-type. Right now, I can rely on my external spirit bone to fight. Later, that advantage will fade."
At that, Zhao Wuji burst into laughter.
"Don't belittle yourself, little Ao. To defeat a thirty-sixth rank Spirit Elder as a food-type at only the twenty-second rank—you've already made history for Shrek Academy. No—perhaps even for the entire continent!"
Ma Hongjun nodded vigorously in agreement.
"And Oscar, those last moves were amazing. Your external spirit bone is practically like a martial spirit of its own!"
Hearing their praise, Oscar felt a warmth stir in his chest.
Truthfully, though born with innate full soul power, as a food-type spirit master, he was destined—by traditional standards—to be a mere support.
But after nearly three years in this world, after all he had seen and endured, Oscar had resolved not to be bound by that role.
Today's victory over Bu Le was just the beginning.
In the future, he would strive even harder. He would live fully in this world.
Just as the three of them entered the city, planning to eat before heading back, Flender suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Oscar, Zhao Wuji, and Ma Hongjun all froze at the sight.
Adjusting the black-rimmed glasses on his nose, Flender grinned.
"What's wrong? As the headmaster of Shrek Academy, shouldn't I personally witness such a historic moment for little Ao?"
Oscar and Zhao Wuji exchanged a glance—they instantly understood. The old fox must have been following from the sky all along. With his Soul Sage cultivation and his powerful owl spirit, hiding from them was child's play.
Flender waved grandly.
"Today, we celebrate Oscar and Hongjun. My treat! Juxian Restaurant!"
Zhao Wuji's jaw nearly hit the ground. He had known Flender for over a decade. Since when did this miserly iron rooster ever spend big money to treat people to a meal?
Oscar, however, thought deeper. If Flender had followed them in secret, it meant he truly valued them and Ma Hongjun.
In the original story, Oscar had always felt the teachers of Shrek weren't particularly attentive to their students.
But now, living with them in person, he could feel it—in the details, in moments like this.
The old men of Shrek really did care.