Time flew like an arrow. In the blink of two months, Oscar's spirit power had already reached the mid-stage of Rank 23.
Back when he absorbed that piece of whale glue, his spirit power had been only a hair's breadth away from breaking through. After returning to the academy, a week of closed-door cultivation had naturally pushed him past the bottleneck.
Ma Hongjun's spirit power had also advanced, rising from the early stage of Rank 14 to the late stage. Although he hadn't quite reached Rank 15 yet, the progress was still impressive.
The only pity was that after two months, Flender had still not found any trace of whale glue. After all, in this era, it wasn't considered a rare or particularly valuable item, and since no one knew its true worth, its scarcity was only natural.
Because of this, Flender had already begun considering taking the Shrek Academy teachers to sea themselves. With their lineup of Spirit Saints and Spirit Emperors, acquiring a few pieces of whale glue shouldn't be too difficult.
Today also happened to be Oscar's ninth birthday. That meant that at just nine years of age, Oscar had already reached Rank 23 spirit power.
This wasn't just a record for Shrek Academy—it was a record for all Food System Spirit Masters, and perhaps even for the entire Spirit Master world.
On his birthday, the teachers of the academy all put aside their duties to give Oscar a hearty celebration.
At breakfast, Shao Xin had prepared a sumptuous meal for him. After that, Zhao Wuji gave him a "special gift"—a grueling training regimen.
Yes, training. That was the Shrek tradition. Pain and joy, bundled together.
By the time the training ended, it was already noon. But they didn't head to the dining hall right away.
It was only then that Oscar noticed something odd: he hadn't seen Flender all morning. In past years, Flender would always prepare a gift for him on his birthday. Yet today, there was no sign of him at all.
In fact, Flender had been missing for over half a month. Even on this day, he hadn't shown up. What on earth was he doing?
Oscar asked Zhao Wuji, but the old man just chuckled awkwardly and brushed him off with a "don't know." Unfortunately, Zhao Wuji was notoriously terrible at lying. He definitely knew what Flender was up to—he just didn't want to say.
Just as Oscar was puzzling over it, Flender finally returned. Walking beside him was a middle-aged man of similar height, though leaner in build.
The man looked younger than Flender, with sword-like brows and sharp eyes, his features strikingly handsome. Standing there, he radiated an indescribable presence.
It was as if he himself were a sword—cold, sharp, and unyielding.
The moment Zhao Wuji saw him, he strode forward with his usual boldness and greeted him warmly. The other Shrek teachers, however, clearly didn't know who he was.
"Brother Gai Yue, you finally came out of seclusion!" Zhao Wuji laughed, clapping the man heavily on the shoulder.
The middle-aged man, Gai Yue, gave Zhao Wuji only a faint nod. "Brother Zhao."
Though his manner was cold and detached, Zhao Wuji didn't seem to mind at all, as though he were already used to it.
This only made Oscar more curious.
Who was this person? He racked his brain, recalling the original story, but couldn't remember any mention of someone like this in Shrek Academy.
Gai Yue? Oscar worried for a moment that he'd missed something important, but after carefully reviewing his memories of the original work, he was certain there had been no such character.
Still, he reasoned, this man probably wasn't a Shrek teacher—just someone who hadn't crossed paths with the main group in the original story. In that case, it made sense he wouldn't be mentioned.
While Oscar was lost in thought, Flender had already begun introducing Gai Yue to the other Shrek teachers.
Gai Yue's personality was indeed icy cold. Even with close friends like Flender and Zhao Wuji, he remained aloof. Naturally, the other teachers only exchanged simple greetings with him.
Then Flender beckoned. "Little Ao, come here."
Hearing Flender call him, Oscar finally snapped out of his musings and walked over.
Standing before Flender, Oscar immediately felt Gai Yue's eyes on him. The man's gaze was so sharp it was as though he wanted to pierce straight into Oscar's soul.
Oscar didn't like that look one bit. Still, since the man was Flender's friend, he didn't react outwardly—he just straightened his back and met the gaze without flinching.
"Dean, what's the matter?" Oscar asked.
Flender smiled mysteriously. "Today's your birthday, so I prepared a gift for you. But whether you can claim it depends on your own ability."
Oscar blinked, baffled. His expression clearly said: Where's the gift? At least show me what it is before you tell me if I can have it!
Noticing his look, Flender leaned close and whispered in his ear: "Didn't you want to learn swordsmanship? The man beside me may not be the Sword Douluo Chen Xin, but in the path of the sword, he is an exceptional figure. If you can earn his recognition, he'll stay as your sword master. It's up to you now."
Oscar's eyes lit up instantly. Now he finally understood why Flender had been gone for more than half a month. He must have been searching for this man!
With Oscar's intelligence, it wasn't hard to realize that this was a teacher Flender had deliberately sought out for him—perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps out of genuine care.
Either way, Oscar was deeply moved.
So this is Shrek, huh? he thought. Why didn't the original story ever show this side? It only described how many "monsters" Shrek had trained and how many had died.
But the truth was that everyone at Shrek—from Dean Flender to Li Yusong and Lu Qibin—silently gave their all for the sake of the students.
Oscar nodded seriously. "Dean, don't worry. I'll make the most of this chance."
Flender whispered a few words into Gai Yue's ear, then stepped aside, leaving the space between Oscar and the swordsman.
Gai Yue gave Oscar one last look, then said plainly: "Is there a training ground here?"
Oscar nodded quickly. "Yes, the academy has a Soul Dueling Platform. I'll take you there."
Gai Yue gave a curt nod and said no more.
As Oscar led him toward the platform, Flender and Zhao Wuji pretended not to notice. But once the pair disappeared, the teachers and even Ma Hongjun snuck after them, curious to see what would happen.
Oscar walked ahead confidently, showing none of the awkwardness of a first meeting. He asked casually as they went: "Senior, does your swordsmanship focus on offensive killing techniques, or on agility and speed?"
Although Oscar wasn't a swordsman himself, thanks to his knowledge of the original story, he knew that swordsmanship in this world was heavily influenced by one's martial spirit.
For example, Sword Douluo Chen Xin's Seven Killing Sword specialized in pure attack and slaughter, while sects like the Wind Sword Sect cultivated agility-based sword spirits.
Gai Yue actually paused at the question. He hadn't expected a nine-year-old child to understand enough to ask such a thing.
Still, he answered simply: "Killing."
Those two words were enough to satisfy Oscar completely.
His Azure Spirit Jade Sword was naturally suited to an attack-and-slaughter path, not speed. To find a teacher aligned with that was perfect.
As for Gai Yue's cultivation level, Oscar didn't even need to ask. For Flender to invite him with such respect, he had to be at least a Spirit Saint.
According to the original story, perhaps a Spirit Saint wasn't such a big deal later on. But right now, in this era before Titled Douluos became commonplace, a Spirit Saint was still a highly respected powerhouse.
And for Oscar, having a Spirit Saint as his sword master was already more than enough. It wasn't realistic to expect someone like Sword Douluo himself to train him, after all.