Oscar held the blue-bound sword manual and studied it deep into the night. After going through it once, his impression of swordsmanship and the Way of the Sword grew far deeper, and he also understood the immense difficulty it held.
Yet this only strengthened his determination to train in the sword. If nothing else, wielding a sword was undeniably handsome!
After setting aside the manual, Oscar cultivated for another two hours, and by then his spirit had already recovered to its peak. At six in the morning, he walked out of his dorm full of energy.
As usual, he spent half an hour training his body, then went with Ma Hongjun to the cafeteria for breakfast.
These days, Ma Hongjun was just as diligent as Oscar and didn't slack off. After eating, Ma Hongjun went to attend Teacher Lu Qibin's theory class, while Oscar headed east, toward Gai Yue's peach grove residence.
When Oscar arrived, Gai Yue was already practicing his sword in the courtyard. Oscar consciously sat quietly to the side, observing closely, trying to grasp the intent behind his teacher's swordsmanship.
But sword intent could only be felt, not explained. For now, Oscar couldn't quite understand—it only seemed to him that every strike and every movement from Gai Yue flowed with natural perfection.
It was as if Gai Yue wasn't wielding a sword at all—he was the sword.
This perfectly echoed what Gai Yue had told him yesterday: to embody the sword, to conceal the sword in one's heart.
Both man and sword as one. This was the realm of Unity of Man and Sword.
And yet, Gai Yue admitted he had only scratched the surface of this path. To become a true swordsman, there was still a long way to go.
His own lifelong pursuit now was none other than the Sword Saint—Dustheart (Chen Xin) of the Seven Kill Sword.
Oscar's current goal was not nearly as lofty. For now, his target was to first catch up to his teacher, then take the next step.
After a long while, Gai Yue finished his practice.
Oscar poured him a cup of tea from the stone table nearby. Taking a sip, Gai Yue handed the cup back and asked, "What do you feel?"
Oscar accepted the cup and replied honestly: "It's excellent. I just don't know how long it will take me to reach this level."
Gai Yue chuckled softly. "That depends on your talent and perseverance."
After straightening his robes, he spoke faintly: "Now, let us begin your first true lesson."
Oscar sat cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, listening attentively to his master's teaching.
Thus, at just nine years old, Oscar began his very first real sword lesson.
From that day onward, Oscar's daily routine became fixed.
Every morning, after half an hour of physical training and breakfast, he would study the Frostmoon Sword Technique from the manual.
In the afternoon, starting from two o'clock, Gai Yue personally guided Oscar through sword practice, often sparring with him.
At five o'clock, Oscar turned to pharmacology, experimenting with herbs he bought and preparing his own medicinal concoctions.
At six, after dinner, Gai Yue required Oscar to summarize his day's progress in swordsmanship, raising questions for him to ponder deeply.
At night, Oscar continued cultivating his soul power, while also tirelessly producing sausages with his first and second soul skills until his soul power was completely exhausted.
This not only gave him constant practice with his soul skills but also forced him to adapt to soul power depletion, subtly boosting his cultivation speed.
From then on, Oscar's training was strict and disciplined. Each day, he set clear goals that had to be completed, and often pushed himself even further. Even Gai Yue couldn't help but praise him for his relentless effort.
More than once, Gai Yue told him, "If I had possessed your perseverance when I was young, my achievements today would be even greater."
In truth, Gai Yue began to feel that taking Oscar as his disciple was the wisest decision he had ever made in his life.
Watching Oscar train inspired even him to push harder, realizing his own effort had been lacking compared to this child's tireless diligence. Without noticing, even Gai Yue himself became more hardworking than ever.
And not only Gai Yue—Flander, Zhao Wuji, and the others felt the same. In just three short years since Oscar entered Shrek Academy, Flander's soul power had already nearly reached level seventy-seven, and Zhao Wuji was also on the verge of seventy-five.
According to the original story, when Tang San and the others enrolled at Shrek, Oscar was fourteen—that's still five years away. By then, Flander was only seventy-eight, and Zhao Wuji was only seventy-six.
But now, they were nearly at that level already.
Perhaps all because of the influence of one person—Oscar—his diligence had set off a ripple that could transform all of Shrek.
This must be the saying: "One is dyed red by vermilion, and black by ink."
Meanwhile, as Oscar focused on the sword, Flander—having failed to find whale glue—finally made a decision.
He would take the Shrek teachers and go to sea.
After seeing with their own eyes how whale glue benefited Oscar, they, too, were moved. Even in their cultivation, with enough quality whale glue, the benefits were tremendous.
Besides, these old fellows hadn't stretched their bones properly in years. This was the perfect chance for a little training.
Oscar hadn't expected such a small butterfly wing-flap on his part to bring about such a huge change for Shrek. After all, this didn't exist in the original storyline.
Still, he supported it. With this, he could gain the resources he needed to rapidly grow stronger. Build a strong foundation now, and the future will be limitless.
Most importantly, he knew there would be no students applying to Shrek at this time. In the original, aside from himself and Ma Hongjun, the earliest arrival was Dai Mubai—but he wouldn't come for another two years. So leaving for a few months would not harm.
Before departure, Oscar cautioned Flander: "The journey doesn't need to be secret, but the purpose must remain hidden. No one can know the true use of whale glue. Otherwise, powerful factions might monopolize it, and we'd lose access."
Of course, as a top-tier profiteer, Flander already understood this without needing Oscar's reminder. He had quietly investigated after discovering its special use.
His findings: currently, whale glue is known only as an aphrodisiac, with no other applications developed.
That was why Flander intended to move fast—while its true value remained unknown and supplies were plentiful, he would collect as much as possible for their benefit.
However, although he was a Soul Sage, his connections were limited. He only influenced Soto City, and unfortunately, he didn't get along with the city lord. That meant he had no access to larger sources of whale glue.
And naturally, he couldn't openly purchase it in large amounts—what would people think of a Soul Sage suddenly buying "that kind of thing"? It would immediately arouse suspicion.
So he had always searched quietly, even going so far as to disguise himself with a fake identity as someone with "problems in that area." Even so, progress was slow.
Now, with Gai Yue—an eighty-second level Soul Douluo—plus himself and Zhao Wuji as Soul Sages, and Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, and Li Yusong as Soul Emperors, their team's strength was formidable.
Especially with Shao Xin, a food-type Soul Emperor close to Soul Sage level, their combat endurance and support would be greatly enhanced.
Thus, one month after Oscar's ninth birthday, the Shrek faculty quietly set out.
Not with fanfare, but disguised as ordinary travelers, they left the village, heading toward a coastal city—into the sea.