The three of them did not stay long at Ice Spirit Ravine. Once Dugu Yan finished absorbing her spirit ring, they immediately returned to Gai Yue's residence at Frozen Mountain.
This trip had been a complete success for both Oscar and Dugu Yan. Oscar had obtained a fourth spirit ability that could rival a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, while Dugu Yan's martial spirit had evolved, and she too absorbed a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring.
They did not linger in the Extreme North but chose to head straight back to Shrek Academy.
On the journey back, they weren't in a rush. Instead, they traveled leisurely, enjoying themselves along the way. It ended up taking a full month before they finally returned to Shrek.
For most of the return trip, it was basically Oscar and Dugu Yan's two-person world. Gai Yue, meanwhile, was nothing more than a bright light bulb third-wheeling them.
Because of this, Oscar and Dugu Yan even joked with him, telling him to find a "Mistress Teacher" (师娘) for himself. After all, it really was too lonely to live one's whole life alone.
But Gai Yue wasn't the kind of man to force things—he just took everything as it came naturally.
In Oscar's heart, though, he actually had a candidate in mind for his teacher's future wife—Liu Erlong.
In the original story, Liu Erlong was taken by Yu Xiaogang, but in Oscar's opinion, Yu Xiaogang really didn't deserve her.
Instead, his teacher, Gai Yue, might actually be a far better match with Liu Erlong. After all, one was Ice, one was Fire—together, wouldn't that be the perfect Ice and Fire Dual Heavens?
Of course, that was something for the future. But if the chance ever came, Oscar was absolutely determined to play matchmaker between his teacher and Liu Erlong. Not only would this save her from being ruined by that scumbag Yu Xiaogang, but it would also give her a partner truly worthy of her.
When they finally returned to Shrek Academy, Oscar didn't hide his growth. He directly showed Flender and Ma Hongjun his ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring.
The moment the Shrek group learned the terrifying spirit power levels Oscar and Dugu Yan had reached, everyone was shaken.
Oscar, being at level 43, was still within their understanding. After all, Dai Mubai had leapt a huge step when he absorbed his third ring at a higher level, instantly reaching level 32. For Oscar to reach 43 with a ten-thousand-year fourth ring was reasonable.
But Dugu Yan's sudden jump all the way to level 47 from just one ring was something none of them could wrap their heads around.
Her explanation, of course, was that it was thanks to a special medicinal pill her grandfather, Dugu Bo, had given her.
On this matter, she, Gai Yue, and Oscar had already agreed on their story beforehand. As long as they blamed everything on Dugu Bo, then no matter how jealous Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were, they couldn't really say anything. After all, it was just a granddaughter receiving benefits from her titled Douluo grandfather.
And indeed, that was the truth in their eyes. Who wouldn't envy her?
Even Dai Mubai had a grandfather who was a Titled Douluo, yet he had never enjoyed such benefits.
Still, Dai Mubai wasn't foolish. He understood when to be envious but not resentful. Besides, he had already received his own unexpected gain—through whale glue strengthening his body, he had managed to absorb his third ring at a higher level. That was already more than he could have asked for.
During the more than one month Oscar's group had been gone, Dai Mubai and the others had also made solid progress. Dai Mubai had advanced from late level 35 to level 36. Zhu Zhuqing had gone from late level 25 to level 26. Each had advanced one level.
As for Ma Hongjun, he had gone from early level 39 to the very peak of 39. He was only one step away from breaking into the 40th-level bottleneck.
Now, with about a year left before Tang San's group arrived at Shrek, there was still plenty of time for everyone to grow. By then, even Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, the lowest in spirit power, would definitely surpass the original story's levels.
What's more, Zhu Zhuqing's improvement had been noticed by everyone at Shrek. After careful consideration, they decided to give Zhu Zhuqing whale glue as well, allowing her to rapidly enhance her physical strength and spirit power.
That way, when she acquired her third spirit ring, she too would be able to absorb a higher-level one.
This was especially important for the fusion ability she shared with Dai Mubai—the stronger Zhu Zhuqing became, the more terrifying their martial spirit fusion technique would be.
Indeed, after consuming whale glue, Zhu Zhuqing's body was strengthened greatly, and her spirit power rose from 25 to the peak of 26. She was only one step away from 27.
At this pace, before Tang San and the others even arrived, Zhu Zhuqing would likely reach level 30 and advance into the Spirit Elder realm.
All of this was thanks to Oscar—the little butterfly effect he represented had completely changed the future of Shrek Academy.
The original Shrek Seven Devils were now becoming even more gifted and extraordinary than before.
Of course, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong weren't included in these changes yet. Since they hadn't joined Shrek at this point, their storylines hadn't been touched.
But once they entered, everything would change. After all, the current Oscar, and even the rest of Shrek, were already far beyond what they had been in the original story.
Still, the most shocking part of all this wasn't even Oscar and Dugu Yan's rapid progress.
It was Oscar's terrifying fourth spirit ability.
Oscar had decided to hide it from outsiders, yes, but not from Shrek. To him, the academy was his second home now. Even the later arrivals, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, were already family. There was no reason to keep secrets.
And once everyone learned what Oscar's fourth ability could actually do, every one of them was stunned speechless.
Their first thought was the same as Gai Yue and Dugu Yan's had; this wasn't just a ten-thousand-year skill. It was the equivalent of a hundred-thousand-year god-tier skill!
Especially Dai Mubai. The moment he learned of its effects, he thought of the struggle against his elder brother for the throne. Even if he lost, it wouldn't matter. He could just rely on Oscar's clone sausage to fake his death.
This skill of Oscar's was truly an all-purpose ability.
If used properly, it was nothing less than a BUG-level existence. And Oscar himself thought the same.