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Then Xue Tianxing turned to look at Oscar who was standing beside him, and said with a smile in his eyes, "It's time to go back. I still have to help Xiao Ao take his uncle and aunt to Barak City."
Then Xue Tianxing added a special sentence to Oscar:
"Xiao Ao, when we return to the Kingdom of Barak, I'll send someone to pick up your parents. Then your family can settle down in Barak City and won't have to be separated anymore."
When Oscar heard this, his eyes lit up instantly and he nodded vigorously, his smile almost overflowing from his ears:
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
He had been looking forward to being able to stay with his parents every day without having to miss them from afar. Now, hearing Xue Tianxing say it himself, he felt happier than when he had absorbed the soul ring.
Leaving the Star Dou Great Forest was much smoother than entering.
When we came in, we had to look for the soul beast, so we had to slowly explore the forest, stopping and starting; now that our goal has been achieved, we just need to focus on going out.
Liu Tianfeng simply unleashed his soul power, protected Xue Tianxing behind him, and soared into the air with a tap of his toes; Flanders also summoned his cat-owl martial spirit, flapped his wings, and followed with Oscar.
The two soul masters hurried on their way at an astonishing speed.
It would have taken a whole day to walk, but we reached the outskirts of the forest in just half an hour.
When he landed, Xue Tianxing saw from afar the carriage that had been parked outside the town - he had specifically asked someone to wait there before he set off.
"Get in the car."
Liu Tianfeng took the lead and walked towards the carriage, lifting the curtain. "Let's go directly back to Barak City."
Xue Tianxing and Oscar got on the car, and Flanders also took a ride - he had been planning to give Oscar a ride, so it just so happened that they were traveling together.
The carriage wheels rolled over the cobblestone road and slowly drove towards the city of Barak. In the carriage, Oscar was holding a freshly made sausage and chattering with Xue Tianxing about his future plans in the city of Barak, his eyes full of longing for the future.
Xue Tianxing listened, occasionally responding with a smile on his face - he recruited Oscar and got a matching spirit ring. This trip to the Star Dou Great Forest was a complete success.
The wheels of the carriage rolled over the bluestone road of Barak City and soon arrived at the gate of the palace.
Oscar had just gotten off the car and before he had time to take a closer look at the grandeur of the palace, Flanders patted his shoulder and said with a smile:
"Xiao Ao, I'll be returning to Shrek first. When you get to the royal family, train hard. Don't let your talent go to waste, and don't let down His Highness Tianxing's kindness."
Oscar nodded quickly, with some reluctance in his eyes:
"Dean, I understand. Please be careful on your way."
Flanders responded and was about to leave when Xue Tianxing stopped him:
"Dean Flanders, please stay."
He turned around and saw Xue Tianxing taking out a purple gold card from his arms and handing it to him.
"This is..."
Flanders was stunned.
"There are 100,000 gold soul coins in here."
Xue Tianxing said sincerely:
"It can be considered that our Barak royal family is sponsoring Shrek Academy. After all, Xiao Ao's current talent is inseparable from the training of the academy. We must remember this favor."
"One, one hundred thousand gold soul coins?!"
Flanders' eyes widened instantly, and his glasses slid to the tip of his nose.
He had never seen so much money in his life - Shrek Academy's annual expenses were at most a few thousand gold soul coins. These 100,000 gold soul coins were enough to renovate the academy ten times and pay his old friends ten years' salary!
But Flanders clenched his fist, pushed the card back, and waved his hand:
"No, no, I can't accept this money."
He couldn't hide the anxiety on his face, and then continued:
"It's a blessing for Xiao Ao to join the Barak Kingdom. As the dean, I can only be happy. If I accept this money, it will seem like I'm selling him out. If the news gets out, where will Flanders be able to put their reputations?"
Xue Tianxing had expected him to refuse, so he handed the card forward and said with a smile:
"Dean, you're wrong. How can this be called 'selling'? Xiao Ao stayed here voluntarily. This money is a reward from our royal family to outstanding academies within our territory. Shrek Academy deserves this reward for nurturing a genius like Xiao Ao. Please accept it. Improve the academy and make the teachers' lives more comfortable. Only then can you cultivate more talents like Xiao Ao in the future. Who knows, you can even send a few more to our Barak Kingdom in the future?"
"Yes, Dean!"
Oscar also joined in, pulling Flanders sleeve and said to him:
"Just take it! Look at the roof of the academy; it leaks when it rains. It would be great if we could fix it. And Teacher Zhao and the others, they eat wild vegetables every day. It's time to improve their food!"
Flanders felt his heart warmed by the conversation between the two people.
He looked at the purple gold card, then at Oscar's expectant eyes, and finally sighed and reached out to take it - the card was so heavy that his fingertips trembled.
"Alright, I'll take the money on behalf of Shrek."
Flanders carefully put the card into his arms, patted Xue Tianxing's arm, and said to Xue Tianxing with a serious look in his eyes:
"Your Highness, I, Flanders, will remember this kindness. If you need me in the future, just come find me at the Shrek store in Soto City—that's the grocery store with the 'Shrek' sign. I'll be there."
"must."
Xue Tianxing nodded in agreement.
Flanders reminded Oscar a few more times to "practice well" and "write home often" before turning away reluctantly.
He summoned his Cat-Owl spirit, spread his wings, and transformed into a black shadow that soared into the sky, flying towards the direction of Soto City. He must have been in a hurry to go back to tell his old friends at the academy the good news, tell them about Oscar, and figure out how to spend this "huge sum of money".
Oscar looked at the direction he flew away, until his figure disappeared into the sky, then he turned around and smiled at Xue Tianxing:
"Your Highness, shall we go in? I'm still waiting to see my parents!"
"Come on, I'll take you to see the king and have him send someone to pick up your parents."
Xue Tianxing smiled, patted his shoulder, and took him deeper into the palace.
Xue Tianxing took Oscar through the corridors of the palace and soon arrived at the main hall.
Inside the palace, Xuezhe was sitting on a rosewood chair beside the throne, flipping through a file. Seeing Xue Tianxing and Liu Tianfeng enter with a strange young man, he immediately put down the file, stood up, and greeted them with a genuine smile on his face.
"Uncle Liu, Tianxing, you're finally back! Your mother and I haven't heard from you in the past few days. We've been missing you."
"Yeah, I'm finally back safely."
Liu Tianfeng took a step forward and bowed to Xuezhe. Then he changed the subject and cast his eyes on Xue Tianxing. With a hint of "calling for justice", he said to Xuezhe:
"But on this journey back, I've accumulated a lot to tell you—your boy was so audacious in the Star Dou Great Forest that he actually tried to absorb the spirit ring of the 9,000-year-old Ice Flame Peng bird!"