Oscar looked at Flander with starry eyes. The Dean was really giving him face!
"Dean, why don't you try?"
Oscar handed the green sausage to Flander.
Flander looked at the sausage, and it looked poisonous. Could this thing really be eaten?
"Um... Little Oscar."
"Fatty, come here!"
Flander didn't take the green sausage, but instead called out to Ma Hongjun.
"Huh?"
Ma Hongjun walked towards Flander with a long face, unwilling to accept it. Although he was a little resentful, the other party was still his teacher.
"Eat it."
Ma Hongjun shook his head dejectedly, looking pitifully at Flander.
Flander grinned and patted his shoulder: "This thing can replenish energy."
Before Ma Hongjun could react, the green sausage was stuffed into Ma Hongjun's mouth.
He bit into it; the taste was not bad.
A massive tortoise shell suddenly appeared on Ma Hongjun's back and chest, attaching itself to him and adding a thick layer of defense.
"Mubai, try attacking it," Flander ordered Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai immediately snapped out of his fawning over Yu Xiaogang and quickly ran over.
"White Tiger Blazing Light Wave!"
Dai Mubai arrived quickly and left quickly, not even checking the tortoise shell, before releasing his soul skill and continuing to fawn over Yu Xiaogang.
Flander was shocked. Why was this prince being so attentive? Could it be that he also wanted Xiaogang to get a better soul ring for his fourth soul skill?
Flander thought this was the real reason and didn't consider any other possibilities.
A crack appeared on the tortoise shell on Ma Hongjun's body, but it didn't break: "Hahahaha, good, good, Xiao Ao, your soul skill is impressive." "
It takes a Soul Master two moves to break through this defense. If it were a Soul Sect, it could withstand one attack. This time the harvest is good!"
Flander laughed and nodded in satisfaction.
Oscar held his head high with pride, like a proud peacock.
This trip to Star Dou was a success; all the spirit rings they were looking for had been obtained, and it was time to return.
Zhu Zhuqing watched them silently, saying nothing, like a nobody, neither taking initiative nor causing trouble.
She was already level 30. After absorbing the external spirit bone of the Human-Faced Demon Spider, her spirit power had increased once again. Secretly cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Technique, her rate of improvement had accelerated even further.
However, she didn't say anything. Besides, she was only level 28 when she entered the academy; gaining two levels in just a few weeks might lead to Yu Xiaogang taking her for research.
Inside Shrek Academy, Toad Tang San and his group finally returned after several days.
Flander gave them two days to relax.
As night fell, Zhu Zhuqing went alone to a secluded place and took out the divine spirit ring that Xu Xin had given her.
"The teacher said to do my best to absorb it and break through the age limit of the spirit ring."
Gritting her teeth, Zhu Zhuqing sat down cross-legged and began to absorb the divine spirit ring.
According to Yu Xiaogang's theory, the third spirit ring is around 1700 years old; exceeding that would be dangerous. Zhu Zhuqing's task was to break this barrier, otherwise the gap between her and her senior brothers and sisters would widen further.
Taking a deep breath, Zhu Zhuqing continuously circulated her spirit power to absorb this divinely bestowed spirit ring.
Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong, noticing Zhu Zhuqing's absence, quietly got up to look for her. She wanted to see what Zhu Zhuqing was up to.
After returning from the Star Dou Great Forest, their relationship had cooled considerably, with Zhu Zhuqing becoming even more distant. No matter what Ning Rongrong asked, she wouldn't answer, and she wouldn't ask Ning Rongrong anything.
It was as if they had broken up, yet they maintained a superficial relationship.
Tonight, Zhu Zhuqing thought she had been very careful, but she underestimated Ning Rongrong's intentions; she had been watching her closely for a while.
Ning Rongrong came out of her room, searching around. After walking for a long time, she finally saw a faint light, though very weak, she still sensed it.
Her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could sense treasures, so Zhu Zhuqing's absorption of the divinely bestowed spirit ring naturally made quite a commotion. Even after leaving Shrek Academy, Ning Rongrong still managed to spot her.
Ning Rongrong cautiously moved in that direction and soon arrived at Zhu Zhuqing's location.
"Absorbing a spirit ring?"
"Zhu Zhuqing is actually absorbing a spirit ring?"
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened as she stared intently at Zhu Zhuqing. At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing was fully focused on absorbing the spirit ring and was completely unaware of Ning Rongrong's arrival.
Ning Rongrong's small eyes were fixed on Zhu Zhuqing. She didn't want to believe it, but unfortunately, the light emanating from the purple spirit ring beneath Zhu Zhuqing's feet couldn't deceive her.
Zhu Zhuqing was indeed absorbing a spirit ring, and a thousand-year-old one at that. The purple spirit ring's light was still flashing continuously, and Ning Rongrong subconsciously swallowed.
How could Zhu Zhuqing absorb a thousand-year-old spirit ring? Wasn't she only level 28? How did she reach level 30 in just a few weeks?
Ning Rongrong's mind was in a whirl, unable to understand it. More importantly, could Zhu Zhuqing defeat a thousand-year-old soul beast alone?
There were no signs of battle nearby.
Suddenly, Ning Rongrong seemed to realize a possibility, her small hand tightly covering her mouth: "Zhuqing...Zhuqing...is a soul beast?"
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School naturally had records about soul beast transformations. She had also heard her sword-wielding grandfather say that a 100,000-year-old soul beast could transform and rebuild its cultivation without needing to hunt for soul rings in the first few stages.
There were no signs of fighting around, and no one had given Zhu Zhuqing a soul beast, so there was no other possibility.
The more Ning Rongrong thought about it, the more likely it seemed. She couldn't think of any other reason.
The more she thought about it, the more she imagined, even conjuring up the idea that the real Zhu Zhuqing had died while escaping, and this soul beast was using her appearance when it transformed.
Zhu Zhuqing: Huh? How come I didn't know I was a soul beast?
Covering her mouth tightly, Ning Rongrong cautiously fled the area. As soon as she was away, she ran for her life, curling up in her room, terrified of being discovered and silenced.
Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing was still desperately absorbing the spirit ring, her body seemingly reaching its limit, sweat beading on her forehead.
Drip, drip!
Gritting her teeth, Zhu Zhuqing refused to give up.
Finally, after half an hour, she couldn't hold on any longer. The spirit ring finally stopped at 3,000 years—her last effort.
Taking a deep breath, Zhu Zhuqing left satisfied. She hadn't noticed anyone had been there at all.
After Zhu Zhuqing left, several heads peeked out from the trees, exchanged glances, and then disappeared—everything was so eerie.
Back in her room, Zhu Zhuqing was relieved to see Ning Rongrong still there.
Ning Rongrong was curled up, unable to sleep, terrified of being silenced by Zhu Zhuqing, the imagined spirit beast!
(End of Chapter)