That afternoon, the group settled into the small town for some rest.
While Zhao Wuji, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar drank and laughed to unwind, Ning Tian, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Tang San were all focused on meditating and cultivating their soul power.
.........…
Two days later, the group set out again. After a full day of travel, they finally returned to Shrek Academy, nearly a week after their departure. To their surprise, Flender was waiting for them at the academy's entrance.
"Tang San, it's urgent. Come with me, quickly!" Flender grabbed Tang San's thick, dark arm and started pulling him toward the boys' dormitory.
"Dean, what's going on?" Tang San asked, his face creased with confusion.
"I'll explain later. For now, your teacher's already here. Oscar, you come too," Flender replied, his tone brisk.
Ning Rongrong watched Flender hustle Tang San and Oscar away, her delicate features scrunching in puzzlement. "What's wrong with them?"
Ning Tian shook his head. "Who knows?" But inwardly, a suspicion stirred. 'Could it be that Dai Mubai's little problem still hasn't… come back out?'
Zhao Wuji seemed to catch on to something as well. "Alright, everyone head back to your dorms and rest. I'll go check it out and report this trip to the dean while I'm at it."
After a day of travel, the group was exhausted, everyone except Ning Tian, of course. They dispersed toward their dormitories.
Meanwhile, Tang San, Oscar, and Flender arrived at Dai Mubai's dorm. Inside, they found Yu Xiaogang, Dai Mubai, and Shrek's only food-type Spirit Saint, Shao Xin. Ma Hongjun, who shared the room with Dai Mubai, tagged along too.
Dai Mubai lay flat on his bed, his face deathly pale, gasping for breath. Shao Xin sat beside him, occasionally feeding him sugar beans to keep him alive. Most disturbingly, Dai Mubai's lower region had completely retracted, leaving only a wrinkled, dark hollow.
Seeing Tang San, his prized disciple, Yu Xiaogang hurried over. "Little San, this is Shao Xin, one of your teachers here at Shrek. You're well-versed in poisons, come take a look at Mubai and figure out what's wrong with him."
"Oscar, get some sausages ready too. My soul power's almost spent," Shao Xin added, his voice strained.
"Greetings, Teacher Shao Xin!" Tang San nodded politely before glancing at Dai Mubai's condition. His eyes widened slightly. "Teacher, what happened to him?"
Flender stepped in to explain. "Let me handle this." He recounted how, a week ago, Dai Mubai had overindulged at a brothel, taking on over a dozen women before collapsing unconscious, his manhood retreating inward. It was only thanks to Shao Xin's quick intervention with his sugar beans and Dai Mubai's own strength that he hadn't died on the spot.
Now, though, they were out of options. At Yu Xiaogang's suggestion, they'd pinned their hopes on Tang San.
Tang San didn't waste time. He pulled out a silver needle and pricked the inner wall of Dai Mubai's hollow. The needle didn't darken. Shaking his head, he said, "There's no sign of poisoning on Mubai."
"Oh no, what do we do now?" Flender's voice rose with panic. If this kept up, Dai Mubai might not survive.
Zhao Wuji suddenly spoke up. "Why not let Ning Tian take a look? That kid's a walking encyclopedia, there's hardly anything he doesn't know."
After their trip to the Star Dou Forest, the group had come to admire Ning Tian's vast knowledge. Even Zhao Wuji held him in high regard.
"Right, right! Let Boss Ning come check it out—he knows everything!" Ma Hongjun chimed in eagerly.
"Quick, Hongjun, go fetch Ning Tian!" Flender ordered without hesitation.
"Yes, Dean!"
After Ma Hongjun left, Flender gave the group a brief introduction to Yu Xiaogang.
Once he finished, Yu Xiaogang turned to Flender, his brow furrowing. "Ning Tian's joined Shrek Academy too?"
Flender nodded. "That's right. The kid's something else—his strength is incredible. Even Mubai at his peak wouldn't stand a chance against him."
Yu Xiaogang's frown deepened, forming a sharp crease between his brows. "With an innate soul power of only half a level, there's no way he could progress this fast. From what I know, his teacher must've been feeding him drugs with serious side effects."
Yu Xiaogang had always believed Ning Tian's rapid growth stemmed from dangerous, side-effect-laden drugs, keeping him neck-and-neck with Tang San. Hearing that Ning Tian outclassed Dai Mubai, a level 37 Battle Spirit Elder with a top-tier White Tiger Martial Spirit only fueled his skepticism.
"I don't like the sound of that," Zhao Wuji cut in, his tone sharp. "What's this about an innate soul power of half a level being unable to grow fast? Just because you can't do it doesn't mean others can't."
Zhao Wuji had heard of Yu Xiaogang before. In the original story, he'd respected the man for Flender's sake, and because of Tang San's talent and lineage as Tang Hao's son. But now? Tang San was proving underwhelming, and Yu Xiaogang's own soul power felt pitifully weak. At his age, he hadn't even reached Spirit Elder—his innate soul power was likely half a level too. Worse, he'd turned Tang San into a mess of a student. Zhao Wuji's respect had evaporated.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang question Shrek's most exceptional student only soured his mood further.
"I said he's been taking drugs," Yu Xiaogang snapped back, his pride clearly stung. Far from backing down, he doubled down with a stubborn edge, confident Flender's presence would shield him from Zhao Wuji's temper.
"And which eye of yours saw that?" Zhao Wuji glared at him.
"Alright, both of you, calm down," Flender interjected, stepping between them. "Old Zhao, Xiaogang's just speculating. Xiaogang, you'd do well not to throw around claims like that without proof. I've checked Ning Tian myself, there's no trace of drug use in his body. As for his innate soul power being half a level, his Martial Spirit doesn't seem like it's limited to that. He's already broken through to Spirit Elder and has two thousand-year Soul Rings."
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