Chapter 56: The End

Letting out a long breath, Oscar slowly opened his eyes.

In an instant, the pale pink light surrounding him shifted into a brilliant, vibrant pink, bathing his entire body in its glow.

Three soul rings rose from beneath his feet. Oscar had finally broken through the Great Soul Master tier, becoming a rank-thirty-one Food-system Soul Elder.

Dai Mubai could no longer maintain his stern expression. Forcing a smile, he said, "Little Ao, you're the second one among us to break through level thirty. Congratulations! Quick, let us see what your third soul ring skill is."

Although Oscar was immensely thrilled to have obtained his third soul ring, the mention of its skill wiped the smile right off his face.

With an awkward expression, he said, "Forget it, let's just wait until we get back. This soul skill is a bit..."

However, catching the gazes of Zhao Wuji and the others, Oscar reluctantly and awkwardly raised his right hand.

Finally, he chanted his third soul incantation.

"Daddy has a mushroom sausage."

"Pfft!"

"Hahaha! Oscar, your incantation is truly full of personality!" Ma Hongjun roared with laughter.

Tang San and Dai Mubai couldn't help laughing either.

Oscar had half a mind to dig a hole and crawl into it right then and there. Fortunately, Zhao Wuji stepped in to smooth things over, even though he was struggling to keep the smile off his own face.

"Oscar, tell us what abilities your soul skill has. This is a thousand-year soul ring, after all; it shouldn't disappoint us!"

At these words, Oscar held up the mushroom sausage in his hand. The awkward expression on his face gave way to excitement as he announced proudly in a loud voice, "My third soul skill is the mushroom sausage, and its effect is flight."

The laughter on everyone's faces stopped abruptly. They hadn't expected Oscar's newly acquired ability to be flight. Even Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu, who usually didn't participate in their conversations, turned their gazes toward him.

After all, this was the ability to fly, something normally achievable only by those with flying-type martial souls or Title Douluos.

Never did they expect a mere Soul Elder like Oscar to possess such a power.

"Continue, Little Ao. Is there anything special about this flight capability?" Zhao Wuji asked, looking at Oscar with expectant eyes.

"You could say that! After eating the flying mushroom sausage, one can fly at the speed of a Cockscomb Phoenix Snake for one full minute!" Oscar declared, his brows and eyes brimming with pride.

"What?"

A flash of pleasant surprise crossed Zhao Wuji's eyes. If it were merely flying for one minute, the ability wouldn't be worth boasting about.

However, flying at the speed of a Cockscomb Phoenix Snake for a full minute—that was an entirely different story.

Zhao Wuji nodded in satisfaction and said, "It seems your effort wasn't wasted after all. Little Ao, this third soul ring of yours is exceptional. With your current soul power, how many flying mushroom sausages can you produce?"

Oscar thought for a moment and replied, "This mushroom sausage consumes far more soul power than the first two kinds. Under my current condition, I can produce a maximum of ten at once before my soul power is completely exhausted."

Hearing this, Zhao Wuji nodded and said, "That is already very good. As your soul power increases, this quantity will continue to grow."

"Alright, now we just need to find Little San's soul ring, and we can head back to Shrek Academy!"

With that, Zhao Wuji resumed leading the group through the forest.

Meanwhile, deep in the Star Great Dou Forest, Erming sensed Xiao Wu's presence and instantly snapped out of its cultivation, joy flashing in its eyes.

"Daming, Xiao Wu-jie is back!" Erming shouted excitedly toward the Star Dou Lake.

Its days lately had been sheer torment, being forced into grueling cultivation by the Azure Bull Python every single day. Now that Xiao Wu was back, it could finally catch a break.

Hearing the Titan Giant Ape's voice, Daming—who was cultivating in the depths of the Star Dou Lake—opened its massive eyes and thrust its colossal bovine head out of the water.

"Erming, Xiao Wu-jie is merely passing through; she has no intention of returning. Do not go and disturb her," Daming said in a deep voice.

"But I miss Xiao Wu-jie!" Erming said, looking somewhat dejected.

"Missing her is useless. Right now, both Xiao Wu-jie and Rou-yi are far too weak. We must seize every moment to cultivate if we are to protect them properly!"

"Isn't that human with them?" Erming argued.

"We cannot rely on that human forever. There will come a time when he is not around. What would happen then if someone tried to harm Rou-yi and Xiao Wu-jie?" Daming said solemnly.

Ever since it was injured by a deity a few years ago, it understood that no matter how strong others might be, that strength belonged to them, while it remained weak.

If it relied entirely on others, it would be utterly powerless should a similar situation ever arise again.

"Fine!" Erming slumped dejectedly by the lake shore, speaking no more of going to see Xiao Wu.

Daming looked at Erming and shook its head, its gaze filled with steadfast determination. Its strength had now reached the twenty-thousand-year mark, yet it was still far from enough.

Ling Xiao had once mentioned that in a mysterious space beneath the Star Dou Lake, there were many more powerful soul beasts, the weakest of which were already at the two-hundred-thousand-year level. Its current strength was still far too insignificant.

Exhaling a breath and drinking a gulp of the Spring of Life, Daming sank back to the bottom of the lake and resumed its cultivation.

Back at the edge of the Star Great Dou Forest, the Shrek group, after some searching, finally spotted a soul beast suitable for Tang San.

"Little San, this is a Caving Demon Spider of around eighteen hundred years. It suits your martial soul," Zhao Wuji said.

Tang San looked at the soul beast not far away, nodded, and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Teacher Zhao!"

Zhao Wuji nodded and walked toward the Caving Demon Spider, which had already noticed his approach.

"Little spider, be a good little thing and become a soul ring!" Zhao Wuji lunged forward, unleashing his fifth and sixth soul skills.

The Caving Demon Spider let out a hiss, but it was merely a thousand-year soul beast; how could it possibly rival a Soul Saint?

"Little San, come quick and absorb your third soul ring!"

Having beaten the Caving Demon Spider to within an inch of its life, Zhao Wuji beckoned to Tang San.

Tang San nodded, strode forward, and drove a dagger straight into the Caving Demon Spider's vital spot. Within mere breaths, the creature perished, and a purple soul ring emerged.

Tang San hastily sat cross-legged on the ground, guiding the soul ring with his soul power.

Roughly half an hour later, Tang San opened his eyes, let out a breath, and stood up. He, too, was now a rank-thirty-one Soul Elder.

Tang San glanced at the lifeless Caving Demon Spider on the ground. For some reason, a sudden feeling of loss welled up in his heart; he had a nagging sensation that he had missed out on something.

However, Tang San quickly shook his head, dismissed the thought, and looked toward his third soul ring, unable to suppress the excitement in his heart.

With the soul ring successfully acquired, Zhao Wuji led the group and began their journey back to Shrek Academy.