Of course, while the teachers had all improved, the one who gained the most was undoubtedly Ma Hongjun.
Not only had he completely resolved his Evil Fire problem, but his flames were purified, their power rising drastically.
His soul power leapt from rank 25 directly to rank 30, just one step away from becoming a Soul Elder with the addition of a new soul ring.
What's more, Hongjun could feel this wasn't even his true limit. He deliberately compressed and restrained the fiery energy from the pill to temper his body. Though he could not compare to Oscar, he was determined to chase after his brother's footsteps.
If Oscar had seen his progress, he would not have been surprised. After all, in the original timeline, Hongjun's cultivation had risen by five levels simply by eating the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower—and at that time, he had already been a rank 30+ Soul Elder.
Now, Hongjun was only a rank 25 Soul Grandmaster, and what he had consumed was the fully refined Phoenix Nirvana Pill. Naturally, the results were even greater.
The only person truly left dumbfounded was Dai Mubai.
He might not know about the teachers' breakthroughs, but Ma Hongjun's advancement could not be hidden from him.
Mubai knew that Teacher Gai Yue had brought back a pill from Oscar to solve Hongjun's Evil Fire. But what he hadn't expected was that after taking it in one night, Hongjun not only rid himself of the Evil Fire, but also rocketed his soul power straight to rank 30!
Mubai himself had only just broken through to rank 26 and hadn't even had time to share the good news with the academy before this freak of a teammate stole all the spotlight.
"Overnight, you just jumped five whole levels? Not even riding a rocket would be that fast! Weren't you supposed to take a pill just to solve your Evil Fire? Why does it feel like you swallowed an immortal elixir instead?"
Unable to contain his curiosity, Dai Mubai went to ask Zhao Wuji directly if Oscar had more of those pills, saying he was even willing to pay whatever the price.
But Zhao Wuji could only shrug helplessly. He explained what Gai Yue had told them: that all these things were given with Dugu Bo's approval. The herbs belonged to Poison Douluo; Oscar was merely the one refining them.
And this kind of treasure was far too rare. In fact, the Phoenix Nirvana Pill Hongjun received had already cost Oscar an entire year of "working" at Dugu Yan's side as repayment.
Hearing that, Dai Mubai could only swallow his envy. As much as he wanted one, how could he demand something even Oscar had to sell himself out for?
Besides, Dugu Bo was no ordinary Title Douluo. Though he seldom appeared in the world, whenever his name surfaced, it shook the entire continent.
They said of him:
"He may not be able to defeat other Title Douluo in battle, but he can make sure you'll only ever have one Title Douluo left alive."
That reputation alone placed him as a figure second only to the emperors themselves.
If even a genius like Oscar had to work under such a man, then what did Dai Mubai have to offer? His temper? His status as a runaway prince?
So despite his jealousy, in the end, all he could do was sigh helplessly and watch Ma Hongjun enjoy his good fortune.
He even began to regret—if only he had come to Shrek earlier! If Oscar treated Hongjun so well, perhaps Dai Mubai, too, could have gained a brother who would sacrifice himself for him.
Now, knowing Oscar and Hongjun were both orphans, Mubai felt that if he built a strong bond with them, one day he might recruit them to his side. After all, he was the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire. If he could secure the loyalty of two such monstrous talents, his chances of victory in the imperial succession would increase tremendously.
Oscar and Hongjun would eventually graduate from Shrek, and their lives would inevitably tie them to a power. So why shouldn't that power be his?
With these thoughts, Dai Mubai resolved to train even harder. If he couldn't keep up—or worse, if his laziness caused Oscar and Hongjun to look down on him—then there would be no brotherhood to speak of.
But it was exhausting. He had never expected that Hongjun would train like a man possessed, filling every waking moment with cultivation and leaving no room for rest. The boy was a true training fanatic.
And according to Hongjun, this was nothing compared to his Brother Ao. He had only reached this level because Oscar constantly pushed and supervised him.
In fact, if not for the false news of Oscar's death a month ago, Hongjun would have slackened once Oscar left to hunt for a soul ring. But after hearing from Dugu Bo that Oscar had "died," the grief had hardened his will and burned away his laziness.
Now, even knowing it had been a misunderstanding, with Gai Yue's words and Oscar's pill in his hands, Hongjun dared not slack off—he couldn't bear to waste his brother's kindness.
Of course, he told himself it wasn't because he feared being beaten by Oscar. His true goal had always been clear since entering Shrek:
To one day defeat Oscar in a fair fight… and make him call out "Brother Jun"!
Life at Shrek Academy carried on as usual.
Oscar did miss Ma Hongjun, but with Dugu Yan by his side, the longing wasn't unbearable.
During these two months, Oscar himself had also improved—his soul power rose from rank 33 to rank 34.
Since consuming the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and the Infernal Delicate Apricot, his cultivation speed had also noticeably increased, smoothing his future path.
Oscar had already planned his next steps. Once he fully refined the medicinal power of the two immortal herbs, he would take the All-Seeing Autumn Water Dew, refined into the Autumn Water Pill.
This pill didn't boost soul power directly, but it specialized in one thing: raising spiritual power. With Oscar's current spirit and body, he could already withstand the absorption of a ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring.
Thanks to the Ice-Fire Tempered Body, his physique had already been transformed. As he was now, he could easily take on at least a 15,000-year soul ring.
After fully refining the two immortal herbs, his fourth soul ring could exceed 20,000 years. With the Autumn Water Pill further enhancing his mental strength, a two-decade-thousand-year fourth ring was essentially guaranteed.
And if he advanced even faster, the age of that soul ring might be even higher.
Oscar had already chosen a suitable target for his fourth ring. Now, all he needed was to reach the bottleneck of rank 40, and he would set out to obtain it.