Dai Mubai said, "Oscar and the other two haven't gotten up yet. Looks like they're completely wiped out. Let's head back and cultivate — who knows what kind of devilish training the Great Master has in store for us tomorrow."
Tang San nodded and moved to gather his own dishes, but Xiao Wu stopped him.
"Go on, washing pots and dishes isn't something you men should be doing. Leave it to us."
Tang San smiled faintly, patted Xiao Wu on the head, and turned to head outside.
Dai Mubai's gaze fell on Zhu Zhuqing. She hadn't finished eating yet, but she had already freed up one hand to stack the dishes he had used earlier. She didn't say a word, but her actions made her meaning perfectly clear.
Dai Mubai was overjoyed. He knew perfectly well that Zhu Zhuqing was the type who would never admit such things openly, so he kept quiet and hurried after Tang San toward the exit.
When the two reached the cafeteria door, Xiao Wu's voice came from behind them: "Washing pots and dishes isn't something you men should be doing, but — emptying those big barrels of water, we'll leave that to you. Remember to get up early tomorrow morning and help us out!"
Tang San's foot caught on the threshold, and he nearly stumbled. He turned his head to look at Xiao Wu, and caught sight of that sly little smile on her face as she waved at him.
The night passed uneventfully. By the time Tang San opened his eyes again, dawn had arrived — his internal clock had woken him out of habit. During last night's cultivation, he had entered a very deep state of meditation, feeling as though his entire being was fully immersed in the vast ocean of the Mysterious Heaven Skill's internal energy. He hadn't even noticed when Oscar had gotten up to go eat.
Before cultivating the previous night, he had already cleaned out his water barrel. Now the dormitory was empty; Oscar sat on his bed cultivating, and his own barrel had been cleaned as well.
Tang San slipped out quietly, cultivated his Purple Extreme Demon Eye, and had breakfast. After completing all of that, he went to knock on Xiao Wu's door. Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were already up — they headed off to eat while Tang San took care of their heavy water barrels.
The familiar bell rang, and the Shrek Seven Devils nearly all arrived at the training grounds at the same time.
The Great Master was already standing in the center of the grounds, waiting for them. Looking at his calm, rigid expression, everyone except Tang San felt a trace of nervousness creep over them — even a hint of fear.
"Very good. You all arrived quickly today." The Great Master nodded, his gaze sweeping habitually across their faces. "Yesterday's task left me quite satisfied. Although not everyone completed the punishment, what pleased me was that I saw in all of you a spirit of never abandoning and never giving up. As partners, how can you trust each other enough to turn your backs without worry? It comes down to one thing: trust. You all did well — your trust in one another allowed you to complete yesterday's test even better."
"Before today's lesson begins, Tang San, go complete your punishment from yesterday."
"Yes." Tang San answered and immediately turned to run outside the academy.
"Xiao San, I'll come with you. We agreed yesterday," Xiao Wu said, hopping along after him.
Ning Rongrong spoke up suddenly: "Let us go too. Aren't we supposed to be one unit?"
Oscar stretched his arms. "A little warm-up couldn't hurt. This isn't punishment for us — we're just running along, and we don't have to carry any weight anyway."
Fatty looked rather glum. "Looks like I really need to lose some weight. Do you have any idea how hard it was to put this meat on?"
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had already run off. "Less talk, keep up."
One unit — what a fine unit. The Great Master watched the departing youths with a slightly stunned expression, a sudden surge of emotion rising in his heart. Only four words flashed through his mind: prodigies blessed by heaven. Though these seven children had been together for less than a month, their actions in this moment proved that the friendship they shared would last a lifetime.
The Great Master clenched his fists and silently resolved himself to do absolutely everything in his power to nurture these children well.
And it was from this day forward that the Great Master made the Shrek Seven Devils truly understand the meaning of the word "devil."