Tai Long's cultivation speed was clearly inferior to theirs. He had only just broken through to rank thirty-eight and hadn't reached thirty-nine yet. Besides, Tai Long wasn't technically a member of the Shrek Seven Devils. Though he had been following his grandfather's orders and treating himself as Tang San's bodyguard, Tang San couldn't really think of him as one. Over the past half-year, they had mostly been busy cultivating and hadn't spent much time together, but Tang San occasionally shared some of the training techniques the Great Master had taught him.
Their relationship had shifted from former rivals in love to ordinary friends.
Of course, Tai Long had no chance of making a play for
Let alone him — practically every student at Shrek Academy knew that the only woman in Tang San's eyes was Xiao Wu, and Xiao Wu would never so much as spare a kind word for another man. Quite a few girls who had tried to get close to Tang San had been shut down by Xiao Wu directly.
Tang San knew about this but had never said a word about it.
The two of them had never officially declared themselves a couple in front of anyone, yet the entire academy already treated them as one. Only the Shrek Seven Devils knew that the relationship between Tang San and Xiao Wu was actually perfectly pure.
Oscar immediately put on a knowing look. "Mm, right, I'm sure it's nothing like what I'm imagining. No need to explain. We all get it."
By now, it wasn't just Oscar.
Tang San couldn't help but curse under his breath. "Get what, exactly? You don't know a damn thing."
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone burst out laughing, and Xiao Wu's face turned into a lovely red apple.
"Ahem — what are you all doing?" Flandre said, looking exasperated. The Shrek Seven Devils quickly wiped the smiles off their faces and straightened their backs.
Flandre continued, "We're setting out immediately. Destination: the Sunset Forest. Although the four of us will be accompanying you on this trip, there is one thing I want to make clear upfront. While the fourth Soul Ring doesn't carry the same transitional significance as the third, it is nonetheless critically important. In order to give you better real-world combat experience before the Soul Master Tournament begins, the Great Master and I have decided that all Soul Beast hunts during this trip will be carried out by you alone. We will not lift a finger unless absolutely necessary. Under normal circumstances, rather than protecting you, we will actually expect you to protect us. This Soul Beast hunt will serve as the first phase of your graduation examination. The second phase will be the advanced Soul Master Tournament that follows. Is that understood?"
Ma Hongjun, who was the least afraid of Flandre of anyone, couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, then how do we count as passing?"
Flandre replied, "Good question. Passing isn't actually that hard. For the first phase, you can use your collective strength to hunt down Soul Beasts suited to each of you. As long as the four of us never have to intervene, you pass. As for the second phase — just bring back some kind of championship and you'll be more or less qualified to graduate."
"What?! You call that not hard?!" Oscar couldn't help but blurt out.
Though they were all rare geniuses, their youth placed hard limits on their strength, and there was only so much they could achieve. Yet they would be facing the continent's finest Soul Masters under the age of twenty-five. Fighting all the way to the final rounds and seizing the championship was no easy feat.
Flandre rolled his eyes. "Something wrong, Oscar? Do you have an objection?"