Dai Mubai snorted coldly. "I'm just giving Tang San a heads-up. Tang San is my brother — he won't fall for your trick. Hurry up, or I'll do it myself."
Oscar clearly knew better than to cross Dai Mubai. With no other choice, he extended his right hand and called out in his soft, somewhat sleazy voice, "I have a sausage!"
A burst of yellow light coalesced in his palm. Two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet, and in the next instant, a sausage identical to the one in Tang San's hand materialized in his palm.
"Uh…" When Tang San heard Oscar's incantation — "I have a sausage!" — he froze on the spot. The phrase was just far too ambiguous. Never mind whether the sausage was any good or even edible — just those words alone were enough to make him lose his appetite. And to think, this sausage was supposed to be for Xiao Wu.
Sensing the angry look Tang San was giving him, Oscar hastily explained, "It's not like I have a choice. When Food Type Martial Souls manifest, you have to use different Soul Incantations to transform the food. That phrase is the incantation — it's not something I came up with. And besides, the quality of my sausage is absolutely fine."
Monsters, all of them. Truly monsters. Tang San didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was a good thing he hadn't actually eaten that sausage, or he would have been utterly humiliated.
The cold-eyed girl Dai Mubai had brought along merely glanced at Oscar with an icy stare before walking toward the queue. Oscar shrugged at Tang San with a look of pure innocence. "What a pity — such delicious sausage, and nobody wants to eat it. Sigh."
Dai Mubai glared at him. "Watch yourself. If you want to sell sausages, sell them outside the academy. Tang San, I'll take you through the exam."
The two of them rejoined the group. Xiao Wu looked at Tang San's empty hands. "Where's my sausage?"
Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged a glance, and neither could hold it in any longer — they both burst out laughing.
The cold-eyed girl was standing right behind Xiao Wu. A flicker of amusement passed through her eyes, and she murmured in a flat voice, "Ridiculous."
Xiao Wu had no idea what was going on. "What's so funny? Was the sausage no good?"
Tang San clamped a hand over Xiao Wu's mouth, pulled her close, and whispered the whole story in her ear.
When she heard what had happened, Xiao Wu's pretty face flushed crimson. "You boys are absolutely terrible. How can there be such a ridiculous Martial Soul?"
Dai Mubai grinned. "This is the Monster Academy, after all — Martial Souls come in all shapes and sizes. But even here, Oscar is something of an oddity. His Martial Soul has zero offensive capability, but among Food Type Souls, it's practically top-tier. After all, he produces meat. The only problem is the incantations he has to use when manifesting it — they're just too disgusting. Anyone who knows him would never touch his sausages. Maybe it's something to do with his Food Type Soul, but his body hair is way thicker than normal. If he doesn't shave for a single day, he ends up looking like this, which is why he earned the nickname 'Big Sausage Uncle' around the academy. He calls himself the Sausage Vendor, though."
Even this time, Xiao Wu couldn't help but laugh. "'Big Sausage Uncle' — now that really is a fun Martial Soul."
Dai Mubai clapped Tang San on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you both through the exam. No need to wait in line."
Tang San hesitated. "Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Dai Mubai waved it off. "Relax — I'm not pulling strings. This is the treatment you've earned." As he spoke, he led them past the queue toward the front.
The teacher in charge of the second round of testing was an older instructor. Since Tang San had gone to buy sausages earlier, he hadn't had a chance to see what this stage of the exam involved.
Dai Mubai walked up to the teacher, whispered a few words in his ear, and then pointed toward Tang San and Xiao Wu.
The teacher nodded. "Very well. Take them straight to the fourth round. If they pass, they're admitted."
Dai Mubai returned to Tang San and Xiao Wu and was about to lead them deeper into the academy. But the candidates waiting in line were having none of it.
A male candidate spoke up. "Teacher, what's going on? Why do they get to skip straight to the fourth round while the rest of us have to pass each stage one by one?"
The older teacher replied calmly, "If your Soul Power also exceeds level twenty-five, then you too may proceed directly to the fourth round without wasting time here. But your test shows only level twenty-one, so you must pass each stage in order."
The male candidate protested, "Their Soul Power is above level twenty-five? That's impossible. We're all only twelve — how could anyone have that much Soul Power?"
Everyone standing here had Soul Power above level twenty-one and was no older than thirteen. In their former elementary academies, they had all been stars — the center of every teacher's attention. But ever since arriving at Shrek Academy, they had been struck by one setback after another. Their moods were understandably shifting.
Dai Mubai snorted. "Just because you can't do it doesn't mean no one else can. When I entered the academy, my Soul Power was already at level twenty-five. Tang San, show them your Soul Power." With that, he picked up a white crystal from the table and tossed it to Tang San.
Testing crystals varied in color according to level — this particular white crystal was used for testing Soul Power up to level thirty. If the subject's Soul Power exceeded thirty, it would shatter the crystal on contact.
Only then did Tang San understand why Dai Mubai had said this was the treatment they had earned. Clearly, this stage was meant to measure a candidate's exact Soul Power level.
Without a word, he caught the white crystal and poured his Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy directly into it.
(End of Chapter)