After the freshman assessment, Wang Nan's life became routine. His daily schedule consisted of waking up, eating, attending classes, eating, exercising, eating, meditating, and sleeping. In the blink of an eye, several months passed.
Thanks to the Shrek canteen he had longed for, a few months brought him great improvements, and his spirit power smoothly reached Rank 30. This threshold, which was difficult for most Spirit Masters to cross, was quietly surpassed.
"Tomorrow marks the start of the winter break," Sun He announced from the podium, eliciting cheers from the entire class.
"Quiet down for a moment," Sun He tapped on the desk. "This month-long holiday isn't for you to completely relax. There will be an upgrade assessment at the beginning of next semester. According to previous years' assessment content, our strong attack and control system students will have to face a hundred-year Spirit Beast alone. Only by defeating it or completely controlling it will the assessment be considered successful…"
"Knock knock knock—"
A knock on the door interrupted Sun He.
"Excuse me, Teacher Sun, I'm looking for Wang Nan," Du Weilun stood at the classroom door.
"Wang Nan, come out for a moment," Sun He called.
Upon seeing Du Weilun, Wang Nan already guessed what it was about. His spirit power had broken through to Rank 30 last month, but he hadn't had time to acquire a spirit ring. Tomorrow was the winter break, so Du Weilun was probably here for that.
"Your spirit power Rank has reached Rank 30, hasn't it?" Sure enough, Du Weilun asked after leading Wang Nan a few steps away.
"Yes, Director Du."
"Do you still remember the spirit ring the Academy promised you? Coincidentally, tomorrow a highly skilled teacher will be entering the Star Dou Great Forest to acquire a spirit ring for his disciple. If you have time, he can take you along."
A teacher whom Du Weilun described as highly skilled must be at least a Titled Douluo.
Normally, when the Academy helps students acquire spirit rings, they first register the students in need and then one or several teachers lead a team to form a specialized Spirit Beast hunting party. However, in this way, it is difficult to guarantee everyone's safety if an emergency occurs.
In comparison, acquiring a spirit ring under the protection of a Titled Douluo is much safer. And because only Wang Nan and that teacher's disciple are in need, there will be more time to choose a spirit ring.
Therefore, Wang Nan agreed after a brief thought.
"Alright, then be at the Shrek Academy gate tomorrow morning. Remember not to be late."
…
Early the next morning, after Wang Nan packed his luggage, he told Wang Yan about acquiring the spirit ring, and then came to the Academy gate.
It was vacation time, and there were many students coming and going at the school gate. Most were leaving, heading home for the holiday.
Wang Nan looked around and quickly noticed an old man not far away, dressed in white, with a little girl about Wang Nan's height beside him. It seemed this was the teacher Du Weilun had mentioned.
"You're Wang Nan, right? Your Director Du must have told you," the old man said as soon as they met. "You two need thousand-year spirit rings this time. We'll search the outer zone first. If we can't find a suitable one, I'll take you into the Mixed Zone."
The Star Dou Great Forest Mixed Zone refers to the approximately circular part between a radius of 40 kilometers and 80 kilometers, where Spirit Beasts mainly consist of thousand-year and ten-thousand-year ones, with some hundred-year Spirit Beasts also able to survive there by relying on the strength of their ethnic groups. Compared to the outer zone, the number of Spirit Beasts in the Mixed Zone is much larger.
This is also an advantage of having a powerful teacher for protection; the Mixed Zone, which is extremely dangerous for ordinary Spirit Masters, can be entered at will.
After making travel arrangements, the three walked towards the Star Dou Great Forest.
Along the way, the old man walked in front without saying a word, while the little girl kept glancing at Wang Nan.
"My name is Wang Nan, what's yours?" Traveling was boring, so Wang Nan decided to strike up a conversation.
"My name is Ma Xiaotao," the girl looked up at her teacher before answering.
"Uh…" Wang Nan didn't expect this to be an "acquaintance." In that case, the old man in front must be Yan Shaozhe, the head of the Martial Soul Department.
"Are you a first-year student? Are you going to acquire your third spirit ring so early? What is your Spirit? Hey, do you want to find a time for us to fight?" Once the conversation started, Ma Xiaotao asked several questions in a row.
She was inherently lively, and after being adopted by Yan Shaozhe, she had lived on Sea God Island, with almost no peers to communicate with. Now that Wang Nan was finally there, she couldn't stop talking once she started.
However, it was a good thing. Walking and talking along the way, it was finally not so boring.
All three were Spirit Masters, and their speed was not slow. In addition, the Star Dou Great Forest was located southeast of Shrek Academy, and the two were not far apart, so they were already in the outer zone by nightfall.
Generally speaking, the forest at night would be more dangerous, and most Spirit Masters would retreat at this time, choosing to re-enter after dawn the next day. But with Yan Shaozhe present, there was no need to worry about Spirit Beast attacks. The three of them not only camped in the forest but also lit a bonfire and sat around it.
It was a pity that Wang Nan did not have excellent grilled fish skills and could only simply eat some food packed from the canteen.
"What kind of Spirit Ability do you want?" Ma Xiaotao asked, looking at Wang Nan across the bonfire while eating.
"An offensive one, preferably an area-of-effect attack."
Wang Nan's first two Spirit Abilities were support types, and the Python Thrust and Tail Sweep he learned from Spirit Beasts could only target single enemies, so an area-of-effect Spirit Ability naturally became his top choice.
In fact, with Wang Nan's "talent," attaching support-type Spirit Abilities like his first two spirit rings, and then learning additional skills from Spirit Beasts, would also be an option. However, Wang Nan couldn't be sure which skill he could learn from a Spirit Beast. Among so many skills, wanting a satisfactory one was even less likely than drawing cards in a gacha game in his previous life.
"Area-of-effect, huh? Spirit Abilities provided by bear-type and elephant-type Spirit Beasts are mostly area-of-effect, and their power is also good," Ma Xiaotao seriously planned for Wang Nan. "But these Spirit Beasts are powerful, and they might be hard to find in the outer zone."
"It depends on luck. Maybe tomorrow morning, a Spirit Beast suitable for me will actively come to us. What about you? Have you decided?"
"Yes, I actually already have a target," Ma Xiaotao said, taking out a small red pouch and pulling out a few thumb-sized black round balls from it.
"What are these?"
"Fire Chestnuts. My target is the Fire Cloud Sparrow. These Fire Chestnuts are their favorite food. We'll attract them, and if their age is sufficient, we'll use them as spirit rings. If not, we'll take them back and raise them in the Academy."
Ma Xiaotao's Spirit was the same as Ma Hongjun's from the original Shrek Seven Devils, the Evil Fire Phoenix. Countless people in the Academy had studied it, and over ten thousand years, it had been thoroughly researched which Spirit Beasts were suitable for acquiring each spirit ring. Therefore, she had already made preparations.
"Alright, go rest after eating," Yan Shaozhe, who had been silent, finally spoke. "You still need to acquire a spirit ring tomorrow, so conserve your energy."