"Everyone, wait here and prepare for today's lesson!" Yu Xiaogang shouted, his face a mask of fury. He then quickly ran off to clean the filth from his body. It was utterly disgusting, and he felt as if he had been marinated in it.
He rushed to the academy's water faucet and began scrubbing himself furiously, letting the cold water run over him for more than half an hour without stopping. When he finally returned to face the students, they could still faintly smell a lingering, unpleasant scent clinging to him.
"Grandmaster, what lesson are we having today?" Tang San asked curiously.
Yu Xiaogang's gaze swept over them, as cold and chilling as frost. "Today, all of you will run. You will run from the academy to Soto City and back. You will supervise each other, and you are forbidden from using any spirit power. Before the day is over, I require you to complete ten round trips."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "When you finish, you can eat. There are rocks prepared for you at the academy gate. Each of you will carry one in a basket on your back for extra weight. And remember," he added, his voice dropping to a low, serious tone, "you are a team. If even one person fails to complete this training, then no one eats."
A collective gasp went through the group.
"Grandmaster, that's too harsh!" someone protested.
"Ten round trips before the day is over? How far is that journey?"
"And we can't even use our spirit power!"
"We have to carry weight, too!"
Yu Xiaogang's expression remained unchanged. "That is your problem, not mine."
Defeated, the group trudged to the entrance of Shrek Academy. They picked up their baskets, each containing a heavy rock that Yu Xiaogang had prepared the previous day, before his attempt to prove his courage as a Spirit Master had gone so horribly wrong.
The rocks were distributed according to physical strength. The baskets for Tang San, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun contained the largest stones. Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ye Yin, and Oscar's were the next size down, while Ning Rongrong's was the smallest.
Flender stood a few meters away from Yu Xiaogang, a concerned look on his face. "Xiaogang, you're being really ruthless," he said quietly. "They won't finish this before dark."
"If they don't finish, they don't eat," Yu Xiaogang replied indifferently. "You should hurry and supervise them. I have a feeling Ye Yin is going to cause trouble for me again."
At the mention of Ye Yin, Flender's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly moved to follow the group.
Ye Yin's basket only contained a ten-kilogram rock, which felt very light to him. He didn't think much of the so-called punishment, treating it more as a way to relax his body. After all, he was still feeling tired from the intense "exercise" he'd had with Zhu Zhuqing the day before.
The group began their long run forward. Mindful of Yu Xiaogang's warning, all the teachers kept a vigilant watch on Ye Yin, terrified that he would cause another major disturbance. This time, however, Ye Yin truly had no intention of making trouble. He just wanted to finish the run peacefully. Ironically, this only served to build resentment among the teachers, who were secretly hoping to catch him in the act.
Time passed quickly. With Ye Yin setting a steady pace, the group completed the run much faster than anyone expected, finishing just before the sun began to set. The eight of them stood in place, tired and breathing heavily, but they were not so exhausted that they couldn't stand.
"Grandmaster, we've completed the run," Ye Yin announced, asking the most crucial question on everyone's mind. "What are we eating tonight?"
Yu Xiaogang was at a loss for words. According to his calculations, the students should have been completely exhausted, collapsed on the ground and unable to move. He hadn't even considered that they would be able to stand and talk after finishing. Because he had been so sure they would fail, dinner hadn't been made.
"This… well… that is…" he stammered. "Dinner hasn't been prepared yet."
"Ah!"
A wave of shock and anger washed over the students. They immediately unleashed a storm of complaints, their tired voices rising in protest. Seeing the situation was about to get out of hand, Flender quickly intervened. He flew to Soto City and returned with a sumptuous dinner for everyone, which finally appeased their anger. Otherwise, there was no telling what the exhausted and hungry students might have done.
After their delicious meal, the students continued with Yu Xiaogang's training plan, taking a prepared medicinal bath to help their bodies recover from their injuries.
A few days later, Yu Xiaogang arranged for combat training. The format was a Spirit Duel among themselves, with the added rule that a certain Spirit Ability would be randomly restricted for each match. For Ye Yin, however, the rule was different: all of his Curse-type Spirit Abilities were forbidden. Their effects were simply too powerful, and the side effects were too hard to predict.
"For this practical training session," Yu Xiaogang announced, "Zhu Zhuqing and Ye Yin will battle Ma Hongjun and Oscar. Ye Yin, all of your Curse Spirit Abilities are restricted, and you are also forbidden from using your second Spirit Ring."
With these restrictions, Ye Yin was left with only two of his six Spirit Abilities. He was completely cornered.
"Yin Ge, it looks like you're finally going to experience failure!" Ma Hongjun chuckled, his laugh filled with lewd confidence.
Ye Yin's expression remained calm. "That's not necessarily true. You two shouldn't be too surprised by what happens next."
"Match start!" Yu Xiaogang shouted.
Instantly, the inky black shadow of the Nether Cat attached itself to Zhu Zhuqing. Her body curved into a streak of light as she charged forward.
"Wait, why is Zhu Zhuqing's second Spirit Ring purple!" Ning Rongrong suddenly exclaimed. "How is that possible!"
Hearing Ning Rongrong's shocked voice, Dai Mubai, who hadn't been paying much attention to the duel, snapped his head around. His eyes widened in disbelief. "Her Spirit Ring went from a hundred-year to a thousand-year!"
Yu Xiaogang's body trembled as he stared at Ye Yin. "Another Spirit Ring age increase! How did he do it?"
The last time he had witnessed such a phenomenon was with Ye Yin's first Spirit Ring, an event that had deeply shaken his theoretical knowledge. He had sworn to himself that it was a fluke that would never happen again. Yet here it was, happening right before his eyes.
While everyone was still reeling from the shock, Zhu Zhuqing had already closed the distance and pounced behind Ma Hongjun. He and Oscar were so stunned by the purple ring that by the time they realized she was upon them, it was too late.
"Second Spirit Ability: Nether Claw!"
Dark phantoms of claws struck Ma Hongjun's back repeatedly.
"Ah!" he screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.
Zhu Zhuqing's first Spirit Ring then flashed. "First Spirit Ability: Hell Rush Stab!"
With her second Spirit Ability still active, a dark light flickered. The phantom claws of the Nether Claw drew a line through the air, landing accurately on Oscar.
Thump!
Oscar collapsed to the ground next to Ma Hongjun. The two of them struggled to lift their heads, staring blankly at Zhu Zhuqing's second Spirit Ring, their eyes filled with utter disbelief. What on earth was going on?
Zhu Zhuqing calmly provided the explanation she and Ye Yin had agreed upon beforehand. "Yin Ge's Spirit has the ability to increase a Spirit Ring's age limit, but each increase is small and causes permanent damage to his body. He expended a great deal of effort to finally help me raise my second Spirit Ring to a thousand years."
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