Douro Continent

Chapter 211 Cross-Level Challenge (Part 1)

The current situation on the mainland, besides the internal reasons of the two great empires, is primarily due to the covert interference of several major soul master families and the Spirit Hall. How could a vast and unified empire allow these forces that threaten its rule to survive?

To reach Heaven Dou City, the Shrek Academy group needed to first leave the territory of the Barak Kingdom, then traverse the entire territory of the Silves Kingdom to the north of the Barak Kingdom, before entering the imperial city area of ​​the Heaven Dou Empire. Further east lay the imperial city of the Heaven Dou Empire. The entire journey was long, nearly two thousand miles. This demonstrates the vastness of the Heaven Dou Empire's territory.

Among the Shrek Seven Devils, Dai Mubai, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong all possessed soul tools for storage, and most of their teachers had similar ones as well. Therefore, they didn't need to worry about carrying items while traveling. Before setting off, they put the purchased food and prepared water into their soul tools. Even if there were no supplies in the Central Map, this food and water would be enough for them for ten days.

"Alright, little monsters, you've all had two months of rest. From now on, speed up your journey. Everyone must keep up with my pace, or else, hehe." Flander seemed to have returned to his old self, a cunning look in his eyes. He grabbed the master's arm with one hand, and as soon as he finished speaking, he sprang forward.

Flanders naturally wouldn't rush, so the academy teachers, led by Zhao Wuji, followed on either side of him.

The Shrek Seven Devils exchanged a glance and started running without hesitation. They didn't care about running with weights, so why would they care about ordinary running? They didn't even need to use their soul power. Even Oscar and Ning Rongrong could easily keep up with Flander's pace.

The master was carried by Flander using his soul power, without needing to expend any effort. He asked with some doubt, "Flander, what's the point of training the children like this? Their physical foundation is already very solid."

Flander chuckled and said, "Is there really no point in training? Xiao Gang, there are some methods you can't use. Besides, even if there's no point in training, traveling faster and wasting less time means we can eat fewer meals and stay in fewer inns along the way. That should save a lot of money, right? We already agreed last time that we'd use the three thousand gold soul coins we took from the last trial on this third stage of the trial, so we should save where we can."

"You... you really haven't changed a bit." The master was speechless. Unlike Flander, he never cared much about money. He always believed that money could be earned back after spending it all, since he had always been a Great Soul Master and the Spirit Hall provided him with subsidies.

Flanders winked slyly at the master, then suddenly accelerated, charging forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Zhao Wuji was undoubtedly the one most familiar with Flander. He glanced helplessly at the candy-bean soul master Shao Xin beside him, grabbed his arm, and said, "Flander, if you want to save money, you don't have to torture us old bones like this." Since the speed of a support-type soul master was naturally not good, he simply accelerated with Shao Xin.

Flander's acceleration put the Shrek Seven Devils behind him in a difficult position. How could they possibly catch up with someone using soul power just by running with their bare hands? Moreover, Flander was an agility-type soul master, and a Soul Emperor-level one at that.

In their haste, the Shrek Seven Devils had no choice but to speed up. As a result, Ning Rongrong and Oscar could no longer move forward on their own. Oscar was led by Dai Mubai, and Ning Rongrong was led by Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu in turns. The seven of them still did not fall behind and used all their speed to catch up with the others.

Using soul power for a short time is nothing, but how can the soul power of the Shrek Seven Devils compare with that of their teachers? Flander's speed control was the maximum speed they could reach. In less than an hour, the soul power of the Shrek Seven Devils had been almost completely consumed.

Seeing that they were falling behind, Flander slowed down to his normal pace, giving the Shrek Seven Devils time to recover from eating the giant sausage. Of course, Flander and the others wouldn't eat Oscar's giant sausage; a few candies would be far more effective. After all, the level of that candy-bean Soul Master, Shao Xin, was far beyond Oscar's current capabilities.

Traveling in this way, the Shrek Seven Devils were exhausted by the end of the day, as if they had undergone another round of rigorous training. However, they still managed to cover about 400 kilometers, completing one-fifth of the entire journey.

Fortunately, Flanders wasn't as stingy as he claimed; he didn't make everyone sleep outdoors and instead settled them in a small town.

The so-called town was actually just a large village. The Shrek Academy students stayed in the only hotel, which was a bit simple but at least clean.

Flanders fully utilized his talent for thrift, only requesting three rooms in total. One room for the teachers, one for the male students, and one for the female students.

"I'm exhausted." Oscar lay down on the bed, breathing heavily, looking completely relaxed. Everyone had been traveling all day and was finally able to rest; no one cared about how simple the place was.

Dai Mubai said irritably, "What are you tired of? Most of your weight is on me, okay?"

Oscar said, "But I also need to make you giant sausages and mushroom sausages. In the last part, if it weren't for my mushroom sausages, would we have been able to keep up? My soul power consumption has never been less than yours. Soul power consumption also causes fatigue."

Ma Hongjun said, "Stop complaining. I'm the most unlucky one. I'm the heaviest and not very fast. I really hope I can have the ability to fly soon. When that happens, traveling won't be a problem anymore."

Tang San laughed and said, "Stop complaining, hurry up and get some rest. Who knows if our Dean will come again tomorrow?"

Just then, a knock sounded on the door. The door opened a crack, and Xiao Wu peeked in from outside. "Xiao San, come out for a moment."

Tang San agreed and left the room.

"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?" Tang San couldn't help but feel sorry for Xiao Wu, who also looked tired.

Xiao Wu pouted slightly, as if being coquettish, "My legs are sore from traveling all day. Brother, can you massage my legs for me?"

During that grueling training period, whenever Xiao Wu was tired, Tang San would massage her legs. The internal energy of the Xuan Tian Gong and soul power are ultimately different; the Taoist healing properties are something soul power lacks. Generally speaking, soul power tends to be domineering, while the Xuan Tian Gong is more balanced and harmonious.

"Okay. Here?" Tang San affectionately ruffled Xiao Wu's hair.

"Okay, let's do it here. Rongrong and Zhuqing are asleep." As she spoke, Xiaowu lifted her right leg, fully demonstrating her flexibility, and placed her slender leg directly on Tang San's shoulder.

Tang San raised his hands, one hand pinching her ankle, the other gently massaging the muscles of her calf. The heat from the Xuan Tian Gong penetrated deep into her muscles, and Xiao Wu immediately closed her eyes in comfort, a blush spreading across her face.

While massaging Xiao Wu's calves, Tang San said to her, "If we have to travel like this tomorrow, I'll have to take you with me. I should be able to keep up with your speed using the Eight Spider Lances."

Xiao Wu giggled and said, "No need, I can manage. Actually, it's good to be a little tired, it gives me a reason for you to massage my legs. It feels so good. Brother, why are your palms so warm?"

Tang San shook his head helplessly. He genuinely loved and cherished his younger sister, and disregarding the mud on her shoes, he gently patted Xiao Wu's feet to help her relax. "How does that feel?"

"It feels so good, my feet don't seem so sore anymore." Even through her shoes, the heat from Tang San's palms could still penetrate her feet, like soaking in a hot spring. The soothing sensation made Xiao Wu's eyes glaze over with pleasure.

"Alright, let's switch to the other leg."

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San, her gaze somewhat fixed. "Brother, I wish we could always be like this. If you get a sister-in-law in the future, will you leave me behind?"

Tang San smiled slightly and said, "Silly girl, how could that be? You'll always be my sister." He hadn't experienced romantic relationships in his previous life, and he understood even less about them in this one. His father wasn't around, but since arriving at Shrek Academy, Tang San hadn't dared to feel any emotional emptiness. He had his friends for friendship, and Xiao Wu and Grandmaster for family. He was very content with his life.

Xiao Wu chuckled and said, "How about I marry you when we grow up? That way I can be your little sister forever and let you take care of me."

Tang San chuckled and said, "Alright, but you're so beautiful, marrying me would be a waste for you."

Xiao Wu snorted and said, "I'm serious. What's there to feel wronged about? In my heart, you're the best. Brother, do you know? Rongrong always teases me, saying that you and I are like brother and sister."

Tang San was taken aback for a moment. "That's right, aren't you my sister?"

Xiao Wu blushed slightly. "It's different. Oh, I'm not talking to you anymore. You're such a blockhead." As she spoke, she pulled back her long legs and walked behind Tang San. She gently massaged his shoulders with both hands.

Although Xiao Wu's technique was a bit clumsy, it still made Tang San feel very comfortable, especially her gentle warmth, which touched the softest part of Tang San's heart.

(End of this chapter)