"Congratulations, Xiao Ao," Zhao Wuji said, a broad smile on his face.
After absorbing his third Spirit Ring, Oscar had undergone some subtle changes. He seemed to have grown a little taller, and he looked more energetic. The biggest change, however, was in his peach-blossom eyes, which now sparkled with a colorful light, much like the energy the cockscomb snake had released earlier.
Dai Mubai's hearty laughter rang out. "Xiao Ao, you're the third one of us to break through to level 30. Congratulations! Now, let's see what your third spirit ability is."
Oscar was thrilled to have his third Spirit Ring, but when Dai Mubai mentioned the skill, his smile faltered. A look of obvious embarrassment flashed across his face.
"Let's, uh, forget it. We can talk about it when we get back."
"Xiao Ao, what are you afraid of?" Ma Hongjun interjected. "Are you scared we'll laugh at you? Your first two incantations are already ridiculous, how much worse can this one be? We all put in a lot of effort for you, so hurry up and show us the results."
Oscar nodded helplessly. "Fine. But you have to promise you won't laugh after you hear the incantation."
Everyone nodded in unison, but they all had wide grins on their faces. After their experience with his first two spirit skills, they knew this one was bound to be good.
Oscar raised his right hand and finally recited his third spirit incantation. "I have a mushroom sausage."
"Pfft—!"
Almost everyone burst into laughter at the same time. Even the usually serious Zhao Wuji couldn't hold back a chuckle.
Oscar stared at them with wide eyes. "Hey, we agreed you wouldn't laugh!"
His protest only made everyone laugh even harder. A strange sausage appeared in his right palm. The main body was similar to his first spirit ability's recovery sausage, but the top bulged outwards, forming an umbrella-shaped mushroom head. It looked a bit like the crest on the head of the Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake; the skill was clearly derived from it.
Next, Oscar introduced the effect of his new ability. As long as someone ate the mushroom sausage, they could fly at the speed of a cockscomb snake for one full minute. This incredibly powerful skill left everyone amazed.
"Alright, that's enough excitement for now," Zhao Wuji said, smiling at the children. "Although we ran into some trouble, it all worked out. Oscar successfully obtained a Spirit Ring and advanced to the Spirit Elder realm. That's a great success. But this Star Dou Great Forest is full of dangers. We can't stay any longer. Now that we've achieved our goal, it's time to head back."
Everyone nodded in agreement and began the journey back to Shrek Academy.
Huo Feng glanced at the corpse of the cockscomb snake, which no one was paying attention to, and silently took a few steps back. He resumed his position at the rear of the team, but this time he kept a distance of about ten feet from Zhu Zhuqing. Everyone's attention was still on Oscar, so nobody noticed him.
Seeing his chance, Huo Feng decisively called out the system. "System, sacrifice the Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake!"
[Beep!][The Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake was sacrificed successfully!][Sacrifice points increased by 500!][Hidden mission completion progress: 2/2!][Hidden mission completed!][Mission Reward: Right Arm Soul Bone has been successfully distributed to the system warehouse!][The host can choose to merge at any time!]
Perfect! A hint of excitement that was hard to conceal flashed across Huo Feng's face. He quickly caught up with the team, his expression returning to normal. A legendary Soul Bone. He couldn't wait to see what it could do.
The group walked out of the Star Dou Forest without any further incident. No one noticed that the snake's body had vanished.
It only took them half a day to exit the forest. Although the fresh air was gone, everyone felt a great sense of relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from their shoulders. They rested for a night in the same town as before, and after another full day of travel, they finally returned to Shrek Academy.
Exhausted from the journey, everyone went straight to their rooms to rest. Oscar followed Zhao Wuji to report the situation to Dean Flender. Soon, Huo Feng was the only one left in his room. He immediately opened the system interface and selected the warehouse option.
[Hundred-Thousand-Year Sword Domain Soul Bone!][Soul Bone Skill: Can generate a circular sword domain within a ten-foot range of the host.][The domain's range increases with the host's level, and its attributes change with the host's Spirit form.][While inside the Sword Domain, the host's attack and speed increase by 50%. Enemies entering the Sword Domain have their attack and speed reduced by 20%!]
Damn, it's that strong? Huo Feng couldn't help but exclaim in his mind. He had thought the reward would be an ordinary Soul Bone. He never expected it to be a hundred-thousand-year one right from the start. Moreover, its skills were a perfect match for his own Spirit! An increase to his own attack and speed, and a decrease to the enemy's. The difference was massive. Inside his domain, any enemy would be severely crippled, while he would be massively empowered. It was like trapping them in a space where he controlled all the rules.
"Hiss… that's fierce," Huo Feng breathed. A Soul Bone was truly terrifying. It hadn't just met his expectations; it had surpassed them.
The system had explained that Soul Bones from system rewards would fuse perfectly, just like the system-provided Spirit Rings, with no risk of rejection. Huo Feng didn't hesitate and easily fused with the Soul Bone. He then eagerly opened his host information on the system interface.
The light screen flickered, and the interface changed.
[Host Name: Huo Feng][Host Spirit: Dugu Nine Swords]
First Stage - Thunder Sword!
Second Stage - Fiery Sword!
Third Stage - Sword of Gods and Demons![Host Spirit Power: Level 38 Spirit Elder!][Host Spirit Skills:]
First Spirit Skill: Sword Breaking Slash!
Second Spirit Skill: Raging Fire Spreads!
Third Spirit Skill: One Thought of Gods and Demons![Host Soul Bone: Hundred-Thousand-Year Sword Domain Soul Bone][Host's Wife: None yet]
Huo Feng nodded with satisfaction and closed the system interface. Oscar would probably be back soon.
The next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, a middle-aged man arrived at the gate of Shrek Academy.
It was Yu Xiaogang.
He looked at the somewhat dilapidated gate and thought to himself, "That boy, Xiao San, must be starting to make a name for himself in this academy.
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