As soon as Oscar entered the cafeteria, he noticed Zhu Zhuqing holding two trays and panicked instantly!
He rushed over and snatched them away.
"Brother Lan has entrusted me with all the cleaning work at the academy!"
"And yours too, Sister-in-law, I'll take care of everything!"
"If I'm not around, just leave it in the washing sink."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly.
She picked up Ning Rongrong's tray and added it to Oscar's stack.
Then she pulled Ning Rongrong out the door.
Oscar didn't mind and flashed a grin at Zhuge Lan.
Forget eating; he was heading to wash the trays first.
He was incredibly attentive.
Ma Hongjun approached, tentatively offering a tray.
"Get out of the way!" Oscar kicked him aside.
"Hey! What's the deal?" Ma Hongjun grumbled, "You've never washed my trays since we were kids; what's this about?"
"What do you know?"
Oscar glanced at Zhuge Lan, confirming he had left, and then whispered—
"Brother Lan has so many good things; even a little leftover would be immensely beneficial for me."
"Take the Spiral Nine Shadows, for example. If you learn it as a strong attack type, your combat power would increase quite a bit, right?"
"I call this an investment!"
[Emotional Points +666]
Ma Hongjun slapped his palm!
Right!
Zhu Zhuqing could learn the Spiral Nine Shadows, so why couldn't he…?
"Wait a minute!" Ma Hongjun reacted, "Zhu Zhuqing is Zhuge's woman; why should we learn it?"
Oscar bared his teeth, feeling frustrated.
"Can't you learn something a tier lower?"
"Didn't Brother Lan say his family has a plethora of techniques? He even made a library for them!"
"Not to mention, that body enhancement formula I got this time increased my limit by 3200 years."
"Zhu Zhuqing even increased hers by 6660 years!"
"Think about it."
Ma Hongjun: Σ(っQДQ;)っ
[Emotional Points +1111]
Holy crap!
A soul ring increasing by 6660 years?
That's outrageous!
Ma Hongjun's mind was opened, and he dashed out.
He caught up with Zhuge Lan.
With eagerness, he said, "Brother Lan, is there anything I can do for you?"
[Emotional Points +555]
[Emotional Points +333]
[Emotional Points +666]
A series of emotional points left Zhuge Lan bewildered.
He didn't quite grasp why this guy was so excited.
"First, tell me, what's going on with you?" Zhuge Lan asked directly.
Ma Hongjun smacked his forehead, realizing too late.
His eagerness was a bit too obvious.
But he didn't know how to be subtle.
So he bluntly stated, "I want that body enhancement medicine too. Brother Lan, what do you think? Can you brew me a dose?"
Zhuge Lan understood.
Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
But Ma Hongjun was poor and without Zhu Zhuqing's beauty or Oscar's talent.
He was lazy and lustful, leading to an unstable foundation.
In the original story, Tang San received divine herbs, exotic beast cores, and rewards for passing the Sea God's tests.
In the end, he still failed to inherit the status of a primary deity, becoming a secondary deity unable to take people to the divine realm.
He watched Bai Chenxiang die in vain.
Not worth the investment.
But he could keep him around to rack up emotional points.
"I don't have any herbs on hand," Zhuge Lan casually said, "Let's see how you perform first."
[Emotional Points +1111]
"Okay!" Ma Hongjun said with a flattering smile, "From now on, I'll definitely follow Brother Lan's lead!"
Zhuge Lan nodded slightly, indicating his acceptance.
—Laborer +1!
When they reached the playground,
Zhu Zhuqing was whispering with Ning Rongrong. Upon seeing Zhuge Lan, they instantly produced [Emotional Points +2333].
What were they talking about?
But it was clear Zhu Zhuqing was helping him flirt.
So he didn't approach.
Ma Hongjun spotted Tang San and Xiao Wu, his eyes lighting up.
"Brother Lan, I'm going to chat with Tang San."
He dashed over excitedly.
But after only a few sentences,
Tang San's expression darkened as he shook his head resolutely.
Xiao Wu also looked displeased.
Ma Hongjun left in disappointment, rolling his eyes up to the sky.
He came back to Zhuge Lan and immediately started venting his frustrations.
"This little Tang San is way too stingy!"
"I asked him about his techniques and whether I could train them, and he flipped out?"
"I wasn't asking for free!"
"Pff! No wonder he gave you a cold shoulder."
Wasn't this asking for trouble?
Let's be honest, does Ma Hongjun really not have any self-awareness?
Just yesterday, they clashed, and today he went to ask for his techniques.
Wasn't that just asking for a beating?
But this mindless behavior was very much in line with Ma Hongjun's style.
Zhuge Lan didn't bother to comment.
After a while,
Dai Mubai and Oscar came over together.
Oscar rushed over cheerfully, but unlike Ma Hongjun, he was more polite, happily sharing knowledge about the Star Dou Forest.
Dai Mubai stood quietly beside him, keeping silent.
Emotional points occasionally popped up.
After Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong finished chatting, they stood to the left and right of Zhuge Lan.
Tang San and Xiao Wu, over there, unconsciously moved closer too.
Subtly,
The Shrek Eight-man team was centered around Zhuge Lan.
A few minutes later,
The stern Zhao Wuji awkwardly approached.
Upon seeing Zhuge Lan,
[Emotional Points +1111]
[Emotional Points +1111]
[Emotional Points +1111]
Zhao Wuji had a love-hate relationship with Zhuge Lan.
The love part was obvious; good students are always liked by teachers.
As for the hate—
Was he supposed to lose face by making a fool of himself in public?
He had initially been determined not to lead the team.
Until he heard that Flender had knelt before Zhuge Lan,
his heart felt a lot more balanced.
—This student still left him some face; it was just his own bad luck.
"I won't say much more."
Zhao Wuji said with a stern face—
"This time, we're heading to the Star Dou Forest for you to assist Oscar in obtaining his third spirit ring."
"I will not intervene before encountering ten thousand or five thousand year spirit beasts."
"Everyone, run forward!"
He took the lead and sprinted away.
Still couldn't let go of his pride.
Zhuge Lan was the first to catch up, with everyone closely following.
On the teaching building,
Flender watched the team, clearly seeing Zhuge Lan as the core.
He shook his head helplessly.
"Xiao Gang, if you want Tang San to command the team, it all depends on you now."
The Soto City was very close to the Star Dou Forest.
It seemed Shrek Academy chose this location, considering the hunting of spirit rings.
With Oscar's recovery sausages and Ning Rongrong's acceleration support,
In just one day,
The eight of them traveled nearly five hundred kilometers.
Before nightfall, they reached a town one hundred kilometers away from the Star Dou Forest.
Only then did Zhao Wuji stop.
He glanced at the team.
Zhuge Lan appeared the most relaxed, with only a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.
Even so,
Ning Rongrong had exhausted herself halfway, pulling at Zhuge Lan's sleeve for support.
Tang San was slightly less in shape.
With his Xuan Tian Gong recovery and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track techniques, he was much better than the others.
He even slightly pulled Xiao Wu along to help her out too.
Last time, Zhu Zhuqing ranked last; this time, she came in third.
Her entry-level Spiral Nine Shadows allowed her to master the correct running posture.
With the enhancement of 6660 years of physical power, she could even turn around and run back to the academy.
As for Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar, their conditions were all poor.
Dai Mubai had a higher level and shouldn't have been this miserable.
But Oscar's constant production of recovery sausages drained a lot of his soul power and physical strength.
So he actively pulled Oscar along, ensuring he didn't fall behind.
As for Ma Hongjun…
He was simply slacking off.
This made Zhao Wuji furrow his brows.
Although Oscar and Ning Rongrong were receiving external assistance, they were originally support types, so it was natural for them to get the team's care.
"But Ma Hongjun, as a strong attack type, how can you be this lazy?"
'This little fat guy might become the team's weak link.'
'That Ning Rongrong girl has been properly handled by Zhuge.'
'Isn't it possible that in the end, the little fat guy will become a substitute?'
---
Advanced 30+ Chapters in Patreon for 7 Dollars
Link: www.pat reon.com/SenatusPopulus