Wu Ling nodded in satisfaction at Oscar's current cultivation speed.
In the original story, Oscar awakened his Martial Soul at six, but he only reached level thirty at fourteen after Tang San arrived at Shrek. There was indeed the issue of support-type Martial Souls cultivating more slowly, but look at Cecilia Jewel, whose innate Spirit Power was even one level lower than his. She was only thirteen when she reached level thirty after going to Shrek.
There were two main reasons behind that difference. First, Oscar was rather lazy when he was young and did not care much about cultivation on his own.
The second reason was Shrek. As a student of the academy, even if they did not have a superior environment or high-quality teachers, they should at least have supervised his cultivation at the most basic level.
But what happened in the original story? Before Tang San arrived, Oscar was either selling his sausages or going to brothels with Alban Regis and Ash.
Cecilia Jewel, meanwhile, might have had a bad personality at first, but with her father and two Titled Sages guiding her, the quality of her training was far beyond Oscar's.
In summary, that second factor, Shrek's free-range method of raising geniuses, was the biggest reason.
Now, Oscar had professional teachers supervising him, along with the cultivation method Wu Ling gave him and occasional pills. No matter how one looked at it, his situation was far better than it had been at Shrek in the original story, and not merely by a small margin.
So becoming a Spirit Adept at eight was a very normal result. In Wu Ling's plan for him, he did not need Oscar to rise a major rank every two years like Wu Ling himself, but reaching level thirty at twelve or before twelve should be more than possible.
'Good. Keep going at this speed. If you need anything, tell your teacher. If you need pills or something, you can tell me too.'
'Okay, Brother Wu.'
After dinner, Wu Ling adapted a few ghost stories from his previous life into Soul Land versions and told them to Oscar. In the end, under Wu Ling's wickedly amused smile, Oscar fled Wu Ling's house as if escaping a disaster.
After Oscar left, Wu Ling rubbed his stomach. 'Is it because Azure and Shade fought earlier? Why do I feel like this food is being digested faster and faster?'
'Old Li, tell the cooks to prepare another table of food for me... Wait, Old Li. Not just today. From now on, prepare four meals every day, and add more variety. As for wages, raise them as you see fit. We cannot make them work overtime for free, right?'
'Young Master truly treats his servants with consideration.' As Old Li sighed with feeling, he nodded and headed toward the servants' quarters.
Watching Old Li leave, Wu Ling was already considering whether to have Rose make him something like Naruto's soldier pills or Dragon Ball's Senzu beans.
Wu Ling read a book he had borrowed from Spirit Hall's library for a while. Soon, the food was served.
After eating, Wu Ling rested briefly, took a bath, then returned to his bedroom to continue reading. Since today was his first day back after obtaining his fourth Spirit Ring, he could give himself a day off.
So Wu Ling did not cultivate that day. He also did not let Ember and the others come out to cultivate. Even Rose was forcibly recalled by him under the excuse that resting well would give her the energy to research.
Looking at the time and seeing that it was already 21:30, Wu Ling closed his book and stood up. In his bedroom, he began performing a gymnastics routine Rose had developed, one that engaged muscles throughout the entire body.
By 22:00, after half an hour of gymnastics, Wu Ling felt comfortable all over without having sweated much. He picked up the slightly cool cup of milk at his bedside, drank it down, then flopped onto the bed and slept like a baby.
The next morning at 06:00, after sleeping a full eight hours, Wu Ling woke up with all the fatigue from the previous day gone.
'Cultivation, cultivation. Aside from one's own strength, everything else is impure.'
After breakfast and another half-hour wait, Wu Ling was just about to cultivate when Steward Li came over with a subtle expression.
'Young Master, Miss Cross has come to see you again.'
Wu Ling's plan to cultivate had been suddenly interrupted. Irritated, he said with a hint of dislike, 'Hah. What, does her family own Spirit Hall or something? Coming over so casually. Does she not know that interrupting someone's cultivation is the kind of thing that should get a person tied up and punished a hundred times over?'
Seeing Wu Ling say that, Old Li hurriedly lowered his head and pretended he had heard nothing.
There was no helping it. Spirit Hall really did belong to the Cross family in a sense. So even though Wu Ling was annoyed, he still put on a warm, bright smile and went to greet Aurelia.
'Ahahaha, if it is not the great Miss Cross. What brings you to me again?'
Although Wu Ling wore a smile, Aurelia, who understood how to read expressions, instantly noticed the flaw.
'Why do I feel like your smile is fake, and that there is a little dislike in it?' The original Aurelia would not have been so direct, but after remembering what her grandfather had told her last night about Wu Ling's personality, she finally chose to say it in a teasing tone.
Seeing Aurelia's appearance, which could match his own, and hearing her pleasant voice, Wu Ling's slight irritation was soothed. He rubbed his face, then calmed himself again.
When Wu Ling lowered his hand again, the relaxed yet slightly helpless expression on his face made Aurelia unable to help but smile.
'Miss Cross, coming over right when I am about to cultivate feels as awkward as wearing ill-fitting clothes on New Year's Day.'
Aurelia was not particularly surprised by Wu Ling's strange metaphor. Her grandfather had mentioned that Wu Ling sometimes said bizarre things out of the blue, perhaps related to that Age of Gods he spoke of. But Wu Ling's mention of cultivation caught her interest.
'You were about to cultivate? Then can I join you today? To be honest, it is not just me. Even some Elders have mentioned wanting to cultivate with you, to see exactly how you train so quickly.'
Wu Ling did not care much about such a small matter. 'Sure. That is nothing. But if you have something urgent, say it first.'
Aurelia shook her head lightly. 'No. I only wanted to apologize for my rudeness yesterday, then chat with you today.'
'Fine. Follow me. But before cultivation, I will introduce you to a few people.' With that, Wu Ling walked back toward the courtyard like a guide.
Aurelia tilted her head. After casually closing the door behind her, she followed Wu Ling and guessed, 'A few people? Could other people be cultivating with Wu Ling besides me? Right, the food-type Spirit Master Grandfather mentioned might be one of them. But that is only one. Who are the others?'
When she followed Wu Ling to the courtyard where she had been defeated yesterday, Aurelia looked toward the place where she had lost with complicated eyes. Then her expression froze.
At the center of the courtyard, two men whose faces resembled Wu Ling's by about 80% and a person wearing pitch-black armor were holding an unusual posture.