Chapter 92: Spirit Arena

After thinking it over, Flender could only bite the bullet and say, "Training must be done step by step. Today was just a test to see what your physical fitness is actually like. I will naturally have more detailed and comprehensive lesson plans later."

"Is that so?" Ning Rongrong looked at Flender with a half-smile, said nothing more, and simply remarked, "In that case, let's do horse stance. Since you want to test us, this will be faster."

"What is horse stance?" Flender asked with slight embarrassment.

"You'll know if you follow my lead." Ning Rongrong proudly lifted her head and stood in a standard horse stance posture.

Watching Ning Rongrong's horse stance, Tang San did not find anything unusual. Basic martial arts training was naturally much more helpful for physical conditioning than things like running, but he had never taught these foundations to anyone else before.

"Oscar, follow along." Flender called out, letting Tang San support Dai Mubai while he squatted down himself; he wanted to personally experience what was so special about this movement.

"Keep your back straight, press your waist down..." Ning Rongrong said to Flender and Oscar while squatting.

At the very beginning, it was fine, but after just one minute, Oscar's complexion changed, and Flender also furrowed his brows tightly.

Time passed second by second. In less than ten minutes, Oscar's legs trembled, and he was the first to fail and fall to the ground, whereas Ning Rongrong to the side remained squatting with a calm expression.

"This horse stance is even more agonizing than running." Oscar collapsed on the ground and said in despair.

"This is just the most basic level. Why don't you try adding some weight?" Ning Rongrong said dismissively.

Hearing Ning Rongrong say this, Oscar looked even more lifeless.

It would have been fine if Flender hadn't tried it, but once he did, experiencing it personally, he immediately felt the uniqueness of the horse stance. He now felt as if both of his legs were burning.

Facing Ning Rongrong's gaze, Flender naturally could not be the first to stand up, and the two remained in a stalemate.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour...

During the wait, Zhu Zhuqing also tried it on the side, but she only lasted less than twenty minutes.

In contrast, Ning Rongrong, as an Auxiliary Soul Master, was still persisting.

Soon, an hour passed.

Ning Rongrong's breathing began to grow rapid, and fine beads of sweat constantly emerged on her forehead.

Oscar, to the side, had long been stunned into silence by this scene.

"How can this Ning Rongrong squat for so long?" At this moment, Flender was completely unable to voice his suffering. Although he was strong, this was his first time doing a horse stance, and he was an Agility Attack System Spirit Master; endurance was not his strong suit.

But he naturally could not lose face in front of his students, so he could only grit his teeth and persist.

Ning Rongrong also had an unyielding personality. Even though her legs were trembling, she still gritted her teeth and persisted for another half hour before finally collapsing to the ground from exhaustion.

Seeing Ning Rongrong finally fall, Flender breathed a sigh of relief, slowly stood up, and said, "The training effect of this horse stance is indeed much better than running. Little Ao, you must also squat for an hour and a half today before you can rest."

"Ah?!" Oscar to the side immediately let out a pig-like howl. Squatting for ten-odd minutes had already cost him half his life; if he had to squat for an hour and a half, would he even be able to walk?

"Ah what? Practice properly. As for Ning Rongrong, you can temporarily continue to cultivate according to your own method; I will arrange further lessons later."

After speaking, Flender immediately turned and walked away in a hurry, though if one looked closely, Flender's legs were clearly trembling as he walked.

"Almost lost face completely. This Ning Rongrong's stamina is also quite exaggerated. I don't know what the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is thinking, sending this little Buddha to me."

Flender had a headache. After returning to his room, he immediately lay down with a lifeless expression and muttered to himself, "Xiao Gang, oh Xiao Gang, when will you arrive? These little guys are all thorns; I don't even know how to teach them."

"Rongrong, do you want a sausage? I guarantee you'll recover your vitality immediately." Oscar grinned and leaned in front of Ning Rongrong.

"You'd better save it for yourself to eat." Ning Rongrong glared at Oscar. At this moment, she especially missed Ye Lingling; if she were in the Heaven Dou Imperial Team, Ye Lingling could still help her heal.

"My sausage tastes quite good." Oscar had a helpless expression.

"Even if it tastes good, I don't want to eat it. Didn't he tell you to do horse stance? Why aren't you hurrying to do yours?" Ning Rongrong crawled up to a sitting position.

Upon hearing "horse stance," Oscar's expression immediately turned into one of wanting to cry.

"Keep it up." Shi Quan raised his hand to cheer Oscar on.

"I'll take Mu Bai back to rest first." Tang San glanced at Shi Quan, then led Dai Mubai toward the dormitory, with Xiao Wu naturally following close behind.

"Zhuqing, what about you?"

"Cultivate, improve my strength."

"Together?"

"Sure."

Soon, night fell.

The group of eight gathered once again.

Dai Mubai had already woken up from his unconscious state. Apart from his panda eyes still aching a little, he had no other discomfort. As for Oscar, he was sitting on the ground with his legs limp, while Ning Rongrong had returned to her previous smiling, harmless appearance.

"Since everyone is ready, Ning Rongrong, you two stay at the academy; the others follow me."

After speaking, he tapped his toes on the ground and darted out lightly, heading in the direction outside the academy.

The group hurriedly followed.

Flender maintained a fairly fast speed throughout.

The group soon arrived at Soto City. The night in Soto City was like a city that never sleeps, brightly lit, with various hawking sounds ringing in one's ears, exceptionally lively.

The group looked around with different expressions.

Especially Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, who were very curious about their surroundings. In contrast, Zhu Zhuqing and Shi Quan were very silent, following behind Flender without looking aside—one was cold and indifferent, while the other didn't even need to turn his head to see everything around him.

Soon, under Flender's lead, they arrived at a tea stall not far from the Spirit Arena and sat down for a while.

"Dean, are we going there on the first day?" Dai Mubai's expression changed slightly.

"Nonsense. If I don't let them go there, where else would they go?"

Flender said indifferently, "Monsters naturally must have a monster's way of training! If we were to do things by the book, why come to our Shrek Academy?"

The others were naturally full of curiosity about Flender's words, but Shi Quan was clear about their destination: the Soto Grand Spirit Arena.

The rules of the Spirit Arena had all been explained in detail in the original work; although Shi Quan had never been there, he was still very clear about them.

The others were different. Shi Quan had no heart to listen to Flender's eloquent talk about the rules and points to note during combat; his mind had long drifted back to the academy, wondering how Ning Rongrong and Oscar were doing.

He also didn't know if Oscar would be able to reach Thirty Levels after tonight.

After Flender briefly finished explaining the general situation of the Spirit Arena, seeing that the time was about right, the group then headed toward the Suotuo Great Spirit Arena.

Walking into the Spirit Arena, they both quickly completed their respective registrations.

"Zhuqing, one-on-one battles are not very interesting. Would you like to sign up with me for a Soul Elder-level two-on-two? As the saying goes, pressure creates motivation. Want to play together?"

"Two-on-two?" Zhuqing paused for a moment, a flicker of fighting spirit rising in her eyes, "Alright!"

Immediately, the two of them arrived at the two-on-two registration area.

"The registration fee is ten gold coins. If you win a match, you will receive a total of ten gold coins." The staff member collected the fee from Shi Quan and Zhuqing in a businesslike manner. Because they had already registered their levels, they only needed to show their Iron Spirit Fighting Badges. There was no need to fill out anything else.

"Since the highest strength in your combination is Soul Elder, your opponents will also be a Soul Elder-level team. Are you sure?" The staff member looked at their badges and reminded them.

"No problem."

"Please give your combination a name."

A name? After Zhuqing and Shi Quan exchanged a glance, Shi Quan spoke first: "How about we call it the Ghost Combination? Nether Spirit Cat and Spirit Soul."

"That works." Zhuqing nodded.

"Very well, Ghost Combination has been registered."

The two of them quickly completed the registration.

On the other side, the one-on-one battles began quickly.

Zhuqing's opponent was still Tang San, just like in the original story, and as for the result, it was also the same as the original: she was defeated by Tang San. As for Shi Quan's opponent, he was a level 35 Power Attack System Battle Soul Master with a Savage Bear martial soul.

There is no need to elaborate on the result of the battle; relying solely on the illusions from his Second Soul Skill, he spun his opponent around in circles, and finally, by using an illusion to shift the fighting platform, the Savage Bear Spirit Master was sent tumbling right off the platform, and he achieved victory.

After finishing the one-on-one battle, the two of them rested for a while.

The battle on the two-on-two side only then began.

Following the Spirit Master passage, they arrived at the Soul Fighting Platform, coming to the two-on-two Soul Fighting Platform.

At this moment, the host on the platform was announcing the Spirit Master combinations.

"..., the eighth match of the two-on-two, Violent Combination versus Ghost Combination."

"Both of us are Power Attack System Battle Soul Masters. Once the battle starts, I will use illusions to hide your figure and share my vision; you just need to look for an opportunity to attack."

Shi Quan looked at the two sturdy middle-aged men opposite them.

The members of the Violent Combination looked at the people who had come onto the stage, seeing they were such young people, and one of them was even blind, so they couldn't help but feel some doubt. The host looked at the information in his hand and hurriedly said: "It seems our Ghost Combination is not only young and promising but also full of confidence. Let us look forward to seeing how these two bold young people challenge those of a higher level."

The host was very good at livening up the atmosphere of the venue, and the crowd present was clearly intrigued by the words "challenge those of a higher level," and it immediately became lively.

"Young geniuses?" The two middle-aged men exchanged a glance, their surprise quickly dissipating. Instead of advancing, they retreated, simultaneously taking a steady step backward. They even let out a low roar at the same time, and rich blood-colored light surged out. Blood-red fur sprouted, their already sturdy physiques expanded another circle, their thick arms hung forward to the ground, and both of them turned into a sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked appearance.