Lin Jie looked at Dai Mubai, who now stood across from him, and felt nothing short of delighted. He'd long wanted to give this guy a good beating. Zhu Zhuqing was already his woman now—Dai Mubai might not know it yet, but he would eventually. And Lin Jie would never tolerate him harassing her. Credit where it's due—Yu Xiaogang had actually done something useful for once by giving him this perfect opportunity.
Though both were at the Spirit Elder level, the pressure radiating from them was intense. Even Yu Xiaogang quickly retreated to the side, and the others, fearing accidental injury, gave them a wide berth.
Dai Mubai's Evil Eyes began to glow faintly red. He too had wanted to beat Lin Jie for a while. Every time he saw Lin Jie and Zhu Zhuqing chatting so intimately, he burned with anger.
Though things between him and Zhu Zhuqing had soured, she was still technically his fiancée. He wasn't stupid—he knew exactly what Lin Jie was thinking. Despite being five ranks below him, Dai Mubai didn't dare underestimate Lin Jie. At Shrek Academy, everyone was a monster—but the only ones he truly saw as dangerous were Lin Jie and Tang San.
"Lin Jie," Dai Mubai warned coldly, "I'm not holding back."
Lin Jie just chuckled softly and nodded, saying nothing.
Dai Mubai was already fuming. Seeing Lin Jie's relaxed, almost mocking expression, he activated his spirit power. His muscles tensed and coiled with power, ready to strike.
A pale light suddenly burst from his body. Dai Mubai's arms spread wide, his chest muscles bulging. Bones cracked audibly as his muscles swelled, straining against his uniform.
His Martial Soul, the White Tiger, had fully possessed his body.
Lin Jie stood motionless, rooted in place.
Dai Mubai launched the first attack. His body blurred as he charged forward. Though he was a Power Attack System Spirit Master, his speed wasn't lacking.
But just as he was about to make contact, Lin Jie shifted slightly—an almost imperceptible side-step to the left—and the attack missed entirely. In a flash, he had returned to his original position, as if he'd never moved.
Dai Mubai stumbled forward but recovered quickly, spinning around—only to find Lin Jie standing exactly where he'd started, perfectly composed.
Tang San's heart skipped a beat. "So fast… I couldn't even see how he did it." He activated his Purple Demon Eye instinctively, still unable to catch the moment.
The others were equally stunned. None of them could figure out how Lin Jie had dodged a Spirit Elder's strike without even seeming to move.
Even Yu Xiaogang, who prided himself on his theoretical knowledge, was stunned speechless.
If Flender had been there, he might've seen through it—after all, Lin Jie was using a very unorthodox technique:
Lateral Sprinting.
It was actually just an intense version of shuttle training—jumping left and right in rapid succession to train explosive power and reaction time. But when pushed to the limit, the eye couldn't keep up. To spectators, it looked as if Lin Jie had simply dodged the blow by standing still.
Lin Jie looked over his shoulder at Dai Mubai and smirked, "Not looking too good there, are you?"
Dai Mubai's anger flared. With a roar, he unleashed his third spirit ability: White Tiger Vajra Transformation—a self-enhancement skill that doubled his strength, defense, and resistance to control-type abilities for thirty minutes.
Lin Jie inwardly sighed at how long it took. "Man, this world's animation budget must be running low if his transformation takes this long…"
With a thunderous boom, Dai Mubai charged again—this time, fully powered-up.
Lin Jie didn't dodge.
As the White Tiger's empowered strike came crashing down, Lin Jie braced himself, gathering his spirit power. With his palm open, he caught the blow directly.
BOOM!
Lin Jie was forced back four or five meters, skidding across the ground before regaining his footing.
He shook his hand slightly, smiling. "Not bad. That actually made my hand go a little numb."
Dai Mubai's expression darkened. The mockery in Lin Jie's tone was unmistakable. Roaring, he charged again.
But Lin Jie didn't retreat. His hands, already crackling with lightning, moved as he burst into another lateral sprint. In a blink, he appeared behind Dai Mubai.
Both hands surged with electricity as he struck, calling out:
"Volt Strike — 100,000 Volts!"
Yes, this was Lin Jie's self-developed lightning ability: Volt Series. It came in tiers—100k Volts, 1 Million Volts, and a yet-to-be-created 10 Million Volts.
Even at the base level, 100,000 Volts wasn't something Dai Mubai could withstand.
Lightning engulfed him. His body froze, twitched violently, and he screamed as he crashed to the ground.
Yu Xiaogang quickly called out, "Enough! Stop!"
Lin Jie gave Dai Mubai a glance, then looked at Yu Xiaogang and shrugged. "Fine. That should be enough of a lesson."
Smoke curled up from Dai Mubai's body, his eyes momentarily rolled back. He dropped to his knees, gasping.
Lin Jie gave him a sheepish look. "Oops. Sorry. Didn't expect you to be that weak—couldn't even take one hit."
He turned to Yu Xiaogang and gestured helplessly. "Master, I seriously thought he'd be stronger. Thirty-seven ranks! I expected more…"
Yu Xiaogang ignored him and hurried to Dai Mubai's side, helping him up. "Are you okay?"
Dai Mubai gritted his teeth. "I'm fine, Master…"
Yu Xiaogang turned and scolded Lin Jie for going too far. Lin Jie could only offer a half-hearted apology, "My bad, I'll be more careful next time."
But in Dai Mubai's ears, it sounded like mockery.
With Oscar's support—and his restorative Sausage spirit ability—Dai Mubai eventually recovered. Physically, at least. His pride was still in tatters.
After being humiliated by Lin Jie, he tried sparring with Tang San. No luck there either. Still frustrated, he turned to Ma Hongjun and used him as a punching bag to vent.
Yu Xiaogang gave them all a stern lecture, then punished the group with long-distance running while wearing weighted gear.
Lin Jie had no complaints and joined in without a word.
Once they started, the others realized just how heavy their burdens were. Running six kilometers with weights might sound trivial, but even Oscar and Ning Rongrong—both Support-type Spirit Masters—struggled.
Ning Rongrong, in particular, had the weakest endurance. Oscar, thanks to his third spirit ring's boosts, was in slightly better shape.
Lin Jie, unfazed by the added weight, even helped carry some of Oscar and Ning Rongrong's load.
Seeing that, Dai Mubai—still unwilling to be shown up—immediately grabbed some of Ma Hongjun's weights and carried them himself.
The first phase of training finally ended. Whether it met Yu Xiaogang's expectations, no one knew. But Lin Jie had certainly achieved his own goal: strengthening bonds with the rest of the team. He and Tang San, especially, were growing close—almost like brothers.
That night, the group collapsed into bed, completely exhausted. Nothing eventful happened overnight.
When Lin Jie woke the next morning, the first rays of dawn were already breaking.
The familiar sound of the academy bell rang out.
All eight members of Shrek assembled on the training field without delay. Yu Xiaogang was already waiting for them.
The first three-month phase of training had ended the day before. For Oscar and the others, it had been sheer hell. For Lin Jie, not so much. Still, he played along for his own reasons.
Yu Xiaogang gave them all a seven-day break to recover before beginning the next phase of their training.
Yes—all eight monsters of Shrek were now officially acknowledged.