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At this moment, a trace of envy and resentment flickered in Yu Xiaogang's heart. Why wasn't he the one with such talent?
But soon, Yu Xiaogang adjusted his mindset. After all, he had endured this humiliation for over 30 years; a few more years wouldn't make much difference. He then got to the point.
"Xiao Wen, may I call you that?"
Though Yu Xiaogang had been freeloading at the academy, he still held the title of a teacher. Though Ye Wen felt uneasy about it, he nodded nonetheless.
Yu Xiaogang smiled in satisfaction and continued.
"Here's the thing, Xiao Wen. You've been at Nuoding Academy for nearly six years now and are about to graduate. Do you have any thoughts on which academy you'll attend next?
With your cultivation level, attending an intermediate academy would be a waste of time. Surely, you'd prefer to go directly to an advanced academy.
If that's the case, I have a friend who runs a school. While it's not a formal advanced academy, its faculty is strong. Would you be interested in enrolling there?"
Ye Wen had just been thinking of ways to brush off Yu Xiaogang and leave, but upon hearing this, his heart skipped a beat.
During his time at Nuoding Academy, Ye Wen had carefully concealed his true cultivation level. He hadn't revealed any information about his soul power or spirit rings to anyone.
Given that, who had leaked information about his cultivation to Yu Xiaogang?
It definitely wasn't Xiao Wu or Huo Yu'er. Tang San, though he possessed the inheritance of the Tang Sect from his past life, couldn't possibly have figured out Ye Wen's cultivation without him taking action.
The answer was clear. Ye Wen's heart sank.
That bastard Tang Hao has indeed been secretly observing me, Ye Wen thought grimly.
But should he accept Yu Xiaogang's invitation? Ye Wen found himself torn.
After some mental deliberation, Ye Wen reasoned that the strength behind him was no weaker than Tang Hao's. He didn't need to fear them. However, what worried him was their potential to resort to desperate measures. And at this stage, Ye Wen still hadn't resolved Xiao Wu's situation.
Now that they had developed feelings for each other, Ye Wen truly didn't want to put Xiao Wu in danger.
Seeing Ye Wen remain silent, Yu Xiaogang assumed he hadn't explained clearly enough and quickly added.
"Let me tell you, Xiao Wen. If you enroll in my friend's school, you'll receive one-on-one guidance from at least a Soul Emperor-level expert right from the start.
Moreover, during your time there, the teachers will help you hunt for the most suitable spirit rings. If you attend an ordinary advanced soul master academy, those teachers won't go out of their way for a regular student like you."
Upon hearing this, Ye Wen regained some composure, but inwardly, he scoffed at Yu Xiaogang's claims about the quality of the faculty.
And wasn't this guy stuck in his own delusions? Though Ye Wen was still technically an ordinary soul master without his third spirit ring, in terms of influence, by now every faction on the Douluo continent knew of him.
Seeing Ye Wen fall into deep thought again, Yu Xiaogang grew increasingly anxious.
Generally speaking, the best way for a mentor to prove themselves on the Douluo continent was to cultivate a Title Douluo. Yu Xiaogang shared this belief, but he was even more impatient than the average mentor. He wanted Tang San to achieve fame at a young age to elevate his own reputation.
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament was the perfect stage for this.
Thus, Yu Xiaogang deliberately guided Tang San toward becoming a control-type soul master, teaching him tactics and leadership skills.
His goal was to make Tang San the core of their team, ensuring fame and prestige through victory in the tournament.
To this end, Yu Xiaogang meticulously prepared a series of plans. For instance, he factored in that his friend Flender's shabby Shrek Academy only accepted genius soul masters.
Though the number of participants might be insufficient, relying on Flender's Soul Sage-level cultivation, Yu Xiaogang planned to borrow resources from other advanced soul master teams and usurp their spots. With Flender's abilities, he could become the team's mentor.
As for Flender's dream of founding an academy that only recruited "monsters," Yu Xiaogang never took it seriously.
Even later, when Liu Erlong—one of the Golden Iron Triangle—renamed her Blue Tyrant Academy to Shrek Academy, the idea of recruiting only "monsters" was still left out.
In later years, Shrek Academy relied purely on brute strength to dominate, and while its students were undoubtedly talented, they were far from being "monsters."
This showed that Yu Xiaogang's mind was always focused on his own ambitions.
Originally, this had nothing to do with Ye Wen. But Tang Hao approached Yu Xiaogang and informed him of Ye Wen's talent and Huo Yu'er's unusualness.
Tang Hao wanted to drag these two into their schemes!
And at this moment, Ye Wen clearly realized this as well.
However, Yu Xiaogang's thoughts were entirely different.
Yu Xiaogang was worried. If these two prodigies grew up and competed with his disciple in the soul master tournament, how would his plan to make Tang San the champion and gain fame pan out?
After all, people only remember the first-place winner and tend to overlook the second. Moreover, the soul master tournament was held once every five years, and opportunities for fame were rare. Yu Xiaogang didn't want external factors to interfere.
Thus, Yu Xiaogang was even more eager than Tang Hao to recruit Ye Wen.
In Yu Xiaogang's eyes, though Ye Wen had talent, without his "guidance" as a master, Ye Wen would at best be a reckless warrior—a perfect blade for Tang San to wield, sacrificing himself for their glory!
But Ye Wen quickly snapped back to reality.
Given Tang Hao's temperament, if he had the power, he would have directly ordered Ye Wen instead of having Yu Xiaogang approach him with such a polite tone.
Therefore, Ye Wen concluded that the presence of the Title Douluo behind Huo Yu'er had left Tang Hao too afraid to overturn the table, forcing him to test the waters cautiously.
So…
Ye Wen sneered faintly and raised his right hand, brushing his bangs back.
If even a Title Douluo like Tang Hao didn't dare to overturn the table, then why should I be afraid? Ye Wen said directly,
"Sorry, Master. I didn't expect you to bring up the topic of further education. Unfortunately, I already have a school in mind, so I must decline."
With that, Ye Wen quickened his pace and walked away, seemingly afraid that Yu Xiaogang would try to stop him.
"Ah!"
Yu Xiaogang raised his hand as if to stop him, but words failed him. Though he admitted his motives weren't pure, he was also a proud man. He didn't have the habit of groveling after being rejected.
Still…
After Ye Wen left, Yu Xiaogang wore a conflicted expression. After all, this was a task given to him by his idol, the Hao Tian Douluo.
"Should I… try again?"
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