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"Didn't I tell you to practice running away more often? Now you know what fear is, huh? What a disgraceful mess," Flender scolded with a sneer.
Oscar gave an awkward smile, wanting to say something, but his legs suddenly went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground.
Seeing this, Flender didn't press further. For an auxiliary soul master, enduring such a situation was already enough to make Oscar feel miserable.
Noticing Flender's arrival, Xiao Wu glanced around, then immediately abandoned her continued beating of Ma Hongjun. She and Huo Yu'er retreated back to Ye Wen's side.
When Tang San saw Flender appear, he was momentarily stunned, then let out a sigh of relief. With such a powerful figure present, at least their safety was guaranteed. He immediately dispelled the Blue Silver Grass, exposing both sides to each other's view, and naturally retreated to Flender's side.
Looking at Ma Hongjun, who now resembled a swollen pig's head, and Dai Mubai, trembling as he tried to stand up, Flender furrowed his brows deeply but said nothing. He quickly approached Dai Mubai, pulled the arrow out of his body, then turned to Oscar.
"Xiao Ao, bring some tofu over."
"Oh, oh, oh!" Oscar snapped to attention, hurriedly chanted his incantation, and stuffed the tofu into Dai Mubai's mouth.
Though Oscar's soul skill mantra was "cute, fragrant, tender tofu," it was actually stinky tofu. Combined with the blood-soaked wound, the smell was absolutely revolting.
But compared to death, even if it tasted terrible, Dai Mubai forced himself to swallow it.
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun, whose face had been beaten into a swollen mess resembling a pig's head, also scrambled over to beg for tofu. His discomfort was truly unbearable.
After finishing these emergency measures, Flender finally turned his gaze toward Ye Wen and his group.
Flender's eyes were filled with complex emotions. Due to the nature of his martial soul, he had initially stood quite far away. By the time he noticed Dai Mubai and others being gravely injured and rushed over, the battle had already changed drastically. Fortunately, no critical harm had come to his key students; otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble.
However, Flender's opportunistic nature soon took over. His gaze shifted, and he spoke sternly:
"Boy, it was just a friendly sparring match. Why did you have to go so hard on them? So, can you give me an explanation?"
As he spoke, Flender casually released some of his pressure as a high-level Soul Sage, attempting to intimidate Ye Wen and his group.
Ye Wen was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Flender, this old fox, to still possess such a silver tongue, twisting the truth like this. Sparring? Had anyone ever seen a three-on-six sparring match!?
After reflecting on Flender's personality, Ye Wen seemed to guess what this old man was up to. He directly called him out, saying:
"So, are you trying to bully us because we're younger, esteemed Soul Sage Flender?
If that's the case, my wife and I won't mind taking responsibility for this incident. However, if our elders come to question us later, that's beyond our control."
Flender, who had been pretending to be magnanimous and wanted to sweep the matter under the rug without letting Ye Wen pursue it, instantly twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Moreover, Ye Wen had immediately exposed his identity, leaving Flender feeling uneasy. It seemed his entire background had been thoroughly investigated!
While Flender hesitated about how to resolve this matter without letting the other side pursue it, his clever disciple Ma Hongjun, whose injuries had recovered, suddenly unleashed his foolish nature.
"Teacher, you must stand up for us! We were just sparring earlier, but they severely injured me. My face hurts so much!"
Flender's mouth twitched again. Wasn't this disciple pouring oil on the fire? Sparring? Which eye had seen a three-on-six sparring match!?
Just as Flender was about to shut Ma Hongjun up, Ye Wen let out a light chuckle.
"Sparring, huh? It seems Principal Flender has a unique method of teaching his disciples. This is the first time I've seen such a sparring style."
Flender's face reddened. Though he was greedy, stingy, and shameless, he still cared about his reputation.
"Enough! Ma Hongjun, shut your mouth!
And young ones, speak. What kind of compensation do you want? As long as it's not excessive, I'll agree to it."
Among Shrek's group, Ning Rongrong, seeing Flender, who often manipulated her emotionally, now humiliated, couldn't help but smirk. Her gaze toward Ye Wen grew increasingly admiring.
However, Ning Rongrong's eyes soon flashed with a hint of disappointment. It was rare to encounter such a good man, only to find him already taken. She wasn't sure which one of the two women was his partner, but it felt like both. Clearly, she had no chance.
Ye Wen didn't notice Ning Rongrong's wandering thoughts. As for compensation, he honestly didn't know what to ask for.
After all, in this world, without Ye Wen's interference, Yu Xiaogang had long fled to Nuoding City to idle around. Without Yu Xiaogang's support, Flender didn't dare recklessly venture into the Spirit Beast Forest to hunt spirit beasts for profit.
Thus, Shrek Academy in this world remained as famously impoverished as in the original storyline.
Ye Wen wasn't short on money. Moreover, due to Yu Xiaogang's intensive training, all of Shrek's funds were currently invested in nurturing the six prodigies of Shrek.
It must be said that Yu Xiaogang had made a brilliant calculation—exploiting his old friend's resources to train his own disciples while bankrupting the academy. It was outrageous, but it also showed how much Flender truly meant to Yu Xiaogang.
As for other resources, there was no need to mention them. Shrek's group of semi-literates likely hadn't collected anything valuable, let alone soul bones.
Ultimately, the only value Ye Wen could think of in Flender was having him help hunt soul rings for those around him.
But currently, there weren't many people in Ye Wen's circle in need of high-year soul rings. Moreover, Flender, being a weaker agility-type attacker, wouldn't contribute much in hunting high-year soul rings. His greatest utility might just be scouting for spirit beasts. But when it came to actual combat, Grandma was more than sufficient.
Speaking of scouting abilities, whether it was Huo Yu'er's Thousand-Mile Eye soul skill or her mother's eagle martial soul, neither was inferior to Flender.
After analyzing everything, Ye Wen realized that Flender was truly worthless to him.
Though Flender's nickname was "Four-Eyed Owl," his vision was exceptionally sharp. He instantly noticed the fleeting look of disdain that crossed Ye Wen's face.
Though Flender indeed didn't want to offer anything valuable, being looked down upon by a youngster was still hard to bear!
Don't I, a respectable 78th-rank Soul Sage, deserve some dignity?
Flender was about to boast a bit and showcase his generosity when he thought of his precarious financial situation and the pile of useless soul tools in his shop. He froze on the spot.
Oh no, it seems I really don't have anything valuable to compensate them with!
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