Seeing Yang Wudi's reaction, Ignaz could roughly guess what concerns were weighing on his mind, so he immediately said:
"Establishing a clan is something for the future. Right now, I only want to build an alliance that functions like a clan. If my strength becomes sufficient later on, I'll use this alliance as the foundation to build a proper clan. And what happened to the Clear Sky Clan in the past will absolutely never happen to any spirit master family - your Breaking Clan can rest assured of that."
Yang Wudi walked up to Ignaz and knelt on one knee, respectfully bowing to him:
"Your subordinate Yang Wudi pays respects to the Alliance Leader."
"Your subordinate Yang Yong, Yang... pay respects to the Alliance Leader."
...
"Please, get up quickly - you're all my elders."
Ignaz was caught off guard by Yang Wudi's sudden gesture and had trouble adjusting to it. After helping them to their feet, he presented his first suggestion:
"Senior Yang Wudi, for the Breaking Clan's future development, we absolutely cannot stay in Sky Star City any longer. Moving north to Heaven Dou will better minimize our losses. And to avoid drawing attention, it would be best to keep a low profile in front of outsiders."
"We understand all this. Frankly, I've been wanting to leave this place for a long time. However, the Breaking Clan still has some minor business interests in the city to wrap up. Give me three days at most, and I'll definitely be ready to head north with the Alliance Leader."
Everyone present agreed with Ignaz's proposal. After all, a Titled Douluo wouldn't make repeated trips just for their sake, so moving north was their only real option.
...
Meanwhile, at a hotel in Soto City, the atmosphere was lively and celebratory.
"That so-called 'invincible among Spirit Elders' Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team Two wasn't much to write home about. Under our coordination, they were completely outmatched. What do you think, Little Ao?"
Ma Hongjun spoke with great pride, especially doing so right in front of Qin Ming.
To Ma Hongjun, since Qin Ming came from Shrek and showed such respect for his teachers, he was definitely one of their own.
"Hongjun, your senior brother is here - tone it down a bit."
Although Flender was extremely satisfied with this victory, especially since it had earned him fifty to sixty thousand gold coins, he had to consider Qin Ming's feelings. After all, Qin Ming was the only Shrek graduate to teach at Heaven Dou Royal Academy since the school's founding.
"Dean, Hongjun's right. Our Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team Two really is inferior to these kids when it comes to teamwork and combat tactics."
Not only was Qin Ming not angry during their dinner together, he actually admired these seven children his alma mater had produced even more.
Hearing this didn't make Flender happy though. He patted Qin Ming's shoulder and sighed:
"Ah, what a shame! These seven kids will be Shrek Academy's final class of students."
Tang San felt somewhat sad about this too, but there was nothing he could do. Qin Ming, who was aware of Shrek's current financial situation, suddenly had a brilliant idea:
"Dean, Grandmaster, these younger students are incredibly talented. They could come to our Heaven Dou Royal Academy! We have complete facilities and all kinds of simulated environments essential for spirit master cultivation. If these kids could train at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, their future would be limitless."
This immediately caught Flender and Yu Xiaogang's attention.
"That sounds good. We're getting old - after we finish educating these children, it'll be time for us to find somewhere to retire and enjoy our golden years."
"Dean, you're not old yet! With your and the other teachers' abilities, there shouldn't be any problem getting hired as Heaven Dou Royal Academy instructors. You could continue guiding these kids."
Qin Ming very much hoped Dean Flender and the others would come. This way, they could fulfill their teaching dreams while indirectly spreading the Shrek Academy name throughout the continent.
However, just then, Ning Rongrong, who had been chatting casually with Xiao Wu, suddenly thought of someone. She said softly:
"Senior Qin, I heard from my father before that there seems to be a student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy named Ignaz who reached Spirit Ancestor level three years ago. How is he doing now?"
"Three years ago he was a Spirit Ancestor?"
Everyone looked at Qin Ming in surprise, especially Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, whose expressions were particularly intriguing. Tang San was the first to ask:
"Senior Qin, what was that person's innate spirit power level, and how old was he three years ago?"
"I don't know much about Ignaz - I only know he was a Spirit Ancestor. But back then, he was able to defeat Tian Heng, who had Spirit Elder level strength, without using any spirit abilities at all."
Mentioning this was like reopening an old wound for Qin Ming. Yu Tianheng had been a student in his class, but that battle led directly to his withdrawal from school, causing Qin Ming to lose an extremely talented student.
"Tian Heng?"
Hearing this name, Yu Xiaogang shot up from his seat with a "bang," then sat back down as if nothing had happened, asking casually:
"How is that boy Tian Heng doing?"
"He wasn't seriously hurt, just some minor injuries. But he did drop out because of the incident."
Yu Xiaogang unconsciously tightened his grip on his utensils. This Ignaz had actually driven his nephew to drop out of school! Using Spirit Ancestor level strength to bully someone who was only at Spirit Elder level - it showed just how despicable this Ignaz's character was.
Meanwhile, his own disciple was only twelve years old but had already reached level 32 spirit power - truly an unprecedented miracle on the entire continent. Not to mention, Tang San was the third dual-spirit master the continent had seen in a hundred years. If he really encountered this Ignaz, even if he couldn't win now, the future was another story entirely.
"Senior, how is this Ignaz doing now?"
Tang San felt no pressure whatsoever about Ignaz being a Spirit Ancestor. A student who had never experienced life-and-death battles was ultimately just a half-finished product. On a real battlefield, he'd only end up dead at Tang San's feet.
"He disappeared three years ago. Even the students closest to him don't know where he went. He's probably dead."
"Dean, Grandmaster, it's getting late, so I'll head back now. I still need to discuss Shrek Academy coming to Heaven Dou Royal Academy with others."
Qin Ming didn't want to continue talking about Ignaz. He said his goodbyes and returned to the hotel where Heaven Dou Academy Team Two was staying.
Shortly after, when the banquet ended, Zhu Zhuqing still walked at the very back, keeping considerable distance from the other students and teachers. She always felt out of place with her classmates, and this wasn't the first time.
She wanted to leave - or rather, her desire to leave Shrek had been there for a while, it was just becoming stronger now. But if she left Shrek, left that pathetic excuse for a tiger who had no fighting spirit whatsoever, where could she possibly go?
Suddenly, Dai Mubai walked up beside her and said:
"Zhu Zhuqing, after all this time together, you should realize that ever since you arrived, I haven't gone to those kinds of places anymore. Can't you accept me yet?"
"Disgusting!"
Zhu Zhuqing crossed her arms over her chest. She was completely unmoved by Dai Mubai's explanation, especially hearing such supposedly pure words coming from his mouth.