"Elder, where are Tianheng and the others?"
Qin Ming stepped closer and asked Zhi Lin quietly.
"A newly joined worship elder noticed their talent is decent and took them out alone for special training. From now on you'll also be relieved as their homeroom teacher. If you'd like, you can go take charge of another Heaven Dou class." Zhi Lin said blandly.
When all was said and done, Qin Ming's heart still leaned toward Shrek.
After an overnight discussion by the three members of the Elder, they unanimously decided not to accept Shrek. Su Wen's factor took up a huge share of that decision—offending such a worship elder for the sake of Shrek Academy was not worth it. Since this elder was willing to personally train Yu Tianheng and the others, they were more than willing to bet on their own students.
Not on someone like Qin Ming…
Besides, Qin Ming's sense of belonging to Heaven Dou was far too weak. They had a feeling that if he had to choose between Shrek and Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, he would inevitably betray Heaven Dou and go to Shrek.
"Hm?"
Qin Ming's brows furrowed. "Why did the Academy make this decision without asking for my consent… Did Tianheng and the others agree to this?"
"They're very willing. After all, not everyone who's abandoned by their teacher still gets this much trust." Zhi Lin snorted.
"…"
Qin Ming opened his mouth, utterly puzzled.
Just a few days ago, these three Elder members were all smiles and kindness toward him. Why were they like this today…?
Where had things gone wrong?
…
Elder Hall.
Yu Xiaogang sat calmly beneath Flender, looked around, and showed a satisfied expression.
Only with enough resources could everyone let go of their restraints and fully display their abilities.
Medicinal baths, sufficiently rich meals, simulated cultivation environments—these were all things that shabby, poverty-stricken Shrek could not provide. Shrek wasn't even officially registered in any country. They didn't even have the qualifications to compete…
Seeing Zhi Lin begin the assessment,
Yu Xiaogang looked even more proud and confident.
The students he had trained—how could those few Heaven Dou Imperial students compare? Especially since the one being tested was Tang San, his prized disciple. The result was a foregone conclusion.
"His talent is indeed pretty good."
As Zhi Lin's oppressive aura faded,
the only one remaining in the field was Tang San, with his Eight Spider Lances unfurled, stunning everyone. The seven Shrek monsters watched like proud spectators, faces full of satisfaction.
The other old fellows who had revealed their soul rings were all at the Soul Emperor level as well—not weak by any means.
Just as Flender was basking in smug satisfaction—
a whistling wind suddenly ripped through the sky.
As if piercing the clouds, three figures stepped over the mist and came. But as soon as they landed, the two people behind fell straight to the ground and started vomiting.
"…"
A grim look flashed across Flender's face.
As an agility-attack type Spirit Master, he was very familiar with wind-attribute Spirit Masters. Owls, traced back to their root, could also be considered wind-type. With this level of wind control, even from a small glimpse you could make out how terrifying the wielder's strength must be…
Most likely someone at the Title Douluo realm.
But the leading man looked far too young, maybe twenty-three or twenty-four at most. A twenty-three-year-old Title Douluo?
That had to be a joke.
"If you want to hatch eggs from someone else's hen, that won't be necessary. Tianheng and his friends' talent isn't bad either. Losing to Shrek's group was purely an accident. After all, as far as I know, the entire Shrek team was wiped out in that match—only by relying on Tang San did they manage to turn the tables at the very end."
Su Wen walked in unhurriedly, glanced around, and smiled.
"I wonder if Shrek has this kind of luck in every match?"
"You!!!"
Dai Mubai roared and shot to his feet, jabbing a finger at Su Wen.
"Mubai!" Flender's heart sank. But in the next instant, he saw Dai Mubai's body already sent flying backward, crashing through a wall and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"I hate it the most when someone points a finger at me." Su Wen clasped his hands behind his back and sat down beside Meng Shenji.
"Isn't that going a bit too far?" Flender forced his anger down, motioned Zhao Wuji to check on Dai Mubai's injuries, while fixing Su Wen with a hard stare.
"Dean Flender, how imposing of you."
Su Wen's face was all smiles.
Then the smile vanished. He looked at Flender indifferently. "So, are you threatening me?"
"…"
Flender suddenly felt a terrifying pressure descend on him. His face instantly turned pale, cold sweat soaking his back. It was as if he was facing a peerless ferocious beast. His head drooped like a plucked rooster. "N-no, I wouldn't dare…"
"Even if Shrek won by luck, it was still a cross-rank victory! I don't know why you hold such a huge prejudice against Shrek Academy." The Grandmaster stood up, face cold, arguing sternly.
"Prejudice?"
Su Wen chuckled.
"An academy that can't even provide its students with the basic simulated cultivation environment, has no qualification to compete, and even makes students earn their own money for cultivation—causing countless gifted students to die in the Spirit Arena… That kind of trash academy actually dares lecture me about prejudice?"
"I…" Flender's face darkened, but constrained by Su Wen's unfathomable strength, he silently swallowed his anger.
"But our students are excellent!" Grandmaster's face remained icy.
"Sure, they're excellent. Because your admission requirement is 'no older than thirteen and at least a Spirit Grandmaster.' What does that have to do with Shrek Academy?"
"Because you train them with long-distance running?" Su Wen smiled faintly.
"Grandmaster? Just an overrated name, that's all."
"…"
Yu Xiaogang's face turned as black as Flender's. The two of them turned their heads away and stopped speaking.
"You are not allowed to insult my teacher!" Tang San exploded with rage for his teacher's sake and stood up, glaring at Su Wen.
"Insult? I'm only stating facts." Su Wen smiled pleasantly.
"The so-called Ten Great Core Theories are nothing more than a summary of high-level Spirit Masters' basic knowledge. Most of it is nonsense—like saying, 'first put on socks, then put on shoes'; 'you have to use your mouth to eat'; 'you use your legs to walk'; 'your father is your dad'… It's like pulling your pants down just to fart—purely redundant."
"Damn, it's even more padded than my graduation thesis back then."
"Actually, you can put on your shoes before your socks…" Ma Hongjun mumbled under his breath.
Seeing Tang San and the others shoot him angry looks, he hastily covered his mouth.
"In short, Heaven Dou Imperial Academy does not welcome you. Get lost."
Su Wen waved impatiently.
This scene made Xue Xing and Xue Beng—the uncle-nephew pair—almost giddy with delight. Deep down they were screaming "badass!" If it had been just relying on pressure and status to force them away, it might have felt somewhat unreasonable. But now, with just a few sentences, Su Wen had stripped Shrek Academy naked in public. Even Meng Shenji's gaze had turned unfriendly.
As a dean, Flender hadn't even prepared competition qualifications for his students. He'd been scheming to use Heaven Dou Empire's name, and was so stingy that he had those kids fight for their lives in the Spirit Arena to gamble and make money for him. The students had to risk their necks for cultivation resources, which he prettified as "tempering."
"He's shameless beyond belief." Meng Shenji stared coldly at Flender. "I used to just think you were greedy. I never imagined you'd be this stingy!"
"And Grandmaster, as for your reputation in the Spirit Master world, everyone knows what it's worth. You can trick these kids, but you think you can trick us? Dream on! Want to use Shrek Academy to secure a teaching position for yourself? Before, I was only willing to reluctantly give you one for Qin Ming's sake and these students' sake. But now…"
"Everyone, please leave!"