At this moment, Yu Xiaogang's face burned with humiliation. He had no idea how to achieve the Unity of Man and Sword.
The problem was that Flender had just boasted about Yu Xiaogang's unparalleled understanding of soul masters and martial souls, claiming that few on the continent could match him.
Now, with just a casual question from Chen Yuan, Yu Xiaogang was left speechless. He felt utterly embarrassed and could only fabricate an answer:
"This is a secret technique of your Chen family. How could I possibly know about it? If you're seeking guidance, all I can tell you is that practice makes perfect. The more you train, the better you'll become."
Chen Yuan, hearing this nonsensical response, didn't argue. Instead, he smiled lightly and said:
"Master, your words are truly profound and full of wisdom. Therefore, I'll continue practicing my swordsmanship and won't waste time on weighted running under your guidance."
Yu Xiaogang nearly spat blood in frustration. The training regimen he had meticulously designed—weighted running and combat sparring—was dismissed as a waste of time.
At this moment, he felt as if everyone around him was looking at him with strange eyes, reminiscent of the scorn, mockery, and ridicule he had endured in the past. Overwhelmed by anger, Yu Xiaogang turned on his heel and stormed off.
"Xiaogang…"
Flender quickly called out, trying to stop Yu Xiaogang, but the latter ignored him and walked away briskly.
After Yu Xiaogang left, Flender looked at Chen Yuan with a complicated expression. Yu Xiaogang was his old friend, and logically, Flender should side with him. But in this situation, he didn't know what to do. Should he kick Chen Yuan out? Chen Yuan had a background that Flender couldn't afford to offend.
Tang San gave Chen Yuan a deep look and then chased after Yu Xiaogang, saying:
"I'll go bring the teacher back."
As Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Tang San should have been furious with Chen Yuan for driving his teacher away. And indeed, he was angry. But he also couldn't help but feel that his teacher might not be as capable as he had thought.
A mere Great Soul Master, unworthy of even carrying a Titled Douluo's shoes, was hailed as the unrivaled theorist of the soul master world. But the soul master world was a place where strength spoke louder than words. The training programs Yu Xiaogang designed were, in the eyes of others, nothing more than the most basic exercises.
However, Tang San considered himself a person who respected his teacher and valued tradition. He would keep these thoughts to himself and never voice them aloud. After all, he still needed Yu Xiaogang's guidance to navigate the challenges of his twin martial souls.
Learning about the flaws of twin martial souls had left Tang San deeply troubled. He could only absorb soul rings below the ten-thousand-year level. Once he tried to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring, the conflicting soul powers would become irreconcilable, leading to his death. He had no choice but to rely on Yu Xiaogang to solve this problem.
Faced with the current situation, Chen Yuan had no interest in staying any longer. He summoned his martial soul, jumped onto his flying sword, and said to the group:
"I'm not a student of Shrek Academy, so I won't disturb you any further. Headmaster, please take care of Rongrong. Rongrong, focus on your training. I'll come to see you."
With that, Chen Yuan flew away on his sword. He also needed to return to his own cultivation. During the day, he would practice his swordsmanship, and at night, he would meditate, hoping to make breakthroughs in both his sword skills and soul power.
As he flew past the academy gates, he noticed the seven bamboo baskets filled with different-sized stones. He couldn't help but shake his head. The academy's poverty was evident everywhere. Weighted running? Using stones as weights? How laughable.
---
Meanwhile, back on the Shrek Academy square!
Seeing Chen Yuan leave, Flender was relieved. He coughed lightly and said to the group:
"Everyone, take a moment to stretch. I'll go bring Xiaogang back to continue your lesson."
After speaking, Flender went to find Yu Xiaogang and inform him that Chen Yuan had left.
Once Flender was gone, the remaining students naturally split into groups.
Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun formed one group, while Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu formed another.
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment but couldn't resist asking:
"Rongrong, did Chen Yuan really become so strong through the methods he described?"
Ning Rongrong, hearing this, nodded proudly. Remembering the confident and bold way Chen Yuan had spoken earlier, she smiled and said:
"Yes, ever since his martial soul awakened, Brother Chen Yuan has been cultivating under Grandpa Sword's guidance. Day after day, year after year, he trained until he achieved this level of strength!"
Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but feel a sense of longing. So, hard work really did pay off. If she persisted in her training, could she escape her current fate?
Xiao Wu, on the other hand, wasn't particularly concerned. As a 100,000-year soul beast in human form, her soul power didn't rely on cultivation. Simply being around humans was enough to trigger her soul power growth.
On the other side, Dai Mubai glared at Zhu Zhuqing with a dark expression. The reason he had been beaten half to death that night was because of her.
As his fiancée, Zhu Zhuqing hadn't visited him even once after the incident. This filled Dai Mubai with resentment. If he couldn't deal with Chen Yuan or Ning Rongrong, could he at least take it out on her? His mind filled with twisted thoughts:
'Zhu Zhuqing, you're mine. This is the fate our families have decided. I can't escape it, and neither can you. Since that's the case, before you become someone else's plaything, I'll make sure to enjoy you thoroughly. Haha…'
Dai Mubai's thoughts were, of course, unknown to Ma Hongjun and Oscar, who stood beside him.
At this moment, Ma Hongjun said casually:
"This Master Yu doesn't seem all that impressive. Chen Yuan just said a few words, and he stormed off. I didn't expect the so-called 'foremost theorist in the soul master world' to be like this."
Oscar nodded in agreement:
"Yeah, the headmaster definitely oversold him. But when Master Yu comes back, out of respect for the headmaster, we'll just do as he says. After all, we've been through this kind of training before."
After a long while, Flender finally returned with Yu Xiaogang and Tang San. Yu Xiaogang's face was still dark with anger, and despite Tang San's attempts to comfort him, his rage remained unquelled.
With Chen Yuan gone, Yu Xiaogang began his first lesson. To assess everyone's strength, he randomly paired them up for sparring: Tang San versus Dai Mubai, Tang San versus Xiao Wu, and Oscar and Ma Hongjun versus Dai Mubai.
After three matches, each with its own victories and defeats, the performances were decent. However, Yu Xiaogang nitpicked every flaw and berated the students harshly, venting all the frustration he had accumulated from his encounter with Chen Yuan.
Finally, he ordered all seven of them to run twenty laps around the academy as punishment—weighted running, no less.
Ning Rongrong was furious. She hadn't even participated in the sparring, but since she had decided to focus on her training, she reluctantly followed Zhu Zhuqing.
This punishment was Yu Xiaogang's attempt to foster teamwork. However, the Shrek Seven Monsters were riddled with internal conflicts. Moreover, Yu Xiaogang's scathing criticism and insults left everyone resentful. Even Tang San and Xiao Wu were displeased.
There was no way they could unite under these conditions. Without using soul power and forced to carry weights, they all collapsed halfway through the run.
As the sun set and dusk approached, not a single student had returned to the academy gates.
Yu Xiaogang's face turned ashen. His fragile ego interpreted this as a deliberate snub. He laughed bitterly and said:
"Flender, it seems your students aren't worth my time. They don't deserve my guidance. From now on, I'll only focus on Tang San and Xiao Wu's training."
With that, he turned and left.
Flender's face was filled with bitterness. How had things come to this?
(End of Chapter)
Word Count : 1,386
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