Flender looked at Su Zui. Like a curious child, he was eager to know what Su Zui's situation really was.
Su Zui spread his hands. He knew just how outrageous his true circumstances were, so naturally, he couldn't tell Flender everything.
After all, in the Soul Master World, the strong always preyed on the weak. The more of his trump cards he revealed, the more obvious his weaknesses would become.
Besides, if he really told Flender everything, he would only be harming him.
Flender would know too much. If Spirit Hall found out how much he knew, they would immediately send someone to silence him.
And that was indeed the case. Even Su Zui didn't know that a certain Super Douluo was lurking nearby, his eyes fixed on Flender.
The moment Flender heard something he shouldn't, the Super Douluo guaranteed he wouldn't see tomorrow's sunrise.
After a moment's thought, Su Zui carefully said, "Maybe it's because my Soul Skills are rather unusual."
Su Zui said frankly, "One of my Soul Skills grants me extreme speed, while another grants me extreme concealment."
"To be honest, neither Soul Skill is particularly powerful on its own. They're even a bit like chicken ribs."
"After all, they don't give me any direct boost to attack or defense. In a head-on fight, I wouldn't have the slightest advantage."
Su Zui gathered his thoughts and continued, "But when used together, they can produce an unexpected effect. Extreme concealment combined with extreme speed is what lets me decide a fight in a single blow."
It had to be said that Su Zui had a way with words.
What he said sounded candid, but in truth, he hadn't revealed any crucial information.
Su Zui had merely repeated what everyone had seen. Flender had definitely seen all of it just now.
Besides, Flender seemed to have already decided that he was an Agility Attack System Soul Master, and Su Zui had no reason to explain otherwise.
In fact, he hoped word would spread that he was an Agility Attack System Soul Master.
Just imagine: in a future battle, someone might actually mistake Su Zui for an Agility Attack System Soul Master and attack him at close range.
What awaited that person would be a nightmare they would never forget.
Looking at Su Zui, who was almost excessively cautious, Flender raised his assessment of him yet another notch.
He had taught for more than ten years and seen far too many exceptionally gifted youths.
But most of them were arrogant and loose-lipped, wishing the whole world knew how incredible they were.
Yet Su Zui was so meticulous at his age.
When questioned by a teacher, he had been candid to a point without revealing everything.
Su Zui was probably the most terrifying genius Flender had seen in all his years of teaching.
If his younger self had met Su Zui, he probably would have been so thoroughly overshadowed that he couldn't lift his head.
After a long while, Flender let out a sigh and shook his head. "Ah... the waves behind drive the waves ahead!"
Flender smiled wryly. "When a student is too strong, his teacher has plenty to worry about. I can't teach you anymore."
To be honest, Flender was somewhat aware of the limits of his teaching ability. Otherwise, he wouldn't have set the Soul Power Level required for graduation above level forty.
When it came to someone like Su Zui, Flender truly didn't know how to teach him.
After all, their academy had limited resources and could only polish the foundations of low-level Soul Masters and lay the groundwork for their cultivation.
But Su Zui clearly had little to do with low-level Soul Masters anymore. His foundations had definitely already been polished.
The current Su Zui had long since surpassed what Flender could teach him.
Now, the only thing Flender seemed able to help Su Zui hone was his practical combat ability.
After all, Su Zui was still young. His combat awareness and practical fighting ability definitely weren't that seasoned.
After careful thought, Flender said sincerely, "For your next phase of training, I'll arrange for you to go to the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena."
"True life-and-death combat is different from fighting other Soul Masters. The ability to adapt on the battlefield and handle sudden changes in a fight is crucial in a battle to the death."
Flender thought for a moment and continued.
"Besides that, I'll also adjust everyone's training plans."
"During the day, you can arrange your time as you please. When you're not cultivating, you can also come help me teach the students. I'll pay you the salary of a full-time teacher."
"At night, I'll take you all to the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena."
After laying out the training plan, Flender's face stiffened slightly, and his trademark pained expression appeared.
He suddenly remembered their earlier bet. After wrestling with himself for quite a while, he gritted his teeth and said,
"And as for improving the cafeteria, like you said, I'll make arrangements as soon as possible. I'll definitely make the changes."
"It's just that you know the academy's situation. I'm a little short of funds right now, but I'll get it done as soon as I can. In the meantime, go eat whatever you want on your own."
"Once I've saved up enough money, I'll make up for it by providing all the resources you need for cultivation right away. I definitely won't shortchange you."
Faced with a student whose strength was a little off the charts, Flender chose to compromise.
Compared to the mere Gold Soul Coins he would have to spend, keeping Su Zui at Shrek Academy was clearly a surefire bargain.
If any Soul Master familiar with Flender had been there, their jaw would have dropped.
Just who was this Su Zui, to be able to pry Gold Soul Coins out of a miser like Flender?
Hearing Flender compromise, Su Zui smiled faintly.
"Then, on behalf of all the students at Shrek, let me thank you in advance, Dean. After all, improving the cafeteria is a good thing for every student."
Flender smiled helplessly.
"That's thoughtful of you. All right, I've said everything I needed to say. Let's go. We shouldn't keep the other students waiting."
With that, Flender was the first to stand and head off.
Su Zui hurried after him.
Looking at Flender's back, Su Zui asked curiously, "Dean, we're going to the Great Soul Arena at night, but how do we train during the day?"
Flender answered as if it were only natural, "During the day, you run, of course, to build up your physical fitness."
Su Zui nodded in agreement. "Running does build physical fitness. What else?"
"Nothing else. Just running. You'll spend hours running every day, so where would you find time to train anything else?"
"Huh?!!"
Su Zui's jaw nearly hit the floor at Flender's answer.
"Just running?"
Su Zui stared at Flender in shock.
Wait, was this so-called Monster Academy's training method really that bizarre?
They had taken proper Soul Master training and turned it into grueling physical conditioning.
And the key was, if they were going to run, fine, but they didn't even combine it with any other training!
Seeing the shock on Su Zui's face, Flender asked in puzzlement, "Is there a problem with my method?"
Su Zui didn't even know where to begin criticizing it. He was now seriously questioning Flender's teaching ability.
Faced with this almost absurd teaching method, Su Zui couldn't hold back his urge to complain. "Dean Flender, are you training long-distance runners or Soul Masters? What kind of Soul Master spends all day doing nothing but running?"
"If that's how you train them, will they have to give you a model deserter's medal when you get to the battlefield?"
"Then the empire can give you a noble title: the empire's number one runaway Baturu!"
"And when the Douluo Continent holds its first running competition, they might as well name it after you."
"In my opinion, you should stop calling this place Shrek Academy and rename it the Douluo Continent's Number One Long-Distance Running Academy!"
Hearing Su Zui's words, Flender's blood pressure shot up. He felt like he was about to have a heart attack from anger.
He took back what he had just said.
Su Zui was simply the most infuriating genius he had ever met. That little mouth of his rattled on like a machine gun. How could he talk so much?
Ning Rongrong and Su Zui—were both their tongues dipped in poison?
When the two of them kissed, didn't they really poison each other to death?
Flender took several deep breaths, telling himself over and over,
Don't get angry. Absolutely don't get angry. Don't let him anger me to death!
Forcing down his anger, Flender said, "Since you think my training method is riddled with flaws, why don't you tell me what better ideas you have?"
Flender had originally intended to watch Su Zui fail to answer, then lecture him a little.
But seeing Flender ask for his advice, Su Zui nodded in satisfaction.
"Hmm... you're a teachable child. Since you're humbly asking for guidance, I can tell you."
Su Zui didn't think his attitude was arrogant in the slightest.
After all, what he was about to tell Flender was the distilled wisdom of thousands of years of civilization in another world.
This wisdom had endured thousands of years of testing and passed through the age of the information explosion. These methods had stood the test of time.
By telling Flender, he was really giving him a bargain.
Su Zui took a deep breath and said calmly, "Dean Flender, what do you think... are the decisive factors in a life-or-death battle between Soul Masters?"
"Or rather, when a Soul Master's Soul Power is exhausted, how can he survive being surrounded and hunted down by his opponents?"
Hearing Su Zui's words, the trace of amusement on Flender's face vanished instantly, and his expression immediately turned serious.
Damn it! Was Su Zui really an all-round talent? Why were all the questions he asked so insightful!!?