Slap in the Face

Yu Xiaogang's face burned with pain. How was he supposed to know how to train Man and Sword as One?

The key was that Flender had just bragged that few people on the entire continent could rival Yu Xiaogang's understanding of Spirit Masters and Martial Souls.

Yet Chen Yuan had casually asked him a question, and he could not answer a single word. Humiliated beyond measure, he could only make something up.

"This is the Chen Clan's secret art. How could I possibly know it? If you wish to learn it, all I can tell you is that practice makes perfect. Train enough, and you'll master it."

Hearing that pointless drivel, Chen Yuan did not argue. He merely smiled and said:

"Grandmaster, every word you say is profound and reasonable. So I should return to practicing my swordsmanship instead of training under you by running with weights. That would just be a waste of time."

Yu Xiaogang nearly spat blood in anger. The training regimen he had painstakingly designed—weighted running and practical sparring—was actually just a waste of time?

At that moment, it was as though he saw everyone before him looking at him strangely. Those looks overlapped once more with the scorn, ridicule, mockery, and sarcasm he had endured in the past. In a fit of rage, Yu Xiaogang flung his sleeve and left.

"Xiaogang..."

Flender hurriedly called out, wanting to stop Yu Xiaogang, but Yu Xiaogang ignored him and strode away on his own.

Only after Yu Xiaogang had left did Flender look at Chen Yuan with a complicated expression. Yu Xiaogang was his old friend, so he should have taken his side. But under these circumstances, Flender did not know what to do. Was he supposed to throw Chen Yuan out? Chen Yuan had a background he could not afford to provoke.

Tang San gave Chen Yuan a deep look, then chased after Yu Xiaogang, leaving behind a single sentence.

"I'll go ask Teacher to come back."

As Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Tang San should have been furious at Chen Yuan for driving Yu Xiaogang away. He truly was angry, but he suddenly felt that his teacher did not seem all that capable either.

A mere Soul Grandmaster was not even worthy of carrying a Titled Douluo's shoes. He was known as the unrivaled theorist of the Spirit Master world, but the Spirit Master world was a place where strength spoke for itself. In other people's eyes, his training programs were merely the most basic drills.

Still, Tang San considered himself someone who respected his teacher and valued the proper way. He would only keep such thoughts in his heart and never voice them. He still needed Yu Xiaogang's guidance regarding his Twin Martial Souls talent.

After learning of the drawbacks of Twin Martial Souls, Tang San had been deeply troubled. He could only attach Spirit Rings below ten thousand years. The moment he attached a Spirit Ring over ten thousand years, the conflict between his Soul Powers would become irreconcilable until his body exploded and he died. He could only rely on Yu Xiaogang to solve this problem.

Faced with the current situation, Chen Yuan could not be bothered to stay any longer. He summoned his Martial Soul, leaped onto his Flying Sword, and said to the others:

"I'm not a student of Shrek Academy, so I won't disturb you any longer. Headmaster, I'll have to trouble you to look after Rongrong. Rongrong, cultivate well. I'll come see you."

With that, Chen Yuan rode his sword away. He too needed to return to cultivation. He would practice swordsmanship during the day and meditate at night, hoping to make a breakthrough in both the sword path and Soul Power.

When he flew all the way to the academy gates and saw the seven bamboo baskets filled with different stones, Chen Yuan could not help shaking his head. The place truly reeked of poverty in every way. For weighted running, they simply used rocks as weights.

Meanwhile, at Shrek Square!

Seeing Chen Yuan leave, Flender was delighted. He cleared his throat and said to everyone:

"Everyone, move around where you are. I'll go invite Xiaogang back so he can continue teaching you."

After saying that, Flender went to find Yu Xiaogang and tell him that Chen Yuan had already left.

After Flender departed, the remaining people formed their own little groups.

Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun gathered together, while Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu gathered together.

Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a moment before finally asking:

"Rongrong, did Chen Yuan really become stronger just as he said?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong nodded proudly. Thinking of the confidence and flamboyance Chen Yuan had displayed while speaking earlier, so dazzling that she could not look away, her eyes curved with a smile.

"Yes. Ever since his Martial Soul Awakening, Brother Chen Yuan has cultivated at Sword Grandpa's side, day after day, year after year, until he gained this strength!"

Zhu Zhuqing could not help feeling a sense of yearning. So hard work really could bring rewards. If she persisted in cultivating diligently, could she escape her current fate?

Xiao Wu did not care much about it. As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form, increasing her Soul Power did not depend on her own cultivation. As long as she came into contact with human presence, it could trigger an increase in her Soul Power.

On the other side, Dai Mubai glared at Zhu Zhuqing with a sinister gaze. That night, he had suffered a vicious beating and had even been beaten half to death because of her.

As his fiancée, Zhu Zhuqing had not visited him even once after his accident. This filled Dai Mubai with resentment. He could not deal with Chen Yuan or Ning Rongrong, but could he not deal with her? He thought lewdly to himself:

Zhu Zhuqing, you are mine. This is the fate decided by our families. I can't resist it, and neither can you. Since that's the case, before you become someone else's plaything, I'll make sure to love you properly. Hahaha...

Naturally, Ma Hongjun and Oscar, who stood beside Dai Mubai, had no idea what he was thinking.

At this moment, Ma Hongjun said carelessly:

"This Grandmaster doesn't seem all that capable. A few words from Chen Yuan, and he got so angry that he ran off. I didn't expect the number one theorist in the Spirit Master world that the headmaster talked up to be only this good."

Oscar also nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. The headmaster exaggerated too much. But when Grandmaster comes back, we should train however he tells us to, for the headmaster's sake. Besides, we used to get by like this anyway."

After quite some time, Flender finally brought Yu Xiaogang and Tang San back. Yu Xiaogang's expression was still extremely gloomy when he returned. Even after Tang San comforted him for a long while, his anger had not subsided.

With Chen Yuan gone, Yu Xiaogang began his first lesson. In order to assess everyone's strength, he casually picked people to fight: Tang San against Dai Mubai, Tang San against Xiao Wu, and Oscar and Ma Hongjun against Dai Mubai.

After three consecutive matches, there were wins and losses on each side, and their performances had their merits. However, Yu Xiaogang nitpicked faults, and the moment he found the slightest problem, he berated them fiercely, venting all the anger he had suffered from Chen Yuan onto them.

In the end, he made all seven of them accept punishment together by running twenty laps around the academy while carrying weights.

Ning Rongrong was deeply dissatisfied. She had not even taken part in the fights, but remembering that she had just decided to cultivate seriously for a while, she could only follow Zhu Zhuqing unwillingly.

Yu Xiaogang had intended for this punishment to foster team awareness, but the Shrek Seven Devils were currently riddled with conflicts. Moreover, Yu Xiaogang's venting-like rebukes and insults had filled everyone with resentment. Even Tang San and Xiao Wu were dissatisfied.

There was no way they could unite. They were not allowed to use Soul Power and had to carry weights as well. In the end, they all collapsed halfway through.

The sun slanted westward as dusk approached. Not a single student had returned to the entrance of Shrek Academy.

Yu Xiaogang's face turned livid. His fragile pride saw this as a deliberate show of defiance. So enraged that he laughed instead, he said:

"Flender, it seems your students are not worth my personal instruction. They are unworthy. From now on, I will only concern myself with Tang San and Xiao Wu's cultivation."

With that, he turned and left.

Flender's face was bitter. How had things ended up like this?