Two Possibilities

The morning sun shone brightly, dawn light streaming in through the balcony and falling across Ye Tianxing's face.

Ye Tianxing safely made it through his first night at Shrek Academy. There was a reason for calling it "safely made it through."

Tang Hao's whereabouts were currently unknown. Spirit Hall had searched for him for years without finding any trace, and the mysterious man suspected to be Tang Hao had taken Tang San away six years ago. There had been no news whatsoever since.

Yet Ye Tianxing knew very well that wherever Tang San was, Tang Hao was bound to appear. By stepping into the game of his own accord and joining Shrek Academy, where Tang Hao's son Tang San studied, Ye Tianxing had done something Tang Hao never would have expected.

Once Tang Hao learned that Ye Tianxing had left Spirit Hall, there were probably two paths before him.

First, he could use the portrait provided by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and set up an ambush along the route Ye Tianxing had to take after leaving Spirit Hall. It was said that Spirit Hall had not dispatched any Titled Douluo to accompany Ye Tianxing this time, intending to temper him.

Second, Tang Hao might still be living near Tang San, protecting his son while bitterly awaiting a shared location update from Ye Tianxing of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Other than those two possibilities, Ye Tianxing could think of nothing else for the time being.

Taking out the rations he had bought in Suotuo City yesterday from his Soul Guidance Ring, Ye Tianxing mixed them with water and started eating. The food in Shrek Academy's dining hall was bland and watery; one glance yesterday had been enough to kill his appetite.

How well one ate depended on how much money one had. Shrek Academy was facing the risk of closure, but there was no shortage of steamed buns and pickled vegetables.

Facing the bright morning sunlight, Ye Tianxing opened his door.

The academy was quiet and peaceful. Apart from one or two farm women occasionally heading to the river in twos and threes to do laundry, the academy's higher-ups, such as Li Yusong and Zhao Wuji, would not show themselves easily without a special reason.

"Dong, dong, dong—"

Just then, melodious bells rang out from somewhere unknown. Following the sound, Ye Tianxing saw clearly with his Spiritual Skull that Tang San and Xiao Wu were hurrying toward Shrek Academy's so-called training ground. Ma Hongjun, disheveled and half-dressed, leaped over the fence. Before he had even fastened his pants, he took off running—only to fall flat on his face.

Ye Tianxing shook his head at the sight. Just as the original text had described, this fatty could not live without women, and he and Dai Mubai were birds of a feather.

Ye Tianxing set off, making his way to the assembly point at an unhurried pace.

This was Shrek Academy's assembly bell. Any student who heard it had to gather at the designated location within the allotted time, or the punishment would be severe.

Ye Tianxing arrived right on time. He was a very punctual person.

Hooked nose, crystal glasses, a stiff face, lifeless eyes, and a crew cut. It seemed these two were Flender, Shrek Academy's headmaster, and Yu Xiaogang, who called himself Grandmaster.

Ye Tianxing observed the two men standing before him, paying particular attention to Yu Xiaogang. It was obvious that the man had poor features—a dull, vacant expression and dead eyes. At a glance, he looked like someone who had suffered a devastating blow and given up on himself.

Was there something wrong with Bibi Dong's eyes, or had her taste gone bad? How did she fall for this guy?

There was another possibility: Yu Xiaogang might have been dashing and suave in his youth. After all, he came from the great Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, and then he met Bibi Dong.

Now, he looked haggard, as though someone owed him money. What kind of blow could utterly destroy a person?

Being cheated on? Discovering that his fiancée was his cousin? Or being scorned by his sect?

Douluo Continent was a strange place. Over the years, Ye Tianxing had encountered far more oddballs than that. Spirit Hall alone had several.

The most obvious among them was Yan, a man who had failed to win the love he sought and gradually lost himself on the path of love, wandering farther and farther astray.

Before long, all eight of them, including Ye Tianxing, had assembled.

Flender swept his gaze over them and nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad! You're all quite punctual. Let me introduce myself to the three new students first. I'm Flender, the headmaster of Shrek Academy."

Then Grandmaster stepped forward and stood beside Flender. Flender introduced him, "This is Grandmaster, a teacher at Shrek Academy. He will be your teacher from now on, and he'll be in charge of your future course arrangements."

"Everyone, welcome him with applause!"

"Clap, clap, clap—"

Tang San and Xiao Wu applauded enthusiastically, because Yu Xiaogang was someone they knew well.

Ye Tianxing clapped perfunctorily. Judging by Yu Xiaogang's usual style, it was probably going to be running with rocks on their backs, followed by one-on-one matches where they had to listen to him ramble on and on, until someone eventually said something like, "Grandmaster, you're amazing."

Yu Xiaogang's eyes were lifeless and his face expressionless as he said flatly, "The three new students will join the old students. There are eight of you in total. From this day onward, I hope you will be a collective."

"As Spirit Masters, good physical conditioning is essential. I've prepared a surprise for you at the academy entrance. Let's all go take a look."

Everyone headed for the academy entrance, each harboring their own doubts and eagerly anticipating the surprise Grandmaster had mentioned.

Sure enough, eight bamboo baskets were stuffed full of rocks, each bearing a name.

Ye Tianxing picked up his basket and looked at the rocks crammed inside. He curled his lip disdainfully. That's it?

It had no weight at all in his hand. It was nowhere near as worthwhile as Zhao Wuji's pressure training.

"Make ten round trips from here to Suotuo City. That is your task for today," Yu Xiaogang said.

Ye Tianxing immediately asked, "That's it after ten round trips? There's nothing else, right?"

"No." Yu Xiaogang shook his head, a strange glint appearing in his eyes as he could not help taking a few extra looks at Ye Tianxing.

Of all the baskets, Ye Tianxing's contained the most rocks and was the heaviest. Yu Xiaogang had done it deliberately, intending to grind down Ye Tianxing's so-called rough edges, make him less of a thorn in the side, and have him obediently listen to his orders.

"Who are you looking down on with this little pile of rocks?" Ye Tianxing slung the basket onto his back. The instant everyone else started moving, he turned into an afterimage and shot into the distance.

Yes, he shot off.

All that remained were the bewildered faces of the others and Yu Xiaogang's gradually widening eyes.

Because Ye Tianxing had already returned before him. Only a few breaths had passed from the time he set off to the time he came back. While Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others had only run a dozen meters or so, Ye Tianxing had already completed one round trip.

Having undergone grueling training since childhood and tempered his extraordinary physique under the pressure of Titled Douluo such as Qian Daoliu, combined with the recent reforging at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, every aspect of Ye Tianxing's body had reached the peak of this world.

Under Yu Xiaogang's stunned gaze, Ye Tianxing ran back and forth, constantly reappearing before him.

"Two."

"Three."

"Four."

"..."

"..."

"Nine."

"Ten!"

Ye Tianxing tossed down the bamboo basket, wiped away the nearly nonexistent sweat on his forehead, and smiled. "Grandmaster, my task is complete. Can I rest now?"

"Y-yes... yes..." Yu Xiaogang remained wide-eyed as he watched Ye Tianxing appear before him ten times in succession. The speed was simply unbelievable, and his eyes nearly popped from their sockets. Faced with Ye Tianxing's question, he could only reply instinctively.