Catching Flender's Attention

How much do you want?

Flender wanted to see just how big this kid's appetite really was.

"How much can you give?" Zhou Qing asked with a smile.

"A maximum of twenty Gold Soul Coin." Flender frowned and stated his bottom line—twenty Gold Soul Coin would be enough to make him feel the pinch for a month!

"Not enough."

Zhou Qing shook his head, "We're going to the Northern Forest of the Heaven Dou Empire. If we miss this opportunity, who knows when we'll have to go again! It's currently the transition season between autumn and winter, and before the New Year, there will be an increasing number of merchants traveling to and from major cities like this..."

"But I also need to take my disciple to the Extreme South Volcano." Flender also had his own difficulties. After learning that Zhou Qing was precocious despite his young age, he wanted to appeal to his emotions.

But Zhou Qing was heartless. "First come, first served. As a Soul Saint, you should understand this principle best."

Flender: "..."

He remained silent, but inwardly he was cursing: What a glib-tongued brat!

"Tell me, how many do you want?"

Ultimately, for the sake of his own pride, Flender decided not to stoop to Zhou Qing's level.

"One Gold Soul Coin."

"You're fucking robbing me!" Flender's eyes widened, realizing he'd been provoked.

How can we tolerate this?

It's always Shrek who's the one provoking others, so why would anyone else provoke him?

"Hey, big guy!"

Oscar took two steps forward, looked up at Zhou Qing, and said, "Don't think that just because you're tall you can blackmail our dean!"

"That is!"

Ma Hongjun chimed in, "Are you level ten? Or is the person next to you level ten? Coincidentally, I'm level ten too. The Soul Master World has always valued strength above all else, and everyone wants to hunt Soul Beast, but there's only one carriage. How about a one-on-one duel? Whoever wins gets the carriage. What do you guys think?"

Flender was filled with satisfaction, feeling that his mantle could truly be passed on.

This Ma Hongjun is exactly what he was thinking!

Zhou Qing glanced at Ma Hongjun, who was full of provocation, and then looked at Flender, who seemed to be enjoying himself as if he had eaten a peach, with a strange look in his eyes. He was speechless.

[As a Soul Saint, you're too embarrassed to break the rule of first come, first served, so you sent your disciple Ma Hongjun? Just because he's young, even if he's wrong, it's understandable?]

Although I've sometimes acted recklessly because of my young age, I know it's wrong, and it was essentially to achieve a certain goal... But Ma Hongjun isn't Transmigrator like me; his values were entirely shaped by you, his elder!

It seems there's something wrong with Shrek's educational model...

In fact, Zhou Qing could understand why Flender proposed the teaching philosophy that "those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre."

To cultivate to the Soul Saint-level from a commoner's background, one must have gone through countless hardships, knowing that only by making a name for oneself and gaining prestige can one deter villains.

As the saying goes: A good start prevents a hundred bad ones.

However, once you go too far, the problem becomes much bigger, turning from being fearless into a troublemaker.

Although all the teachers at the Shrek Academy are Commoner Soul Master, and although their self-taught backgrounds might rival the strength of most sect disciples, their only experience in training students over the past fourteen years can probably be summed up in just four words:

Elite education.

In other words, in order for the college to survive, students must be carefully selected, and anyone who does not meet the requirements will not be admitted.

Their teaching policies and philosophies, even if initially intended to benefit the students, were drastically altered in practice due to the need to maintain the academy's livelihood, or perhaps because these individuals had never considered seeking experience from other Advanced Academy or even intermediate academies in the past fourteen years.

Even Flender was unaware of it!

Flender coughed and said, "That's right, in the Soul Master World, strength is paramount. How about you have a match with my disciple?"

He didn't mention what would happen if they won.

Because he understands the principle of first come, first served, and if others are unwilling to give up their place, continuing to do so would be considered unreasonable and disruptive.

But he really wanted the carriage, and he also wanted to test Zhou Qing's abilities.

The reason they didn't directly use force to seize it is because they are currently at a post station within the city. If Zhou Qing and the others were to meet him in the Soul Hunting Forest, Flender would adopt a completely different, more forceful stance.

"No, your disciple is not Soul Master yet, and cannot be considered a member of the Soul Master World." Zhou Qing, seeing that Flender was concerned about saving face, shook his head and said, "One Gold Soul Coin, and you can have the carriage, otherwise forget it."

Flender laughed angrily, "Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?"

Zhou Qing feigned surprise. "I just heard your two students say that Shrek Academy's teaching philosophy is that those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre. In your eyes, my behavior must be that of a genius, right? After all, I dared to provoke you."

Flender looked like he'd eaten dog shit, his brows furrowed tightly.

Being provoked—

This is fucking awful!

Taking a deep breath, Flender said meaningfully, "You have to consider your strength before you start a fight. Although you haven't joined Shrek, I'll give you a heads-up because you're still young. You have to be careful who you pick on. It's very dangerous to pick a fight with someone who is not as strong as you."

"Oh~"

Zhou Qing drew out the last syllable, then suddenly realized, "Thank you for your guidance..."

Flender nodded with slight satisfaction.

But then Zhou Qing said, "... I understand, you have to pick the softest persimmon."

Tang San's gaze towards Flender was strange—

He knew Zhou Qing was being sarcastic, but the phrase "those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre" and the saying "pick on the weak" made Shrek seem like a bully who preys on the weak.

[An academy like this, let alone producing Titled Douluo, is probably just a bunch of morally upright thugs and hooligans, isn't it?]

Flender naturally understood Zhou Qing's implied meaning, but then he felt a toothache, since it was really difficult for an adult like him to argue with a child.

Ma Hongjun shouted, "What the hell are you babbling about? Just say it, are you going to fight or not?"

"You seem to have a bit of a temper? Your Martial Soul has the fire attribute?" Zhou Qing wasn't about to get angry with a real six-year-old child, so he asked with a smile.

Being treated like a child made Ma Hongjun, who was a child himself, extremely angry.

But Flender keenly noticed Zhou Qing's intelligence, stopped Ma Hongjun from making the first move, and asked with slight surprise, "Why did you say that Hongjun's Martial Soul is fire attribute?"

"Martial Soul can have a certain influence on a person's personality. People with fire-attribute Martial Soul are often characterized by being irritable and passionate."

Zhou Qing explained, "Not absolutely, but very close, and the Soul Power fluctuations emanating from his body are hotter than those of ordinary Soul Master."

Flender was speechless.

Feelings are judged based on fluctuations in Soul Power!

However, this kid has a keen sense of Soul Power, and seems to have some understanding and research into the relationship between Martial Soul and Soul Master...