Hearing those words, Zhao Zilong's pupils tightened slightly. From beginning to end, he had viewed the Shrek Seven Devils and Yu Xiaogang from an all-seeing perspective. In his previous life, he hadn't liked Yu Xiaogang, a man full of contradictions, when he read Douluo Continent, so after transmigrating, he still didn't like him.
Could it really be my own problem? In my previous life, all I read was a book, just a partial portrayal of some characters and their personalities. It seems I never even thought about fitting in with them! Zhao Zilong couldn't help falling silent.
Seeing Zhao Zilong fall silent, Yu Xiaogang's lips curled into a smile. But the next second, Zhao Zilong looked at Yu Xiaogang and said angrily, "Master, I want to apologize to you first, because what I'm about to say may offend you."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang was stunned. This wasn't how he'd expected things to go!
Zhao Zilong continued, "I respect you as an elder and teacher, and you were invited here by the dean. By rights, students like us should accept our teacher's criticism. But that doesn't mean a teacher can say whatever he likes. What you just said was completely irresponsible, and far too hasty and arbitrary. I absolutely won't accept it."
The others were all stunned too. They hadn't expected Zhao Zilong to be so unyielding, openly challenging Master like that.
Looking at Zhao Zilong, Yu Xiaogang wanted to hear how he would argue back. Although he was seething inside, his pride as a scholar made him hold back his anger. He asked, "Oh? Then tell me, how was what I just did hasty, arbitrary, and irresponsible?"
Looking at Yu Xiaogang, Zhao Zilong said coldly, "Master, you only arrived at Shrek Academy yesterday. You've barely said a few words to us. Do you understand us? In a way, you do, but in another way, you don't understand us at all. What you know about us students comes only from what Dean Flender and the other teachers have told you."
"But we new students have only been at Shrek Academy for a little over ten days. Even Dean Flender and the others can't possibly know everything about us. Besides, every teacher and every person has a different point of view, and each teacher has their own measure by which they judge every student. They all see us differently."
"You merely gathered the teachers' opinions and views of us, put them together, and then started passing judgment on me without basis. Isn't that a little hasty? Isn't that a little too high-handed?"
"Moreover, you've portrayed me as an unruly, arrogant, conceited person. Such irresponsible words will affect how my classmates see me, and they'll leave me shunned at the academy. I can tell you that I'm furious you said something so irresponsible. You're a teacher, so I won't ask you to apologize. I only hope you'll take back what you said."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red and purple with anger, and he didn't know how to respond. Flender walked over from not far away. Hearing Zhao Zilong's words, he immediately said angrily, "Zi Long, what are you saying? Master is your training teacher. How can you be so disrespectful? Apologize to him!"
"I already apologized before I said all that." Zhao Zilong remained stubborn, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. "Besides, Master can get angry, but we students can't? If the dean is going to take sides, there's nothing students like us can do. It'll only set a bad example for us."
Tang San, listening to Zhao Zilong from below, was also furious. In his view, elders were never wrong. Even if they were, it only meant he hadn't understood them properly. And now Zhao Zilong had openly opposed a teacher, making him lose face in front of everyone. No matter how reasonable Zhao Zilong's words were, that didn't change the fact that he had humiliated Tang San's teacher. Tang San began to resent him. After all, his teacher was the person he respected most, and over the years, he had long since come to regard Master as his father.
"Brat, are you going to keep this up forever? Go run fifty laps around the school. You're not allowed to eat until you finish." Flender was feeling a little awkward too. This kid was a classic troublemaker. When they'd returned from Star Dou Great Forest, Zhao Wuji had told Flender that Zhao Zilong had refuted his remarks-and done it so thoroughly that Flender had been left speechless. Now he'd even rebuked Master until Master couldn't answer.
Zhao Zilong didn't argue. He turned and set off running, but first he went over to Master and said, "Master, I apologize again for what I said just now. But I still ask you to take back your words. I can't accept something like that, even if I'm expelled."
"Are you really going to keep pushing it, you brat?" Flender knew Master cared most about his pride. Because of his lack of talent, his Soul Power had been difficult to cultivate to level 30 his entire life, leaving him deeply insecure. Yet he was extremely proud of his academic work, so Flender, as his big brother, usually gave way to him. He asked, "Do you want to run a few more laps?"
"No need for you to arrange it, Dean. I've already added ten laps for myself." After saying that, Zhao Zilong ran straight off.
Hearing how stubborn Zhao Zilong was, the corner of Flender's eye twitched. He said angrily, "Run a hundred laps! You're not allowed to eat until you finish!"
Seeing Zhao Zilong run off, Zhao Wuji walked over and said, "Hey, boss, isn't that a bit much? The kid's still growing! How can he go without food?"
Flender gritted his teeth in anger, then looked at Yu Xiaogang and decided to let him make the call. "Master, what do you think?"
Yu Xiaogang sighed inwardly. Geniuses really are hard to teach!
Yu Xiaogang hadn't had much teaching experience. Even at Nuoding Academy, he hardly ever taught classes. And when he did, he simply lectured on his own without caring whether the students below understood. Tang San was the only disciple he had truly devoted himself to teaching.
Because Tang San was sensible, Yu Xiaogang hadn't needed to worry about him at all. But now that he had arrived at Shrek Academy, he had run into a troublemaker, and one he had no choice but to teach.
Yu Xiaogang looked at the other Little Monsters. He had originally wanted to establish Master's authority today, which would make teaching easier later on. He hadn't expected to hit a wall on the very first day. All he could say was that plans never kept pace with changes.
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back and said proudly, "Little Monsters, remember: you're a team. If one person makes a mistake, the whole team is punished. Everyone will run fifty laps. Start running."
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, they weren't stubborn enough to argue back. They all turned and began running.
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