All at once, almost everyone in the Training Hall had fled. Only a handful had stayed behind.
One of them was Pan Renfeng, who held his old cat in his arms as he looked at Xie Gongming of South Phoenix Academy.
"How much did Freedom Wings give South Phoenix Academy to make you take in their students?"
Xie Gongming folded his arms. "They gave our Academy the latest-model 'Iron Gull' mecha, a batch of Mecha Driving Simulation Pods, and quite a lot of things like potion ingredients, Giant Beast Cores, and Armor Material."
Pan Renfeng let out a cold laugh. "The foreigners certainly gave you plenty of benefits. Xie Gongming, you must be very pleased with what you got."
"Pleased? Why wouldn't I be?"
"I even think they gave us too little. If they doubled it, I'd be even more pleased." Xie Gongming's expression remained impassive.
An old Academy principal said solemnly, "Principal Xie, foreign goods can burn your hands if you hold on to them."
Xie Gongming smiled. "Seniors, I know what you're thinking."
"Don't worry. I'm not stupid."
"Do you think I don't know that, under the guise of academic exchange, they actually want to obtain our Academy's teaching materials and other relevant information so they can reverse-engineer our cultivation system?"
"Don't worry. Those exchange students can only learn a superficial understanding of things at our Academy."
"As for that instructor, I've had several teachers keep an eye on him. I guarantee he won't be able to do anything."
"And as for the things Freedom Wings gave us, if they're offering them for free, why shouldn't we take them? I, Xie, won't be polite with them."
Only after hearing him say this did the principals, including Pan Renfeng, lose the stern expressions they had worn moments earlier.
"At