Someone Else

Someone Else

"Your disciple, Qin Ming, pays his respects to Dean Flender."

Qin Ming knelt on one knee and bowed to Flender.

The unexpected gesture left the Shrek Seven Devils stunned.

They had never imagined that the Team Leader Teacher of the Imperial Fighting Team would show such deep respect for Flender.

"Good lad. I thought you'd forgotten about me. Come on, get up."

Flender hurried over and helped Qin Ming to his feet, pride and relief flashing in his eyes.

He looked Qin Ming up and down and smiled.

"Qin Ming, you've grown more impressive. You've got a fine group of students, too. At this rate, it won't be long before you catch up with this old fellow."

"You're too kind, Dean. I wouldn't dare compare myself to you."

"Haha! You've been away from the academy for years, but you're still as restrained as ever. Let me introduce you."

Flender pointed at Yu Xiaogang.

"Qin Ming, this is Master Yu Xiaogang, our academy's Theory Tutor and an old friend of mine."

Qin Ming respectfully bowed to Yu Xiaogang.

"Master, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"No need for formalities."

Yu Xiaogang shifted to the side, declining the bow.

Qin Ming was taken aback.

Flender chuckled.

"Qin Ming, you're the teacher of Master's nephew, so you're of the same generation. There's no need to stand on ceremony."

"Master's nephew?"

Qin Ming looked confused.

Flender explained.

"Your student Yu Tianheng is Master's nephew."

Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened at once.

"Flender, I've told you many times: I have nothing to do with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan anymore."

Though Yu Xiaogang was a little angry, he didn't hurry to leave.

He had quite a few questions, and Qin Ming might know the answers.

Flender turned to Yu Xiaogang and smiled placatingly.

"Xiao Gang, Qin Ming's one of us. There's no need to keep anything from him."

Then Flender turned to the Shrek Seven Devils and introduced him.

"Kids, this is Qin Ming. He was once a member of Shrek Academy, and its most outstanding graduate. Mu Bai, Xiao San, Xiao Wu, the record you just broke for reaching level thirty fastest was previously held by Qin Ming."

Qin Ming's warm gaze passed over the Shrek Seven Devils, and he smiled.

"Hello, junior brothers and sisters. You're truly outstanding. Tonight's match has shown me the bright future of Shrek Academy."

As he spoke, Qin Ming's gaze settled on Tang San.

"Especially you. You've managed to use an ordinary Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to an astonishing degree, and you stayed calm in the face of adversity. That's truly remarkable."

His words held genuine admiration and praise.

"You're too kind, senior."

The Shrek Seven Devils smiled and nodded to Qin Ming.

Flender and Yu Xiaogang exchanged a glance.

"Qin Ming, there are a few things I'd like to ask you. It's crowded here, so why don't we head back to the hotel and talk?"

"Good. I was about to suggest the same."

Flender collected the Gold Soul Coins at the front desk with the Shrek Seven Devils. Then they left the Soul Arena together and headed for the hotel.

Meanwhile, Long Chen, Dugu Bo, Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan, and the others were also on their way to the hotel.

Little by little, they recovered from their defeat.

Osler, the Ghost Leopard Soul Master, sounded disgruntled.

"We underestimated the Shrek Seven Devils. I never expected them to have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

"Yeah. That Thousand Hand Asura could use Blue Silver Grass to such an incredible degree. And he has an External Soul Bone, too. His spider poison was even more toxic than my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison."

Dugu Yan was frustrated as well.

Dugu Bo smiled.

"Yanyan, that boy easily neutralized your poison attacks. He's clearly got some tricks."

Shi Mo looked at Long Chen and smiled.

"Long Chen, good thing you stepped in when you did. Otherwise, Shi Mo and I might have been tortured to death by that boy's poison."

Long Chen replied calmly.

"I know stepping in on my own wasn't allowed under the rules of Soul Fighting, but I couldn't just stand by and watch that boy threaten you on the field."

"Too bad you couldn't fight alongside us. If you had, we'd have beaten them so badly they'd have run crying."

"If you hadn't underestimated them, or if Teacher Qin Ming hadn't given you those instructions at the start, you might have won."

Ye Lingling spoke softly.

"Brother Chen, Teacher Qin Ming was once a member of Shrek Academy, so he told us to go easy on the Shrek Seven Devils. And he might tell them the truth about what happened."

Long Chen nodded.

He already knew all that and had been prepared for it.

"If nothing unexpected happens, we'll meet them again at the Soul Master Competition."

Yu Tianheng said.

"We're one of the three Seed Teams, so we can enter the Finals directly without taking part in the Preliminary Match or Advancement Match in the Heaven Dou Division. Even if the Shrek Seven Devils enter the Soul Master Competition, they'll have to qualify through the Preliminary Match before they can face us in the Finals."

Dugu Yan agreed.

"Exactly. And the Finals are single-elimination, so there's no telling whether our teams will meet at all."

Yu Feng added.

"They might not even make it out of the Heaven Dou Empire division and into the Finals."

Long Chen spoke seriously.

"The Soul Master Competition is still a year away. With the seven of them as strong as they are, they're very likely to qualify for the Finals."

Long Chen knew that even without taking Immortal Herbs, the Shrek Seven Devils had the strength to make it out of the Heaven Dou Division.

Dai Mubai was already level thirty-eight. Even without taking Immortal Herbs, he might reach level forty.

The others were still a fair distance from level forty and were unlikely to break through within a year.

Still, there were only a handful of strong academies in the Heaven Dou Division:

Divine Wind, Heavenwater, Blazing Fire, Thunderclap, and Elephant Armor.

Without the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot, Tang San wouldn't gain immunity to both ice and fire. He might well lose to the three powerful, established elemental academies: Divine Wind, Heavenwater, and Blazing Fire.

Thunderclap Academy was formidable overall, and Shrek Academy would have a hard time getting past them.

Elephant Armor Academy had powerful defenses, but it also had a huge weakness. The Shrek Seven Devils should be able to defeat them.

So Shrek Academy could still qualify by placing in the top five.

Long Chen's words made the others more cautious, and they looked forward to facing the Shrek Seven Devils again.

They chatted as they walked and soon reached the hotel.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming and Flender's group had also arrived at the hotel where they were staying.

Once they were in the room, Flender asked,

"Qin Ming, we're all friends here, so let's get straight to the point. Do you know who caused the incident at the Soul Arena tonight?"

Qin Ming nodded.

"Dean Flender, Master, that's exactly why I came."

Yu Xiaogang and Flender exchanged a glance, then turned to Qin Ming.

"Qin Ming, is Poison Douluo Dugu Bo really involved in this?"

"So you already know some of it. But Poison Douluo had little to do with it. Someone else was responsible."