Yu Xiaogang froze, then took two steps back.
"Impossible!"
"My theories absolutely can't be wrong!"
He quickly tried to explain himself.
"Tang San's Blue Silver Grass shouldn't have been able to cultivate so quickly. He only reached Level 26 because of me!"
Flender refused to back down.
"Regardless, I can't let you teach at Shrek Academy."
"I have to be responsible for my students."
Before Yu Xiaogang could say anything,
Zhao Wuji's voice rang out again.
His voice was just as cold.
"I agree. I won't allow it either."
Yu Xiaogang turned to Zhao Wuji. "Are you saying it's simply because my strength isn't good enough?"
"Can't I be admitted as an exception because of my theoretical knowledge?"
Zhao Wuji folded his arms across his chest.
"Even if your strength were sufficient, I still wouldn't agree."
"Why?"
He spoke slowly. "Because your character is questionable."
"When we encountered the Titan Giant Ape in Star Dou Forest, Tang San abandoned his teammates and fled on his own."
"I was wondering why Tang San would do something like that. Now I know. It's because he has a teacher like you, a foster father like you!"
"His character comes from you!"
"If my students ever turn out like that, it'll be my fault."
Yu Xiaogang stared at Zhao Wuji. "Why didn't you run when you faced the Titan Giant Ape?"
"You knew you couldn't win, yet you still charged in to die?"
Zhao Wuji gave a cold laugh. "So you're saying I should've abandoned the others and run away?"
"With my strength, I probably could've escaped safely. But I doubt any of them would have survived."
Yu Xiaogang fell silent again.
"Do you know? Someone asked me to look after Tang San, and I even got beaten for it. I have to see it through."
Grandmaster suddenly smiled. He'd been at a loss, but Zhao Wuji's words had given him an idea.
He smiled as he spoke. "I don't know who it is, but I've guessed. That person isn't someone you can afford to provoke."
"You know?" Flender asked in surprise, looking at Yu Xiaogang with a newfound wariness.
Yu Xiaogang reached into his robes and pulled out a token, then slapped it onto the table. A clear six-pointed emblem was engraved on it. It was the highest-ranking token of Spirit Hall—the Pope Order!
"He gave this to me."
"He gave me permission to become Tang San's foster father and teach him."
"Are you two going to stop me?"
"Are you going to defy Haotian Mianxia's wishes?"
This time, Flender and Zhao Wuji fell silent.
"Haotian Mianxia asked you two to look after Xiao San and protect him. As for teaching him, leave that to me."
After a long while, Flender finally let out a breath.
"Fine. I'll make an exception and let you teach at Shrek Academy."
"But you can only teach Tang San. You'll have no authority in the academy."
Yu Xiaogang wanted to push his luck,
but Flender cut him off before he could speak.
"That's my bottom line. If you don't agree, I don't care if it angers Haotian Mianxia."
Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened, but in the end, he said, "Fine."
"You have your conditions, and I have mine. If any of them want to become my disciple, you can't stop them. After that, I'll teach them."
"Fine." Flender agreed without a second thought.
Dai Mubai and the others becoming his disciples? That was never going to happen.
Yu Xiaogang finally felt he'd won back a little ground.
"Let me tell you something else. Tang San's potential is far greater than it appears."
"Though his strength seems low on the surface, his growth potential and adaptability are second to none. Otherwise, how could he have become my foster son?"
Flender shot to his feet. "Could his Martial Soul be Mutated Blue Silver Grass?"
"Hmph. A mere Mutated Martial Soul isn't good enough."
Yu Xiaogang's face was full of pride.
"Tang San has Twin Martial Souls!"
Flender dropped back into his seat with a thump. If that was true, then Tang San's talent really was top-tier!
But even with top-tier talent and great potential, it all depended on whether he was shaped into a divine statue or a pile of crap.
Meanwhile, the other students had returned to their dormitories to rest.
Ye Lin had taken off everything from the waist up, leaving her in nothing but a pair of denim shorts.
After absorbing her Second Soul Ring, her figure had clearly become more mature.
"Wow!"
"Sister Lin, your figure is amazing!"
Xiao Wu lay on her bed, staring with wide eyes at Ye Lin's rounded curves and the distinct muscle lines on her long legs.
"Good thing there aren't many people at the academy. Somewhere else, you'd definitely be the campus belle—and the undisputed number one."
"Don't be ridiculous."
Ye Lin rolled her eyes helplessly.
"Want me to kick you? You little lecherous rabbit!"
"I don't believe you would."
Xiao Wu lay on her stomach with her chin propped up on her hands, making no effort to hide her gaze.
She looked at herself. She couldn't compare to Ye Lin at all, though she was still much better off than Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong could barely tell her front from her back.
"By the way, Sister Lin, what are you doing?"
"You're not just showing off your figure in front of me, are you?"
Ye Lin twisted around, trying to look at her own back.
"I'm going to show you something I just got."
"But don't be too shocked."
She quickly channeled Soul Power into the eight bones along her ribs.
With a whoosh, the Eight God Wings unfurled from her back.
Eight wings, each more than two meters long, instantly filled the entire dormitory.
"Wow!"
"Sister Lin, how did you suddenly grow wings?"
"Four pairs!"
Xiao Wu sprang off the bed and hurried over to stroke Ye Lin's Eight God Wings.
"They're so beautiful."
"This is what I got after absorbing my Second Soul Ring. I call them the Eight God Wings!"
Ye Lin stroked them too.
"I think they're an External Soul Bone. I got them after absorbing a bird with eight wings."
Xiao Wu's eyes widened. "An External Soul Bone!"
"The second-most sought-after treasure in every Soul Master's dreams!"
"Second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"
Ye Lin nodded.
"Probably. The Eight God Wings don't just have powerful offensive abilities; they also let me fly. I haven't had a chance to test them properly yet."
"I didn't dare show them while we were outside. Now that we're back in the dormitory, I feel safe."
Xiao Wu agreed with what Ye Lin had done.
"Good thinking. People are always coveting treasures. If that Soul Douluo from the other day, Meng Shu, had found out you had an External Soul Bone, things would've gone badly."
Thinking of the Soul Douluo they'd encountered that day, Meng Shu, Xiao Wu shuddered.
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