Yu Xiaogang's face instantly filled with embarrassment.
Just as he thought Tang San was about to win, Tang San lost?
Did he have to be humiliated that fast?
"Grandmaster, your judgment was spot on. The fight really is over!"
Xiao Wu added that for some inexplicable reason, making Yu Xiaogang lose even more face.
Tang San had burns all over his body. His once-decent blue outfit had been scorched to tatters, and his hair had been burned into an afro.
His face was black all over. Burned flesh peeled away, and blood ran down his cheeks.
The pain had Tang San grimacing nonstop.
"Xiao San, are you all right?"
Yu Xiaogang hurried over and helped Tang San up. "Are you hurt?"
"Cough!"
Tang San coughed, then spat a mouthful of black smoke right into Yu Xiaogang's face.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm sorry, godfather."
Yu Xiaogang wiped his face. "I'm fine. As long as you're all right."
He glared at Ma Hongjun, who had just reentered the dining hall.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"You're all fellow students, yet you had to hit him so hard?"
"I'll tell your dean and have him expel you!"
Ye Lin slowly raised her head and glanced at Tang San, inwardly laughing her head off. Tang San looked absolutely ridiculous.
And Yu Xiaogang really was shameless.
When he'd told Tang San to teach Ma Hongjun a lesson, that was apparently fine. It didn't matter how hard Tang San hit him, and he hadn't said a word about Tang San's sneak attack.
Now that Ma Hongjun had hit hard, he was pointing fingers.
No wonder he was the mentor of the God King of Double Standards: Grandmaster of Double Standards.
"Suit yourself,"
Ma Hongjun said calmly.
"I already told you, I'm the dean's direct disciple. Expel a direct disciple?"
"Besides, the dean encourages students to fight within the academy. As long as no one is seriously injured, it's fine."
"And someone like you thinks you deserve to be called a Grandmaster? You think you deserve to teach at Shrek Academy?"
Ma Hongjun sat down quietly and continued eating his steamed bun and rice porridge.
Yu Xiaogang was instantly at a loss for words.
The atmosphere in the dining hall was extremely awkward.
"Teacher, ignore him. Let's eat."
Tang San didn't want to argue with Ma Hongjun. He couldn't be bothered, either. Besides, he'd lose the argument, and the end result would be getting beaten up again.
Yu Xiaogang nodded and could only sit down in silence to wait.
Tang San soon brought over the rice porridge and pickled vegetables. When he returned with four steamed buns on a plate, he noticed that his godfather's expression was grim.
"Godfather, what's wrong?"
Yu Xiaogang's stiff face darkened.
"Is this all Flender gives you to eat?"
"Yeah," Tang San said, nodding. But even that slight movement made the cuts on his face sting in the wind, and he grimaced again.
"This is already pretty good. The buns are unlimited, and it's much better than what I had as a kid. We even get pickled vegetables."
"This is ridiculous!"
Yu Xiaogang's anger flared. He slapped the steamed bun Tang San had offered him right out of his hand.
Now all he could do was vent his helpless fury on the bun.
"You're all still growing. You need to eat better. And your daily training burns a lot of energy. How can you eat nothing but this?"
"Hey, Xiaogang, that's easy for you to say,"
Flender called lazily from outside the dining hall.
"You know they're still growing, but the academy's finances are tight. Suotuo City has plenty of good food, but the academy can't afford it. If you're willing to sponsor them, then I'll admit I was wrong."
He'd just come back from his little shop in Suotuo City. He taught during the day and usually watched over the shop at night. When he arrived at the dining hall, he saw what was happening.
He walked in slowly, picked up the bun Yu Xiaogang had knocked away, and rinsed the dust off it with water. "Don't waste food."
Yu Xiaogang gave Flender no quarter.
"I don't care what difficulties the academy has. But as a teacher here and Tang San's godfather, I absolutely won't let the children go without!"
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Flender froze.
"You don't care what difficulties the academy has? Is that any way to talk?"
"And you're only Tang San's teacher, not the teacher of the other students."
"You still can't let Tang San go without, can you?"
Yu Xiaogang snorted. "Fine!"
"Then I'll make sure Tang San doesn't go without!"
"You take care of your other students, and I'll take care of my Tang San!"
"Suit yourself," Flender agreed.
"Then I'll see how you plan to take care of Tang San."
Ma Hongjun thoughtfully brought Flender a set meal of rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and steamed buns.
"Teacher, don't stoop to that man's level. Don't get angry."
Seeing that nothing else was happening, Ye Lin stopped watching the drama.
She returned to the dorm and quietly cultivated.
It was still a rest day, and no tasks had been scheduled. Classes wouldn't resume until tomorrow.
Yu Xiaogang angrily finished his meal in the dining hall and left with Tang San, leaving only Flender and Ma Hongjun behind.
As he ate breakfast, Flender considered what Yu Xiaogang had said. He had a point: the children really should be eating better.
"Can you think of any way to make money quickly?"
He asked Ma Hongjun,
"Preferably something that can help with your training, too."
Ma Hongjun reminded him,
"Teacher, did you forget? The Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City."
"It's a perfect place."
"The Great Soul Arena?"
Flender didn't quite understand.
Ma Hongjun explained in detail,
"Teacher, you can earn ten Gold Soul Coins for every win in the Great Soul Arena, and there's no entry fee."
"If we all go fight there and win, that's ten Gold Soul Coins per victory. If we win just three matches each, that's thirty Gold Soul Coins. Even if we eat as much as we want, we couldn't spend thirty Gold Soul Coins."
"We could also buy some medicinal herbs to help us cultivate and strengthen our bodies."
Flender furrowed his brows. He really didn't want to use the students' money, since they had already paid tuition.
"That doesn't seem right."
"What's wrong with it?"
Ma Hongjun continued explaining. "The money we earn from fighting will be spent on us, too. No one will object. If anyone does, we can just keep their share separate."
Flender let out a long breath. "I'll think about it."
"You can go."
Ma Hongjun nodded. "Teacher, I'll go cultivate, then."
At last, Flender made up his mind. He headed to the kitchen behind the dining hall and found Shao Xin, the head chef at Shrek Academy.
"Teacher Shao, give the children a better meal tomorrow!"
Shao Xin gave Flender a strange look.
"It's a rare sight to see you doing this."
"It's time to make a few changes,"
Flender said with a smile. Then he suddenly remembered something and added,
"Oh, and from now on, don't prepare meals for Tang San or Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang."
Before you continue