Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang

Yu Xiaogang still looked calm and composed on the surface, having mentally prepared himself.

After all, Tang San's description had long since told him that Ye Liuyun had surely overdrawn his potential and was practically ruined.

There was nothing to worry about. He was completely incomparable to Tang San.

And now that he saw him, it was indeed as expected. His complexion was clearly worse than that of others his age.

This was the consequence of refusing him.

He had clearly possessed decent talent, yet had turned himself into a ragged beggar.

Without systematic theoretical guidance or a perfect Spirit Ring combination, he had indeed gone down the wrong path.

Then he looked at Tang San standing beside him.

His clothes were neat, and his aura was steady.

That was the contrast!

That was the victory of theory!

Grandmaster took a deep breath, his face returning to that stiff, rigid expression. With his hands behind his back, he stepped in front of Ye Liuyun.

Grandmaster's voice was low and hoarse, carrying a lofty, scrutinizing air.

"Long time no see. Do you regret not taking me as your master back then?"

Ye Liuyun stopped walking, still chewing the Blood Replenishing Pill in his mouth.

He raised his head slightly and looked at the middle-aged man before him, his gaze somewhat unfocused, as though trying to remember who this nobody was.

"Who are you?"

Just two simple words.

There was no emotional fluctuation whatsoever, as though he were asking a stone by the roadside.

The lecture Grandmaster had prepared was instantly lodged in his throat.

The muscles in his face twitched, and a trace of anger flashed through his eyes.

"I am the theoretical Grandmaster, Yu Xiaogang! Tang San's teacher!"

Grandmaster stressed his words, trying to use his status to suppress him.

"And your Headmaster Flender's good brother."

"Oh."

Ye Liuyun nodded, remembering him now.

Back at Nuoding Academy, he had always stayed by himself whenever he could cultivate alone.

Who had time to pay attention to an old man he disliked, especially one who was so slovenly?

Besides, Yu Xiaogang freeloaded at Nuoding Academy but never helped teach the students.

They rarely even met in public.

Gradually, he had forgotten about him.

He still looked utterly uninterested.

"Oh, that level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. I remember now."

Those words, "level twenty-nine," struck precisely at Grandmaster's deepest wound.

The surrounding students wore strange expressions. They wanted to laugh but did not dare.

Ning Rongrong covered her mouth and snickered, feeling particularly pleased.

Because she realized Ye Liuyun had not been targeting her. He was simply sharp-tongued and loved stabbing people where it hurt most.

Grandmaster's face instantly darkened like the bottom of a pot, his chest heaving violently.

But he forcibly suppressed his anger in order to maintain the demeanor of an esteemed expert.

With a cold snort, he pointed at Ye Liuyun's weak complexion and began his "performance."

"You possess talent but do not know how to use it. Look at yourself now—utterly wretched, with an unstable aura."

The more Grandmaster spoke, the more animated he became, as though he stood upon the high ground of truth.

He turned to Tang San, and his tone instantly became gentle, filled with boastful pride.

"Now look at Little San."

"This is the difference between having a teacher's guidance and having none."

"Ye Liuyun, the path you are walking has already become narrow."

Grandmaster placed his hands behind his back and raised his head, delivering his conclusion in a sorrowful, compassionate tone.

"If you are willing to lower your head and admit your mistake now, then perhaps, for Flender's sake, I can offer you a little guidance and pull you back from the wrong path."

In this Grandmaster's script,

Ye Liuyun should have been overwhelmed with shame at this moment, captivated by his charisma, then weeping as he begged for guidance.

That would make up for the regret of being rejected six years ago and prove that Yu Xiaogang had been right all along.

Having another experimental subject with Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls would also increase the success rate of his theories.

"Chew... chew..."

The only response he received was the sound of Ye Liuyun chewing his pill.

"Are you done?"

Ye Liuyun's eyes were filled with exhaustion and impatience.

He had just returned from the Star Dou Great Forest after working himself to death. Who had any interest in arguing over such boring nonsense with an old man he disliked?

What did he care whether theory was powerful or not? If Grandmaster really wanted to guide someone, there were countless younger Spirit Masters in the world.

Yet he had fixated on him. Was it not simply because he had Innate Full Soul Power with Blue Silver Grass, and Grandmaster was utterly convinced that he, too, was a peerless genius with Twin Martial Souls?

He kept saying there were no useless Martial Spirits, only useless Spirit Masters.

Yet he refused to teach anyone except geniuses.

Now that he had been latched onto, how was this any different from being targeted by a pervert?

What a headache!

"I'm going back to sleep."

"You!"

Grandmaster trembled with rage, pointing at Ye Liuyun but unable to speak for a long while.

"Rotten wood cannot be carved! You are simply rotten wood!"

"Liuyun! How can you speak to Grandmaster like that?"

Seeing that things were going badly, Flender hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.

Although he also felt that Yu Xiaogang was a little too... much.

Still, they were old brothers. He had to give him some face.

"Grandmaster is doing this for your own good. His words may be harsh, but there is reason behind them."

Ye Liuyun glanced at Flender, sighed helplessly, and nodded to give him face.

"Actually, I think what Grandmaster said makes a lot of sense."

"There are no useless Martial Spirits, only useless Spirit Masters."

Tang San agreed wholeheartedly. That sentence was what had drawn him to take Grandmaster as his teacher in the first place.

Yu Xiaogang's expression improved slightly. Just as he was about to say something, Ye Liuyun continued.

"By the way, what level are you again?"

"Pfft!"

Ning Rongrong could not hold it in and burst out laughing.

How had she never noticed before that Ye Liuyun was so wicked? Every time he opened his mouth, it was a critical hit. No wonder he usually spoke so little—he was afraid of hurting people.

It seemed calling her trash had already been him holding back. Thinking about it that way, she was no longer angry.

Grandmaster's body suddenly stiffened.

Those words were like a sharp blade, precisely cutting open the festering wound buried deepest in his heart, the one he dared not face.

He was only level twenty-nine.

He suddenly turned around and stared fiercely at Ye Liuyun's retreating back, the resentment in his eyes nearly overflowing.

You look down on me?

You actually dare to look down on me?!

Fine! Very good!

I will make you regret this!

I will definitely make you regret this!

I definitely, definitely...

Tang San looked at his teacher's trembling back and tried to persuade him.

"Teacher, don't lower yourself to his level."

Tang San supported Grandmaster and spoke quietly.

"Someone like him is stubborn and self-righteous. Sooner or later, he'll die outside."

Grandmaster took several deep breaths and barely calmed himself, his voice cold and gloomy.

"Little San, remember this."

"Some people are destined to be weeds by the roadside. But you are destined to grow into a towering tree."

"Do not let someone like that disturb your state of mind."

"Yes, Teacher."

Watching Ye Liuyun's back as he left without a trace of hesitation, Flender pushed up the crystal glasses on his nose, a complicated glint flashing through his eyes.

A troublemaker.

An absolute troublemaker.

As an old hand who had spent many years in the Spirit Master world, Flender was an excellent judge of character.

When Ye Liuyun greeted or spoke with others, he was neither servile nor overbearing.

But deep in his bones was an absolute pride and confidence, making him indifferent to everyone and everything except himself.

Putting him in the academy was like raising a fierce tiger among a pack of wolves.

The tiger did not care about the wolves around it at all, but the wolves would be crushed by the tiger's absolute confidence and strength.

If this had been in his younger, hot-blooded days, Flender would certainly have given him a thorough lesson and corrected that temperament.

But now...

Flender turned back to look at the dilapidated academy gates, then glanced at his old brother Yu Xiaogang, who was furious yet clearly helpless, and sighed inwardly.

There was no helping it.

Shrek was too poor, and he was too eager to prove himself.

His lifelong wish was to make the name of this "Monster Academy" famous, to let the entire continent know the name Shrek.

To achieve that goal, he needed monsters.

Especially monsters among monsters.

Even if that monster was difficult to control, even if he was a bastard.

As long as he was strong enough—strong enough to trample every opponent beneath his feet—then he was worth nurturing with everything they had!

With that thought, Flender waved at Grandmaster, who was still filled with indignation.

"Enough, Xiaogang. The boy is only twelve. Teach him slowly."