At that, Tang Yin lifted his eyes to look at Xiao Wu.
"Mm..." Xiao Wu chewed slowly, her eyes flickering as she fell silent in thought.
Just as Tang Yin thought that what had happened at the restaurant at noon, along with the words he had blurted out, had caught Xiao Wu's attention, she gave an awkward smile and said, "It's nothing. Let's not talk about it. Eat, eat."
Seeing this, a peculiar smile appeared on Tang Yin's face. He pressed her, "Come on, tell me!"
"I'm not telling, I'm not telling! Let's eat!" Xiao Wu blushed and lifted her bowl to hide her face.
Tang Yin narrowed his eyes and smiled at Xiao Wu. He stopped pressing her, eating as he watched her.
Under Tang Yin's gaze, Xiao Wu grew so uncomfortable that she could hardly sit still. It was as if the Blue Silver Grass beneath her bottom kept tickling and teasing her.
Three days later, in a village somewhere outside the southern gate of Suotuo City, Yu Xiaogang stood at the entrance.
Right in front of him stood an archway, with a crooked sign hanging from it. The sign bore the words "Shrek Academy," alongside a strange green Soul Beast emblem.
In front of the archway, quite a few eleven- and twelve-year-old boys were registering for admission with their parents accompanying them. An old man with white hair and beard sat there, collecting the registration fees absentmindedly and testing the boys one by one.
Yu Xiaogang watched for a while from the side, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly.
More than ten boys had tried to enroll, but without exception, they were all rejected for failing the test—and they couldn't even get their registration fees back.
"Hello. I'm here to see Flender. Just tell him Yu Xiaogang is here, and he'll come to see me."
Yu Xiaogang stepped forward and spoke to the old man in charge of registration as many astonished eyes watched him.
At the name, Li Yusong looked Yu Xiaogang up and down. Recalling a story Flender had once told him, he slowly rose to his feet.
"Are you... Yu Xiaogang, who formed the Golden Iron Triangle with Flender back then?" Li Yusong asked, curious and surprised.
Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back and nodded calmly.
"Flender doesn't seem to be here today. Go on inside. He'll be back tonight," Li Yusong said with a smile.
Yu Xiaogang said, "All right," then strode into Shrek Academy.
Night fell.
Flender returned to Shrek Academy. When he saw someone new in his office—and realized it was his old friend Yu Xiaogang, whom he hadn't seen in years—he couldn't help but feel delighted.
"Xiaogang! Long time no see!"
"You finally came to see me!"
At that, a faint smile tugged at Yu Xiaogang's stiff face.
After catching up with Flender for a while, Yu Xiaogang got down to business. "Flender, didn't I introduce you to two talented students, a boy and a girl? I've been here for most of the day, and I've looked around. Why haven't I seen them?"
"Speaking of them, I was going to ask you the same thing!" Flender looked utterly baffled. "Registration has been open for days, but neither of those talented kids you mentioned has shown up!"
Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brows. "That can't be right. I clearly told them where the place was, and I even wrote him a letter of recommendation!"
"They definitely haven't come. It's not like I'd lie about something like that, would I?" Flender shrugged helplessly.
"This... This is bad!" Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brows, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.
"Bad? Why bad? If they don't come, then they don't come. Like I'd care!" Flender scoffed, unconcerned.
Though he badly wanted gifted Soul Master geniuses to join his Shrek Academy, he wasn't going to beg anyone to enroll!
After all, Flender had his pride and dignity!
"There's something you don't know..."
Yu Xiaogang slowly rose from his seat and said gravely, "Their talent is only one reason. The second is that the boy is the son of the Clear Sky Douluo!"
"What!?" Flender's eyes flew wide open.
Yu Xiaogang nodded solemnly and continued, "His name is Tang Yin, and his Soul Power Level should be above twenty-five. The girl with him is named Xiao Wu, and her Soul Power Level should also be above twenty-five."
"I didn't pay much attention to them before, so I don't know much about their circumstances. I only know the general outline."
"I learned some of it not long ago, when the Clear Sky Douluo came to see me and told me."
"For instance, Tang Yin not only has high Innate Soul Power, but also possesses Twin Martial Souls."
"Not long ago, they wanted to transfer schools. You're my good friend, so naturally I wanted to introduce such outstanding talent to you."
"I never thought... they wouldn't come..."
Meanwhile.
Flender stood rooted to the spot, his eyes already vacant. He couldn't utter a word, all because he'd heard the familiar name "Tang Yin."
"Flender? Flender!" Yu Xiaogang called out with a frown when he noticed.
Flender suddenly snapped back to his senses. He grabbed Yu Xiaogang by the shoulders and asked excitedly, "Xiaogang, was the boy named Tang Yin especially handsome, with blue hair and blue eyes? And did the girl beside him have a long scorpion braid and a Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul?"
At that, Yu Xiaogang was stunned too, his expression turning strange. "Yes! That's right! How do you know so much about them? You said you'd never met them!"
"Don't ask!" Flender turned away in a huff, went over to the desk, poured himself a cup of tea, and downed it in one gulp.
"What happened?" Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brows, suddenly sensing something was wrong.
Flender sighed. "This is a long story, so I'll keep it brief."
"In short, they did come to Suotuo City, but they got into a conflict with my disciple and a student of mine at a restaurant in town."
"My disciple broke most of his ribs and suffered serious internal injuries. He's still lying in bed recovering. The other student's right-hand bones were shattered, and his right arm was broken. He won't be able to use his whole right arm for a while."
Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brows and paced back and forth across the room. "How did things get this bad? Did your disciple and that student provoke them first?"
Flender sighed. "It was all a misunderstanding. What kind of deep grudge could kids have against each other? But that kid Tang Yin hit far too hard. I guess he and Shrek Academy just weren't meant to be!"
"You had your chance and blew it!" Yu Xiaogang said, rubbing his forehead helplessly, his face full of worry.
"I...!" Flender started to argue, but stopped himself.
"Since they've already come to Suotuo City and haven't enrolled at Shrek Academy, where do you think they'll go to school in town?" Yu Xiaogang asked.
"There are a few intermediate Soul Master Academies near Suotuo City," Flender said thoughtfully.
Yu Xiaogang said calmly, "Go ask around tomorrow and find them. Clear up the misunderstanding. For my sake, I think they'll be willing to make peace."
"Xiaogang, didn't you just say you barely know them?" Flender asked in surprise.
"That was before. Things are different now. Just find them, and I'll take care of the rest," Yu Xiaogang said calmly.