Contradictions and Division

The next day, everyone gathered on the training grounds.

However, this time, standing beside Flender was a middle-aged man with a weathered face—none other than Gangzi.

"Ahem, let me introduce you all. This is my good friend, Yu Xiaogang."

"He is hailed as the number one authority on Martial Soul theories. You may also address him as 'Grandmaster'."

Upon hearing Dean Flender's introduction, Dai Mubai looked at Yu Xiaogang in disbelief and exclaimed:

"The legendary Grandmaster is actually the Dean's friend!"

Pfft—

Hearing this, Tang San's mouth twitched uncontrollably, as if he had just heard the world's greatest joke.

Must not laugh.

Hold it in, I must hold it in...

After six years of study and Tang Wu's reminders, Tang San had long since realized just how much hot air was packed into Gangzi's theories.

The so-called Ten Great Martial Soul Theories were nothing more than common knowledge rephrased, slightly tweaked, and slapped with a new name to claim as his own.

In essence, it was just old wine in a new bottle.

Gangzi, seeing the astonishment in the eyes of Dai Mubai, Oscar, and the others, was immensely satisfied.

He clasped his hands behind his back, leaned slightly backward, and struck the pose of a "Grandmaster."

A faint, barely audible "Hmph" escaped his throat.

Gangzi stepped forward, taking over from Flender, and swept his gaze across the students, lingering on Tang Wu for a second or two:

"From now on, your training regimen will be under my full guidance."

"I expect all of you to follow my orders completely, rather than acting on your own, especially certain individuals..."

Right from the start, Gangzi forcibly usurped Zhao Wuji's position, adopting an imperious, "this is how it should be" attitude.

He even directed his gaze toward Tang Wu, the implication clear to everyone.

To this, Tang Wu remained indifferent. He was nothing but a clown; no matter how loudly he barked, it wouldn't change the reality of what Gangzi was.

However, he was quite displeased by Gangzi's targeted hostility and immediately retorted:

"Oh? I wonder what this 'Grandmaster's' so-called training entails?"

"It couldn't possibly be making us run laps around Soto City, could it?!"

Caught off guard that his upcoming plan had been guessed, Gangzi panicked for a fleeting moment.

But Gangzi was still Gangzi; he would insist on being right even when he was wrong. With Flender as his backing, he became even more unreasonable:

"What do you know? Running builds physical fitness and trains endurance..."

"Tch—" Tang Wu sneered, mercilessly cutting him off:

"You said so much, but in the end, isn't it just running?"

"Student Tang Wu, if you truly have no interest in my training methods, you are free to opt out."

"But do not disrupt the order of the class. If you don't want to become stronger, the other students still do."

His authority as a teacher having been questioned time and again, he had reached his limit.

This time, he dragged Dai Mubai and the others into it, standing on the moral high ground to point fingers at Tang Wu.

"Hey, Xiao Wu, does this Grandmaster have a grudge against Tang Wu? It looks like they're about to start fighting at any second."

Ning Rongrong leaned in close to Xiao Wu, whispering into her ear.

The tension between Tang Wu and Yu Xiaogang was so thick that even a fool could see they were on the verge of an explosion.

"That's a long story..."

Xiao Wu nodded and began whispering back to Ning Rongrong.

Seeing the two at each other's throats, Flender, as the Dean, watched with cold eyes, remaining unmoved.

Between his students and his best friend, he chose his friend without hesitation.

Tang Wu and Yu Xiaogang refused to yield to one another.

Tang Wu believed that Gangzi's running training was utterly meaningless.

Rather than wasting time, it would be better to engage in actual combat training, which at least would improve their reaction times.

"Enough! If you don't want to train, you can go train by yourself."

Finally, unable to take it anymore, Gangzi kicked Tang Wu out of the group.

"Fine, you said it yourself..."

Tang Wu had been waiting for exactly those words from Gangzi.

Afterward, he turned and left the group without a shred of hesitation.

Seeing his younger brother being mistreated, Tang San, a notorious brother-complex, could not endure it and immediately spoke up:

"Wait. Since we aren't welcome here, we won't stay either."

Tang San initiated the team fight and followed up in an instant.

He immediately declared that he was on Tang Wu's team and had no interest in this so-called running training.

With Tang San choosing to leave, Xiao Wu naturally wouldn't stay behind.

"This..."

Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun—the three Shrek veterans—looked at one another, at a loss for what to do.

But out of trust for Flender, they ultimately chose to remain where they were.

Zhu Zhuqing looked back and forth between the two sides, hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to stay with Dai Mubai and the others, who possessed stronger teaching resources.

Her primary goal was to become stronger.

Although Tang Wu was very powerful, she could not abandon the opportunity to grow stronger for an uncertain prospect.

However, one person surprised everyone present.

"What's wrong? Are you surprised that I'm joining your side?"

Seeing the stunned expressions on the faces of Xiao Wu and the others, Ning Rongrong gave a sweet smile:

"Anyway, as an auxiliary-system soul master, doing those exercises is useless."

"But your side is different. Tang Wu always has all sorts of ideas. If I can benefit from them one day, it counts as an early investment."

"So, in your eyes, I'm just a skill library that can be reorganized? Give me back my touched feelings."

"You could say that~~~ But, I refuse!"

Facing Tang Wu's questioning, Ning Rongrong blinked playfully and spoke with righteous indignation.

Just like that, the Shrek Seven from the original story split into two groups.

One group was led by Tang Wu, including Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong.

The other group was led by Gangzi, with members including Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing.

But with Gangzi, a man who hadn't even reached level 30 by the age of 50, could he really teach them well?

The answer was uncertain...

Tang Wu chose the Back Mountain as their meeting spot; it was open and fresh, suitable for both training and having enough space for actual combat.

Most importantly...

It avoided seeing Gangzi's zombie face, preventing his good mood from vanishing for the day. Out of sight, out of mind.

"Brother, when you obtained your soul ring yesterday, I thought of a great idea."

"Now, let's start the experiment..."

Tang Wu looked at Tang San with burning eyes; his expression was exactly like a big bad wolf eyeing a child.

Tang San knew all too well what that expression meant.

He couldn't help but step back, trying to calm him down with words, his voice even changing pitch:

"T-Tang Wu, calm down... You really need to calm down."

"I can't calm down. Come on, let's have a big go at it!"

"Ah----!!!"

Watching the scene before her, Ning Rongrong covered her mouth with her small hand, shocked wide:

"Xiao Wu, have the two brothers always been like this?"

"It's fine, you'll get used to it."

Xiao Wu expressed that she was already accustomed to this.