"I'll take the opportunity to poison them with a slow-acting toxin that leaves them weak and helpless, one that's difficult to detect or cure."
Tang San's voice was low and cold. "That way, we'll have a perfectly reasonable excuse to take the field."
"We've got to teach them a lesson about that smug attitude of theirs!" Ma Hongjun said indignantly.
"Remember." Tang San didn't respond to that. His gaze swept over the three of them. "These next few days, we need to act like good students. Just focus on training every day."
"In two or three days at most, they'll all be flat on their backs. We won't have to worry about finding a chance to compete."
"We understand!" Ma Hongjun's face flushed with excitement. "After the banquet, we'll volunteer to escort Yu Xiaogang back."
"Mm."
Tang San nodded, then raised his wine cup. A perfectly measured smile appeared on his face as he raised his voice:
"Come on! Let's drink to Shrek Academy's second consecutive victory!"
"Cheers!" Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Oscar raised their cups together, their faces beaming and their voices sincere.
'What's going on?' Yu Tianheng and the others turned to look at one another, bewildered. 'Could it be... that we judged them by our own petty standards?'
Just then, a teacher who was a little tipsy sighed, "Wonderful! The students care for one another. Our Thunder Academy is bound to reach new heights!"
"What Thunder Academy?" another teacher, also somewhat drunk, chimed in. His gaze drifted pointedly toward Yu Xiaogang. "It's Shrek Academy now."
He was clearly displeased that Thunder Academy had suddenly been renamed "Shrek Academy."
Yu Xiaogang paid no heed. He lifted his cup and drained it, his expression unchanged.
'Hmph!' Seeing this, the teacher cursed inwardly. 'A patronage-peddling official who's thrown the