Flender's entire body was now covered in feathers, his pupils contracted, and seven Spirit Ring of the same color as Zhao Wuji quietly appeared, pulsating around his body.
Although he did not use his Martial Soul Avatar, his aura was still extremely profound. As the dean of the Shrek Academy, his strength was even above Zhao Wuji's.
" Flender, do you want to fight me too?" With that, Wu Ling waved his hand and knocked Zhao Wuji away. The irritable and disheveled Zhao Wuji came to Flender's side after being knocked back by Wu Ling. He was about to speak when the latter immediately flapped his wings to stop him.
" Your His Highness the Holy Son. Shrek Academy had no intention of offending you. Old Zhao is just a rough man. He didn't recognize Holy Son and thought someone was causing trouble. He acted impulsively. If there's anything wrong, I apologize to you here," Flender said with a smile.
He had already learned some of the background information on his way here, and he was quite speechless about what happened today. Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong were both problem students. The down-on-his-luck prince bullied others by relying on his strength, but he didn't expect that the person involved would hear his arrogant words. As a result, he got a beating, and even dragged Tang San and the academy into it.
If he were there, he would definitely have stopped Dai Mubai's behavior on the spot. But it's no use saying these things now; he should think about how to smooth things over.
"No, no, no need to apologize. I came here to cause trouble. Even without that good-for-nothing, I was still planning to have a word with you." Wu Ling slowly walked up to Flender, looked at him coldly, and said, "After all, your so-called Shrek Academy has never received authorization from the Spirit Hall or the two great empires, and has no qualifications to run a school at all."
"Well, Your His Highness the Holy Son, you should know that running an academy requires funding, facilities, and scale. We have no problem with the teaching staff, but the others are difficult to resolve. Plus, our academy has high standards but insufficient scale, which is why we don't have the necessary qualifications." Flender said with a knowing smile, "Although Shrek is called an academy, it's actually all about master and disciple. They are all my disciples. A few of us Soul Emperor and Soul Saint teaching a few Soul Grandmaster and Soul Elder as disciples—that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Well, in that case, it's really nothing."
Hearing Wu Ling's words, Flender breathed a sigh of relief, but Wu Ling's tone changed abruptly. "Using the reputation of the Soul Saint teacher, you have indeed taken in quite a few disciples. However, according to investigations, over the years, sixty-two genius students have been taken under your wing, but only fourteen have graduated so far. Can you tell me where the remaining forty-eight went?"
Upon hearing Wu Ling's inquiry about the students who hadn't graduated, Flender's face paled, and he forced a smile as he replied, "They... couldn't keep up with the curriculum, so they all left."
Wu Ling narrowed his eyes, his tone suddenly turning sinister as he coldly questioned, "They're gone. I think they're dead. Even if a few survived, they're all too badly injured and have no hope for the future."
"The student mortality rate is so high, and the teachers have failed to protect them. Then tell me, what's the point of having you teachers?" Flender's smile froze instantly. Wu Ling's words had struck at the Shrek Academy's biggest weakness: the student mortality rate was too high.
It's important to know that Shrek has very high admission standards. Those who can get in are basically geniuses in their twenties or twelfth year of age. Such geniuses would be admitted to any advanced Soul Master Academy. The reason they come to Shrek is simply because of the hype surrounding the Soul Saint teacher.
However, ordinary geniuses with ordinary backgrounds who were not noticed by Flender and others received very little training after enrolling.
Students are frequently dying while hunting Spirit Beast, and the hunting Spirit Beast are led by at least Soul Emperor level experts. This is simply outrageous.
"You are Soul Saint, and there's no concrete evidence of your wrongdoing. Plus, those students enrolled voluntarily, so killing you would be troublesome for me. Therefore, I can't pursue the past with you." As Wu Ling spoke, he passed over Flender, whose smile had hardened, and his voice continued to echo in Fred's ears.
"But don't think this matter is over. I've dealt with all the Spirit Hall within the Balak Kingdom, and the Bishop of Suotuo City has already abdicated. No one will dare to recommend graduates to the Shrek Academy anymore, so you'd better watch yourself." As Wu Ling finished speaking, he walked right in front of Tang San Tang San suddenly struck him on the forehead with a palm.
"Ah!" Tang San never expected that the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall would launch such a sneak attack on him without any sense of martial ethics. The intense pain made him subconsciously push away Xiao Wu, who was supporting him, and a black Magic Circle appeared on his forehead.
"Third Brother!" Xiao Wu exclaimed in surprise, her angry gaze fixed on Wu Ling. Completely oblivious to the difference in strength and the situation, she leaped towards Wu Ling, shouting, "How dare you hurt Third Brother! I'll beat you to death!"
"Snap!" With a crisp sound, Xiao Wu came and went quickly. In mid-air, the spot on Xiao Wu's face, the same side as Tang San's, quickly became red and swollen.
" Xiao Wu!" Tang San endured the excruciating pain and caught Xiao Wu as she flew away, his eyes blazing with hatred from his remaining right eye.
"He dared to harm Xiao Wu; he has already met his end! No, death alone is not enough; I will use all the torture methods of the Tang Sect on him!"
Seeing Tang San still staring at her like that, Wu Ling stepped forward and kicked Tang San away. Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth and wanted to attack from behind Wu Ling, but Flender stopped him in the end.
"You probably guessed who was behind that battle a few days ago. I'm not interested in dealing with Tang San for now, so I'll just leave a mark on him. The Spirit Hall will also have people monitoring him until that person is caught. You understand, right?"
"... Understood." Flender looked at the pained Tang San. The thought that this was the disciple of his sworn brother Yu Xiaogang made him want to turn against Wu Ling, but reason told him that he couldn't. He couldn't let the entire Shrek Academy be ruined because of one person. In the end, he could only bow his head and submit.
Of course, the above was just an excuse given to Flender. Wu Ling's real goal was not Tang Hao, because Tang Hao and Tang San's influence on him was negligible. Wu Ling's current target was actually the Asura God.
The Asura God has repeatedly thwarted him, and can be said to be on the Wu Ling's kill list. Although he has the coordinates of the Divine Realm, he does not know the exact location of the Asura God. Going there rashly might alert the Asura God. Tang San, as his future successor, and given his influence, they will inevitably come into contact. Therefore, Tang San will act as a coordinate to help him determine the location of the Asura God.
Once he obtains the coordinates of the Asura God, he'll throw a few God-Slaying Spear over there to add to the excitement.