Shrek Academy.
The door to Flender's office swung open,
and Yu Xiaogang walked in.
The moment Flender saw him, he strode over and pulled him into a hug:
"Xiao Gang!"
Yu Xiaogang patted him on the shoulder:
"Boss Fu, it's been years. You've gotten quite a bit older."
Flender let go and looked him over, then laughed:
"You're one to talk. More than half your hair has turned white."
The two sat down by the table. Flender poured them each a cup of poor-quality tea and pushed one over.
Yu Xiaogang lifted his cup and took a sip. He frowned but said nothing:
"Boss Fu, I came to see how things are going at Shrek. I heard there's a new academy in Suotuo City?"
At that, the smile on Flender's face faded. He let out a heavy sigh:
"Don't get me started."
"What happened?" Yu Xiaogang set down his teacup.
Flender leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest:
"It's the money, as always."
"Money?"
"A few days ago, some Amphoreus Academy appeared out of nowhere. They actually set up a stall right outside Shrek Academy and started recruiting."
The more Flender spoke, the more agitated he became. He slapped the tabletop.
"They stole all my students! Tell me, how can I not be furious?"
Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brows:
"How did they steal them? Tell me exactly what happened."
"Just thinking about it makes my blood boil!"
Flender snorted.
"All I did was charge a little registration fee—ten Gold Soul Coins per student. That's not unreasonable, is it? But Amphoreus Academy didn't play by the rules. Registration was free! Free! What else could that be but a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for me?"
Yu Xiaogang shuddered, his eyes widening.
"What? Free? That kind of spending... I'd say they were deliberately targeting you."
"Exactly!"
Flender sighed again.
"Their academy is in Suotuo City, yet they came all the way to this backwater corner by my academy to recruit students. It's obvious they were trying to sabotage our business!"
Yu Xiaogang nodded, lightly tapping his fingertips on the table twice.
"That's certainly malicious competition."
He went over the whole affair in his mind, then looked up at Flender.
"How much money does the academy have left?"
At that, Flender reluctantly fished a cloth pouch out of his pants pocket, untied the drawstring, and emptied it onto the table.
A few Gold Soul Coins rolled out, spinning halfway around before coming to a stop.
Yu Xiaogang looked at the lonely handful of coins, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"That's all?"
Flender's head drooped.
"That's all. It's only enough to cover the academy's expenses for half a month. If we don't get any more income, I'm afraid I won't even be able to pay Zhao Wuji."
Yu Xiaogang stared at the few Gold Soul Coins, his brows drawing tighter.
"This... really isn't enough."
Flender looked up at him hopefully.
"Xiao Gang, you've been out in the world for so many years. Do you have any ideas?"
Under Yu Xiaogang's gaze, Flender felt a little awkward. He fidgeted with the tip of his nose and said guiltily,
"I... Boss Fu, you know I've spent all these years at Notting Academy, eating and drinking for free. What savings could I possibly have?"
A flicker of disappointment passed through Flender's eyes, but he quickly recovered his smile.
"Haha, it's fine, it's fine. I'll think of something else."
He patted Yu Xiaogang on the shoulder.
"Xiao Gang, since you're here, I think you can take over teaching Tang San and the others."
At the mention of Tang San, Yu Xiaogang straightened up at once, a confident smile spreading across his face.
"Of course. Boss Fu, you can safely leave them to me. I'll make sure they shine at the Spirit Master Tournament."
Flender laughed heartily, then gave Yu Xiaogang two hearty pats on the shoulder.
"After hearing you say that, I can finally relax."
He paused, then suddenly changed the subject.
"Although Amphoreus Academy stole my students and left me without any income, the students they recruited are all terribly lacking in talent. They're nowhere near as good as the ones at Shrek."
"Oh?"
Yu Xiaogang looked a little more at ease.
"That's good."
But Flender's expression suddenly turned grave.
"However, there's one genius at their academy we have to watch out for. Even Tang San lost to him."
Yu Xiaogang shot to his feet. The movement was so abrupt that he knocked the teacup over with the corner of the table.
Brown tea spilled across the tabletop, but he didn't even notice.
"What?"
Yu Xiaogang's voice rose, disbelief written all over his face.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! My disciple is invincible! How could he lose to someone his own age?"
Flender raised a hand and motioned for him to calm down. "Hey, Xiao Gang, take it easy first!"
"Who was it?"
Yu Xiaogang didn't sit down. He braced both hands on the table and leaned forward.
So Flender told him what had happened that day at the Soto Soul Arena.
Though Flender's account was brief, the story pierced Yu Xiaogang's heart like a needle.
After hearing it, Yu Xiaogang sat back down and fell silent for a long while.
His fingers tapped restlessly on the table, and a greedy glint slowly appeared in his eyes.
He'd defeated Tang San with ease?
A talent no weaker than Tang San?
Hmph. A genius like that ought to belong to Yu Xiaogang.
Amphoreus Academy didn't deserve to have such a genius!
As he was thinking this, someone suddenly shoved the office door open from outside.
Zhao Wuji strode in, followed by an elderly man and woman.
Flender looked up. The moment he saw the two elders, his pupils contracted.
Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang walked in side by side, their gazes sweeping across the room before settling on Flender.
"You, the Flying Horn of the former Golden Iron Triangle, Four-Eyed Owl Flender—do you recognize us?"
Flender reacted quickly. He immediately came around from behind the desk, clasped his hands, and bowed.
"Senior Dragon Duke, Senior Snake Granny. I've long admired your reputations."
Yu Xiaogang also stood and gave a slight nod in greeting.
Chao Tianxiang's gaze passed over him. She said nothing, only turning to Flender.
"Dean Flender, there's a business proposition we'd like to discuss with you."
Flender straightened and put on a smile.
"Seniors, please sit. We can talk it over."
Zhao Wuji stepped aside to make room and closed the door behind him.
Three days later, at Amphoreus Academy's square.
Ye Qiong stood two steps in front of Phainon, watching him grip his sword with both hands and swing it again and again.
"Make the force behind it a little more decisive," Ye Qiong reminded him.
Phainon nodded and reset his stance.
Just then, a golden triangular portal suddenly lit up on the ground in the middle of the square.
Phainon stopped moving.
Ye Qiong turned his head to look, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Looks like Tribbie and the others are back.