Qiangu Dieyan: Yun Ming Calls Me Grandpa?

The next day, Qiangu Dieyan truly appeared at Eastsea Academy as promised.

Even as a graduate of Shrek Academy and a disciple of the Red Dragon Douluo Zhuo Shi, Wu Zhangkong still felt a sense of shock upon learning the true identity of the white-haired, hoary-bearded elder before him.

The former Pavilion Master of the Spirit Pagoda, and the world's top-tier quasi-god-level Limit Douluo.

To think he would deign to come and teach at a small coastal city's academy.

When Long Hengxu and Yu Zhen received this news, both men's legs went weak, and they collapsed to the floor, completely losing their composure.

Although the development and progress of the era had caused the number of Titled Douluos to increase tenfold compared to ten thousand years ago, one had to remember that the population base had also multiplied many times over. It was difficult enough to catch a glimpse of a Titled Douluo on an ordinary day, let alone one who stood at the very pinnacle of all Soul Masters—a legendary Limit Douluo.

Yu Zhen's first thought was what kind of salary he should offer Qiangu Dieyan, but Long Hengxu reminded him that the man had only come to teach out of consideration for his great-grandson.

Rather than trying to cater to Qiangu Dieyan, it would be better to tilt as many resources as possible toward the current Class Five.

"That makes sense, that makes sense indeed."

"Director Long, it seems that when I grow old, the entire Eastsea Academy will have to be handed over to you."

Long Hengxu smiled and didn't take the bait, instead saying, "Let's put that aside for now, Principal. I'll go instruct the cafeteria to switch to a batch of higher-quality ingredients for today's Grade A meals."

Yu Zhen nodded in satisfaction, and only after Long Hengxu left did he lean back in his chair and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Whether Eastsea Academy can rise during my tenure depends on these next few years."

On the other side, in the classroom of Year One, Class Five, Wu Zhangkong introduced Qiangu Dieyan to his students with trepidation.

Naturally, to avoid unnecessary commotion, Qiangu Dieyan was only introduced to the public as a retired teacher from the academy who had been invited to provide guidance to the current freshmen.

"This is Teacher Qiangu, who has retired from the academy. He is very formidable, and you must treat him with the same seriousness as you do my classes."

"Is that clear?"

Wu Zhangkong spoke from the podium.

The students below responded in unison, "Yes, we understand."

Except for Qian Jue, Gu Yue, and the others who already knew Qiangu Dieyan's true identity, the other students were quite expectant of this new, elderly teacher.

After all, it was because of Qian Jue that Teacher Qiangu was willing to deign to teach them.

Unless they were complete fools, anyone could guess that this Teacher Qiangu's status was extraordinary. Opportunities to learn from someone like him were rare, and they had to firmly grasp this hard-won chance.

Even if Wu Zhangkong hadn't warned them, they would have worked twice as hard.

Qiangu Dieyan's arrival caused a slight adjustment to the class curriculum.

Due to the differences in talent levels, Wu Zhangkong separated Qian Jue and the others during instruction to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on the rest of Class Five.

This afternoon's practical training session was, naturally, taught by Qiangu Dieyan.

His lesson was simple: he had the six little ones face his own Unyielding Intent directly on the martial arts field.

How long they could hold on depended entirely on their individual mental strength and willpower.

Gu Yue and the others sat cross-legged, shielding Qian Jue in the center, the six of them working together to face the Coiling Dragon Staff before them.

Wu Zhangkong, standing to the side, spoke up: "His Excellency Zhantian, isn't it a bit too harsh to use this method of training right from the start?"

One had to realize that this was the unyielding will of a quasi-god-level powerhouse, surely mixed with the power of laws; even a Titled Douluo might feel immense pressure facing such coercion.

Qiangu Dieyan glanced at him and said indifferently, "This old man has his own sense of measure. You just watch from the side. If you are truly worried, you are welcome to join the children in resisting."

"It was my presumption, Your Excellency Zhantian."

With that, Wu Zhangkong stepped forward, entered the martial arts field, and sat down in front of the six, a faint, icy Soul Power drifting from his body to resist the Coiling Dragon Staff, which stood like a pillar supporting the sky.

Seeing this, Qiangu Dieyan nodded slightly, giving his initial approval of Wu Zhangkong as a teacher.

"Compared to those old fogies in Shrek, you lad are more like a qualified teacher."

Time passed quickly, and the first to fall was, as expected, Zhang Yangzi, the only one in the group of six who was not a dragon-attribute Soul Master.

Qiangu Dieyan waved his large hand, plucking Zhang Yangzi out like a chick and placing him on a seat to the side to rest, even thoughtfully offering him a bottle of water.

Next were Wang Jinxi and Xie Xie; the two held out for about five minutes longer than Zhang Yangzi before finally collapsing from exhaustion and being removed by Qiangu Dieyan.

In the end, only Wu Zhangkong, Qian Jue, Gu Yue, Na'er, and the teetering Tang Wulin remained.

Qiangu Dieyan watched the five struggling in the field, a flicker of curiosity rising in his heart.

Wu Zhangkong, with his Soul Emperor cultivation and long years of practice, could naturally hold on longer, especially since he had intensified the suppression of his Unyielding Staff Intent.

His own great-grandson had only perfected the prototype of his Unyielding Staff Intent yesterday, and his ambition was far greater than his own.

Even if there was a gap in magnitude, he could still manage to hold on by gritting his teeth.

Thus, Qiangu Dieyan was very interested in the remaining three.

He knew Gu Yue; she was the disciple of that little phoenix, Leng Yaozhu, and also the junior sister of his own great-grandson.

Back in the day, Dongfeng had pursued Leng Yaozhu to no avail, and now her disciple was pursuing someone from his own family—truly, the ways of the world were unpredictable.

The other girl seemed to be named Na'er.

Her martial soul was the Silver Dragon Spear, and she carried a trace of someone he knew; plus, she came from Shrek Academy...

Qiangu Dieyan's eyes widened, a conjecture on the verge of bursting forth from his heart.

"Could this little lass be a descendant or a disciple of Yun Ming?"

With this thought in mind, Qiangu Dieyan hurriedly turned to ask Xie Xie and the other two, who were sitting nearby resting, "Kid, do you know the background of that girl named Na'er?"

Xie Xie nodded; Tang Wulin had already told him everything about Na'er's disappearance during this period.

"Well, Na'er was the younger sister adopted by Wulin's family. She seemed to have amnesia at the time."

"Then she regained her memories and was taken away. I remember her saying that her adoptive parents were named Yun Ming and Ya Li? They must be big shots in Shrek, but I don't know anything more than that."

Hearing these familiar yet infuriating names, Qiangu Dieyan's mood soared, and he threw his head back in a hearty laugh:

"Hahahaha, how fate loves to toy with us!"

"Yun Ming, oh Yun Ming, did you ever think that one day, your own little cabbage would take the initiative to root around my family's garden?"

Ever since that crushing defeat thirty years ago, aside from the moment he witnessed Qian Jue's talent yesterday, Qiangu Dieyan had never felt as happy as he did right now.

If Na'er's adoptive father was Yun Ming, and he himself was Qian Jue's maternal grandfather.

In terms of seniority, wouldn't Yun Ming have to call him Grandfather?

Hahaha!

How satisfying!

Qiangu Dieyan looked at Qian Jue, who stood motionless in the arena with a calm expression, and the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

"If you can hold on for another quarter of an hour, my good grandson, I will let you meet the Indomitable Soul of our Qiangu Clan! If you can gain the old one's recognition, the foundation for becoming a god will be yours forever!"