Gangzi Mocked by the Little Monsters

Zhao Wuji, in particular, grew even more suspicious of Yu Xiaogang.

"I've met that Zhou Tao before. I even fought him."

"There wasn't the slightest trace of an evil soul master's aura on him."

"But his Martial Soul was truly incredibly powerful."

"Back then, the other two little monsters and I suffered quite a bit at his hands."

Still somewhat shaken, Zhao Wuji spoke slowly.

Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately grew anxious.

He had just been planning to brand Zhou Tao an evil soul master and use that to incite everyone into condemning him, only for someone to refute him on the spot.

Just as Yu Xiaogang was about to argue, Flender spoke up at the right moment.

"Xiaogang, I've also encountered this Zhou Tao before."

"Though he is somewhat arrogant and flamboyant, his character is upright. He is certainly not one of those evil soul masters."

"We should not slander him out of thin air or jump to conclusions."

"However, his talent is exceptional and his potential astonishing. We truly must remain wary of him."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Wuji took over once more.

"Xiaogang, you know this Zhou Tao?"

"Know him? It's far more than that!"

Yu Xiaogang's face darkened with anger as he said bitterly, "That brat not only refused to acknowledge me as his master, but even mocked me in public."

He slandered my Martial Soul Theory as something stolen from Spirit Hall and even claimed that I would never break through Soul Power Level thirty in my lifetime!

The moment those words were spoken, quite a few people present could not help but chuckle.

Li Yusong, in particular, found the whole thing inexplicably comical after hearing it.

Flender, standing beside him, could no longer hold back his laughter either.

Back when he had first met Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong, the three of them had been roughly equal in strength.

After all these years, both his and Liu Erlong's Soul Power Levels had steadily risen, while Yu Xiaogang alone had remained stuck at level twenty-nine.

For many years, he had shown no sign whatsoever of breaking through.

He had once regarded Yu Xiaogang as a peerless genius blessed by heaven, but now it seemed the man had never possessed much real ability.

He was merely exceptionally skilled at talking people into things. Back then, he had nearly even sweet-talked Liu Erlong into falling for him.

At that thought, Flender's amusement only deepened.

"This Zhou Tao truly is a grave threat to us."

Seeing everyone looking relaxed and only interested in joking around, Zhao Wuji hurriedly spoke in a serious tone.

"He is merely a Soul Elder now, yet he was able to fight me without falling at a disadvantage."

"If we allow him to continue growing, Shrek Academy may well be completely suppressed by him in the future."

Zhao Wuji deftly placed Zhou Tao in opposition to Shrek Academy, deliberately stirring up everyone's sense of crisis and urging them to deal with Zhou Tao together.

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, who were listening nearby, both found this extremely strange.

What did he mean, without falling at a disadvantage?

Back then, Zhao Wuji had clearly been crushed by Zhou Tao from beginning to end and thoroughly beaten.

Teacher Zhao had become quite skilled at making himself sound better.

Yu Xiaogang's eyes immediately lit up when he heard this, and he promptly agreed.

"Zhao Wuji is absolutely right. If we do not eliminate Zhou Tao, our academy will never know peace!"

"Flender, I've thought it through."

"I have wasted countless years, but I can still accomplish many great things in the rest of my life."

I will use the Martial Soul Theory I have studied all my life and my extraordinary wisdom to cultivate a group of truly elite geniuses.

Then I will have those talented disciples keep Zhou Tao in check.

No matter how gifted Zhou Tao is, can he really contend against a whole group of top geniuses?

Hearing his old friend's ambitious words, Flender was overjoyed.

In his heart, Yu Xiaogang was still the resourceful Wisdom Corner of the Golden Iron Triangle from back then.

Thus, he had not the slightest doubt in Yu Xiaogang's abilities.

"Xiaogang, you truly came to the right place!"

"Shrek Academy currently has three little monsters with extraordinary talent."

"The first is Oscar, a top food-system genius with Innate Full Soul Power."

"Then there are Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, both exceptional prospects with Innate Soul Power Level nine."

With your careful guidance, their growth will surely be twice as effective with half the effort!

After hearing Flender's sincere praise, Yu Xiaogang was ecstatic.

Ever since he had encountered Zhou Tao and been mocked by him in public, he had not heard such heartfelt praise in a long time.

It seemed that choosing to settle into Shrek Academy had been the most correct decision of his life.

"Flender, I can remain at the academy and help you carefully nurture these disciples."

"But you must agree to several conditions."

"Oh? Xiaogang, go ahead."

Having received Flender's assent, Yu Xiaogang's expression grew even more pleased as he slowly stated his demands.

"First, no one may interfere in any part of my disciple training process."

"Whether it is their daily training plans or the arrangements for obtaining Spirit Rings later on, I will make all decisions."

Flender did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately nodded in agreement.

"Second, any disciple I have personally taught must publicly acknowledge me as their mentor in the future."

Yu Xiaogang had calculated this well. As long as these disciples made names for themselves across the continent in the future, he would naturally gain great fame and be renowned far and wide.

"I agree."

Flender had no objection to this.

He had never been good at teaching disciples in the first place. Handing full responsibility to Yu Xiaogang happened to solve one of the academy's greatest problems.

"Flender, tell me about these three little monsters in detail."

"I must assess them personally and see whether they are worthy of this Grandmaster's wholehearted instruction."

The moment he said this, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar all felt a trace of displeasure.

They were all once-in-a-million geniuses, and their Soul Power Levels even far exceeded Yu Xiaogang's level twenty-nine.

What gave him the right to act so high and mighty and look down on them?

Before anyone could speak, Yu Xiaogang continued with his own appraisal.

"There is no need to say much about this Oscar. He is merely a food-system soul master."

In Yu Xiaogang's eyes, support-system soul masters could only provide minor assistance. The only soul masters who could truly make a name for themselves and intimidate the continent were assault-system soul masters.

Even if Oscar possessed Innate Full Soul Power, so what?

At most, it only meant that the quality of his Martial Soul sausages was somewhat higher.

Even if he eventually cultivated to become a food-system Titled Douluo, he would still ultimately be a weak soul master lacking top-tier combat power.

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, on the other hand, still had some value worth cultivating.

As the continent's foremost master of Martial Soul Theory, he had always maintained extremely strict standards when accepting disciples.

Oscar could only tug awkwardly at the corner of his mouth, though inwardly, he had already fiercely cursed Yu Xiaogang out.

"This is Dai Mubai. His Martial Soul is the White Tiger. He is thirteen years old and a level thirty-one battle Soul Elder, a genuine assault-system genius."

Flender pointed to the golden-haired, blue-eyed youth with naturally mismatched pupils beside him and introduced him slowly.

Dai Mubai carried himself with exceptional poise, his brows naturally bearing a sharp, unruly edge.

Yet Yu Xiaogang merely shook his head lightly, his eyes filled with disdain.

Zhou Tao had broken through to the Soul Elder realm at seven or eight years old. Compared to him, talent like Dai Mubai's was simply not worth mentioning.

Noticing the contempt in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, Dai Mubai's anger surged.

However, out of consideration for Flender's dignity, he forcibly suppressed his displeasure and did not flare up on the spot.

"Ma Hongjun, Martial Soul: Phoenix. He is ten years old, a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, and possesses Innate Soul Power Level nine and a half. However, his Martial Soul has a mutation defect."

The moment he heard that the Martial Soul had a defect, Yu Xiaogang's expression immediately turned displeased.

A flawed Martial Soul would ultimately have an inadequate foundation. It was far inferior to his own personal disciple, Tang San.

Yu Xiaogang's undisguised look of contempt instantly filled Ma Hongjun with indignation.