Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River—Never Mock the Poverty of the Middle-Aged

"Flender! It's me!"

Hearing Flender's disdainful voice, Yu Xiaogang instantly felt as though he had suffered an enormous injustice!

He had endured countless humiliations just to come to Shrek Academy and find his old friend.

Yet... after arriving, the man did not even recognize him!

Flender! You have wronged me!

"Who the hell are you?! Does this headmaster know you?! Get away from this headmaster..."

Flender's words came to an abrupt halt as his gaze fell upon Yu Xiaogang's face, made unusually pale beneath the moonlight.

"Why does that voice sound so much like Xiao Gang's?"

Flender carefully scrutinized the face of the man clutching his legs on the ground, his eyes brimming with aggrieved tears.

The longer he looked, the more shocked Flender became.

Similar! Too similar!

The man before him looked as though he had been cast from the same mold as his good brother.

The only difference was that this man's skin was a little fairer and a little cleaner than his good brother's.

"Flender, have you forgotten when you were caught peeping on Second Dragon while she bathed, and I stepped forward to take the blame for you?!"

Seeing that Flender kept staring at him without recognizing him, Yu Xiaogang had no choice but to reveal a secret known only to himself, Flender, and Liu Erlong.

At once, Flender's eyes behind his lenses widened enormously.

Only three people on the entire continent knew that secret: himself, Xiao Gang, and his beloved Second Dragon Sister.

No matter how much Second Dragon Sister had changed over the past decade or so, she could not possibly have become a man.

That meant the person before him could only be...

"Xiao Gang, is that you?"

Flender shakily crouched down, his hands hovering in midair as he wanted to touch Yu Xiaogang but stopped there.

There was no other reason—Yu Xiaogang was simply too filthy, so filthy that Flender did not know where to begin.

"Flender, it's me! You finally recognized me!"

Yu Xiaogang did not care about anything else. He directly wrapped both arms around Flender and burst into tears.

Tears and snot smeared all over Flender.

Wonderful! His good brother had finally recognized him!

Flender stood frozen in place.

He had never imagined that his once high-spirited friend, hailed as the number one master of theory, had now become like a beggar.

Inside the headmaster's office of Shrek Academy, Flender listened to Yu Xiaogang's tearful account.

Yu Xiaogang's voice was filled with such grief that Flender was deeply moved and could not help shedding tears as well.

Of course, regarding what had happened between him and that burly Ma Fu, as well as what had happened to his little brother, Yu Xiaogang kept completely silent, with no intention of telling Flender.

If he revealed that, how could Grandmaster Yu maintain his image before such an old friend?

"Xiao Gang, I never imagined that you would suffer so much just to come find me."

Looking at Yu Xiaogang, who had bathed and changed into a washed-out black scholar's robe, Flender finally had somewhere to put his hands and embraced his old friend.

"Xiao Gang, rest assured. Now that you are at Shrek Academy, this is your home. Everyone here is your family. Tell me where that child and that burly man are, and I will definitely stand up for you!"

Yu Xiaogang only said that Lu Li had humiliated him and called his theories a pile of waste paper. As for the burly man, Yu Xiaogang merely said that he had swindled him out of five thousand Gold Soul Coins!

Yu Xiaogang wiped away his tears.

Everything was getting better now!

The time had come for Grandmaster Yu to show his abilities!

Yes, Yu Xiaogang had decided to spare that burly man and Lu Li for the time being. He wanted to first train his disciple Tang San into a Title Douluo, then turn all the geniuses in Flender's Academy into powerful experts.

Then he would bring those experts with him and publicly proclaim Grandmaster Yu's revenge.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.

Never mock the poverty of the middle-aged!

"Flender, they are merely frogs at the bottom of a well. They have no idea what kind of powerful person they have offended, but I believe you understand."

Yu Xiaogang's signature enigmatic smile made Flender feel that the high-spirited Yu Xiaogang of old, the one determined to become the Number One Theoretical Master of the Continent, had returned!

His good brother had truly fulfilled the vow he had made all those years ago and become the Number One Theoretical Master of the Continent!

"Hahaha, Xiao Gang, you are right. They are merely frogs at the bottom of a well. They have no idea just how immense the power contained in your mind is. You alone are worth ten Title Douluo!"

Flender's office was tiny, but the smaller the place, the bigger the boasts and dreams born within it often were.

As for whether they would ultimately come true, that remained unknown.

"That's right, Flender. They are merely frogs at the bottom of a well. I am broad-minded and cannot be bothered to lower myself to their level. The most urgent matter now is for me to teach the students of this Academy."

"Didn't you say the students here are once-in-a-million geniuses? I believe that with my guidance, they will surely become powerful experts renowned throughout the continent in the future!"

The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the more excited he became. His hands unconsciously rose above his head, trembling slightly.

Yu Xiaogang's words ignited the fervor in Flender's heart.

This was exactly what he had been waiting to hear!

"Xiao Gang, I am truly overjoyed. Truly—with you joining us, Shrek Academy will reach a whole new height!"

"And how fortunate those children of Shrek Academy are, to receive guidance from you, the Number One Theoretical Master of the Continent."

Flender seemed to envision the future, when Shrek Academy would become famous and countless enrollment fees would come beckoning to him.

Unable to help himself, Flender let out a strange laugh as well.

"However, Flender, I have a condition."

Yu Xiaogang abruptly changed the subject, his tone becoming calm yet firm, as though he would leave immediately if Flender did not agree to the condition he was about to state.

"Xiao Gang, what is there to stand on ceremony about between us brothers? Whatever condition you have, just say it!"

At this point, as long as Yu Xiaogang did not ask for Shrek Academy itself, Flender would agree to any condition, no matter how many there were!

"When I teach those children, neither you nor any of the teachers here may interfere!"

"Otherwise, I will leave at once!"

Yu Xiaogang did not like others interfering with his teaching. In his view, if his methods claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.

The teachers here might indeed be powerful, but so what? Could they compare to him in talent?

He had merely been unlucky, and his Martial Soul had mutated.

Otherwise, Grandmaster Yu should have been accomplished in both scholarship and martial arts!

Upon hearing this, a smile immediately appeared on Flender's face.

He had thought it would be some major condition, but this was all it was!

Flender immediately patted Yu Xiaogang on the shoulder. "Xiao Gang, do not worry. While you are teaching those children here, no one will interfere. I guarantee it!"

What a joke. His good brother was a theoretical master! Who could compare to a theoretical master's teaching methods? Who would dare?

Even if Yu Xiaogang had not mentioned it, Flender would have handed all teaching authority over to him.

Whoever dared interfere and obstruct him, Flender would be the first to get angry with them!