Those Who Dare Not Cause Trouble Are Mediocrities? More Like Bullying the Weak and Fearing the Strong!

At those words, the private room fell silent for a moment. Tang San was the first to react and immediately said:

"Dean, I'll go with you."

Seeing this, Oscar stood up as well and said:

"Dean, then I'll go too."

However, before Oscar could finish speaking, Flender waved a hand and cut him off. He adjusted the crystal glasses on his nose, glanced at Tang San and Oscar, and said calmly:

"No need. None of you need to come with me."

"I'll go alone."

Oscar froze slightly at that.

Tang San frowned as well and said:

"But, Dean..."

"No buts." Flender waved his hand and said in a low voice, "Gu Ling is only twelve, after all, and he's merely a Three-Ring Soul Elder."

"As a Soul Saint, going to pick a fight with him already counts as bullying the young. If I brought a whole group of students to surround him too, would I have any face left at all?"

Oscar immediately shut his mouth. Thinking it over carefully, that did seem to be the case.

Flender was a Seven-Ring Soul Saint. Going after a twelve-year-old Soul Elder was already somewhat disgraceful. If a whole crowd of Shrek Academy students followed behind him, how could that be called seeking an explanation? Anyone unaware of the situation would think Shrek Academy was preparing to gang up on a twelve-year-old child.

Tang San hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.

"Then please be careful, Dean."

Flender nearly laughed in anger at those words. Somewhat speechlessly, he said:

"Careful?"

"Kid, aren't you overestimating him? I admit that reaching Soul Elder at twelve, with both his second and third Soul Rings being thousand-year rings, is indeed astonishing talent."

"But talent is talent. Strength is strength."

At that point, a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

"The gap between three rings and seven rings isn't something talent alone can make up for."

With that said,

Flender did not waste any more time. After asking Tang San for Gu Ling's general location and a description of what he was wearing, he left the private room alone.

Soto Great Soul Arena.

With Flender's cultivation, finding a black-clothed youth inside the Great Soul Arena was naturally not particularly difficult.

What was more, Gu Ling had just finished a rather noteworthy soul battle that evening.

"Soft-Boned Enchanting Rabbit" versus "Spicy Rabbit Head Lover."

He had really kicked the rabbit on the other side straight off the arena. After asking around among a few staff members, Flender quickly pinpointed Gu Ling's location.

Before long, he stood in an inconspicuous corner on the second floor and saw the black-clothed figure in the hall below through the railing.

Around twelve years old, dressed entirely in black, with a tall, slender build—exactly as Tang San had described.

"So that's him..."

Flender narrowed his eyes, but he did not immediately go downstairs. This was still the Great Soul Arena, after all.

What he had said to Oscar earlier had not been a joke. Soto Great Soul Arena had stood in Suotuo City for so many years because it naturally possessed its own backing. A dignified Soul Saint would not break its rules just to teach a junior a lesson, so he merely watched Gu Ling from afar.

Time passed bit by bit. During that time, Gu Ling completed another individual soul battle, then joined Ye Lingling in a two-on-two soul battle.

The result naturally held no suspense.

With the tacit understanding the two had developed over the past half year, combined with Gu Ling's strange spatial soul skills, ordinary Soul Elder pairs could hardly pose any threat to them.

After the soul battle ended, Gu Ling and Ye Lingling did not return to the Imperial Dou Team's private lounge. Instead, they left Soto Great Soul Arena directly through the contestants' passage.

Seeing this, Flender, who had been watching Gu Ling in secret, narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "The girl by this kid's side is quite something. No wonder Hongjun..."

At that thought, Flender did not reveal himself immediately. Instead, he followed the two from a distance. Only after Gu Ling and Ye Lingling had completely left Soto Great Soul Arena and entered a relatively secluded street did he lightly tap off a rooftop with the tip of his foot, descending from the sky.

Bang!

A dull thud sounded.

Flender landed steadily in the middle of the street, blocking Gu Ling and Ye Lingling's path.

The sudden disturbance made Ye Lingling stop at once. She instinctively looked at the middle-aged man before them, her eyes growing more vigilant.

Gu Ling stopped as well. But when he saw the man's crystal glasses and distinctive hooked nose, he had already guessed his identity and thought to himself:

It seems... Tang San really ran back and tattled fast.

Flender looked Gu Ling up and down a few times. Though he had come to stand up for Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, he did not attack right away.

After all, Oscar had already told him roughly what had happened.

Ma Hongjun had been at fault first; there was no denying that. So what Flender truly wanted to do today was simply question Gu Ling and take the opportunity to put this young man in his place.

Thus, Flender clasped his hands behind his back and asked in a deep voice:

"You are Gu Ling?"

Gu Ling glanced at him and said:

"That's me."

Flender nodded and said:

"You were also the one who injured people from Shrek Academy at the Lantern Festival last night?"

"That's right."

Gu Ling still did not deny it.

Hearing this, Flender frowned slightly. He clearly had not expected the other party to admit it so readily, and so he said:

"Then this is simple."

"Hongjun was indeed in the wrong last night. I've already disciplined him for that. But your actions were a little too heavy-handed. He still can't even get out of bed. When young people have a conflict, teaching each other a lesson should be enough. Why beat someone into that state?"

Gu Ling immediately laughed upon hearing that and said coldly:

"So what you mean is... your student harassed someone in the street, my friend was being bullied, I stopped him, he still dared to unleash his martial soul and attack me, and I was supposed to hold back?"

Flender frowned again and said:

"I already said that Hongjun was in the wrong."

"But everything should have its limits."

Gu Ling nodded.

"That makes sense."

Flender's expression eased slightly. He thought Gu Ling was finally willing to speak properly.

Yet the next second, Gu Ling continued:

"Then I'd also like to ask: what if I had been weaker than them yesterday? What if he flew into a rage out of humiliation and beat me up, then Dai Mubai came over to help and severely injured me?"

"Would you have come out then as well and told them—everything should have its limits?"

Flender was instantly at a loss for words.

But Gu Ling did not stop at all and continued:

"Or is it... only because the one lying in bed now is a student of Shrek Academy that you suddenly remembered what having limits means?"

Standing beside him, Ye Lingling's expression shifted slightly. She was already becoming familiar with Gu Ling's mouth. Once he started reasoning with someone... it basically meant the other side was about to have a bad time.

Sure enough, upon hearing that, Flender's expression gradually darkened. Somewhat displeased, he said, "I'm speaking to you properly right now. You'd better watch your attitude."

Gu Ling raised a brow and said coldly:

"What's wrong with my attitude?"

"You're a Seven-Ring Soul Saint, yet you came out in the middle of the night specifically to block a twelve-year-old Soul Elder like me, then stood here lecturing me about hitting too hard? Does Shrek Academy especially like doing this? When the students can't win, the teachers come out to cause trouble."

"You keep saying those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities. I think you're just bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"