Notting Academy!
Su Chen revisited his old stomping grounds, feeling deeply moved.
The gatekeeper standing at the school entrance rubbed his eyes hard when he saw Su Chen.
Compared to four years ago, Su Chen had grown taller and sturdier, but his handsome face still allowed the gatekeeper to recognize him at once.
"It's you, Su Chen!"
After recognizing him, the gatekeeper rushed into the academy like a gust of wind to report the news.
"Headmaster, Su Chen has returned..."
Su Chen shook his head and chuckled. Headmaster Gao Lu had treated him well back then, so it was only right that he came back to greet him.
Qian Renxue, She Long, and Ci Xue had not accompanied him. Their identities were not suited for appearing openly in Notting City.
After saying a few words to him, Qian Renxue had gone to the Spirit Hall Branch in Notting City, saying that she wanted to look through some documents.
A moment later!
Gao Lu arrived at the square outside the school gates with a group of academy teachers.
"Su Chen, it really is you!"
"Why have you returned today?"
"Did those distinguished people who took you away back then come with you?"
Gao Lu asked in delighted surprise.
Su Chen smiled faintly. "I just returned from hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, so I took the opportunity to visit Notting City and see the headmaster and the other teachers."
"I came back alone. No one else came with me."
Gao Lu sighed in relief, though he was also somewhat disappointed.
That had been the young mistress of Spirit Hall and two Titled Douluo powerhouses. If they had visited Notting Academy, the academy would truly have been honored beyond measure.
Perhaps it was better that they had not come.
They were only a humble junior Soul Master Academy, with nothing worth offering their guests.
If they offended any of Spirit Hall's important figures, a single word from them would be enough to shut Notting Academy down for good.
Still, Gao Lu was greatly comforted to see Su Chen return.
This genius who had walked out of Notting Academy still remembered Notting Academy.
"So that's how it is. Xiao Chen, don't stand outside any longer. Come inside and have a seat."
"You are the pride of Notting Academy. It is rare for you to return, so we must treat you properly."
"By the way, when those distinguished people took you away to cultivate, how strong did you become? Hmm... you said you just returned from hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. With your talent, did you perhaps break through to Soul Elder?"
Gao Lu's eyes burned with anticipation. He knew that Su Chen had already possessed exceptional talent, and with guidance from Titled Douluo powerhouses, his strength had surely surpassed Tang San and Xiao Wu's by now.
Su Chen did not hide it from the headmaster who had treated him so well. His tone was calm, as though he were merely discussing everyday matters.
"Not Soul Elder. I broke through to Soul Ancestor."
Soul Ancestor!
Those two words stunned everyone present.
After all, even their headmaster, Gao Lu, was only a Soul Ancestor.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
A shrill cry came from within the crowd.
It was Yu Xiaogang!
Yu Xiaogang stared fixedly at Su Chen, his eyes filled with suspicion. "Even Xiao San, whom I personally trained, is currently stuck at level 29 Soul Power. What makes you think you can break through to Soul Ancestor?"
"Going from level 29 Soul Power to level 30 Soul Power is a threshold. Countless extraordinarily talented Soul Masters have been trapped at this bottleneck."
"Su Chen, there is a limit to boasting. No guidance from any great figure can compare to me, the number one theory master of the Douluo Continent."
Su Chen raised an eyebrow, momentarily speechless.
"Yu Xiaogang, you are still at Notting Academy? With all those useless theories of yours, I thought you would have been kicked out long ago. I never expected you to still be loafing around the academy, eating and drinking for free."
"Tang San has Innate Full Soul Power. How could he possibly be stuck at the level 29 bottleneck? I think he was simply crippled by your nonsense, you fake master."
"You cannot even break through level 29 Soul Power yourself. What do you know about true strength?"
The whispers in his ears and the strange looks coming from all directions made Yu Xiaogang's face alternate between green and white.
Su Chen had voiced the thoughts of every teacher.
Yu Xiaogang acted lofty all day long, looking down on this and dismissing that, yet he himself was only a level 29 Soul Grandmaster.
He kept claiming that he had trained Tang San, but Tang San had Innate Full Soul Power. Did he need Yu Xiaogang's training?
Yu Xiaogang completely lost it. With bloodshot eyes, he shouted, "My theories are flawless! Even the Pope of Spirit Hall has acknowledged them! What right does a little beast like you have to question me? Today, I will teach you what it means to respect your teacher!"
"Come out, my Luo San Pao!"
Purple light flashed, and a purple-skinned pig condensed before him.
Su Chen inwardly cursed. The farts that purple-skinned pig let out were unbearably foul.
They could not kill anyone, but they were humiliating.
If Su Chen caught even a trace of that stench, he felt like he might kill someone.
With a single leap, he shattered the ground beneath his feet, his body seeming to vanish and reappear.
He raised his leg high and brought it down!
With a slap, the purple-skinned pig exploded beneath Su Chen's foot before it could even fart.
Yu Xiaogang suffered the backlash and collapsed while vomiting blood.
"Yu Xiaogang, today I returned to Notting Academy to visit the headmaster. If that purple-skinned pig of yours, which only knows how to let out foul farts, had ruined the mood with one of its farts, I would have shoved an iron rod up your ass and let you taste what it feels like to be disgusted."
Yu Xiaogang was evil by nature. His methods were simply too disgusting, always harming others for a thousand while damaging himself for eight hundred.
With the Soul Power in his body flowing backward, Yu Xiaogang vomited mouthful after mouthful of blood. He nearly fainted from rage as he panted heavily and said:
"Su Chen, you dare humiliate me!"
"You are finished. Xiao San will not let you off!"
"He has already gone to Shrek Academy, the number one academy on the continent. And Xiao Wu too—Xiao San will not only defeat you, he will also take away your beloved Xiao Wu."
A teasing glint flashed through Su Chen's eyes. Tang San and Xiao Wu really should have graduated by now. Once they went to Shrek Academy, Tang Hao would follow them there as well.
Only then did Gao Lu step forward to mediate.
"Stop fighting, both of you, stop fighting!"
"Master, you really are something else. Why argue with a child? You are already so old, while he is just a child."
"Xiao Chen, do not argue with Master. He is already at such an age, with one foot in the grave, yet he still cannot break through level 29 Soul Power. He is depressed inside, so just yield to the old man a little."
"Give this headmaster some face. Come, let us eat together. Tell us about your experiences over the past few years."
Gao Lu led the group of teachers as they surrounded Su Chen and headed into the academy.
As for Yu Xiaogang, no one even offered him a hand to help him up. It was clear just how poor his relationships were.
Gao Lu's words enraged Yu Xiaogang so badly that he vomited blood again. His eyes were filled with fury. "Hmph, thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never mock an old man for being poor!"
"My disciple Tang San will certainly clear my name! When he becomes a Titled Douluo, you mediocre fools will understand just how great my theories are."
With no one to support him, Yu Xiaogang could only struggle to his feet and limp back to his attic. He needed to pack his belongings and move out overnight.
He could not stay in this rotten place for even one more day.
If not for the books in his attic that he could not bear to part with, he would have left with his disciple Tang San several days ago.
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