Yu Tianheng's thoughts shifted, and he thought of another person, "What about Oscar, that Food System Soul Master? His talent seems quite impressive."
Lin Kong shrugged, shattering that expectation. " Oscar's teacher is Shao Xin, the Food System Soul Saint from the Shrek Academy. It's only natural for a disciple to follow his teacher. And Fatty is Ma Hongjun, the Evil Fire Phoenix. He's Dean Flender's adopted and personally taught direct disciple since childhood, so their relationship is even more special."
After some analysis, the members of Emperor Dou realized that although cracks had appeared within the Shrek Academy today, the academy was still closely connected through the bonds of teachers and mentors, making it extremely difficult to poach one or two individuals.
Qin Ming nodded, revealing a deeper consideration. "That's true. So, if the academy truly intends to recruit, it's probably not as simple as poaching one or two people. A more likely approach is... to merge the entire Shrek Academy into our Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
"Huh?!" Yu Tianheng exclaimed in astonishment, "Even Tang San is coming along?"
Yu Feng immediately shook his head vigorously. "No way! Just seeing that guy makes me sick!"
Osler also looked disgusted. "That person is cunning and his methods are dishonest; he's truly disgusting."
Just then, Lin Kong sighed softly, dropping an even heavier and colder message: "And then there's Yu Xiaogang... how should I put it?" His voice was calm, yet it made the surrounding air freeze, "He... once tried to kill me."
"What?!" "Damn it!" "This bastard!" "Damn it, he's even worse than Tang San!"
The Imperial Fighting Team erupted in shock and anger, their faces filled with utter disbelief and profanity.
Dugu Yan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
Qin Ming's expression also changed drastically, and he asked incredulously, " Lin Kong, you can't just say things like that! Are you sure? Is there some misunderstanding?"
Lin Kong looked at Qin Ming, his eyes devoid of any hint of jest. "I'm quite certain. Back then, I obtained the External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances, but failed to perfectly fuse with it. There was a possibility that the External Soul Bone might peel away... That's when Yu Xiaogang harbored murderous intent, wanting to seize the Soul Bone."
He paused, then added, "If I hadn't been lucky, I'd probably... be a corpse by now."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ming opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a moment. His face was filled with horror and deep fear. "This... this..."
He never imagined that Yu Xiaogang, who considered himself a "theoretical Grandmaster " and seemed to be just a rigid and stubborn person, actually harbored such vicious greed and murderous intent.
Lin Kong continued his analysis, his tone tinged with seriousness. "Even disregarding personal grudges and accepting the entire Shrek Academy, the real core of the trouble actually lies with Yu Xiaogang and Tang San. Moreover, their backgrounds... are far more complex than they appear on the surface."
As he spoke, his gaze seemed to drift towards Yu Tianheng.
Qin Ming followed his gaze and looked over.
Feeling the gazes of the crowd, Yu Tianheng's face showed a complex and indescribable bitterness. He sighed and said in a low voice, " Yu Xiaogang... he is indeed a member of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. By seniority, he is my uncle."
"Huh?!" "Holy crap!" "No way? Are you sure?!"
Yu Feng, Osler, Dugu Yan, and the others were almost simultaneously speechless, their faces filled with disbelief.
This news is truly shocking.
Who is Yu Xiaogang?
Based solely on the fact that he "wanted to kill Lin Kong and steal his bones," they already considered him an utterly wicked and malicious person.
Moreover, he was a teacher and Lin Kong was a student. The murderous intent under such circumstances was far more heinous than a revenge killing between ordinary people. It was a complete trampling on the word "teacher's ethics".
Looking at Yu Xiaogang again—his unkempt appearance, gloomy expression, and stubborn and easily angered demeanor—it's impossible to associate him with a top-tier sect as renowned as "the third most prestigious sect in the world, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon."
Yu Tianheng knew what everyone was thinking, and he explained with difficulty, "Mainly... because of the Martial Soul."
" The Martial Soul Mutation!" Yu Feng immediately realized and blurted out.
Everyone immediately understood.
In this world where Martial Soul reign supreme, the quality of Martial Soul almost determines a person's fate. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan stands tall on the continent with its powerful dragon Martial Soul. If a member of the clan has a Martial Soul that mutates into a weak form, the pressure, discrimination, and even eventual exile they endure are unimaginable. A once-proud prodigy falls into the dust, living a long period of repression, resentment, and humiliation, their psyche gradually becoming twisted... Such tragedies are not uncommon.
"As for Tang San..." Lin Kong shook his head, not elaborating immediately, but leaving a deeper mystery, "His identity is even more complicated and... troublesome. You will naturally understand when the time is right."
Qin Ming felt utterly overwhelmed.
His original intention was to test the team members' acceptance of "incorporating Shrek " and see if he could lay the groundwork in advance to make the possible integration in the future smoother.
And the result?
Lin Kong's statement, " Yu Xiaogang once tried to kill me," immediately caused the entire Imperial Fighting Team's opinion of Yu Xiaogang to plummet to below freezing point, filled with intense hatred. Under these circumstances, if Yu Xiaogang wanted to enter the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, he would inevitably face strong resistance from the Imperial Fighting Team.
Yu Xiaogang can't get in. Given his relationship with Flender, he will definitely do his best to prevent Flender from agreeing to Shrek's complete integration.
This has almost become a dead end.
The "overall recruitment" plan, which might have had a glimmer of hope, now seemed extremely hopeless to Qin Ming. He rubbed his temples, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.
Things were far more complicated and difficult than he had anticipated.
Inside the shabby meeting room at the Shrek Academy, the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.
Flender summoned several teachers from the academy— Zhao Wuji, Shao Xin, Lu Qibin, Li Yusong, and Yu Xiaogang, who had been silent with a livid face.
Flender rubbed his temples, let out a long sigh, and then began to speak, " Qin Ming... you guys should all remember him, right?"
Zhao Wuji said gruffly, " Qin Ming? Of course I remember! That kid was a troublemaker in the academy back in the day, but his talent was undeniable."
Food System Soul Saint Shao Xin nodded and smiled, "Yes, I heard he did very well afterward."
Lu Qibin chimed in, "Why are you suddenly bringing him up? How's that kid doing these days?"
Flender adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses complex. "He's now a teacher at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and he's also the leader of the current ' Imperial Fighting Team.' Today, they came to the Soto Great Soul Arena, and we... we've already met."