"Oh?" Zhao Wuji became interested. " The Heaven Dou Royal Academy team? How strong are they? Did they spar with us little Little Monster? What was the outcome?"
Shao Xin was more gentle. "Now that Qin Ming has come to Suotuo City, won't he take some time to come back and visit? After all, this is his alma mater; he should feel nostalgic."
Lu Qibin also sighed, "Back then he was just a greenhorn, and in the blink of an eye he's become an instructor at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. With his talent and hard work, his current strength is probably not much weaker than ours, these old guys."
The teachers chatted amongst themselves, their conversation revolving around Qin Ming, a former outstanding student, and the atmosphere warmed up slightly. Only Yu Xiaogang remained seated in the corner with a dark face, silent and radiating a gloomy aura, standing out from the others.
Finally, when he heard everyone praising and reminiscing about Qin Ming, Yu Xiaogang's pent-up anger erupted like a volcano.
"Enough! Shut up, all of you!"
He slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, his sharp, piercing voice interrupting the entire conversation.
The conference room fell silent instantly, and everyone stared at him in astonishment.
Yu Xiaogang's face flushed red, his chest heaving violently, his fingers trembling slightly with rage. He glared at everyone present, his voice filled with humiliation and accusation. " Qin Ming! Qin Ming! All you know is Qin Ming! Do you know what he did today?! It was humiliation! Utter humiliation! He condoned his students, publicly humiliating Tang San, humiliating our Shrek Seven Devils, trampling the face of the Shrek Academy underfoot! And you still have the mind to reminisce about him? Praise him?!"
The teachers' expressions immediately became interesting, with surprise, doubt, and seriousness flashing through their eyes. Finally, everyone's eyes were focused on Flender, waiting for his explanation.
Flender frowned, his voice steady yet carrying an undeniable authority. " Xiaogang, calm down. Things aren't entirely as you say."
" Flender!!!" Yu Xiaogang almost roared, "The facts are right in front of us! Tang San was beaten like that, Dai Mubai was forced to admit defeat, and the others cowered! Isn't this humiliation?!"
" Xiaogang, you need to calm down." Flender's tone became more serious.
"Calm down? How can you expect me to calm down! We've been trampled on like this, what's the point of telling me to calm down!" Yu Xiaogang had completely lost his temper, his spittle almost landing on Flender's face.
"Snort!"
Just then, a deep, thunderous snort rang out.
A powerful aura at the Soul Saint level erupted from Zhao Wuji as if it were a tangible force. It wasn't an attack, but it weighed heavily on Yu Xiaogang like a mountain.
Yu Xiaogang's face turned ashen, and his subsequent roar abruptly stopped. As if his throat had been choked, his body swayed uncontrollably, almost collapsing. Faced with the absolute difference in strength, his theoretical anger seemed so pale and powerless.
Flender didn't stop Zhao Wuji; instead, he tacitly approved of his actions. Only after Yu Xiaogang, panting heavily, had barely managed to stand and dared not act recklessly again, did Flender survey the crowd and slowly speak, revealing more crucial information:
" Qin Ming has indeed returned. But what's more important today is that another person has also returned— Lin Kong."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Yu Xiaogang, whose expression had changed drastically once again, and the others who had pricked up their ears.
"Therefore, some... intense conflicts arose between him, Tang San, and Xiaogang."
Flender's words, " Lin Kong is back," were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples in the hearts of several teachers.
All eyes, involuntarily scrutinizing and probing, turned to Yu Xiaogang, whose face was still deathly pale, and the atmosphere became subtle and tense.
Why did Lin Kong leave Shrek in the first place? Could it even be said that he was "driven away"?
Isn't the root of the problem with Yu Xiaogang himself?
Although they were unaware of the shocking truth that Yu Xiaogang had once harbored murderous intent towards Lin Kong, based on the circumstances at the time, it could only be interpreted as Yu Xiaogang, in order to fully cultivate his disciple Tang San, not hesitating to exclude and force away Lin Kong, who was equally talented but might "threaten" Tang San's position.
Because of this, Zhao Wuji harbored resentment towards Yu Xiaogang and disliked him intensely.
After a moment of silent scrutiny, Flender spoke again, his voice steady, but dropping an even more bombshell. "Today, besides the 'meeting,' Qin Ming also spoke to me privately about something."
Zhao Wuji snapped out of his irritation with Yu Xiaogang and asked gruffly, " Boss Fu, what's up? What's that kid up to now?"
Flender gazed through the simple windowpane at the pitch-black night outside, his eyes becoming distant as he slowly said, " Qin Ming proposes... that our Shrek Academy be entirely merged into the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Everyone—teachers and students—join together."
After he finished speaking, the conference room fell into an even longer silence.
Everyone needs time to process this proposal.
How long has Shrek Academy been open?
It's been a long time, at least twenty years. Look at Qin Ming, who walked out of here; he's now over thirty and has become a prominent figure.
Today, the academy is left with only these few old guys and a handful of newly admitted students.
How to describe this perseverance? To say it is "contentment with poverty and finding joy in the Way" might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it is roughly the state of mind of guarding a certain ideal in hardship and refusing to follow the crowd.
They were all Soul Emperor and Soul Saint, powerful figures who could easily have secured high positions anywhere and enjoyed a life of luxury and the respect of others if they wanted to. However, they stayed here, guarding this increasingly dilapidated school building, and living on meager income and unstable sponsorships.
During this time, some colleagues left to seek a brighter future; others joined with enthusiasm only to leave due to the harsh reality. In the end, it was these few "stubborn" old friends who remained.
Flender's voice rang out again, tinged with a barely perceptible weariness and self-deprecation. "We're both getting on in years, and deep down... we've really lost our drive, haven't we?"
These words resonated with everyone. When we were young, we always felt that we could live for another forty, fifty, or sixty years. The future was long, and we could fight for a lofty dream or a unique idea, and go against the mainstream, even if it meant getting hurt.
But what about now? Time waits for no one. Some people already have graying temples, and their bodies are no longer as full of vitality as they were in their prime. They see that they may only have twenty years left to live. Their mindset naturally changes.
When you're young, you talk about dreams. But at this age, you think more about whether you can live a better life, not have to worry about making a living at the academy, eat better, drink more comfortably, and have leisure time to cultivate yourself or enjoy life, rather than clinging to this increasingly difficult "dream," barely managing to survive in hardship, or even being seen as an outcast.
Ultimately, young people can burn everything for their dreams, while older men... just want to retire peacefully and live with dignity.
This invitation from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, from their former student Qin Ming, was like a stone thrown into stagnant water, stirring up ripples deep within their hearts that had been almost forgotten.