Flender

Biodata

Background / History

Shopkeeping and Ma Hongjun’s Training

Flender operated a small, dimly lit general store in Suotuo City, stocking assorted secondhand goods. When Xiao Xuan selected a rough yellow crystal, Flender quoted two hundred Gold Soul Coins, expecting to exploit the ensuing bargaining to raise the price. Xiao Xuan instead paid immediately, leaving him no opening for further salesmanship 22.

Shortly afterward, Ma Hongjun arrived to report that his Soul Power had reached level twenty. Flender agreed to leave immediately to hunt for his disciple’s second Soul Ring 22.

Shrek Academy’s Financial Troubles

Shrek Academy had spent years operating at a deficit, leaving Flender and Zhao Wuji struggling to support its teachers and students. Its buildings needed repairs, several rooms leaked, and the cafeteria offered little variety 53 64.

Flender saw Black Bamboo’s winning streak at the Soto Great Soul Arena as a way to address these problems. His first documented wager was one hundred Gold Soul Coins on Black Bamboo against Tie Lie. After winning, he increased his next stake to five hundred 62 63.

Before the final loss, Flender promised to repair the academy and improve the cafeteria if Black Bamboo won. Afterward, Zhao Wuji’s questioning forced him to admit that he had also gambled away the academy’s future living expenses 65 66.

Confrontation with Black Bamboo

Ten days after the loss, Flender and Tang San watched the auction house and identified a departing Soul Bone buyer as Black Bamboo. They followed him outside Suotuo City, blocked his path from both directions, and accused him of deliberately surrendering to profit from the betting 67.

Flender demanded both the arena winnings and the newly purchased Soul Bone. When Xiao Xuan refused, Flender attacked, but his opponent held him off through physical strength and spear techniques without revealing any Soul Rings 68.

Impressed by this talent, Flender briefly halted the fight and offered personal instruction at Shrek Academy. His terms still required Xiao Xuan to return the arena winnings, though he would permit him to keep the Soul Bone. Xiao Xuan rejected the offer and challenged Shrek’s boasts about its graduates, provoking Flender into releasing all seven Soul Rings 68.

Xiao Xuan then revealed two purple and two black Soul Rings and severely injured Flender with a single spear strike. Zhao Wuji intervened when Xiao Xuan subsequently attacked Tang San, and Xiao Xuan escaped 69.

Aftermath

While recovering, Flender insisted that Black Bamboo could not have been an ordinary Soul Ancestor: the force of the strike exceeded what he believed even an ordinary Soul Emperor could produce. He therefore argued that his opponent had concealed his true cultivation 70.

Flender tentatively supported Yu Xiaogang’s suggestion that the unusual Soul Rings were illusions, but could not confidently explain them. Neither he nor Tang San had seen Black Bamboo’s uncovered face during the confrontation 69 70.

Appearance

• Face: Long and narrow, with a slightly protruding chin 22.
• Eyes: Described as shrewd and crafty 22.
• Glasses: Wears black-framed crystal glasses, which he frequently adjusts 22 62 63.
• Martial Soul possession: Manifests sharp claws and wings; his wings spread as he rises into the air 68.

Personality

Flender is an opportunistic merchant who tests customers’ willingness to pay and prepares stories to justify higher prices. Xiao Xuan’s immediate acceptance of his asking price surprises him precisely because it prevents those tactics 22.

His enthusiasm for profit develops into reckless gambling. Although he invokes genuine academy needs when encouraging others to bet, repeated victories lead him to risk both his personal savings and institutional funds. After losing, he attempts to recover the money directly from Black Bamboo through demands and force 64 65 66 68.

Flender is also proud of Shrek Academy’s reputation and alert to exceptional talent. He interrupts his own attack to attempt recruitment, but abandons that approach when Xiao Xuan ridicules the academy’s claims 68.

Abilities & Skills

Cat Owl Martial Soul

Flender’s Cat Owl Martial Soul supports aerial movement and claw-based close combat 68.

• Flight: Spreads wings and rises off the ground during full Martial Soul possession 68.
• Claw attacks: Uses sharp claws to clash directly with Xiao Xuan’s bamboo spear 68.
• Rapid movement: Closes the initial distance almost instantly and repeatedly evades incoming spear strikes 68.

Soul Saint Cultivation

Flender possesses level seventy-eight Soul Power and seven Soul Rings: two hundred-year, two thousand-year, and three ten-thousand-year rings 68.

• Soul Power release: Produces a forceful aura that whips up nearby leaves and makes his robes flutter 68.
• Demonstrated limitation: Cannot gain the upper hand against Xiao Xuan’s ringless spear combat; after Xiao Xuan reveals his rings, one strike severely injures him 68 69.

Equipment / Items

• Black-framed crystal glasses — His usual eyewear; he removes them before attacking Xiao Xuan 22 68.
• Hair Crystal / tabular crystal — Former shop stock purchased by Xiao Xuan for two hundred Gold Soul Coins as a synthesis material 22.

Relationships

• Ma Hongjun — His disciple. Flender agrees to help obtain his second Soul Ring and later manages his arena wagers 22 64 65.
• Zhao Wuji — Shrek Academy’s vice dean and fellow administrator. They share the academy’s financial burden; Zhao initially rejects Flender’s gambling proposal, later joins it, and questions him after the loss 52 53 64 65 66.
• Yu Xiaogang — An academy associate whom Flender calls “Xiaogang.” Flender repeatedly questions his predictions when money is at stake and later tentatively supports his illusion explanation 62 63 70.
• Tang San — A Shrek student whose wager Flender handles. They cooperate in tracking down and confronting Black Bamboo after losing their savings 65 67.
• Xiao Xuan / Black Bamboo — Initially a shop customer, later the fighter Flender bets on and attempts to recruit and rob. Xiao Xuan severely injures him; Flender does not discover his unmasked identity during the encounter 22 68 69.

Notable Quotes

“Who cares whether he uses bamboo or an iron hammer? If he can win me money, he’s a good fighter!” 63

“The academy’s living expenses for the next few years... I bet those too.” 66

“We at Shrek only accept monsters, not ordinary people!” 68