"What are you going to do next?"
In the quiet room, Flender looked at his old friend, who was slumped in his chair, seemingly unable to accept the harsh reality of the situation. Yu Xiaogang's eyes were dazed, and it took a long moment for them to regain their focus.
"I have to find Tang San," he said, his voice firm with a newfound determination. "He's my disciple. I can't let his talent go to waste like this."
Flender sighed, shaking his head. "You can't just go searching blindly. You have no idea where he is, and you can't even be sure if he's still near Soto City. The continent is vast; finding one person is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I think you should stay here at the academy for now. You can start by searching the city and the surrounding area."
He glanced at Yu Xiaogang's empty sleeve and clicked his tongue. This man was already weak, and now he was missing an arm. With his difficult personality, he was bound to get into conflicts with people. A rank 29 Spirit Grandmaster like him would be lucky not to get beaten to death. While many Spirit Masters jokingly called him 'Master', no one would care about that useless title if a real conflict arose.
"I suppose that's my only option," Yu Xiaogang finally agreed, closing his eyes and nodding. Tang San didn't have much money on him, and the academy's registration fee alone was ten gold soul coins. Without funds, he probably couldn't have gone far. A small glimmer of hope sparked within him.
At that moment, Flender spoke again. "You said your disciple Tang San graduated from Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy, right?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Yu Xiaogang asked, raising his head with a puzzled look.
"As far as I know, two of the four new students we accepted this year also graduated from Notting. Since they're from the same school, they must know each other. Is it possible they came to Shrek together? Perhaps they know something about Tang San's whereabouts."
Flender was talking about Huo Feng and Xiao Wu. As the dean, he had naturally read the files of every new student and knew they both came from Notting. Much of what he said was a guess, but it was a logical one based on the facts.
After hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's expression didn't change, but his brows furrowed slightly. Of course, he knew Huo Feng and Tang San were from the same school, but the situation wasn't that simple. "They do know each other, but…"
"But what?" Flender asked, confused. Yu Xiaogang didn't seem surprised by the connection, which meant there was another issue.
"There was some minor conflict between Tang San and those two, so they didn't travel to Shrek Academy together," Yu Xiaogang explained vaguely. "In fact, I was the one who personally told Tang San to apply to Shrek. I have no idea how those other two students from Notting even knew about it."
In his mind, the "minor conflict" was the fact that Huo Feng had completely suppressed Tang San for six straight years, never letting him win once. The resulting dissatisfaction, he believed, was entirely on Tang San's side. There was no reason for Huo Feng to have any issues with a rival he had dominated for so long.
"I see," Flender responded thoughtfully. Then his expression shifted. "But there's something I need to discuss with you. My Shrek Academy has a great reputation. It seems perfectly normal that some outstanding students would learn about us and want to apply, don't you think?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but straighten his back, a hint of pride appearing on his face. For Yu Xiaogang to question how students found his academy was to question its quality, and that was a bit narrow-minded.
"You…" Yu Xiaogang glanced at Flender with disdain, then let his eyes drift around the shabby little room. He was clearly unconvinced. These are the conditions of a top academy?
Still, upon reflection, what Flender said made sense. Maybe he was overthinking things. But what if there really was a connection? To avoid missing any valuable clues, he decided he had to find an opportunity to ask Huo Feng. With this thought, he stood up and looked at Flender seriously.
"The students should be starting their classes soon, right?"
"Classes?" Flender was taken aback for a second, then shook his head. "They just returned from the Star Dou Great Forest yesterday. I've given them the morning off so they can rest properly." It was a noble-sounding excuse. In reality, he rarely planned lessons more than half an hour in advance and usually just did whatever came to mind. "Why do you ask?" he added, looking at his friend with suspicion. Given his expression, he was clearly up to something. Does he want to cause trouble for my students?
"I plan to meet with these students and give them some basic guidance," Yu Xiaogang announced, his expression perfectly calm, as if this were the most normal request in the world. In truth, he just wanted an excuse to ask Huo Feng if he had seen Tang San. Asking directly was far too damaging to his pride. He needed a cover.
"You?" Flender looked utterly helpless. In all his years as dean, he had never heard such a brazen request. A rank 29 Spirit Grandmaster wanted to "guide" a group of geniuses, some of whom were already Spirit Elders with ranks above 30? What could he possibly use to guide them? His collection of "invincible" theories?
But since Yu Xiaogang had asked, he couldn't bring himself to refuse his old, down-on-his-luck friend. After hesitating for a moment, he finally agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Alright. But if you want to guide the students, you need a suitable identity. I'll tell them you're a new teacher, but it's best if you don't reveal your Spirit or your spirit power rank."
Flender was just trying to be practical. These students were all incredibly gifted, many from powerful clans and sects. They would never willingly accept a teacher weaker than themselves. By keeping his details a secret, Yu Xiaogang could at least maintain an air of mystery.
"I know my limits!" Yu Xiaogang snapped, clearly unhappy with the suggestion.
Although there were no classes scheduled, Huo Feng and the others had woken up early. As cultivators, they didn't need much rest to recover their strength. After breakfast, Flender suddenly appeared outside the cafeteria and summoned all the students to the academy's playground.
Following behind the dean, Huo Feng saw a group of people already standing on the field—it was probably the other teachers. As he got closer, however, he spotted a familiar figure among them. He was particularly drawn to the man's empty right sleeve.
His eyes widened in disbelief. "Wow," he muttered under his breath, "is that actually the bastard Yu Xiaogang?"
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