A gentle breeze blew, stirring Su Ran's immortal hair.
Faint sunlight filtered through the gaps in the surrounding tree canopy, scattering on his exquisite peach blossom mask.
Su Ran was a bit flustered.
He knelt down too quickly, which shocked Su Ran.
He had never thought that one day, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang would kneel on the ground, begging him to take him as a disciple.
"Grandmaster..."
"You can just call me Gangzi. My father used to call me that."
...
"Alright, Gangzi, you clearly didn't have a strong desire to join my Peach Blossom Spring Academy in the Great Spirit Arena just now. Why did you suddenly change your mind?"
Su Ran asked, somewhat puzzled.
This stark contrast, could a human do such a thing?
Oh, Grandmaster seems to be a dog.
Humans can't do it, but dogs can.
Su Ran remembered that Grandmaster's mutated Spirit, Luo San Pao, was a fat dog that could only fart.
[Yu Xiaogang, around 50 years old, mutated Spirit Luo San Pao, spirit power level 29, aptitude rating: E-.]
"Sigh--" Yu Xiaogang sighed.
"This disciple only understood after coming out and feeling the cold wind for a while. I originally thought that the academy's disciples were strong because they were all like Little San, naturally intelligent and with powerful backgrounds.
But in fact, the families behind the academy's four disciples do not possess such abilities. Otherwise, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School would not have its current status. Moreover, each of them possesses unique skills, and even their own Spirits have undergone beneficial evolution. This cannot be the work of their families, so only you, teacher, can accomplish all of this."
"Teacher, to be honest, I was born into one of the Upper Three Sects, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. I should have awakened the continent's top Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Spirit, but due to Spirit mutation, my Spirit became the Waste Spirit Luo San Pao. I diligently researched various materials and studied Spirit knowledge, hoping to find a way to rid myself of the Waste Spirit."
"However, things did not go as planned. No matter how hard I tried, my spirit power always progressed slowly, eventually stagnating at level 29 for many years."
"You can transform the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the indestructible Seven Treasure Golden Bell Glazed Tile Pagoda, allowing that child to evolve unparalleled power. You can certainly help me too."
"Please take me in. I truly want to evolve."
"If my Spirit evolves, I will listen to everything you say."
"I will respect you as I would my father."
"I so desperately want to become a powerful Spirit Master, I dream of it!"
Yu Xiaogang, at this moment, had no Grandmaster demeanor, almost wailing and hugging Su Ran's leg.
Su Ran was even moved by him.
It wasn't until Yu Xiaogang said he would respect him like a father that Su Ran suddenly woke up.
No, do you have any respect for your father?
Not going home for decades, never listening to your old father's words, is that respect?
Unfilial son!!!
"Unfortunately, you are already a Grandmaster of Spirit theory. There's nothing I can teach you."
"Please don't call me teacher."
Su Ran patted Yu Xiaogang's shoulder, left only one sentence, and turned to leave:
"There are no trash Spirits, only trash Spirit Masters. As long as you work hard and strive for improvement, you will definitely succeed. Keep it up!"
This was Grandmaster's own theory.
This tactic of using one's own spear to attack one's own shield, how do you break it?
Yu Xiaogang was speechless. Why did this sentence sound so familiar? Isn't this my own theory?
"Dean Su, I've been this honest with you, and you still won't help me?"
"It's fated not to be. I cannot teach you."
Su Ran didn't even turn his head. Take Yu Xiaogang as a disciple?
Am I out of my mind?
His aptitude is E-, even lower than that foolish student of mine, Wang Sheng.
Why would I take him when there are so many students with good aptitude who can quickly succeed? Is he pure and flawless?
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Su Ran, you will regret this sooner or later!"
Yu Xiaogang's broken voice came from behind.
...
"Xiaogang, were you just talking to that guy, Su Ran?"
"Yeah, we just walked out and vaguely heard your shouting."
Yu Xiaogang had just brushed the dust off his knees. In the Great Spirit Arena, Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Qin Ming happened to walk out with their students, somewhat confused as they seemed to have faintly heard Grandmaster's shouts just now.
"Oh, nothing. Su Ran wanted to hire me to be a teacher at Peach Blossom Spring Academy, but I sharply refused him."
"Little San, Mubai, don't completely lose confidence because of this failure. This failure was mainly because you two, Mubai and Fatty, made too many mistakes. Your past issues led to emotional decisions during the match. Afterwards, I will bring out my true hidden skills to teach you, unleashing your greatest Spirit Master potential, allowing you to fight calmly and collectedly."
"Next time if you encounter Peach Blossom Spring Academy again, I hope you can use a rational mind to analyze the battle situation and not be negligent in the slightest."
Yu Xiaogang straightened his clothes and spoke earnestly to the Shrek students.
"Do we really still have a chance to win against them?"
"My eyes..."
"My left leg..."
"Teacher, can you really do it?"
When Yu Xiaogang finished speaking, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the other students all showed unconfident expressions. They were completely defeated by the girls from Peach Blossom Spring Academy even at their peak, let alone with two main players becoming disabled.
Among them, Ma Hongjun's front teeth were knocked out, causing him to lisp.
"Little San, do even you not believe me?"
"Teacher, I want to be alone."
Tang San glanced at Grandmaster, said nothing more, and just walked forward dejectedly by himself.
Xiao Wu followed, whispering:
"Third Brother, why don't we go to Peach Blossom Spring Academy together and become disciples? Let's beg Teacher Su Ran to keep us. I don't want to stay at Shrek anymore. I don't want to lose this opportunity."
...
"Teacher, what did that creepy middle-aged man just call you over to say?"
"Oh, nothing. He also wants to study with you all."
Here, Su Ran took his four students down a small path, avoiding the main road, and quietly left Soto City.
Ning Rongrong had raked in a million gold coins, probably draining the blood of countless gamblers. It was likely that many of those people planned to find someone to block their path and snatch back the money Ning Rongrong had earned.
On the way, Ning Rongrong shivered at the thought of a middle-aged man around fifty years old cultivating with them, getting goosebumps:
"Teacher, you didn't agree, did you?"
Su Ran nodded: "Yes, I did."
"Ah? Teacher, how could you agree! I don't like that Grandmaster at all. He has so little spirit power himself, yet he acts like someone stole his wife. Teacher~ How could you recruit him to our Peach Blossom Spring Academy~"
Ning Rongrong whined, pulling Su Ran's hand.
"Clearly, Teacher is teasing fools. If Teacher was willing to take him, he wouldn't have refused the other teachers and students from Shrek from joining our Peach Blossom Spring Academy."
Meng Yiran was smarter than Ning Rongrong and immediately saw through it.
"Oh, really?"
"No, you're the fool!"
"How dare you speak to your senior sister!"
Ning Rongrong belatedly realized that Meng Yiran was insulting her. Her small face changed, and her senior sister's demeanor immediately came out.
"Forget it, today is a good day, I won't argue with you. I earned a million gold coins, and I can kiss Teacher when I get back to the academy~ So happy~"
At this point, Meng Yiran and Zhu Zhuqing also had great anticipation, only wanting to return to the academy as soon as possible for Teacher to deliver on the victory reward.
But just as they left the urban area and were about to reach the entrance of Peach Blossom Spring Academy.
Under the shade of a peach blossom tree, a black figure completely shrouded in a black robe leaned against the tree, as if waiting for something to arrive. Zhu Zhuqing quickly reminded:
"Teacher, there seems to be someone ahead. They don't seem friendly."
The middle-aged man under the black robe saw Su Ran returning with his four cheerful disciples. He glanced faintly at Su Ran, emitting an unfriendly aura, and said blandly:
"You've finally returned."
"I heard there's an extraordinary teacher in this small place. I'd like to spar with you."