A gentle breeze blew past, rustling Su Ran's immortal-like hair.
Faint sunlight filtered through the gaps in the surrounding trees, landing on his exquisite peach blossom mask.
Su Ran was a little flustered.
The speed at which he had dropped to his knees was so fast it had even shocked him. He had never imagined that one day, the great Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang would be kneeling on the ground, begging him to be accepted as a disciple.
"Grandmaster..."
"You can just call me Gangzi. That's what my father used to call me."
"..."
"Alright, Gangzi. In the Great Spirit Arena just now, you clearly didn't have a strong desire to join my Taoyuan Academy. Why the sudden change of heart?" Su Ran asked, a little puzzled.
Could a person's attitude change so drastically? Oh, right, Grandmaster was more like a dog. What a person couldn't do, a dog could. Su Ran remembered that Grandmaster's mutated Martial Soul, Luo San Pao, was a fat dog that could only fart.
[Yu Xiaogang, Age: ~50, Mutated Martial Soul: Luo San Pao, Spirit Power Rank 29. Aptitude Rating: E-.]
"Sigh—" Yu Xiaogang let out a long breath.
"This disciple only just figured it out after standing in the cold wind for a while. I had originally thought the students of the academy were powerful because they, like Little San, were naturally gifted and had divine backgrounds."
"But in reality, the families behind the four disciples of the academy do not possess such abilities. Otherwise, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School would not be in its current position. And the fact that they all possess ultimate techniques and their own Martial Souls have undergone benign evolution cannot be the work of their families. Therefore, only you, Teacher, could have done all this."
"Teacher, to be honest with you, I was born into one of the three upper sects—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon School. I should have awakened the continent's top-tier Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. But due to a mutation, my Martial Soul became the useless Luo San Pao. I poured through all kinds of materials, studying Martial Soul knowledge, hoping to find a way to rid myself of this useless Martial Soul."
"However, things did not go as I wished. No matter how hard I tried, my spirit power always progressed slowly, and I have been stuck at Rank 29 for many years."
"You were able to transform the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the indestructible Seven Treasure Golden Bell Glazed Tile Pagoda, allowing that child to evolve unparalleled strength. You can surely help me as well."
"Please accept me. I want to evolve so badly."
"If my Martial Soul evolves, I will listen to everything you say."
"I will respect you as I would my own father."
"I want to become a powerful Spirit Master so much. I even dream about it!"
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang had lost all of his grandmasterly air. He was just short of hugging Su Ran's leg and wailing.
Su Ran was almost moved.
Until Yu Xiaogang said he would respect him like a father. That brought Su Ran back to his senses.
Wait, do you even respect your father? You haven't been home in decades and never listened to a word he said. You call that respect? You unfilial son!!!
"Unfortunately, you are already a master of Martial Soul theory. There is nothing I can teach you."
"Please, don't call me Teacher."
Su Ran patted Yu Xiaogang's shoulder, left him with one last sentence, and turned to leave. "There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Spirit Masters. As long as you work hard and strive to improve, you will surely succeed. Keep it up!"
This was Grandmaster's own theory. Using your own spear to attack your own shield, how will you counter this?
Yu Xiaogang was speechless. Why does that sentence sound so familiar? Isn't that my own theory?
"Dean Su Ran, I have already been this honest with you. Are you still unwilling to help me?"
"We are not fated. I cannot teach you."
Su Ran didn't even turn his head. Accept Yu Xiaogang as a disciple? Am I sick in the head? His aptitude is E-, even lower than my simple-minded student Wang Sheng. I'm supposed to pass up so many students with good aptitude who could be trained quickly, and accept him? Is he pure and noble?
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river! Su Ran, you will regret this sooner or later!"
From behind him came the sound of Yu Xiaogang's composure finally breaking.
"Xiaogang, were you just talking to that guy Su Ran?"
"Yeah, we just came out and faintly heard you yelling."
Yu Xiaogang had just dusted off his knees when Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Qin Ming came out of the spirit arena with the students, looking puzzled as if they had faintly heard the Grandmaster shouting.
"Oh, it was nothing. Su Ran wanted to hire me to be a teacher at Taoyuan Academy, but I rejected him with sharp words."
"Little San, Mubai, don't completely lose confidence because of this one failure. This loss was mainly due to the huge mistakes made by you two, Mubai and Fatty. Because of past events, you let your emotions get the better of you during the match. From now on, I will bring out my true hidden skills to teach you, to stimulate your greatest Spirit Master potential, and to enable you to face battles with composure and calm."
"The next time we meet Taoyuan Academy, I hope you will be able to analyze the battle with a rational mind and not be the slightest bit careless."
Yu Xiaogang straightened his clothes and spoke to the Shrek students with a serious expression.
"Do we really still have a chance to beat them?"
"My eye..."
"My left leg..."
"Teacher, can you really do it?"
When Yu Xiaogang finished speaking, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the other students all showed a lack of confidence. They had been completely dominated by the girls from Taoyuan Academy even at their peak. Now, two of their main forces were disabled. Ma Hongjun, with his front teeth knocked out, even spoke with a lisp.
"Little San, do you not even believe me?"
"Teacher, I need to be alone."
Tang San glanced at Grandmaster but didn't say much, just walking ahead, lost and dejected.
Xiao Wu followed him and whispered, "Third Brother, why don't we go to Taoyuan Academy together and become his disciples? We can beg Teacher Su Ran to let us stay. I don't want to stay at Shrek anymore. I don't want to lose this chance."
"..."
"Teacher, what did that perverted middle-aged man want to talk to you about?"
"Oh, nothing much. He also wanted to study with you all."
Su Ran was leading his four students along a small path, avoiding the main road to leave Soto City discreetly. Ning Rongrong had just raked in a million Gold Spirit Coins, draining the blood of countless gamblers. It was likely that many of them were planning to ambush them and rob her of her winnings.
On the way, the thought of a middle-aged uncle in his fifties cultivating alongside them gave Ning Rongrong goosebumps. A shiver ran down her spine. "Teacher, you didn't agree, did you?"
Su Ran nodded. "Yes, I did."
"Huh? Teacher, how could you agree! I don't like that Grandmaster at all! He clearly has no spirit power, yet he walks around with a sour face like someone stole his wife! Teacher~ how could you recruit him to our Taoyuan Academy~" Ning Rongrong whined, tugging on Su Ran's arm.
"It's obvious the teacher is teasing a fool. If he were willing to accept even him, he wouldn't have refused to let the other teachers and students from Shrek join us," Meng Yiran, who was smarter than Ning Rongrong, saw through the ruse at a glance.
"Oh, right?"
"Wait, you're the fool!"
"How dare you speak to your Eldest Senior Sister like that!" Ning Rongrong only just realized Meng Yiran was calling her a fool. Her expression changed, and her 'Eldest Senior Sister' airs immediately came on.
"Fine. Today is a good day, so I won't argue with you. I won a million Gold Spirit Coins, and when we get back to the academy, I get to kiss Teacher~ So happy~"
At this, Meng Yiran and Zhu Zhuqing also looked very expectant, just wanting to get back to the academy as soon as possible so their teacher would deliver on his reward for their victory.
But just as they left the city and were about to reach the school gate of Taoyuan Academy, they saw a figure cloaked entirely in black, leaning against a peach tree in the shade, as if waiting for something. Zhu Zhuqing quickly warned, "Teacher, there's 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 at Su Ran coolly, a rather unfriendly aura emanating from him.
"You're finally back."
"I heard there's an incredible teacher in this little place. I'd like to have a spar with you."
(End of Chapter)