"Sorry about this, brothers. This really isn't me trying to slack off on purpose. It's just that my strength isn't enough—I can't do what Tang San does, getting knocked away and then calmly passing through the metal fists' attack blockade to return to the bridge. For my own safety, I could only come over first and wait for you guys."
Perhaps knowing that his performance might cause some disturbance among the teammates behind him, Ao Siqin leaned against the wall, relaxing his legs, shaking his head as he sent his thoughts through the mental link to Oscar.
What Ao Siqin didn't expect, however, was that his actions had also sparked a discussion among the teachers who were watching their mission progress.
"There's no soul power fluctuation, so it's just a small gadget. Logically speaking, it doesn't violate our rules. But if Little Ao keeps doing this, then this trap corridor won't provide him with any training value at all.
Grandmaster, do you think we should forbid Little Ao from using this thing?" Zhao Wujin was the first to raise his concern.
Faced with this question, the Grandmaster was uncharacteristically silent for a moment before answering, "There's no need. Ao Siqin is a smart child; he wouldn't do something that would ruin his own future.
Everyone saw it—before he was knocked away, Ao Siqin hadn't used that tool at all.
This shows that he's simply treating it as a replacement for the safety rope, not that he truly wants to rely on it during training to reduce the difficulty of the task.
As for why he didn't try to return to the bridge after being knocked away, but instead went directly through the gaps in the mechanisms at the top of the tunnel to reach the exit platform, it's most likely because he knew he couldn't pass through the metal fists' attack blockade without getting hurt, and didn't want to invite unnecessary trouble by taking a beating.
In fact, that Ao Siqin was able to think of making such a device to replace the cumbersome safety rope—making his training easier and less prone to injury—is, in my view, something that should be encouraged.
A soul master's path forward is never smooth. If you want to go farther, you must learn to make use of every force that can reasonably be used, making the road ahead safer and simpler.
However, since the others didn't think of making more convenient tools themselves, they should continue using the original equipment. If they want things to be easier, they'll have to rely on their own abilities."
"That works too. A team needs not only cooperation, but also healthy competition between its members to push the whole group forward. One person alone isn't enough," Zhao Wujin affirmed the Grandmaster's view.
Since Flander wasn't in the room at the moment, Zhao Wujin, as vice principal, naturally became the one to make the final call. By affirming the Grandmaster's stance, it meant the teachers had reached a conclusion on the matter, and the room returned to silence.
The perspective shifted back to Ao Siqin. The trainees who had come down from the narrow metal bridge immediately surrounded Ao Siqin, who was still sitting on the ground, with aggressive momentum.
"You've got some nerve, kid! Disappearing without telling us anything—do you know that because of you, we almost got wiped out?!"
Facing Dai Mubai's accusation, Ao Siqin was a bit confused. Didn't I already tell you through Oscar that I'd safely reached the exit platform? Why such a big reaction?
Inside the tunnel, everyone's field of vision was limited. Aside from Tang San, no one could clearly see what Ao Siqin did after being knocked away.
At the time, Ao Siqin used the web shooter to fire a strand of web, pulling himself rapidly out of the others' field of view. This made the trainees below think he'd been hit by some unknown trap-type soul guide, causing a moment of panic as they didn't know how to rescue him.
Fortunately, Tang San quickly told everyone that Ao Siqin had moved on his own using the tool on his left arm. That calmed the group down, allowing them to continue advancing at a steady pace.
Three seconds later, Oscar passed on the information he'd received through the mental link. After learning that Ao Siqin had safely reached the exit platform ahead, everyone first breathed a sigh of relief—but immediately after, they found it hard to stay calm.
They still had more than fifty meters to go.
On flat ground, fifty meters would take a normal person less than ten seconds to run. But charging fifty meters while enduring the mechanisms' attacks would take at least two minutes.
Ao Siqin's tool allowed him to pass those fifty meters in just a few seconds without a scratch. This fully proved that, for clearing the trap corridor, this gadget was practically the ultimate cheat!
Already tortured to the point of "living in misery" by the trap corridor, how could everyone possibly allow such a divine artifact to be monopolized by Ao Siqin alone? That was the real reason they'd surrounded him so aggressively—what Dai Mubai said was just an excuse.
Still, that righteous-sounding excuse really did intimidate Ao Siqin. Seeing the momentary blank look on his face, the trainees felt a surge of secret satisfaction.
But who was Ao Siqin? Noticing that everyone's gazes were fixed on his web shooter, he instantly understood their true purpose.
A sly glint flashed in his eyes as he thought to himself, Since you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep, don't blame me for "teasing" you a bit to add some fun to this dull life.
Ao Siqin's confused expression suddenly turned into one of shyness and grievance. He lowered his head, twisting his hands together, pinching his voice and accusing them in a pitiful tone, "What are you guys doing? I didn't do it on purpose… why are you being so fierce?" As he spoke, he even lifted his head and coquettishly swayed toward Dai Mubai, who was standing at the front.
This completely unexpected reaction made the trainees surrounding him forget why they'd come over in the first place.
The girls were slightly better off, merely staring at Ao Siqin in shock. The boys, however, felt their worldview crumble—the expressions on their faces were priceless. Dai Mubai, who'd been Ao Siqin's main target, had already collapsed at the edge of the platform and started dry-heaving.
To be honest, Dai Mubai's reaction really startled Ao Siqin. This is barely anything—was that really necessary?
No matter what, having successfully pulled off his prank, Ao Siqin felt a surge of satisfaction. The bad mood he'd been struggling with earlier was tossed aside.
Seeing Ao Siqin laughing so happily after completing his prank, both the trainees present and the teachers watching the live feed couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.
In the end, it proved that the girls had stronger resistance to this sort of thing. After recovering, all the girls looked at Ao Siqin with extremely strange expressions, which instead gave him a very bad premonition.
Young Miss Ning Rongrong, in particular, clasped her hands behind her back as she circled Ao Siqin, clicking her tongue in admiration. The ominous feeling in Ao Siqin's heart grew even stronger. I didn't just lift a rock and smash my own foot, did I…?
With that thought, Ao Siqin didn't dare linger. He quickly ran toward the outside of the tunnel, vaguely hearing Ning Rongrong's voice behind him:
"How come I never noticed before—Little Ao has this kind of talent? Such a cute boy really needs to be properly developed."
After stumbling slightly, Ao Siqin's running speed noticeably increased.
What he didn't see, however, was that when Ning Rongrong said this, her gaze also seemed to sweep over the other three male students of Shrek Academy.
Not long after Ao Siqin ran out, the other seven Shrek trainees also hurried after him. There were still heavy training tasks left to complete—now wasn't the time to settle accounts with Ao Siqin. This debt would be recorded for later.
.............
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