Inside Shrek Academy.
At Liu Erlong's insistence, the Blue Tyrant Academy was completely renamed Shrek Academy. After years of unrequited devotion, Flender finally received a consolation prize, a fully formed academy.
After dealing with the administrative matters, Liu Erlong could no longer contain her emotions and rushed forward, trying to hug Yu Xiaogang.
However, Yu Xiaogang reflexively dodged.
"Erlong, I..."
Looking at the still-charming beauty before him, a complex mix of emotions flashed in his eyes. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
In the end, he chose to flee again, staggering out of the room.
Seeing this, Flender shook his head helplessly and sighed. "Xiaogang, after twenty years, why haven't you figured it out yet?"
Twenty years ago, Xiaogang ran away, and that escape lasted for two decades, leaving Erlong to bear everything alone.
However, Erlong was deeply in love with him. Even if Flender was dissatisfied with his brother's behavior, he could only try to help their relationship work from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang had arrived outside the academy and was walking dejectedly along a tree-lined path.
At this moment, Ma Hongjun quietly followed him and asked, "Teacher, since Teacher Erlong is so devoted to you, why don't you accept her?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang paused, his back looking somewhat forlorn.
Then, he slowly raised his head, gazing at the setting sun. His eyes were filled with pain and internal struggle as he said, "Hongjun, you don't know my predicament."
"Erlong is still so beautiful. How could I not like her?"
"But..."
He paused for a long time, his heart filled with turmoil, before continuing, "Erlong is my cousin. There's absolutely no way we can be together. That's why I ran away. For the past twenty years, I've lived in pain and self-reproach."
Upon hearing this explanation, Ma Hongjun was stunned. He hadn't expected this at all.
However, wasn't this approach a bit too cowardly?
Although he somewhat disagreed with the reasoning, Yu Xiaogang was, after all, his teacher, so he couldn't voice these thoughts aloud.
Therefore, he could only advise, "Teacher, since you like Teacher Erlong, and Teacher Erlong likes you too, you are mutually in love. Why care about worldly conventions?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang seemed to recall something terrible. He shook his head repeatedly, his face full of resistance.
"No! Absolutely not! Putting aside worldly conventions, if I accept Erlong now, what about my twenty years of perseverance?"
Saying this, he suddenly turned around, gripping Ma Hongjun's shoulders tightly, and solemnly said, "Hongjun, my only wish now is to train you into a true Fire Phoenix Soul Master, to prove my Martial Soul theory to the entire continent. Until I achieve this goal, I won't consider anything else."
Hearing this, Ma Hongjun felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
It turned out that his teacher had done all this for him, willing to sacrifice his own happiness to train him into a true Fire Phoenix Soul Master.
Immediately, he patted his chest and promised, "Teacher, don't worry. I will definitely cultivate diligently and break through to Level 30 as soon as possible. I will never let you down!"
Hearing his disciple's promise, Yu Xiaogang's face showed a gratified smile.
He patted Ma Hongjun's shoulder, his gaze turning to the distance again, a hint of expectation in his eyes. As long as he became a renowned master across the continent, what did worldly concerns matter?
"Hongjun, as long as we, master and disciple, are of one mind, the Soul Master world will surely be shaken by us!"
"Teacher, that day will definitely come."
The Next Day.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy – Royal Fighting Team Training Ground.
During this time, the Royal Fighting Team continued to train every day, maintaining their daily regimen in addition to their Soul Arena Battle competitions.
The only difference was the addition of Zhu Zhuqing to the team.
Now, apart from Ye Lingling, everyone else in the Royal Fighting Team had become a training fanatic, immersed in the thrill of increasing their Soul Power with the aid of the special elixirs.
Just then, Lin Mu entered the training ground with Qian Renxue (disguised as Xue'er). Everyone's attention immediately focused on them.
"Wow, who is the woman next to Teacher Lin Mu? She's so beautiful!"
"Could she be Teacher Lin Mu's girlfriend?"
"They're a perfect match, but it's only been three days. Isn't that a bit too fast?"
Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the others stopped training and chattered excitedly.
Ye Lingling, who was practicing her movement techniques, also stopped. Her gaze fell on the woman beside Lin Mu, and a hint of barely perceptible hostility flashed in her eyes.
'This woman is standing so close to Brother Lin Mu...'
Under everyone's gaze, Lin Mu walked over unhurriedly and introduced her. "She's the new teaching assistant, taking over Qin Ming's work. You can call her Teacher Xue."
"Hello."
Qian Renxue nodded to everyone, saying nothing more, appearing quite aloof.
In her original plan, she only intended to use this position to win over Lin Mu. She never intended to work as an errand runner for the Royal Fighting Team. In her view, the entire Royal Fighting Team combined couldn't compare to a single finger of Lin Mu's.
"Greetings, Teacher Xue."
Everyone bowed respectfully, which made a strange light flash in Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes.
The members of the Royal Fighting Team were all top geniuses from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Coupled with their noble status, most of them were unruly individuals, yet they were so obediently managed by Lin Mu.
This showed that Lin Mu was not only powerful but also possessed excellent management skills. He would undoubtedly become her best right-hand man.
At this moment, Yu Tianheng stepped forward and solemnly said, "Teacher Lin Mu, now that we have an assistant instructor, shouldn't we begin the next phase of training? We've rested enough."
Spurred on by Tang San's progress, he dared not slack off even a little.
The others nodded in agreement. The first two phases of training had already brought them significant improvements in strength, making them even more eager for the next phase.
"No. You should rest for a month first. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it if we start now," Lin Mu decisively rejected.
Hearing this, everyone's expressions froze slightly, a bad thought creeping into their minds. 'Could it be...?' The thought made them tremble.
Only Zhu Zhuqing looked bewildered. 'What kind of training could frighten Yu Tianheng and the others so much?'
Just then, a teacher rushed into the training ground, it was Sun Buyu, the one who had initially received Lin Mu and his companions.
He rushed to Lin Mu, his expression panicked, and said, "Teacher Lin Mu, something terrible has happened! Tai Tan has come looking for trouble, saying he's after your disciple Tang San."
"Tai Tan?"
Hearing this name, a strange glint flashed in Lin Mu's eyes. 'The Chief of the Strength Clan?'
As the Chief of the Strength Clan, Tai Tan's strength was naturally not weak, but he couldn't compare to Yang Wudi of the Breaking Clan. At best, he was a top-tier Soul Douluo.
Even against a Super Douluo, Lin Mu had the power to fight; a mere Soul Douluo could be killed in a single move.
'Has Tai Tan lost his mind?'