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This was quite the situation. Flender looked very awkward as he stood there. In truth, for a normal sect or a prestigious academy, 100,000 gold soul coins was not a massive amount of money. However, for Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the rest of the staff at Shrek Academy, it was a fortune. Their school was a broken down place that had always been dirt poor. They simply did not have that kind of cash lying around. Yu Xiaogang was even more of a freeloader, possessing no personal wealth to speak of.
Flender wondered what he should do. He could not exactly borrow money from the students standing below him. The only student who might actually have that kind of money was Dai Mubai. While 100,000 gold soul coins wouldn't be a big problem for a normal prince, Dai Mubai was not exactly a normal prince in good standing with his family. Plus, Dai Mubai had spent the past few years fooling around and spending money. Whatever he had brought with him likely didn't have much left. It was impossible for him to take out such a large sum.
As Flender and the others were stuck in this bind, Yu Xiaogang stood up with a serious face. He looked at Su Yan and said, "We will pay the 100,000 gold soul coins. Come and collect the full amount in ten days." It seemed that Yu Xiaogang was still as mysteriously confident as ever, despite having empty pockets. Flender and Zhao Wuji also nodded heavily. They figured they should be able to scrape the money together somehow if they had ten days to work on it.
Wait, what are you talking about? Su Yan immediately became annoyed by the suggestion. He crossed his arms and looked at the teachers. "A loss is a loss. You lost the bet and you owe us 100,000 gold soul coins right now. Do you really want to welsh on the debt by not paying today? I have to ask, does your Shrek Academy have any credit or honor at all?"
Yu Xiaogang maintained a gloomy expression and replied, "We aren't welshing on the debt. I already told you that you can come and collect it in ten days. We just need a little time to process the payment."
Su Yan was completely speechless at the man's arrogance. He glared at Yu Xiaogang and said, "Who the hell do you think you are, Yu Xiaogang? You say delay ten days and it's ten days, then what? Will you ask for another ten days after that? If you guys go into hiding, where will I go to find anyone to pay me back? I don't trust this delay at all."
Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists in anger, feeling his pride being stung. "I'm telling you, we will absolutely not welsh on the debt. In ten days, you will have your 100,000 gold soul coins. Not a single cent will be missing from the total!"
Su Yan let out a sharp sound of annoyance. "Listen to me, Yu Xiaogang. If you're out in the world and make a mistake, you have to admit it. If you get beaten, you have to stand tall and take it. If you buy things, you have to pay the price. If you lose a bet, you have to settle the account immediately. These are the basic rules of the world, don't you understand that?"
Zhao Wuji scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. He knew Su Yan was right, but they truly were broke. He stepped forward and said, "Su Yan, how about giving us a few days of grace? We are old acquaintances, after all."
Su Yan shook his head, looking quite tired of the excuses. "Stop it, Teacher Zhao. With your strength as a Spirit Saint, 100,000 gold soul coins shouldn't be much for you to find. Please, just hurry up and pay so we can end this exchange meeting between our two academies. We're still waiting to go back to Soto City for lunch, and we don't want to spend all day here waiting for money that isn't coming."
Zhao Wuji looked at Flender with a helpless face. Flender's face was equally awkward because he knew the truth. 100,000 gold soul coins was a lot of money. To them, it was an astronomical sum. Flender sighed and decided to be honest. "Look, you might not understand Shrek's financial situation very well. We really can't take out 100,000 gold soul coins right now. We need time. Come and collect it in ten days, and we will have it ready."
Su Yan was frustrated to the extreme. He looked at the group of teachers and shook his head. "The Dean doesn't act like a Dean, and the teachers don't seem to know what they're doing. What on earth are you guys doing running a school? Fine, since we know each other, let's do this. Everyone pool together whatever money you have on you today and give us as much as possible. We'll see how to resolve the remaining balance later."
Flender and his group breathed a huge sigh of relief upon hearing Su Yan's compromise. If Su Yan had kept pushing for the full amount immediately, they really wouldn't have been able to save face today. They would have looked like total frauds. Flender nodded and started signaling for everyone to empty their pockets.
While the group at the academy began to pool their money, a very different scene was unfolding far away in the Star Dou Great Forest. Little Monkey had successfully subdued the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. Even though this powerful tiger was known as a terrifyingly evil spirit beast, its eyes were now as clear and innocent as a college student's. It had been thoroughly broken and tamed.
Da Ming, the Sky Azure Bull Python, and Er Ming, the Titan Giant Ape, had finally witnessed Little Monkey's terrifying power. They were now discerning enough to realize who was in charge. They had started calling him Big Brother out of pure respect and fear.
Er Ming looked at the tamed tiger and asked, "Big Brother, are you satisfied with this one? This Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger is extremely strong. It possesses six elemental powers: Wind, Thunder, Evil, Strength, Space, and Time. It's one of the rarest and most powerful beings in our entire spirit beast world."
Little Monkey nodded thoughtfully, but he still felt like something was missing from his collection. In the stories his Master told him, the famous Howling Celestial Dog was actually a dog. This tiger was impressive, but the breed didn't quite match the legend he was trying to recreate. Little Monkey patted the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger on the head and then flew onto the head of the Sky Azure Bull Python. He signaled for it to return to the Lake of Life.
The Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape began to worry when they saw the direction he wanted to go. They wondered if this Big Brother was really going down there to explore the secrets hidden deep beneath the water. "Can we maybe not go back there?" Da Ming asked nervously.
Little Monkey's gaze instantly sharpened. He didn't like being questioned. He waved his hand, giving a silent command. Receiving the instruction, the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger immediately began to bare its teeth and growl at Da Ming and Er Ming. It even let out a strange sound. "Wu... Woof woof!"
This left Da Ming and Er Ming with no choice but to obey. They couldn't beat Little Monkey in a fight, and they couldn't stop whatever he wanted to do. If it weren't for their relationship with Xiao Wu, the two brothers would probably have been beaten like dogs already. They could see that even the proud Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger had already been trained to act like a common pet. In the end, the four of them returned to the Lake of Life, and Little Monkey dove straight into the deep water.
Once he went down, Little Monkey was stunned by what he saw. It was quite lively at the bottom of the lake. There were several powerful spirit beasts hiding underneath the surface. Especially that sleeping Silver Dragon; its aura was incredibly strong. Little Monkey realized he might not necessarily be able to beat it in a direct fight alone.
Little Monkey wasn't reckless. He knew when to be sneaky. After observing the situation below, he quietly approached the place where the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff, Chi Wang, was practicing. Using an Immobilization Technique followed by the Sleeve Universe spirit ability, he acted fast. Chi Wang didn't even have time to react before being packed up and taken away. Little Monkey felt that the black dragon down there was also very good, but it was sleeping too close to that powerful Silver Dragon. It wasn't easy to steal it out now, so he decided he would come back again when there was a better chance.
Back at Shrek Academy, the atmosphere was much less majestic. Flender's group began the embarrassing process of pooling their money. Su Yan and the others stood not far away, watching the scene quietly. Meanwhile, the people in the dimensional Group Chat were watching the livestream, laughing at the teachers' struggle to find enough coins.
Oscar pitifully reached into his pockets and took out seventy-six gold soul coins. This was all the money he had saved over the years. He looked at the Dean and said weakly, "Dean, this is everything. I'll give you fifty gold soul coins for the debt?"
Flender, acting like a bit of a swindler, took all of Oscar's coins instead of just fifty. He patted Oscar on the shoulder and said, "It's fine, Little Ao. You're a Spirit Elder now. You can get your monthly stipend from the Spirit Hall next month to make up for it."
Ma Hongjun was even more ridiculous. He fished through his pockets and could only find sixteen silver coins. He handed them all to Flender with a shrug. Su Yan couldn't help but twitch his mouth in disbelief. This guy was a spirit master, yet he didn't even have a single gold soul coin?
Ning Rongrong and the others were also dumbfounded by how poor the Shrek staff and students were. Over in the world of Soul Land 2, at the future Shrek Academy's Inner Court, Ma Xiaotao was watching the screen with a look of pure shock.
"Wait, what is happening?" Ma Xiaotao whispered, feeling embarrassed for her family line. "My Old Ancestor is actually this poor? He really can't even take out a single gold soul coin to help his school?"
Tang Ya and the others were also full of confusion. This was truly too ridiculous for them to process. The legendary founders of their academy were struggling to pay a debt that seemed small compared to the academy's future wealth.
In the chat, Ma Xiaotao sent a message: "Su Yan, I beg of you, please return my Old Ancestor's sixteen silver coins to him in a moment. This Old Ancestor of mine is truly too pitiful to watch."
Liu Erlong joined in the mockery: "I'm really going to die laughing. How can this Fatty be so poor? Doesn't a Spirit Grandmaster get ten gold soul coins every month from the Spirit Hall? Where did all his money go?"
Hu Liena added her thoughts: "This cunning Fatty probably hid his real stash of gold soul coins. There is no way he only has silver."
Dugu Yan, using the name Yanzi is not a Swallow, replied: "This Fatty went out to play with Dai Mubai last night. He probably spent everything and really only has sixteen silver coins left. Flender is truly a beast for taking a student's last silver!"
A user named I Am an Orphan commented: "Why do I suspect that all these people added together can't even pool 10,000 gold soul coins, let alone 100,000?"
Bai Chenxiang finished the thought: "I think you don't need to suspect anything. They really can't pool it! They are completely broke."