"Alright."
"According to the rules, everyone in the loser's bracket will have extra training."
"As for the three of you, since you won, you can leave now. Go back and rest, or go to the cafeteria for a meal—it's up to you."
However, several seconds passed and no one moved a muscle.
"Hmm?"
Wu Changkong's brow twitched slightly, a trace of imperceptible appreciation flashing in his ice-blue eyes.
"What? You don't want to leave?"
"Teacher Wu."
Tang Wulin took a step forward, his gaze resolute.
"Since everyone is doing extra training, we'll join in too."
"Exactly, exactly."
Xie Xie chimed in from the side.
Although Xu Xiaoyan didn't speak, she nodded obediently and tightened her grip on her Starwheel Ice Staff.
"Good."
Wu Changkong nodded, not refusing them.
"Since you all have this resolve, then join the extra training together."
After saying that, he didn't start the training immediately, but instead walked over to Huo Yuhao.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao's face was still somewhat pale, and his forehead was covered in fine beads of cold sweat. Clearly, the backlash from that Soul Shock earlier still had him feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
"Does your head still hurt?"
Although Wu Changkong's voice was cold, Huo Yuhao could hear a hint of concern in it.
"A little..."
Huo Yuhao answered honestly.
Wu Changkong reached out and pressed his hand against Huo Yuhao's brow. A gentle, cool stream of Spirit Power was slowly injected to carefully examine his Sea of Consciousness. Skydream Ice Worm chose to hide directly and was not discovered.
A moment later, Wu Changkong withdrew his hand. With a flash of light, an exquisite small jade bottle appeared in his palm.
Wu Changkong poured out a medicinal pill emitting a pale blue glow and handed it to Huo Yuhao.
"This is a Spirit Nourishing Pill. Take it and go sit in meditation to recover for half an hour."
"Once you've recovered, rejoin the team for training."
"Yes! Thank you, Teacher Wu!"
Huo Yuhao took the pill, feeling a warmth in his heart.
Even though this Teacher Wu seemed icy and even a bit strict, he was actually a good teacher who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
...
By the time all the extra training projects were finished, night had long since fallen deeply.
Inside the cafeteria.
"Ouch... my back is about to break."
Xiao Xiao slumped over the table, listlessly stirring the soup in her bowl with a spoon.
Xie'er also looked exhausted. Only Xu Xiaoyan seemed to be in slightly better shape, enjoying a piece of spiritual fruit cake with great relish.
Wang Dong'er sat opposite Xu Xiaoyan, looking at this girl who seemed harmless but actually possessed terrifying control. The doubt of 'being NTR'd' refused to go away in her heart.
Just as she was organizing her thoughts and preparing to ask...
Xu Xiaoyan put down her fork first, elegantly wiped her mouth with a tissue, and looked at the three of them with a smile.
"I know what you all want to ask."
"Actually..."
Xu Xiaoyan blinked her beautiful big eyes and confessed.
"Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and I—we all attended the same Spirit Master academy before coming to Shrek Academy."
"East Sea Academy, Class Zero."
"And..."
Xu Xiaoyan pointed outside the cafeteria.
"Teacher Wu Changkong was our homeroom teacher back at East Sea Academy."
"We've been undergoing special training under Teacher Wu all this time, which is why our cooperation is so seamless."
"So that's how it is?!"
Hearing this explanation, Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and Xie'er suddenly understood.
No wonder!
It's just that... why hadn't they ever heard of this East Sea Academy?
"Hmph, I knew it."
Wang Dong'er curled her lip, and that sour feeling in her heart finally dissipated quite a bit.
Since they had known each other for a long time, there was nothing to be done. It wasn't that her charm was lacking, nor that Xu Xiaoyan had changed her mind too quickly; it was simply that she had lost at the starting line.
Seeing Wang Dong'er's tsundere little look, Xu Xiaoyan's eyes darted around. She suddenly leaned in closer and whispered with a mischievous grin.
"What? Donger, are you feeling very indignant?"
"If you want to beat up that fellow Tang Wulin to vent your anger..."
Xu Xiaoyan raised both hands and said with a face full of sincerity:
"I support you with both hands and both feet!"
"..."
Hearing Xu Xiaoyan's 'righteous' betrayal of her teammate, Wang Dong'er's mouth couldn't help but twitch, revealing a helpless, bitter smile.
"Beat him up?"
Wang Dong'er sighed.
"I want to beat him up too."
"But the problem is..."
Wang Dong'er said somewhat dejectedly:
"I can't beat him!"
"And that guy... he's practically a human tyrannosaur. If I really went to beat him up, who knows who would be beating who."
Thinking of the scenes in the virtual space where she was twice dragged down from the sky by Tang Wulin like a little chick and then slammed hard into the ground, Wang Dong'er felt a phantom ache in her teeth.
It was too embarrassing!
This was practically the Waterloo of her life as the Young Master of the Clear Sky Sect!
Wang Dong'er suddenly remembered something, and her pinkish-blue eyes stared intently at Xu Xiaoyan.
"By the way, Xiaoyan."
"Since the three of you were originally old partners and your relationship is so good."
"Then why, when we were grouping up at the Spirit Ascension Platform..."
Wang Dong'er pointed at herself, Xiao Xiao, and Xie'er.
"You didn't go directly to them to form a team, but instead came to find us?"
Hearing this question, Xiao Xiao and Xie'er also looked over curiously, ears perked up.
Yeah.
Instead of clinging to the reliable teammates she knew inside and out, why did she insist on teaming up with these temporary strangers? What was the point?
Facing the gazes of the three, Xu Xiaoyan didn't answer immediately.
She first lowered her head, her two index fingers tapping together gently in front of her, then slowly raised her head. Those watery big eyes were filled with a thin layer of mist, looking pitiful, as if she had suffered some immense grievance.
"Could it be..."
Xu Xiaoyan's voice carried a hint of a sob as she said softly:
"Could it be... that you all dislike me now?"
"Do you feel that because I hid my relationship with them before, you... don't want to be my friends anymore?"
This move of 'retreating to advance,' combined with that invincible cute offensive, instantly shattered the psychological defenses of the three girls.
"Ah? No! Not at all!"
Xiao Xiao was the first to panic, waving her hands hurriedly to explain.
"Exactly, how could we dislike you?"
"Oh, don't overthink it, I was just... just asking casually!"
Seeing their nervous expressions, the mist in Xu Xiaoyan's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a sly smile as she said sweetly:
"Actually, the reason is very simple."
Xu Xiaoyan looked at the three of them and explained seriously:
"Because... I wanted to become friends with you all."
"How about it? Is this reason... enough?"
Hearing these words, Wang Dong'er and the other two were stunned.
Wanted to... become friends with us?
Just for that?
"Enough! It's more than enough!"
...
After dinner, the four girls parted ways.
Wang Dong'er went alone to the edge of the academy.
By now, the night was deep, and the high-altitude cold wind was howling, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
Da Ming and Er Ming had been standing in this cold wind for who knows how long. During this time, Er Ming had been talking non-stop to Da Ming, who was already bored to death.
"Big Dad! Second Dad!"
Seeing those two familiar silhouettes, Wang Dong'er ran over quickly.
"Sorry, sorry, I kept you waiting."
Wang Dong'er said somewhat apologetically.
As the three of them flew toward the ground, Wang Dong'er explained the reason for her late return today.
"Teacher Wu gave us extra training today. We trained for a long time, and then we had dinner."
"Dinner?"
Hearing those two words, Er Ming's stomach gave an uncooperative 'growl.'
He and his big brother had been out in this cold wind for half the day and were already starving.
"Hehe, it's fine, it's fine. As long as you've eaten your fill, Xiao Qi."
Er Ming laughed honestly. Although he said that, his heart couldn't help but recall those Red Jade Shrimp and jade cabbage soup that Wang Dong'er had described before...
Those were great tonics!
Actually, they had considered having Wang Dong'er secretly bring some out for them to taste, as a way to nourish their bodies as'study-abroad parents.'
But at the thought of that Cai Yue'er...The two of them dismissed the idea.
If Wang Dong'er were expelled because she was caught smuggling food, they would become eternal sinners and would have no way to face Tang San.
Ever since they learned that Wang Dong'er's school dinners consisted of so many good things, the two of them insisted that she must finish dinner before coming back no matter what.
The two quickly flew down with Wang Dong'er, and during the flight, they chatted about today's training match.
Upon hearing that Wang Dong'er had been defeated by Tang Wulin, both were shocked. When Wang Dong'er first lost to Tang Wulin, she hadn't told Da Ming and Er Ming, so this was the first time they knew.
In the eyes of Da Ming and Er Ming, they had watched Wang Dong'er grow up. She was exceptionally gifted and had the resources of the Clear Sky Sect piled upon her. Her second Spirit Ring was already at the thousand-year level; among her peers, she was absolutely a crushing existence.
Wang Dong'er pursed her lips, that figure surfacing in her mind.
"That guy... is called Tang Wulin."
"Tang Wulin?"
Da Ming and Er Ming exchanged a look. Both felt the name was somewhat unfamiliar, yet it also gave them a faint, strange feeling.
"Is he very strong? What is his Spirit?" Da Ming asked in a deep voice.
"His Spirit is Blue Silver Grass."
"Blue Silver Grass?!"
Er Ming almost couldn't help but laugh out loud:
"The trash Spirit, Blue Silver Grass? Xiao Qi, you're not joking, right? You were defeated by a Blue Silver Grass Spirit Master?"
"It's not ordinary Blue Silver Grass."
"And... he didn't defeat me using his Spirit."
"It's his Bloodline Power; it can turn his right hand into a golden dragon claw. It's very powerful, and he even has two golden Spirit Rings."
Hearing this, the two were instantly stunned. Bloodline Power that could manifest a dragon claw? They had never heard of such a thing before.
"Da Ming, Er Ming, going forward, I want the information on this fellow named Tang Wulin."
Tang San's voice rang out in the minds of Da Ming and Er Ming. Originally, Tang San was just doing a routine inspection to see if the two were properly completing the task he had assigned. He hadn't expected to overhear such a conversation.
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A/N:
5 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.