"Teacher Wu Mei, starting today, you are the headmaster of Heaven Dou Academy..."
As he said this, Flender paused, then continued, "Goodbye."
Under Xiao Wu's utterly confused expression and bewildered gaze, the group quickly left Heaven Dou Academy.
"???"
Xiao Wu was frozen in place—her mind full of question marks.
She had come to Heaven Dou Royal Academy—no, it was now just Heaven Dou Academy.
Regardless of the name, her purpose for coming here had been to assassinate Flender!
That's why she became a teacher in the first place...
Now, just great—most of the board, students, and faculty had died in battle, and Flender along with the rest of the old Shrek crew had fled.
And she, the newly appointed teacher, had somehow been made headmaster of Heaven Dou Academy?!
Wait... this wasn't right at all. Her goal was to kill Flender!
Now Flender had escaped?
"Congratulations, Teacher Wu! You're the new headmaster now!"
A student next to her said this cheerfully. He was a new student—not a noble, just a commoner.
Sixteen years old, spirit power rank 31—a Spirit Elder.
For a commoner, that was already an outstanding level—genius-level talent among civilians.
Xiao Wu's eye twitched.
Congratulations?
Congratulations your head!
How had she inexplicably become the headmaster?
This massive Heaven Dou Academy... how was she supposed to run it?
Xiao Wu was in inner turmoil. She was completely torn—should she stay at Heaven Dou Academy, or follow Flender and the others and run off?
Then find another chance to kill Flender.
"Headmaster, since we're low on people, why don't we go recruit new students?"
"Headmaster, I think we should hire teachers first..."
"No, no—we should start with recruiting students..."
Listening to the students' chatter, Xiao Wu felt completely numb.
"You all go rest first. I'll think about it."
Hearing this, the students looked at each other. Why didn't Teacher Wu Mei seem very happy?
"Yes, ma'am!"
After the few students left, Xiao Wu slowly wandered through the academy.
The once-glorious academy of the Heaven Dou Empire had now declined to the point where she was the only teacher left.
The students combined couldn't even form a full seven-person team.
Outwardly, the academy hadn't changed much—facilities were still there—but people were few.
Wandering about, Xiao Wu arrived at the storeroom.
This was where resources were stored. Before leaving, Flender had given her the key, allowing her to enter freely.
"Huh?"
Once inside, Xiao Wu froze.
She had thought that Flender and the others would have taken all the resources before leaving, but to her surprise, the vast storeroom was still filled with supplies!
These resources were enough to keep the entire Heaven Dou Royal Academy running for at least half a year.
The entire academy.
Did Flender not know the resources were here?
He knew—but they didn't belong to him. They belonged to Heaven Dou Academy.
So he didn't take a single thing.
Meng Shenji and the others had once shown him great kindness—how could he "kick them while they were down" at a moment like this?
Before leaving, he had already done the only thing he could for Heaven Dou Academy—left them a "peerless genius" as headmaster.
At her age, with her cultivation, what else could Xiao Wu be if not a peerless genius?
Though she couldn't compare to someone like Kong, compared to average geniuses, she was on an entirely different level.
Silent, Xiao Wu didn't even know how long she had stood in the storeroom before she finally shut the doors again.
She seemed to understand now why Flender had done all this.
It was to let her rebuild the glory of Heaven Dou!
"Flender, once I break through to Titled Douluo, you better not let me find you!"
"Hmph…"
With a snort, Xiao Wu turned and headed toward the dormitory.
After some time passed, thanks to the combined efforts of Xiao Wu and the students, Heaven Dou Academy finally began to recover a little.
Now, there were over forty students and four or five teachers.
Xiao Wu had officially become the headmaster of Heaven Dou Academy.
She was no longer the same as before—she now understood how important gold soul coins were and didn't dare waste a single one.
Sitting around and draining resources wasn't sustainable. She needed to find a way to generate income.
Though the Douluo Federation provided subsidies to the academy, the amount wasn't nearly enough to support the full operations of an institution.
This left Xiao Wu at a loss. Perhaps this was why Flender and the others had chosen to leave…
"Headmaster! Headmaster! Good news! The Federation just released a new policy. As long as established soul master academies are willing to become official Federation academies and teach the Federation's approved curriculum, the Federation will cover all operational expenses!"
"What?"
Xiao Wu was stunned and a little confused.
The academy's past financial support had come from the royal family.
That's why it used to be called Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
After the Heaven Dou Empire was overthrown, many of the old, reputable academies lost their financial backers. Relying on student tuition alone simply wasn't enough to keep a school running.
To be fair, the Federation didn't completely cut them off—it still offered some subsidies, but far less than before. Much, much less.
Now, as long as they taught the Federation's curriculum, there would no longer be any financial worries, as the Federation would reimburse the costs!
"Of course, you can't submit fake claims. If they catch you doing that, the Enforcement Squad will come knocking…"
Xiao Wu: "..."
They hadn't even started yet, and this teacher was already thinking about filing false reimbursements…
Heaven Dou Academy… was doomed, wasn't it?
After thinking it through, Xiao Wu finally said, "We'll follow the Federation's arrangements in full."
She let out a long breath. Not having to worry about gold soul coins was a huge relief.
She was starting to understand why Flender had once acted like such a shrewd businessman.
Flender had only been trying to make a little extra to support the academy. Even a Soul Sage could be brought down by lack of funds.
Time passed. A few days later—
The sun was shining brightly. Xiao Wu took seven or eight students and headed toward Sunset Forest.
It wasn't for soul ring hunting—just a training trip.
Besides, soul rings no longer required killing soul beasts to obtain them.
"Listen carefully—this trip is for training only. You may spar with soul beasts, but even if you win, do not take their lives. They too have fathers, mothers, siblings, and friends."
"The world of soul beasts is no different from the human world. Beneath their fierce appearances, they are innocent. They don't scheme or deceive like we do!"
"…"
Xiao Wu lectured passionately. This was one of the reasons she had chosen to stay.
She wanted to change how soul masters—and the people of the entire Douluo Continent—viewed soul beasts, even though soul rings no longer required killing them.
Only by changing these perceptions could certain tragedies be prevented.
(End of Chapter)
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