At Lanba Academy, Danheng was suddenly brought to the training ground by Zhu Zhuyun, who said a conflict had broken out and needed his attention.
Gu Yuena was, for once, sleeping in late today, and Liu Erlong was still far away on Sea god Island. So for now, only Danheng could make decisions.
Inside the training ground, two groups were locked in a standoff.
One group consisted of students from Lanba Academy; the other was the group from Shrek, with Flender and the others standing at the front.
Due to recent changes and incidents, the original Shrek team had dwindled to only five members.
They were hoping to recruit two members from the Lanba Battle Team as replacements.
One of their picks was Xiao Wu.
She had originally been a member of their team.
But Xiao Wu refused to rejoin—because back when the Shrek group followed Yu Xiaogang into Spirit Hall, she had split from them.
Lanba's side was even less willing to let her go.
Xiao Wu's combat power was outstanding. How could they possibly give her up?
So, the two sides clashed.
The Shrek group felt wronged, believing Lanba Academy was ignoring their past bonds and treating them unfairly.
The person in charge of Lanba Academy just stared back and said, "Who are you people? What bond?"
Things escalated quickly, and an argument broke out.
Flender and the others then revealed their Soul Saint–level strength, which immediately suppressed Lanba's side.
Seeing the situation, Lanba Academy had no choice but to invite Danheng over.
Danheng looked over the scene and shook his head slightly.
"Respect the wishes of the team members."
Danheng gave the final word directly.
Flender grew anxious, putting away his martial soul and soul rings. He remained courteous toward Danheng and quickly stepped forward to explain:
"Mr. Danheng, as you know, we've been at Lanba Academy, and though we've benefited from your resources, we haven't freeloaded, right? You know the caliber of our teaching staff—anywhere else, we'd easily be top instructors."
"Now, with the Soul Master Tournament just around the corner, we want to give it our best shot. Xiao Wu was originally one of our members—she only left because of a misunderstanding. Isn't it time she rejoined us?"
Flender patted his hand, sighing helplessly.
But Xiao Wu made a face at him and said irritably, "Who wants to rejoin? From now on, I'm with the Lanba Battle Team! You guys have nothing to do with me!"
"Who told you to follow Yu Xiaogang into Spirit Hall in the first place?"
She crossed her arms and snorted coldly, clearly upset.
"Xiao Wu, don't be like this. Teacher was thinking of our best interests back then!" Tang San frowned, showing his usual male-centered reasoning.
In his eyes, a teacher was like a father, and obeying him was natural.
As his "younger sister," Xiao Wu should follow him too.
But Xiao Wu rolled her eyes and went back to stand with the Lanba Battle Team, clearly not wanting anything to do with them anymore.
"..." Tang San's expression grew complicated, a flicker of anger flashing in his eyes—he thought Xiao Wu was being immature!
Yu Xiaogang spoke flatly:
"This time, Shrek Academy has a real chance to win the championship. I've even prepared a trump card that can handle most threats. Anyone who joins now can become part of a championship team."
He lifted his chin slightly and glanced at Danheng.
He still couldn't figure out why Danheng was present in this scene.
And why Lanba's team was centered around him?
Danheng shook his head slightly and said, "No matter what ideas or demands you have, the will of the team members must be respected. If they're willing, then Lanba Academy won't stop them."
He glanced at the teachers from Lanba Academy, giving them a subtle signal.
Everyone hesitated for a moment, then nodded one after another.
Truthfully, Danheng was already being incredibly generous.
Normally, how could a student trained by Lanba Academy go and serve another academy?
The students looked at each other. Two or three stepped forward.
But none of them were part of the Lanba Battle Team—not even substitutes.
They only stepped forward hoping to take advantage of the situation.
Xiao Wu glared at Flender again, clearly unwilling to go back.
The Shrek team all looked visibly annoyed.
They were used to recruiting "monsters," not a bunch of losers.
Having or not having these tagalongs made no difference!
Flender gave Danheng a long look, his expression turning cold."In that case, we don't want them either. Shrek is officially severing ties with Lanba Academy."
"I didn't expect the relationship between us to break so cleanly. We originally intended to let Xiaogang share our trump card with you, but now it's no longer necessary. We'll see you in the finals of the Soul Master Tournament!"
"Even without Lanba's reinforcements, we can still find capable teammates!"
Flender turned with a scowl and walked away.
The others from Shrek followed behind him.
Yu Xiaogang turned back and looked at the Lanba Battle Team, sneering coldly:"Dragons don't live among snakes. This time, Shrek's results will prove who the real 'Master' is."
Not long after Shrek left,
Lanba Academy erupted into cheers.
They didn't take the departure of the Shrek team seriously at all.
Truthfully, they had long disliked Shrek.
What was Shrek's motto?
"Those who don't dare to cause trouble are worthless." Each one of them was overly high-profile and arrogant. They'd bullied Lanba students often, so of course the students hated them.
Especially people like Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun—those womanizing scoundrels.
They were secretly nicknamed "tumors" by the Lanba students.
As for all the grand declarations from the Shrek team about "meeting again in the finals," nobody took them seriously.
After wrapping up that farce,
Danheng was on his way back to the library.
Only a few days remained before the Soul Master Tournament—even Shui Yue'er hadn't shown up lately.
On the way, he suddenly felt like he was being watched.
He stopped and turned around.
Behind a tree by the road, two heads popped out sneakily.
Once discovered, the two women jumped out and came over.
Bibi Dong stood half a step behind Zi Ji, head down, eyes lowered, her cheeks slightly red.
Zi Ji glanced back and scoffed,"What are you pretending for?"
Bibi Dong couldn't hold it in anymore. Her chest puffed with indignation, and she gritted her teeth but didn't dare lash out.
"What is it?" Danheng asked.
Zi Ji huffed and pointed at Bibi Dong."This rotten woman insists on seeing you. She won't return to Spirit Hall unless she does!"
Danheng looked at Bibi Dong, confused.
She bit her lip and said quietly,"I… I don't like it there. I want to stay…"
Her eyes, like a frightened fawn, were full of Danheng.
Danheng shook his head.
"Sorry. This depends on my wife's decision."
Zi Ji burst out laughing,
"Exactly! Bibi Dong, what now? Don't even dream about joining us!"
"I'm not trying to break up your family!" Bibi Dong said hurriedly, stepping forward as if to hug Danheng.
Zi Ji immediately stepped between them, gritting her teeth:
"Don't touch him! Am I dead to you?!"
(End of Chapter)