Wu Changkong stood in silence for a few seconds. A flicker of complicated emotion crossed his usually frozen face before it faded into a soft, tired sigh that was almost impossible to hear.
He began to speak slowly, his voice sounding deep and heavy. He told them that Shrek Academy possessed a legacy spanning twenty thousand years. It had deep roots and a famous reputation because it gathered the greatest geniuses and the best resources from across the entire continent.
He explained that for a very long time, the academy had received endless praise and glory from everyone. Over many years, this constant worship had unfortunately caused some teachers and students to develop a very arrogant and high-and-mighty attitude without even realizing it.
The teacher paused for a moment. He looked over at his group of students, seeing the confusion and hurt still lingering in their young eyes. He added that people like that were, in the end, only a small part of the school.
He reminded them that the only reason Shrek managed to keep its legacy alive for so long was because of the hard work and the sacrifices of many people who came before. It survived because of a core spirit that focused on chasing excellence and never giving up.
He told them they should not hate an entire place just because of the bad words and mean actions of a few specific people they happened to meet.
After hearing this, Xie Xie made a face and pulled at his lip. He grumbled in a very low voice that their luck must be incredibly special today if they managed to run right into that specific small group of arrogant people.
Tang Wulin still looked quite upset. His voice sounded sad and full of a disappointment that he could not easily push away. He told the teacher he understood the point, but it was still hard to accept.
He admitted that because he had experienced it for himself, he never imagined the famous Shrek Academy would actually have students who acted with such a terrible and rude attitude toward others.
Wu Changkong did not try to explain any further. He had already walked away from Shrek Academy a long time ago and was no longer a part of that world.
Even if he were still a member of Shrek, he knew his own power and rank would not be enough to fix the toxic culture. That arrogant atmosphere had soaked into the very walls of the academy over a long period.
Just at that moment, a loud and exciting announcement boomed through the speakers of the stadium. It was so loud that it covered up all the quiet talking and forced everyone to look back at the center of the competition field.
The announcer greeted the guests and the contestants loudly. He told them that they were about to start a very special part of the opening ceremony for the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition.
He announced that the team who won the previous youth competition would now have a match against a specially invited team. They would be facing the Junior Elite Team from Shrek Academy and asked both teams to enter.
While the announcer kept talking and the crowd clapped with a lot of energy, the two different teams walked out onto the field from their own separate tunnels.
The team that had won the previous Tianhai Alliance title had seven members. They were all young men in their early twenties who stood tall and looked very steady and strong with their powerful auras.
In total contrast, the seven people representing Shrek Academy were wearing dark green athletic clothes. The oldest member looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, and though they looked young, they moved with a scary amount of calm and focus.
Right in the middle of that group were Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi, the same two who had started the fight earlier!
Those two looked much younger than the rest of their teammates. They looked to be only eleven or twelve years old, which made them stand out even more.
The massive difference in age and social status made this exhibition match feel very dramatic right from the start. Every person in the audience stared intensely at the young team wearing the green uniforms.
As soon as the signal to begin the fight echoed out, both teams on the field called forth their spirits at the same time. Suddenly, the bright light of many spirit rings began to glow and shine one after another.
Xie Xie immediately focused his eyes on Xu Lizhi and the girl, Ye Xinglan. When he saw that they only had two yellow hundred-year rings under their feet, he could not help but sneer a little bit.
He spoke with a tone that was full of mockery. He said he thought the people from Shrek would be very impressive, but it turned out they were only Spirit Grandmasters with two rings.
The other members of Class Zero standing around him had similar looks on their faces. They were not very impressed by what they were seeing on the field.
After all, the students in Class Zero were mostly ten years old. Xie Xie and Gu Yue already had two rings, and Huo Yuhao had reached the amazing rank of a three-ring Spirit Elder.
In their minds, if you just looked at the number of rings and the power levels, Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi did not have any right to be so arrogant or act better than everyone else.
Wu Changkong's cold voice cut through their thoughts. He told them not to just look at the rings, because if Shrek sent those two to an exhibition match, it meant they had to have some kind of special talent.
On the stage, the first person from the Shrek team to move was the chubby boy, Xu Lizhi. His first yellow ring glowed brightly as his power surged, and he quickly threw several white objects to his teammates.
His teammates were clearly used to this because they caught the objects with very smooth movements. They didn't even have to look as they shoved the items straight into their mouths to eat them.
Xu Xiaoyan opened her eyes very wide with curiosity. She asked what the fat boy had just thrown because she was too far away to see the fast movements clearly.
Huo Yuhao gave her a very clear and direct answer. With his Spirit Eyes active, he had been able to see every single detail of the movement perfectly!
He told her they were buns. Tang Wulin gasped in a low voice, shocked that the boy was actually a food system master.
He was surprised because food system masters were very rare. But he was even more annoyed because that boy had been crying about being hungry when he was in the crowd earlier.
It was obvious that his own spirit could make food to fix his hunger and give him energy at any time. He didn't have any reason to be complaining about starving.
Thinking about this, Yuhao's earlier warnings about the boy's act started to play back in Wulin's mind. In that moment, Tang Wulin felt a sharp jolt in his chest.
He realized right then that he had been far too easy to trick and way too kind to people who didn't deserve it.
After the boy finished passing out the buns, another girl on the Shrek team with a very calm look made her move. Three rings rose from the ground around her, and she held up a beautiful, glowing pagoda.
It was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, which used to be known as the best support spirit in the world. It was a very famous and powerful tool spirit.
With the help from the buns and the boost from the pagoda, the Shrek junior team became fifty percent stronger in an instant! Their energy was now as sharp as a sword that had just been pulled from its sheath.
What happened next was a perfect, textbook example of a fast and crushing attack. The Shrek team moved like a rising tide, with every person playing their role with perfect timing and coordination.
On the other side, the older champion team had more raw power, but they looked messy and confused. They could not handle the perfect teamwork and the high-level tactics of the younger students.
In just a few short moments, it was very clear who was going to win the fight. When the last member of the older team was knocked off the stage, the referee blew the whistle to end it.
The announcer declared Shrek Academy as the winner. After a tiny moment of silence, the entire stadium exploded with a massive amount of cheering and clapping that shook the air.
The crowd started chanting the name of Shrek over and over again. The shouts were so loud that they felt like they could reach the clouds in the sky.
This match between people of very different ages ended in a fast victory for the Shrek juniors. It proved once again that the famous academy had a foundation of power that was hard to imagine.
Huo Yuhao looked away from the field. He could still see the fast and sharp movements of Ye Xinglan's sword in his mind as he thought about her skills.
He had to admit that even if she had a very mean personality, her talent with a sword was incredible. She was definitely one of the best for her age and showed why Shrek was so respected.
However, in his cold and calculating mind, he knew that being talented was no excuse for being a bully. Power was a tool, not a reason to look down on others.
He turned to look at Wu Changkong and asked a question. He asked if the teacher knew the woman who was leading the Shrek team.
He had noticed earlier that there was a connection between his teacher and the woman named Shen Yi. It felt like they knew each other better than just being from the same school.
Wu Changkong looked at Huo Yuhao with his icy blue eyes. He did not try to hide the truth and simply nodded his head to confirm what Yuhao was thinking.
He told Yuhao that the woman was named Shen Yi and that she was technically his junior sister from their time at the academy.
Huo Yuhao didn't stop there and asked another question. He asked if the teacher could talk to her so that they could have a real match against those Shrek students.
----------------
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion