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Liu Erlong smiled as she watched the communication interface, thinking that Number Nine really had a sharp mind. Tang Yuehua agreed, noting that if he were not so clever, he never could have stayed hidden near Little Wild Goose for all those days without her noticing his presence.
The user known as I Am an Orphan chimed in, explaining that guessing Tang San's moves was not actually that difficult. He pointed out that Su Yan had already explained Tang San's personality clearly.
Tang San always tries to act like he is the most righteous person in the room, constantly setting up high moral standards for himself just to look good to others. Cat in the Shadows simply added that this was a very accurate observation.
The scene shifted toward the records of Douluo Dalu 2, specifically within the famous Shrek Academy. Ma Xiaotao felt a heavy sense of worry pressing down on her heart. She looked at the information being shared and felt a wave of doubt. She wondered if the things she was reading were actually right.
Was this truly how all Evil Spirit Masters were created? She could not hold her questions back any longer. She asked why Shrek Academy worked so hard and why so many members of their inspection teams had died in the line of duty, yet the number of Evil Spirit Masters only seemed to grow larger every year.
Bibi Dong answered coldly, stating that they simply did not put in enough effort. I Am an Orphan added that the problem was that there were too many parasites and woodworms living off the system. Bo Saixi joined the conversation, admitting she did not know much about this future version of Shrek Academy. However, she noted that the academy seemed far too content to stay in one place. She asked how such a small group could ever compare to Spirit Hall, which had branches and people spread across every corner of the continent.
Liu Erlong spoke up next, being very blunt about the situation. She said that Shrek Academy lacked both the heart and the effort required to make a real difference. Even though she personally liked to argue with that Old Woman Bibi Dong, she had to admit that the scale of Spirit Hall was impressive because it reached every single corner of the land. She reminded everyone that Su Yan was right about one thing.
While Spirit Hall was very ambitious and wanted power, they also did a lot of good for the common people. They handled the Awakening of Spirits for children, gave money to low-level Spirit Masters to help them live, and kept order in the world of Spirit Masters.
Su Yan laughed at the screen, his tone full of mockery. He told Ma Xiaotao that her claims were hilarious. He asked how they could talk about stopping Evil Spirit Masters when they could not even provide a basic service like free Spirit Awakening for children. He called them the running dogs of the rich and powerful, claiming that the only Evil Spirit Masters they ever bothered to kill were the ones who threatened the money or safety of the upper class.
Su Yan continued by saying that their goals were just completely different from what Spirit Hall wanted to achieve. He pointed out that if a child wanted to awaken their Spirit through Shrek, they had to travel all the way to Shrek City. He used himself and Tang San as an example. He asked Ma Xiaotao how two six-year-old boys born in a poor, remote place like Saint Spirit Village were supposed to travel all the way to Shrek City just to see if they had cultivation talent.
Cat in the Shadows remarked that she could feel the disappointment in Su Yan's voice regarding the future of Shrek Academy. Seeing an opening, Bibi Dong called out to Su Yan. She invited him to join Spirit Hall, telling him that the organization needed someone like him.
She claimed that with his help, Spirit Hall could unify the whole continent and stand strong for ten thousand years, always helping the common people. Liu Erlong laughed at this, calling Bibi Dong an Old Woman who certainly knew how to jump on an opportunity when she saw one. I Am an Orphan dismissed the idea, saying that Bibi Dong was dreaming if she thought Su Yan would just join her like that.
Su Yan replied to the invitation with a sharp tongue. He told Bibi Dong that even if he did decide to join Spirit Hall, it would not be her Spirit Hall. He told her she needed to fix her eyes and stop letting her emotions for Yu Xiaogang cloud her judgment first. This comment made Bibi Dong explode with anger, calling him a little bastard.
At that same time, Qian Renxue felt a strange warmth in her heart. Su Yan's words made it clear that he did not support her mother's current path. Meanwhile, Bibi Dong was fuming in her private chambers. She muttered to herself about how dare that brat talk to her in such a way. She wondered who he thought he was to look down on her. She questioned who he would even follow if he refused to follow her. She wondered if he was planning to follow her disciple, Hu Liena, instead.
Hu Liena was shocked to be pulled into the argument. she told her teacher that she had no such intentions. She felt like she was about to cry, wondering why Su Yan was making things so difficult for her. She felt it was bad enough that he called her ungrateful, but now he was making it sound like she wanted to steal her teacher's throne.
Back at Shrek Academy in the future, Ma Xiaotao was still lost in thought. The things Su Yan said were the exact opposite of everything she had been taught since she was a child. However, she knew that Su Yan usually had a good reason for what he said. If he were just lying, the powerful people in the chat would have called him out by now. She asked what Spirit Hall was like ten thousand years ago and why the current academy could not just do what they did.
Su Yan called her foolish, comparing her to Xiao Wu. He explained that Shrek was just an academy that charged huge fees and only cared about genius students. He pointed out that even a great talent like the Son of Destiny had to sell grilled fish just to survive at their school.
He told her that Shrek could not compare to even a single hair on Spirit Hall's head. He asked her if she thought Spirit Hall was able to fight two great empires just because of Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu. He explained that they succeeded because they had the support of the common people. While the nobles hated them, the poor people saw Spirit Hall as their only hope. He called this public sentiment.
Ma Xiaotao was silenced by this explanation. Su Yan decided to change the subject, saying he would talk more about Spirit Hall later. He wanted to focus on Ma Xiaotao and her ancestor, the Evil Fire Phoenix Ma Hongjun. He used a clever but crude rhyme to describe the man, saying the Phoenix liked to spend his time in cheap brothels. Tang Yuehua was confused by the wording, but Su Yan clarified exactly what he meant.
Ma Xiaotao frowned as she read the words. She felt like Su Yan was insulting her family line. She asked him directly if he was trying to make fun of her. Bibi Dong told her to stop wondering and just accept that he was.
Liu Erlong defended him, reminding everyone that Su Yan usually just stated facts. Tang Yuehua complimented Su Yan on his literary talent, noting that he had a way of making even an insult sound refined. She told him he was the exact kind of talent they wanted at the Moon Pavilion.
Hu Liena immediately asked if Tang Yuehua was trying to steal a man from her teacher. I Am an Orphan could only respond with question marks. Cat in the Shadows mentioned that Su Yan was actually very cultured and had written a beautiful poem for them before. Bo Saixi disagreed, saying he might be cultured, but he was certainly not civilized. I Am an Orphan added that Su Yan chose to speak crudely even though he was clearly smart.
Inside his carriage, Su Yan felt annoyed. He thought that Qian Renxue was really asking for a spanking for her comments. He told himself that after he dealt with Bibi Dong, he would make sure to teach the little angel a lesson.
Bibi Dong added that Su Yan never seemed to do anything productive. Ning Rongrong and her friends laughed at the bickering between the two powerful women. Su Yan rolled his eyes at them and finally began to talk about the history of the Phoenix spirit.
He explained that Ma Xiaotao was a descendant of Ma Hongjun, one of the original Shrek Seven Devils. He noted that her spirit was the mutated Evil Fire Phoenix, but he said he did not even know where to begin when it came to complaining about her ancestor.
Ma Xiaotao felt a deep sense of dread. She wondered what could be so bad that it left Su Yan speechless. She asked him what he meant. Su Yan asked her if she really thought her ancestor had it as easy as she did. He asked her if she thought Ma Hongjun had a teacher like Yu Xiaogang or water-attribute Spirit Masters to help him control his fire from the very beginning. Ma Xiaotao could only respond in total confusion.