After agreeing to Feng Tianzheng's request, Yang Yuan would occasionally spare a few moments to give Feng Xiaotian a pointer or two.
The words were few, but every sentence struck the heart of the matter, leaving him with deep insights.
At the same time, thanks to the astronomical "tutoring fee" his Family had sent, Yang Yuan also gave him one piece of advice.
Spend more of your time on Cultivating.
Self-Created Spirit Skills certainly have potential, but Spirit Power Level is the true Foundation; don't waste the golden window of your training.
If anyone else had said it, Feng Xiaotian wouldn't have listened.
Yet the warning from Yang Yuan was something Feng Xiaotian weighed carefully—and then followed.
After all, Yang Yuan's talent so far outstripped his own; if he gave such advice, there had to be a reason.
Word that Feng Xiaotian had paid for pointers from Yang Yuan spread like wildfire, and soon many sought him out, hoping to pay for the same privilege.
That sky-high fee, however, scared off ninety-five percent of them.
Only the sisters Shui Binger and Shui Yueer, the siblings Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, and Yu Tianxin among a handful of others scraped together enough.
He could understand the first four, but Yang Yuan never expected Yu Tianxin to come asking for lessons.
Honestly, he'd always assumed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan worshiped their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul and FamilyLegacy to the point they wouldn't listen to outsiders.
Just like Yu Tianheng.
He had absolute faith in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Legacy. Though Yang Yuan had once or twice offered him the same pointers, treating him like everyone else, Yu Tianheng hadn't taken a word of it to heart.
If he wouldn't listen, fine—forget it.
After that, Yang Yuan never gave him another pointer.
He'd figured the whole clan was that stubborn, so it was a surprise to find there were still sane ones.
But since the tutoring fee had been paid, Yang Yuan wasn't about to discriminate.
After all, a few minutes of casual pointers for a fat pile of cash was clearly worth it.
Time passed, and while Yang Yuan was making a name for himself in Heaven Dou, a thousand li away Shrek Academy welcomed a new teacher.
The man known as Grandmaster—Yu Xiaogang.
ShrekTraining Ground.
'All of you, start running! Today's first assignment: ten laps around the village. No spirit power allowed. Anyone who doesn't finish can skip lunch.'
A flat-topped man in a black long robe stood with hands behind his back, eyes sweeping over the six youths, his expression stern.
'Aww, we're still running? Grandmaster, we've been running every single day for half a month—when does it end?'
'Exactly, Grandmaster! You said it was special training, but all we do is weighted runs, push-ups, sit-ups… Don't you have anything besides physical drills?'
Groans and complaints burst from the group, especially from Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai.
Flender had made them run before, but never with weights, and usually only Oscar had to run—'to build battlefield escape skills,' he'd said.
The rest spent their time meditating or on real combat and matches at the Great Spirit Arena.
But now Yu Xiaogang called it 'special training' and all they did was run and do calisthenics.
And not just running—weighted running.
Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai were seething, only holding back for Tang San's sake.
They'd been through life-and-death together, after all.
It wasn't just them—Oscar complained daily.
He was a food systemSpirit Master, already slow to Cultivate, yet now he had to grind through physical training every day.
The workload in one day now exceeded what he used to do in ten.
Yu Xiaogang's voice hardened. 'You think I'm only building your bodies?'
'Wrong. I'm forging your willpower and your ability to work as a team.'
'Unyielding determination lets you keep your head in any hardship; teamwork lets you beat opponents ten or even twenty Ranks higher.'
Among the students, a sultry, serpentine beauty beside Oscar sneered at his words.
Weighted runs building willpower and teamwork?
And this man dared call himself the top theory master?
If this was a Grandmaster, then the world must be full of them.
She was Meng Yiran.
She'd first crossed paths with Shrek over a Phoenix-Tail Crested Serpent.
Her grandparents, impressed by their talent, had wanted a son-in-law from the group.
They'd first picked Tang San, but he clearly loved Xiao Wu, and with his gifts he'd never join the Meng Family.
So they turned their eyes to Oscar.
As the continent's only Innate Full Spirit Powerfood systemSpirit Master, his talent was priceless.
food systemSpirit Masters had no combat strength and needed protection.
And Oscar was only a commoner, making him perfect for adoption into their clan.
To reel him in, Grandpa Serpent and Grandma Dragon shipped their granddaughter to Shrek Academy, curious what magic produced so many Geniuses.
At first, hearing Shrek only took students twenty-Rank and above at age twelve, Meng Yiran had pictured some hidden sanctuary and arrived full of awe.
One step inside and she knew she'd been conned.
Apart from a few decent teachers, the place was a joke.
Especially this so-called Grandmaster!
She couldn't believe this man had trained a prodigy like Tang San.
Only later did she learn Tang San's dazzling Hidden Weapons had nothing to do with Yu Xiaogang.
Amid the chorus of doubt, Yu Xiaogang shot Tang San a look.
Tang San caught it at once and stepped forward. 'The teacher is right. Weighted running is monotonous, but it cements our Foundation, and with the medicinal bath afterward the results are even better.'
With Tang San speaking up, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai—the ringleaders—finally backed down.
Yu Xiaogang exhaled in relief.
Then he told the group, 'This is only my first stage: Extreme Physical Conditioning. That's why it feels dull and painful, and why you haven't seen my real ability yet.'
'Once we reach the second stage, you'll understand why I'm called Grandmaster.'
As he finished, a deep, unshakable confidence lit his weather-worn, ordinary Face.
The aura was so commanding it almost seemed he must be hiding some ultimate technique.
Looking at that confident Face, Dai Mubai and the others exchanged glances and decided to trust him—just this once.
What if… he really did have something?
(End of Chapter)
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