Seeing that Ma Hongjun and Oscar were on the verge of coming to blows over the immortal herbs, Xiao Wu was the first to step forward.
"Have you two had enough?!"
Having once ruled as the "big sister" among Spirit Beasts for tens of thousands of years, Xiao Wu's sharp shout instantly stunned both Ma Hongjun and Oscar into silence.
"Answer me this. Just because you didn't get an immortal herb, does that mean you can't cultivate anymore?"
Ma Hongjun lowered his head.
Before the immortal herbs, hadn't they all been cultivating just fine?
The real issue wasn't having less, it was being treated unfairly.
Why did everyone else get stronger after absorbing immortal herbs while he was left to cultivate the hard way?
That said, it had been everyone's unanimous decision to have Yu Tianheng send people into Thunder Canyon to search for immortal herbs.
Now that things hadn't gone as planned, Ma Hongjun couldn't help complaining.
"Back then, Tianheng suggested that we all go into Thunder Canyon together to look for the immortal herbs. Wasn't it you guys who insisted on splitting into two groups?"
"I didn't have enough say to argue with you then. But now I'm the one who ended up without an immortal herb. Give me an explanation!"
"Well? Say something!"
Flender shouted, "Hongjun, watch your mouth!"
But Ma Hongjun was the one who felt wronged.
Tang San had been the one to tell him about the immortal herbs and how much they would help him.
His expectations had been raised sky-high, only to be crushed in the end. Anyone would find that hard to accept.
Flender's rebuke only fueled Ma Hongjun's resentment.
"Teacher, stop trying to play the nice guy."
"Has the Grandmaster ever really treated you as an equal? You're nothing more than a tool for him to prove his theories!"
There was truth to those words.
During their Spirit Beast hunt, everyone had seen how Yu Xiaogang constantly ordered Flender around.
Meanwhile, Flender had never once asked Yu Xiaogang for anything. He owed him nothing, so there was no reason to keep accommodating him like this.
The moment his teacher was insulted, Tang San's temper flared.
"Fatty, clean up your mouth!"
"My teacher and Dean Flender have been close friends for years. Who are you to sow discord between them?"
"And another thing, I told you that the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower was the best match for you. I never said we'd definitely find one. If you weren't destined to obtain it, stop forcing the issue. Don't you understand something that simple?"
Xiao Wu had never been known for her patience. She had tried talking things through, only to be cursed at in return. There was no way she would tolerate that.
"Third Brother, why waste your breath on him? This fatso has done this kind of thing more than once. Remember Cuihua, who lived near the academy? She suffered plenty because of him!"
"What the hell did you just say?!"
With his dirty past exposed, Ma Hongjun instantly exploded, glaring furiously at her.
Dai Mubai and Oscar hurriedly stepped in to calm both sides.
"Little San, do me a favor, alright? Let's all go back and rest for today. We can talk about this tomorrow," Dai Mubai said as he stood between Tang San's group and the others.
But once Xiao Wu lost her temper, she showed mercy to no one. Besides, Dai Mubai himself wasn't exactly innocent.
"Dai Mubai, why are you pretending to be the good guy?"
"When Zhuqing first came to the academy, you and Fatty were constantly fooling around outside. And when Zhuqing caught you red-handed, you even pretended you didn't know her."
"You...!" Dai Mubai's expression darkened.
He had only just managed to reconcile with Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu's words had undone all that progress in an instant.
Even so, as the eldest of the Seven Devils, he forced himself to stay calm.
"Little San, take Xiao Wu back to rest first. Whatever it is, we'll discuss it tomorrow."
Tang San replied coldly, "Anyone who insults my teacher isn't getting off that easily."
Meanwhile, Oscar was also trying to calm Ma Hongjun down.
Although Ma Hongjun's earlier behavior had angered him, they had all been through life-and-death situations together. He wasn't about to hold a grudge over something like this.
Yet Ma Hongjun had no appreciation for his efforts.
"Oscar, stop acting like a saint and get the hell out of my face!"
Off to one side, Flender removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose repeatedly.
Things had already reached the point where authority alone was no longer enough to suppress them.
Besides, with Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong completely checked out of the situation, if he intervened now, everyone would accuse him of taking Ma Hongjun's side.
If that happened, the team's unity would truly fall apart.
The Shrek Team was already under immense pressure from powerful opponents, and after suffering one setback after another, everyone had bottled up their frustrations.
Now all those emotions had erupted at once, and what they needed most was proper guidance from the adults.
But Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong had completely stopped managing the situation. How could Flender handle this alone?
The best solution would have been to call Zhao Wuji and the other teachers over to help mediate. Unfortunately, with the Seven Devils on the verge of an internal fight, he couldn't risk leaving. Things could easily spiral even further out of control.
"Enough. Everyone go back and get some rest. We'll talk after we've all calmed down."
To his surprise, the Seven Devils completely ignored him.
Aside from Zhu Zhuqing and Yu Tianheng, who never joined the argument, everyone else was already shouting at one another.
After repeatedly trying to make peace only to be insulted himself, Dai Mubai finally reached his limit.
"Little San, I've been giving you face because we're brothers. But you and Xiao Wu have done nothing but humiliate me. Do you really think I have no temper?"
The moment he finished speaking, the usually impulsive Dai Mubai immediately released his martial soul, clearly preparing to fight.
"Hmph."
Zhu Zhuqing let out a cold snort, utterly disappointed in Dai Mubai.
Her reaction only fueled his anger even further, pushing the situation completely out of control.
Tang San looked at him with icy eyes.
"Mubai, I've always respected you as our captain. Yet you've done nothing but defend Fatty while allowing my teacher to be insulted. If Fatty doesn't apologize today, this won't end here. Don't get in my way, or don't blame me for what happens."
Ma Hongjun shoved Oscar aside and shouted,"Tang San, who are you pretending to be?"
"Wasn't all of this started by you? We were doing just fine cultivating, but you just had to stir things up. So what if you know about immortal herbs? Do you think that makes you something special?"
Without even realizing it, the two brothers-in-arms, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, had taken each other's side.
Tang San wasn't intimidated, especially now that he had broken through to Spirit Ancestor.
Xiao Wu placed her hands on her hips.
"Hah, Fatty, I've wanted to teach you a lesson for a long time. What's the point of talking big here? If you've got the guts, let's settle this outside!"
"Fine! Let's fight! Who's afraid of you?" Dai Mubai roared.
"Xiao Wu, I've held back time and again for Tang San's sake, but you've kept making things difficult for me. Do you really think I'm someone you can push around?"
Tang San snorted coldly.
"Enough talking. Let's settle this with strength."
As soon as he finished speaking, both sides walked out of the meeting room and headed to the nearest training ground.
Flender watched everything unfold, but said nothing to stop them.
He let out a long sigh before going to find Zhao Wuji.
At the training ground, Dai Mubai let out a loud shout, driving away the class that had been training there.
The two sides took their places on opposite ends of the arena, glaring at one another.
The academy's teachers could do nothing but watch helplessly.
Everyone knew the Shrek Seven Devils had been brought to the academy by the new dean. Offending them would be no different from risking their own jobs.
At this point, the teachers who had not already transferred elsewhere fell into one of two categories.
Either they lacked the ability to be accepted by other academies, or they were too inexperienced to find a better position after leaving.
If things continued like this, it was easy to foresee Shrek Academy's future.
Not only would the quality of incoming students continue to decline, but the overall caliber of its teaching staff would also deteriorate sharply.
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