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Gazing thoughtfully at the intelligence in his hand, Ye Wen pondered deeply.
Due to his interference, the reputation of Tianxing Academy, and the interception of Liu Erlong, the early dissolution of the original Golden Iron Triangle had not occurred as it did in the original story. Flender also hadn't had the time to ruin a group of prodigies.
On the contrary, many of the nominal disciples currently under Ye Wen's tutelage were likely those who would have been ruined by Flender in the original timeline.
For instance, Qin Ming, the most famous of them all—the Flame Gray Wolf—was now under Ye Wen's guidance and was close to reaching the Soul Sage level.
The root cause was Flender's greed for money, which often led him to take Yu Xiaogang on expeditions into the wild. But as the saying goes, "If you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet."
During one such trip to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast for materials, something triggered a massive beast tide. Flender even lost a leg in the chaos.
From that point onward, Flender developed a deep-seated fear of the Star Dou Great Forest and stopped taking Yu Xiaogang there to hunt soul beasts as frequently as before.
Later, for reasons unknown, the two parted ways entirely.
Flender now resided near Soto City in the Barak Kingdom, where he had established a makeshift Shrek Academy. However, this so-called academy lacked formal registration, earning it the nickname of a "pirate academy," and its student body was pitifully small.
Yu Xiaogang, on the other hand, was temporarily staying with a friend who served as the principal of Notting Academy in Notting City.
And that was it. Since neither of them were particularly important figures, the Spirit Hall hadn't gone out of its way to gather detailed information about them.
Still, among the countless people who ventured into the Star Dou Great Forest each year to hunt soul beasts, only a handful managed to trigger a beast tide. Flender and Yu Xiaogang's luck had been extraordinarily bad.
Perhaps it was due to the bloodline of the Golden Holy Dragon alarming some extraordinary presence.
As for why they went their separate ways, Ye Wen couldn't quite figure it out. However, he had a rough understanding of why Yu Xiaogang hadn't returned to his old life.
How could someone accustomed to being the center of attention and basking in admiration possibly accept returning home in disgrace? Moreover, with Yu Xiaogang's current cultivation, he was already a dominant figure in the remote town of Noding City. Who would dare look down on him? Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.
"Still, Flender ended up in Soto City after all. The inertia of fate is truly powerful," Ye Wen muttered to himself.
But since that was the case, there were two individuals Ye Wen cared about who couldn't be dragged into Shrek Academy's affairs.
Though Soto City was located within the Barak Kingdom, with Ye Wen's current strength, reaching it took no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
Ye Wen's status on the continent was now pivotal, and the master of the Soto City Spirit Hall personally came to greet him. However, Ye Wen didn't bother engaging in lengthy pleasantries with the mere Soul Sage-level hall master. Instead, he directly requested the records of innate soul power awakenings from the past two years.
As expected, there was no mention of Oscar.
In his previous life, some speculated that Oscar and Ma Hongjun were prodigies Flender had discovered and helped awaken their martial souls on his own.
This wasn't uncommon among various factions. To protect the privacy of their members, they often handled soul awakenings themselves, keeping the details of innate soul power hidden from outsiders. In a way, it was a method of safeguarding talent.
Thus, civilian prodigies were truly unfortunate. Once they joined the wrong faction, they were at risk of being assassinated.
At this point in the timeline, Oscar should have already awakened his martial soul, though Ma Hongjun was still a bit too young.
"Let's go take a look."
Without hesitation, Ye Wen released his divine awareness and locked onto Flender's aura. Even within Soto City, a Soul Sage's presence was still quite conspicuous.
Whether Flender was lucky or unlucky remained debatable. Though he had lost a leg, his soul power level hadn't decreased. In contrast, Tang Hao, in the original story, had lost 20 levels after removing two inherited spirit bones from his body.
It had to be said that the Hao Tian Sect's education system was highly effective. To return to the sect, Tang Hao had been ruthless enough to amputate himself—a true wolf-hearted man.
Glancing at the small village below, aside from Flender, Zhao Wuji and others were also present.
The original lineup of Shrek Academy's teachers had inadvertently gathered here.
Ye Wen couldn't help but feel a pang of regret when looking at Zhao Wuji. His soul skills were well-suited for teaching at Tianxing Academy, but his hot temper had gotten him into serious trouble during Qian Xunji's reign. Now, he was wanted by the Spirit Hall and forced to live out his days in hiding.
However, Ye Wen had no intention of recruiting him. After all, Tianxing Academy didn't lack another mere Soul Emperor like Zhao Wuji.
After surveying the area for a while, Ye Wen spotted a small figure outside the village, running laps and drenched in sweat.
Ye Wen's eyes lit up.
"So this is Oscar? He really does look like a little pretty boy. No wonder Ma Hongjun called him 'whore face' in the original story.
But what to do now? Flender really is shameless. How can he deny such a young child access to a primary academy?
Hiding and nurturing a genius to prove yourself… Feels like you're the real Yu Xiaogang here."
Soon, Ye Wen figured it out. He directly unleashed his overwhelming aura and descended upon Shrek Academy.
"Who's there!"
"Who dares trespass!"
Flender and Zhao Wuji, the strongest fighters in the academy, immediately rushed out, their gazes tense as they stared at Ye Wen.
Ye Wen calmly smiled at them.
"The Four-Eyed Cat Eagle Flender of the Golden Duo and the Immovable Bright King Zhao Wuji —never expected to find two such great talents hiding in this tiny village."
The immense pressure made it hard for Flender and Zhao Wuji to breathe. However, Flender, being the stronger of the two, forced himself to bow respectfully and ask,
"May I ask who you are, Senior, and what brings you to our humble Shrek Academy?"
With great interest, Ye Wen dispelled the oppressive aura around him and looked at Flender.
"I'd like to think my face is fairly recognizable on this continent. Shouldn't the Four-Eyed Cat Eagle take a closer look?"
The tone clearly indicated someone of great importance, but it also seemed they bore no ill will. Flender inwardly sighed in relief and squinted through his nearsighted glasses at Ye Wen.
"You are…"
Flender carefully scrutinized Ye Wen, comparing his features to those stored in his memory. Then, with a shocked expression, he exclaimed, "You're Master Ye Wen!"
Over the years, Ye Wen's theoretical works had spread widely, and his portrait had appeared in several academic texts. Anyone with even a shred of ambition who had read those papers would recognize Ye Wen's face, so Flender quickly identified him.
Flender and Zhao Wuji's attitudes became even more respectful. Not only was Ye Wen a revered scholar of martial souls, but the overwhelming aura he had just displayed was far beyond that of an ordinary Soul Sage.
Their thoughts inevitably turned to the rumors of the 98th-level Tianxing Douluo from over a decade ago.
To rise from a mere Soul Elder to such heights in just over ten years—it was truly terrifying.
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