"Speculation and assumptions?"
Ma Hongjun trembled with rage at Yu Xiaogang's feeble defense. He stormed forward, grabbing him by the collar and roared furiously.
"So you're saying even you weren't sure what kind of danger this training might bring us, and yet you still had us do it?"
"You were using us as your lab rats?!"
Ma Hongjun's emotions were boiling over, but no one blamed him—especially not the teachers of Shrek Academy.
Truthfully, if not for Flender, most of them didn't think much of Yu Xiaogang to begin with.
After all, he hadn't shown anything particularly impressive in front of them.
The only training method he taught the students was one he copied from Qi Lin.
And even then, he didn't fully understand it. Now that problems had arisen, what now?
Off to the side, Flender opened his mouth to speak, but Tang San was faster.
"Fatty, calm down first!"
"Calm down?!" Ma Hongjun roared at Tang San. "How do you expect me to calm down?"
"And you, Tang San—don't think I haven't noticed! You haven't really been training these past few days, have you?"
"Did you figure out something was wrong with this training method and deliberately kept it from us?!"
His bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Tang San.
Tang San's body stiffened slightly.
He hadn't expected Ma Hongjun to notice his half-hearted training.
As the others turned to him with confused and suspicious looks, Tang San felt his scalp go numb.
If he didn't explain, his clean and upright image among them might be finished.
"Fatty, it's not what you think. Let me explain."
He wasn't just responding to Ma Hongjun—he needed to give everyone a proper explanation.
Otherwise, a rift might form between him and the rest of Shrek.
Tang San had grand ambitions. In this world without the Tang Sect, he dreamed of reviving it and carrying it forward.
But relying on himself alone would be extremely difficult.
If he had the support of Flender and the others, things would go much more smoothly when he founded the Tang Sect.
Ma Hongjun snorted coldly. "Then tell me, why didn't you train your spirit power control with us?"
Tang San quickly organized his thoughts, then sighed and looked toward Yu Xiaogang.
Sorry, Teacher. For my future, I'll have to push the blame onto you for now.
After silently apologizing to Yu Xiaogang in his heart, Tang San softly said, "It's true—I sensed there was something wrong with this training method early on. That's why I reported it to Teacher a long time ago."
At this, everyone turned to look at Yu Xiaogang.
So Tang San had already warned him. Yet Yu Xiaogang stubbornly insisted on using the students as his test subjects.
Yu Xiaogang's face turned deathly pale again. He looked at Tang San with trembling lips, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
He hadn't expected his most beloved disciple to stab him in the back at this moment.
Granted, Tang San had indeed raised concerns, and he had refused to listen, choosing to press on anyway.
But for Tang San to bring it up now was like throwing him onto a burning pyre—Ma Hongjun and Oscar would surely hate him for this.
Tang San gave Yu Xiaogang an apologetic smile, his eyes full of helplessness, and continued, "Since Teacher didn't accept my advice, and you all…"
He looked at Ma Hongjun. "Given your mindset at the time, even if I'd told you there was a problem, would you have believed me?"
"So I had no choice. All I could do was observe your training and try to find ways to improve Teacher's method—to reduce the risks."
"Unfortunately…"
Tang San looked at the unconscious Dai Mubai and said with deep emotion, "I didn't manage to improve the method in time. Boss Dai got hurt before I could act."
"It's my fault. If I'd acted sooner, this wouldn't have happened to him."
Upon hearing this, everyone's attitude toward Tang San visibly softened.
Ma Hongjun muttered, "Hmph. How do we know you're not just putting on a show?"
Tang San immediately raised his right hand and said righteously, "Fatty, if you don't believe me, I'll swear to the heavens!"
Seeing the genuine look on Tang San's face, Ma Hongjun finally let go of his doubts.
After all, since joining Shrek, Tang San had never been a gambler or a womanizer—he always carried himself with integrity.
At this moment, Flender asked, "Tang San, have you discovered anything useful during this time?"
Tang San's expression shifted slightly. He then shook his head.
He only suspected that Qi Lin's method of spirit power training was similar in principle to his Tang Sect techniques—where power followed specific paths through the body before being released.
But without a clear path for spirit power to follow, the result could be inner deviation—or worse, like Dai Mubai, suffering from exploded meridians.
He even suspected that Dai Mubai's condition might be related to all the times he used him for testing.
After all, his teacher was the first to try this spirit control method, and he was fine. Ma Hongjun and Oscar were fine too—only Dai Mubai was harmed.
Considering Dai Mubai's White Tiger Martial Soul, his meridians should've been among the strongest.
In theory, they shouldn't have ruptured so easily.
Meanwhile, the others' eyes showed disappointment at Tang San's answer.
Suddenly, Ma Hongjun spoke up, "The one who first suggested the spirit control training was Qi Lin. Maybe he has a way to fix what's wrong with us."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up at that.
"You're right! Maybe Qi Lin can help us. Let's go to Heaven Dou Academy right away and ask for his help!"
"If he'd just pointed out the flaws in our training from the beginning, none of this might've happened!"
As soon as he said that, Flender's expression darkened slightly, and the other teachers looked at Yu Xiaogang oddly.
They couldn't believe he had the nerve to say such a thing.
He was the one who insisted Qi Lin's teaching was flawed. And now that something had gone wrong, he wanted to blame it on Qi Lin?
Flender looked at his longtime friend and suddenly found him completely unfamiliar.
At the same time, a thought arose in his mind.
This trip to Heaven Dou Academy… probably won't go smoothly.
Even a clay man has a temper. Qi Lin already didn't like Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai. Given their attitude, it would be a miracle if he helped them.
Still, Dai Mubai's injuries really did require urgent treatment. If they waited too long, his hands might be permanently crippled.
Of course, Flender wasn't thinking like Yu Xiaogang, who hoped to have Qi Lin treat Dai Mubai.
Given Dai Mubai's current condition, it was unlikely Qi Lin, a mere Spirit Ancestor, could do anything.
To Flender's knowledge, none of Qi Lin's spirit abilities had healing effects.
So Yu Xiaogang was basically treating a dead horse like a living one.
Flender's hope was to use Heaven Dou Academy's connections.
As one of the top academies in the Heaven Dou Empire, perhaps they could call in a Spirit Saint specialized in healing to save Dai Mubai.