Chapter 64: Yu Xiaogang's Explanation
"Headmaster, I know where we can find a healing-type Soul Master!"
Ning Rongrong raised her hand high and shouted loudly.
Flender's eyes lit up. "Who is it? I'll take you there right now."
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong smiled faintly and looked toward Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhuqing, you got injured during yesterday's soul battle, right? Didn't your boyfriend take you to a healing-type Soul Master?"
Flender froze. Wasn't Zhu Zhuqing supposed to be Dai Mubai's fiancée? How did she have a boyfriend? Could this be why Dai Mubai ended up overindulging? Well, never mind that—if there's hope to save him, it's all that matters. What use is a fiancée if he's lost everything?
He smiled. "Zhuqing, could you ask your boyfriend to bring that healer here?"
Zhu Zhuqing's mouth twitched slightly. She might dislike Dai Mubai, but that didn't mean she'd let him die. The problem was, the healer who treated her was a girl.
Exhaling deeply, she said seriously, "It's not that I don't want to help. Even if there's only a tiny chance, I'd ask Zu Zong for help. But the healer is a woman. I think some of you may have heard of her martial soul—Nine-Heart Begonia. Her name is Ye Lingling. Tang San knows her too."
Tang San nodded slightly, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Nine-Star Begonia? You mean Nine-Heart Begonia?!" Ning Rongrong exclaimed. She had only meant to tease Zhu Zhuqing, but unexpectedly dug up a bombshell in the support world.
"You know that martial soul?" Yu Xiaogang asked, visibly surprised. Even he hadn't heard of it.
Ning Rongrong said, "Yes. Unlike other martial souls, it passes through a single bloodline—only one inheritor per generation. At most, there are two alive at once. One must die before another can appear. It's the rarest of all martial souls. My father once said: Nine-Heart Begonia is a miracle among martial souls."
Everyone knew who Ning Rongrong's father was. Even the others in the group did. He was the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—a top authority among support-type Soul Masters. If even he called it a miracle, then its power spoke for itself.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. He'd always been fascinated by rare martial souls. "Is its healing power that great?"
Ning Rongrong nodded seriously. "It only has one function. No matter how many spirit rings it gains, it uses just one skill—wide-range group healing. The healing strength depends entirely on the Soul Master's will. The higher their level and the more rings they have, the more powerful the healing. My father said: with a Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Master around, it's hard to die even if you want to."
Flender's eyes gleamed. "If it can heal over a range, that makes things easy. We can have her heal Mubai through the door."
Zhu Zhuqing sighed and nodded. "Alright. I'll go ask Zu Zong. The key is whether Lingling agrees."
Yu Xiaogang said, "Tang San, go with Zhuqing. It'll be safer with someone by her side."
Tang San's face darkened. "Teacher, Zhuqing's boyfriend is Zu Zong. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to go?"
Yu Xiaogang paused. Then he recalled the scene when Tang San obtained his first spirit ring, and his already stiff expression grew more awkward. That day, both teacher and disciple had remembered the fear of being toyed with by that shameless serpent.
Clearing his throat, Yu Xiaogang said, "That's all the more reason to go. You offended him before, but I believe he's generous. Take the opportunity to apologize. You two are childhood acquaintances—he won't make things difficult for you."
In the end, under everyone's expectant gazes, Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing set out for Soto City to find Zu Zong.
Once the two had left, Flender turned to Yu Xiaogang. "Xiaogang, do you know this Zu Zong?"
Even Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and the others paused what they were doing, clearly curious. Zu Zong's terrifying strength had been on full display just yesterday—Dai Mubai was the living proof. Especially now that they knew Uchiha Zong and Zu Zong were the same person, none of them could suppress their unease.
Yu Xiaogang nodded with a trace of helplessness. "Zu Zong was once my student at Nuoding Academy. He and Tang San both came from the same small village."
Flender was stunned. He already knew Tang San was the son of Tang Hao*—but could it be that Zu Zong was also the son of someone equally powerful?
[Translator Note:
In the original, the name "Tang Ritian" is used. This is a popular internet nickname that literally means "Tang who f***s the heavens"—a meme used to mock overpowered or rebellious characters. The canonical name of Tang San's father is Tang Hao.]
Flender said, "Don't tell me he is too?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "No. I investigated—he has no background at all. He came purely from a small village. The original name of the village was Blue Silver Village, and nearly every household there had Blue Silver Grass."
"But then why is his Blue Silver Grass so powerful? Even Tang San's doesn't come close," Meng Yiran asked in confusion.
Since this concerned her boyfriend, she thought that learning the secret behind Zu Zong's strength might help Tang San in some way.
Yu Xiaogang said gravely, "Unlike Tang San's, his Blue Silver Grass underwent a mutation—it became extraordinarily powerful. Judging from his innate full soul power, I think you can guess the rest."
"Let me ask you this—have any of you ever seen someone under the age of twelve become a Soul Elder?"
Innate full soul power… a Soul Elder under twelve?
Did that mean Zu Zong became a Soul Elder at the age of eleven?
Among them, Tang San was already considered a prodigy—reaching Soul Elder before the age of thirteen. But compared to Zu Zong, even that achievement paled in comparison.
More importantly, the combat power Zu Zong displayed—despite being in the same realm—utterly crushed Dai Mubai, who was considered strong even among Soul Elders. Mubai was like a child in front of him.
How could they not be shocked?
"Then… has he joined any academy? Why hasn't he come to Shrek?!" Flender asked excitedly.
If Zu Zong joined, Shrek Academy would reach unprecedented heights. Just imagining it made Flender so thrilled his saliva was about to drip out.
His eyes gleamed like gold. Flender had three great passions: Liu Erlong, gold spirit coins, and monstrously talented students.
Yu Xiaogang gave him a glare. You think I didn't invite him? I practically wore my lips out talking. I even hyped Shrek to the heavens, and he still wouldn't come.
What could I do? I was lucky just to talk Zhu Zhuqing into transferring. And look at you, drooling like a pig—how are you still a headmaster?
Yu Xiaogang said, "That, I don't know. He once promised he'd come visit Shrek, but maybe the academy looked too shabby, so he gave up."
"Anyway, wasn't Zhu Zhuqing going to find Zu Zong just now?"
[End of Chapter]
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