Jiang Yunzhou took the gold coins, weighing them in his hand. There were about a hundred of them.
He curled his lips and said, "Hmph, at least you know your place. If you dare to cause trouble again, I'll extort you until you're dead!"
Hu Lande's mouth twitched, and he inwardly complained, "How can he extort money in public and still be so righteous?"
But circumstances were stronger than him; he couldn't win, so whatever the other person said, it was. He could only accept his loss.
It just pained him so much! The funds he had painstakingly accumulated through trickery and deception... no, through hard work recruiting students, were now all extorted!
Jiang Yunzhou patted Hu Lande's shoulder as if encouraging a junior, "Work hard, develop well. I'll come extort you again next time."
After speaking, he contentedly tucked away the nearly thousand gold coins and turned, no longer bothering with the disheveled Hu Lande.
He shouted towards Zhu Zhuqing, "Zhu Qing, stop playing! When you've vented enough, come back. It's time to clean up and prepare dinner!"
Glancing at Dai Mubai, who was beaten black and blue, Jiang Yunzhou felt that being a sparring partner was indeed quite painful.
"I really am hungry... and I still need to buy ingredients."
He mumbled, he hadn't even bought the ingredients yet, and precious time couldn't all be wasted on fighting.
Zhu Zhuqing was very obedient.
Especially since she felt that her teacher's manner of slapping people and extorting money just now was incredibly cool!
So she decided to imitate him.
Her teacher had said: Avenge grudges, don't bottle them up. As long as you don't kill them, beat them to death.
"Slap! Slap! Slap!"
Crisp slaps rang out, accompanied by her cold, low curses: "Idiot! Dog man! Coward! Pay up..."
After several sharp sounds, Dai Mubai's once handsome cheeks swelled up at a visible speed.
Zhu Zhuqing found the bloodstains on his face dirty her hands, so she finished with a swift flying kick, precisely sending Dai Mubai back into the Shrek Academy courtyard.
Having done all this, Zhu Zhuqing felt the pent-up frustration in her heart completely swept away, leaving her incredibly clear-headed.
Beating up a scumbag really did make her feel much better!
She no longer wanted to walk hand in hand with this man; she just felt that her brain must have been broken before.
Otherwise, why would she have thought of coming to find this man?
What a pathetic man, truly disgusting, ugh.
During this battle, she truly felt the power of those cultivation techniques. The feeling of fighting above her level was simply too good.
All of this was brought to her by her teacher.
Supporting each other with Dai Mubai?
No, no, no, she only wanted to support Jiang Yunzhou now.
She clapped her hands, brushing off non-existent dust, and quickly returned to Jiang Yunzhou's side.
The sharp aura she had while beating someone just now vanished the moment she saw Jiang Yunzhou, returning to the slightly well-behaved girl she was before.
"Teacher, the cultivation technique you taught me is truly amazing."
She leaned close to Jiang Yunzhou's ear, lowering her voice and speaking excitedly, her face filled with unconcealed joy and admiration.
Jiang Yunzhou dotingly ruffled her hair, sensing the change in her mindset.
It seemed their bond had been mostly severed.
"You performed well, but you still need to practice diligently in the future. Your potential is far more than this."
"However, you only made him pay, but you didn't get a single gold coin back. You didn't do well in that aspect."
Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment. She had purely vented her anger and kicked the person away.
She had indeed forgotten to search him.
"Ah, next time, next time I'll remember."
She seemed to greatly enjoy this affectionate acknowledgment of being petted by Jiang Yunzhou, like a kitten being stroked, nodding heavily.
Before leaving, Jiang Yunzhou's gaze turned to Xiao Wu, who was watching the battle from the side, and he gave her a meaningful smile.
Xiao Wu's eyes subconsciously darted away, her heart inexplicably quickening.
Her gaze had never left Jiang Yunzhou from beginning to end.
Whether it was his formidable strength that crushed a Spirit Saint, or his nonchalant, rogue-like manner of extorting money, he always carried an air of effortless composure.
He really... did impress her.
In stark contrast, a hint of annoyance couldn't help but rise in her heart: Why couldn't Third Brother give her this kind of powerful, reliable, yet slightly mischievous feeling?
He was like a dull gourd all day.
He only knew how to play with grass, or tinker with those Hidden Weapons for sneak attacks... She had also seen Jiang Yunzhou's Spirit, which was also grass. Why could others make grass so domineering?
And Third Brother's only knew Binding. Did he really like playing with bondage that much?
To be honest, she was already somewhat moved by what Jiang Yunzhou had said earlier.
She had also personally witnessed Zhu Zhuqing's battle, which was truly outstanding. A Spirit Grandmaster could actually suppress a Spirit Elder throughout the entire fight!
This was enough to prove that Jiang Yunzhou truly had something special!
Although Dai Mubai had indeed been careless at the beginning and lost the initiative, leading to his subsequent crushing defeat, a loss was a loss.
Tang San saw the meaningful look Jiang Yunzhou cast at Xiao Wu, and an inexplicable anger flared in his heart, feeling a surge of stifling frustration and humiliation.
From the moment that man appeared until now, he hadn't even looked at him directly once!
His gaze swept past him, accurately landing on Xiao Wu. This complete disregard, for the arrogant Tang San, was in itself a great slight.
He roared silently in his heart: Ah ah ah—just you wait! One day, I will ruthlessly trample you underfoot!
He suddenly remembered a crucial detail and turned to ask Xiao Wu, "Xiao Wu, did you notice just now? That man's first spirit ring was a purple, thousand-year spirit ring!"
Xiao Wu was stunned by the question. She had been so engrossed in looking at Jiang Yunzhou's face and his overall demeanor that she hadn't paid any attention to the color of his spirit ring.
But upon closer thought, it didn't seem strange for such a thing to happen to that man.
She stammered, "It, it seems so..."
After answering, her thoughts shifted, and she felt it was a good opportunity to test Tang San's attitude, so she seized the chance to ask:
"Third Brother, this Shrek Academy, so many people combined couldn't even defeat one Jiang Yunzhou. It doesn't seem that great, does it? Are you still determined to join here?"
She carefully observed Tang San's expression, "I think that Supreme Academy is quite formidable. Otherwise, should we..."
Tang San's face instantly darkened, and he directly interrupted her words.
So that man was called Jiang Yunzhou? Xiao Wu actually knew that person was called Jiang Yunzhou? He was so angry.
Although he was also quite disappointed with Shrek Academy's performance, this was something his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, had solemnly instructed.
Moreover, it wouldn't be long before his teacher would meet him here.
"Xiao Wu, be obedient!"
Tang San's tone was resolute, "Teacher wants us to join Shrek. There must be a deeper meaning to it. We just need to follow the arrangements."
"But Third Brother..."
Xiao Wu tried to struggle a bit, bringing up the examples she had seen, "That Supreme Academy is truly different! Didn't you see how powerful his disciple is? That golden-haired White Tiger, you fought him in the hotel last time. Do you think you can definitely win against him? But that black-clad older sister can suppress him!"
These words were like a thorn, piercing Tang San's heart.
He had to admit that Xiao Wu was speaking the truth.
If he were to face Zhu Zhuqing, without using Hidden Weapons or other external means, and relying solely on a Spirit duel, the outcome might indeed not be pretty... However, his deep-seated trust and reverence for his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, took precedence.
It was his teacher's theories that guided his cultivation; without his teacher, there would be no Tang San today.
Tang San was a person who respected his teacher, valued integrity, and kept his promises. Since he had promised his teacher, he would never change his mind due to temporary strength or weakness.
Therefore, Xiao Wu's opinion was unequivocally rejected by him.