Wu Siduo's face remained expressionless until Lin Xiuran left. As he passed by her, she suddenly spoke, "I want to fight you."
Wu Siduo didn't know the intricacies of the situation. Like Ye Xinglan, she admired strength, and she could clearly sense that Lin Xiuran was very strong.
Lin Xiuran stared at her intently, then said calmly, "We'll have a fight during the competition."
Wu Siduo was slightly taken aback, turned her head, and stared blankly as Lin Xiuran left.
Today had been a huge shock to their class. Three students from the inner academy were going to battle against five of their class's top young geniuses—it was bound to be exciting.
Lin Xiuran naturally left to find Wu Changkong. He hadn't seen him for two years, and he still had many questions he wanted to ask.
"Teacher Wu." Wu Changkong seemed to know Lin Xiuran would come to see him, and was already sitting on a bench near the classroom, waiting. "Sit down." Wu Changkong was as aloof as ever, his reply as concise as ever. Lin Xiuran sat down, but hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't
. Wu Changkong asked, "How's your cultivation lately?" "Not bad, my soul power has reached level forty." "And your forging?" "I'm already a level five forger." Deep down, Wu Changkong was still surprised; he was quite satisfied with Lin Xiuran's growth. A large part of the reason he brought Lin Xiuran to Shrek Academy so early was because he knew the boy's talent was extraordinary. He couldn't teach him at his own level, which was why he allowed Shen Yi's idea. Now it seems the decision was correct. Lin Xiuran's growth rate was truly astonishing; even in the last hundred years, only the Sea God Pavilion Master had reached this level of youthful genius.
"You want to ask about your mother, right?" Wu Changkong's words were calm, yet they truly pierced Lin Xiuran's thoughts.
Lin Xiuran sighed softly, "I can't hide it from you."
A hint of reminiscence flickered in Wu Changkong's eyes, then he said, "When I have time, I'll take you to Tiandou City. Then, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Okay." With time to settle things, Lin Xiuran wasn't in a hurry. One day, he would understand everything.
Wu Changkong's cool voice softened slightly as he said, "However, even I know only so much. I'll try to investigate as much as possible these days, and then distance myself from you. But you'll need to investigate and understand much more yourself."
Lin Xiuran knew that his mother's matter wasn't so simple; it didn't just involve the Tang Clan, it seemed there were other things involved.
Wu Changkong patted Lin Xiuran's shoulder lightly, his eyes filled with determination.
Lin Xiuran knew that this person was telling him that no matter what, they would stand behind him and support him.
This warmed Lin Xiuran's heart; having someone support him was much better than recklessly forging ahead alone.
Normally, Lin Xiuran didn't need to attend classes in the outer courtyard; his cultivation usually took place in the inner courtyard, only going there for exams or competitions.
Therefore, he didn't often see Xie Xie and the others, but they would still exchange greetings sometimes.
In the afternoon, Lin Xiuran sparred with Ye Xinglan; he couldn't help it, this guy really wanted to fight him one-on-one.
It was always like this, so Lin Xiuran gave her a lecture. After all, constantly bothering her wasn't a good thing.
This time, however, Ye Xinglan was somewhat withdrawn. She thought she had made significant progress during this month's holiday, but she still couldn't beat Lin Xiuran.
It was too difficult!
That was Ye Xinglan's only thought at the moment. She truly hadn't expected the gap between her and Lin Xiuran to still be so large.
Three years had passed, and instead of improving, it seemed they were growing further apart.
Seeing Ye Xinglan's slightly withdrawn state, Lin Xiuran shook his head slightly and chuckled, "Girl, you still need to improve." He
made a joke for a moment, then ignored her and walked straight towards the outer courtyard.
…
"You old bastard, shameless! You actually stole my disciple's disciple!"
Mu Chen's unwilling voice echoed in the spacious, silver-white forging room.
This room looked very peculiar, at least three hundred square meters, and everything inside was made of metal, including the walls, tables, chairs, and all the utensils. Everywhere was filled with a metallic texture, giving it a futuristic feel.
The man being glared at by Mu Chen was a middle-aged man with black hair, a tall and slender build, and very handsome features. Strangely, it was difficult to guess his age from his appearance alone.
He looked to be only in his thirties, but his eyes were filled with a deep, weathered look, something far beyond his years. His sideburns were completely white, a stark contrast to his black hair.
Most striking were his hands—hands at least fifty percent larger than average, yet without prominent knuckles, white and slender, like a woman's hands magnified several times. Even the skin on his palms was translucent, like jade.
At this moment, he sat leisurely in a chair, sipping tea, quietly watching Mu Chen's impotent rage, a slight smile even playing on his lips.
He couldn't believe it; it was a complete reversal of fortune. Just a few days ago, when Mu Chen resigned to come to the Shrek City Association, he had roared at Mu Chen in the same way.
But in just a few days, their roles had been reversed. This made him very proud, feeling like he had finally gotten his revenge.
Mu Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Zhenhua, you really are insidious. No wonder you suddenly came to Shrek City, you just came to show off to me."
Zhenhua raised an eyebrow slightly: "Who said that? I didn't say that."
Mu Chen was so angry that he wanted to curse Zhenhua, but he was interrupted by the other party.
"What are you so angry about? Don't you have a genius disciple?"
Zhenhua's voice was casual, but with a hint of amusement.
Yes, who wouldn't want a disciple as outstanding as Lin Xiuran? Even with a genius like Tang Wulin, he would still want him.
"I really didn't expect that you would snatch him away from me in just a few days."
Mu Chen had already approached Lin Xiuran to discuss it during the Tianhai Alliance Grand Competition, and at first he wasn't in a hurry.
But then Lin Xiuran spent a year in special training, preparing for the All-Federation Grand Competition, so he felt embarrassed to bother him.
Finally, after the competition ended, Lin Xiuran didn't return to Donghai City and was accepted by the inner court of Shrek Academy.
These past two days had finally brought him to the position of chairman of the Blacksmiths' Association in Shrek City. But unexpectedly, Zhenhua had already taken Lin Xiuran as his apprentice before him.
This completely broke down his defenses.
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(End of Chapter)