Meeting (2)

She felt that Anping and Gu Yuena had a hidden trump card, and that they would eventually join their academy. But Anping sensed the confidence radiating from Yun Ming and Yali, and wondered what they were basing it on.

Gu Yuena shook her head with a smile, and Yali asked again: "I have a question for you, and I hope you'll be honest."

Anping and Gu Yuena nodded in unison and said, "Your Majesty, Holy Spirit, please ask."

Yali paused for a moment and said, "You turned down our invitation from Shrek several times, and then you joined the Sun Moon Academy, which is on the worst terms with us. Do you hate Shrek Academy?"

She asked this on a whim, not expecting Anping and Gu Yuena to give a straight answer.

She already knew what they felt. She could see the rejection, even the disgust, in their young eyes.

They showed no respect for her or Yun Ming. They should know that in this godless era, they were the top titled Douluo, almost invincible, if not entirely.

In this world where strength was everything, she couldn't understand why some people would act so indifferent, even when they knew how powerful they were.

She could tell that Anping's calmness and Gu Yuena's smile were not feigned. They really didn't care about her or Yun Ming.

Anping was taken aback by Yali's question. He didn't expect her to be so direct, and he hesitated to answer.

Gu Yuena smiled and said, "Yes, we hate Shrek Academy. What's so great about Shrek Academy? Why should we like it?"

Her blunt and candid answer stunned both Yali and Yun Ming. They were speechless, and so was Anping. He didn't think Gu Yuena would admit her hatred so openly.

Yun Ming's face darkened. He was the master of the Poseidon Pavilion of Shrek Academy. Hearing someone say they hated Shrek Academy to his face was not a pleasant experience.

Yali, however, didn't seem to mind. She asked curiously, "Can you tell me why?"

As the dean of the inner courtyard of Shrek Academy, she believed that Shrek had done nothing wrong, either in training talents or in maintaining peace on the continent.

She wanted to know how Shrek Academy looked to those who hated it.

"No reason, I just hate it. Anping doesn't like it either, so I don't like it. There's no special reason." Gu Yuena said calmly.

She was not as extreme as before, thanks to Anping. But she still hated Shrek Academy, because of Tang San and Huo Yuhao.

Anping shared her dislike, which only deepened it. Tang San, Huo Yuhao, and the others were revered by Shrek and the whole continent, so Gu Yuena didn't bother to explain herself. She simply shifted the blame to Anping.

Yun Ming and Yali turned their attention to the bewildered Anping, wanting to hear his side of the story.

They thought that Shrek Academy, as the number one academy on the continent, had produced countless strong people, many of whom had made history.

Anping knew he couldn't dodge the question. He had many reasons to dislike Shrek Academy, but they all boiled down to their teaching method.

But in this world where strength was everything, that concept was ingrained in people's minds. Anping was a man of few words, and he didn't dare to speak his mind.

He thought for a moment and said, "There's no special reason. I just feel like I don't fit in."

Gu Yuena, who was sipping her tea, almost choked on it. Yun Ming and Yali didn't notice. She and Anping had been together for so long, how could they not see that he was lying?

Yun Ming asked, "Don't fit in? What do you mean by that?"

Anping explained, "Well, I'm a lazy person and I don't like fighting. But from the people I've met, Shrek Academy seems to encourage fighting a lot."

Yun Ming countered, "Practical combat is the best way to improve your strength, so I don't see anything wrong with our teaching method."

He cut Anping off before he could finish. Anping shook his head wearily and said, "I wasn't done yet. There's nothing wrong with encouraging competition, but from what I've seen, the moral education of Shrek Academy is a bit... questionable."

He didn't mean that the people in his own academy were immoral. Yun Ming frowned and said, "I don't know what you're implying."

Anping didn't care much about Yun Ming's anger, and said, "I won't talk about the past, let's just talk about Wu Zhangkong bringing people to challenge Sun Moon Academy. Isn't that a matter of your Shrek's moral education?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Yun Ming's tone showed that he didn't think Wu Zhangkong did anything wrong.

Anping asked back, "No problem? If someone came to challenge your Shrek Academy with a soul-guided loudspeaker, would you let him walk out of Shrek City in one piece?"

Yun Ming was speechless. He knew that if someone dared to provoke Shrek Academy like that, even if he didn't care, the teachers and students would not let him leave Shrek City unscathed.

Seeing the tension in the air, Yali quickly changed the topic and said, "Speaking of the match at Sun Moon Academy, can you show me your martial spirit? I'm curious about what kind of power can cause such damage to Tang Wulin."

She was genuinely interested in Anping's martial spirit. When she was treating Tang Wulin, she noticed that his injuries seemed to be caused by life force.

But she, who was most sensitive to life force, didn't sense any from Anping's energy. She wanted to examine his martial spirit more closely.

She also had another motive for this visit. She wanted to use the pictures on Anping's martial spirit to steer the conversation to the sea area of Skysea City.

Anping was glad that he had learned how to simulate martial spirits and soul rings before, otherwise he would have had to refuse Yali's request.

"No problem." He said, and a beautiful book appeared in front of him. Even Gu Yuena couldn't tell the difference between it and the real thing. Neither could Yun Ming and Yali.

As the book appeared, Yun Ming and Yali focused on the picture on the cover. It was different from the one in the video. They finally got a clear view of it.

Yali looked at Yun Ming with questioning eyes. Yun Ming nodded slightly and said that it was indeed exactly the same as the bell tower he saw in the vision of heaven and earth.

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