Inside the Shrek venue, Yu Xiaogang and Yu Tianheng were completely lost in a nostalgic haze, reminiscing about the good old days. The two stood a little too close for comfort, gazing into each other's eyes like long-lost soulmates in a tragic stage play.
Flender coughed awkwardly, using the sound to mask his secondhand embarrassment. He quickly turned to Qin Ming, who looked equally uncomfortable watching his student behave like a swooning fanboy with his own uncle—but wisely chose not to comment.
Zhao Wuji broke the awkward silence, clapping a firm hand on Qin Ming's shoulder. "You became the youngest Soul Emperor in the entire continent! You're truly our pride."
Qin Ming laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head like a bashful teenager. "Teacher flatters me too much, haha…"
(Of course, they didn't know about Qian Renxue, so technically, Qin Ming really was one of the youngest Soul Emperors on the continent.)
Flender sighed "Haah.. these are the last batch of our Shrek academy. The funds are getting tighter and tighter." pointing at Tang yin and rest of the Shrek seven.
Flender took this opportunity to formally introduce Qin Ming to everyone. Qin Ming shook hands with the members of the Shrek Seven one by one, all smiles and politeness.
But when it came time to introduce the Emperor Team members, all pretense of harmony evaporated.
Dugu Yan glared daggers at Tang Yin, who responded with the most infuriating move possible: ignoring her entirely.
Qin Ming was enthusiastic about Shrek seven because he saw that all of the members were genius and cream of the crop. He really valued their talent and sighed "what a pity, if you weren't from Shrek i would've tried every possible means to recruit you into the imperial academy. If with your presence perhaps..."
Yu Xiaogang perked up at this time "Even though they are from shrek, you can still bring them to the imperial academy."
Flender glared dissatisfied with Yu Xiaogang "Master are you here to undercut me?! They belong to Shrek academy. Are you telling me that we can't we give them the best education in Shrek?"
Qin Ming immediately understood Yu Xiaogang hints "Master are you talking about.."
Yu Xiaogang perked up "Exactly, if I'm not mistaken Tian Duo Academy possess two seats for the continental elite young soul master competition one year later, am I right? I can allow them to join the competition representing tian duo empire "
Flender slammed the table "No, I don't consent to it. They belong to Shrek. Master, don't forget it. I've put painstaking effort into Shrek for two decades."
Yu Xiaogang said shamelessly "Flender, let me ask you—can you provide them with a mimicry environment? Can you secure their entry into the competition? What's your real goal in establishing Shrek Academy, anyway?"
Tang Yin sneered at Yu Xiaogang's blatant hypocrisy. "Yu Xiaogang might sound righteous—maybe he even thinks he's doing it for the students—but try looking at it from Flender's perspective. This academy is his blood, sweat, and tears. And now this guy wants him to just hand over the students to another academy?"
(Let's be honest. Yu Xiaogang doesn't care about the students. He just wants to win some prestige, parade his disciple around for the world to see, and land a nice, loud slap across Bibi Dong's face)
Flender's face twitched, caught somewhere between anger and disbelief.His so-called friend stood there, shamelessly questioning everything he'd built, as if Shrek Academy was some half-baked hobby instead of the result of years of grinding effort.
His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles white.
Of course he cared about the students – he plopped down in his seat.
The room was silent with tention
After his self-righteous speech, Yu Xiaogang wasted no time cozying up to his nephew.
Yu Tianheng, oblivious to the tension in the room, actually felt his uncle made a good point. The moment he heard Yu Xiaogang would be joining the same academy, his joy was instant and borderline embarrassing.
Then it happened—
Yu Tianheng let out a squeal so high-pitched it could've shattered glass. He was chatting animatedly with Yu Xiaogang, who was tightly clasping his hand and cracking jokes like they were high school sweethearts at a reunion. Yu Tianheng, to the horror of onlookers, was clearly enjoying it a little too much.
The room, however, was not feeling the love.
Tang Yin cleared his throat loudly. "Uh, everyone… I'm not feeling too well tonight. I'll head out and get some rest. Goodnight," he announced, already halfway to the door like a man fleeing a crime scene.
Almost like they had rehearsed it, the girls—and Oscar—exchanged glances and bolted after him like a well-trained evacuation squad. Their instincts screamed in unison: ABORT! ABORT!
Tang San narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't right. Very not right. And you couldn't blame him—he had been an assassin in a past life, after all. But with his master still present, he decided to stay behind.
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan stood frozen, feeling a little... lost after hearing the silver laugh. She was seeing Yu Tianheng in an entirely new light—a blinding, glittery light she hadn't signed up for.
Yu Tianheng had pursued her for the longest time, practically groveling for her affection. She'd finally relented about three months ago, giving in to his relentless pestering (or maybe she'd just gotten tired of the daily flowers and over-the-top declarations). But this? This was not part of the boyfriend package she agreed to.
Her fingers tightened around the hem of her skirt, knuckles white. Across the room, her boyfriend was squealing like an overly enthusiastic fangirl, hand-in-hand with Yu Xiaogang like they were a newly wed couple. Dugu Yan could practically see sparkles and flower petals dancing around them.
She tried to rationalize it—maybe he was just excited? Maybe this was normal family bonding?—but the logical part of her brain had already found the answer.
Her feelings for Yu Tianheng had only just started to bloom, delicate and unsure. But now? It felt like he was personally yanking the petals off that flower one by one.
The emotional connection she once tried to build—the one between a loving boyfriend and girlfriend—was quickly unraveling before her very eyes. Still, she wasn't cruel. She decided she'd wait a while longer... and then gently break it to him.
Preferably when he wasn't clasping another man's hand like they were about to elope.
Afterwards, Yu Xiaogang finally—reluctantly—parted ways with Yu Tianheng. But not before they shared a passionate, lingering hug. Arms wrapped tight, eyes closed, it was the kind of embrace usually reserved for lovers saying goodbye at train stations.
Flender's eye twitched violently, but he made a valiant effort to maintain his composure.
Zhao Wuji, on the other hand, had reached his limit.
"Oh, come on, lovebirds," he barked, throwing up his hands. "You can meet each other next time. We don't want to watch your public display of affection"
The two turned to look at him with identical expressions of blank confusion. Their faces screamed, 'What do you mean? We're just saying our goodbyes'
To them, it was a perfectly average, healthy uncle-nephew moment.
After Yu Xiaogang left with flender & Zhao wuji, Yu Tianheng returned to his Team members with Qin Ming. He barely took a breath before locking eyes on Dugu Yan, clearly expecting a warm welcome.
Instead, she looked everywhere except at him. He had a feeling that Dugu Yan was avoiding his gaze with slight disgust. The Emperor Team were also returning towards their respective hotel.
At this time, Dugu Yan's hand was caught up by Yu Tianheng. Dugu Yan expression looked unnatural and she blurted out "Yu Tianheng let's break up" Yu Tianheng jolted awake "What?!"
"Yan Yan… what are you saying?" Yu Tianheng asked, blinking in disbelief, his voice caught somewhere between confusion and panic.
Dugu Yan didn't even flinch. Her gaze was cold, steady, and utterly done.
"I'm saying let's break up," she repeated, crystal clear. "And please—don't talk to me again."
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, not sparing him a second glance.
Poor Yu Tianheng stood their feeling a little lost for a long time. Today was a rollercoaster of an emotion for him.