Chapter 344: Shrek Mayhem III
Yu Xiaogang stood frozen—the guard’s words cutting deeper than any sword. The pride he had carried like armor all his life—the belief that his theories could overcome any innate weakness—was beginning to splinter.
"But... but the Blue Silver Grass has potential," he murmured, almost to himself. "I ran the calculations, mapped the ring combinations. With optimal absorption, the compatibility index was above 72%! If he just followed it step-by-step—"
The younger guard scoffed. "And yet, here we are. Theory doesn’t win fights, old man. Spirit power does. Talent does. You think spirit beasts care about your compatibility graphs when they’re trying to rip your guts out?"
Yu Xiaogang’s fists trembled. He opened his mouth, trying to speak—but nothing came out.
"And the best part?" the guard continued, leaning casually against the gatepost with his arms folded. "You weren’t even there when Tang San needed you most. After his first failure, you disappeared. You didn’t guide him. You didn’t help him evolve. You just left him to sink."
"I didn’t abandon him..." Yu Xiaogang muttered, his voice hoarse. "I... I went to improve the theory. I needed more time to refine the sequence. It was meant to benefit him!"
The older gatekeeper let out a long, tired sigh. "Old man, no one cares about your formulas anymore. We don’t teach kids like that here. Not in this Academy. Not in Tian Dou either."
He gestured toward the wide courtyard behind him, where young students trained in pairs, vibrant energy dancing around them.
"These kids are learning through experience. Trial. Adaptation. Teamwork. You can’t teach that from behind a desk with a scroll in your hand."
Yu Xiaogang’s shoulders slumped, his face a mask of disbelief and wounded pride. His chest rose and fell unevenly as reality continued to press down on him.
The younger guard added one final jab. "Face it. Your era passed. No one needs your ’ten core theories.’ Not here. Not anywhere."
A small breeze passed through, tugging at the hem of Yu Xiaogang’s dusty coat. For the first time in years... he had nothing to say.
The gates of Shrek Academy remained shut.
He turned away—stiff-legged, muttering to himself—half-formed sentences, fragmented ring formulas, compatibility coefficients, and broken dreams.
Behind him, the guards didn’t even bother to watch him leave.
To them, he was just another has-been with faded glory and empty words.
To himself... he wasn’t sure what he was anymore.
A theorist with no followers?
A master with no students?
A man with no legacy?
The mud on his shoes felt heavier with each step.
And so, the self-proclaimed Grandmaster walked away—not just from Shrek Academy, but from the only place that had ever acknowledged him.
This time, no one looked back.
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Yu Xiaogang had been standing outside the academy walls for some time now. His pride had long since peeled away, replaced by a hollow silence. Slowly, he turned to glance back at the towering gates of Shrek Academy—once a place he believed had been built on the backbone of his theories, his vision.
It stood proud, well-maintained, vibrant with life... but there was no place for him within it.
He had hoped to rejoin the academy—to be welcomed back as a teacher, perhaps even as a mentor to the next generation. In his mind, he had envisioned a triumphant return. Maybe he’d walk in during a lecture, share a few insights, and the students would gasp in admiration. They would whisper, in awe, that the Grandmaster himself had returned to guide them.
But reality was crueler than theory.
The guards had laughed him off. The name "Grandmaster" meant nothing to them. Even his prized student—Tang San—had apparently fallen into mediocrity, known now only for his broken Blue Silver Grass spirit.
Still clinging to the hope of reclaiming something, Yu Xiaogang decided to sneak inside the academy and confront Flander directly. He evaded the guards, asked a few unsuspecting students for directions to the dean’s office, and eventually arrived—quietly, nervously.
But what he found was something he never could have expected.
From a hidden corner along the courtyard wall, he glimpsed through the dean’s office window.
Flander was seated confidently at the desk—his desk, the one Yu Xiaogang had imagined himself behind a thousand times in daydreams.
And sitting on his lap, eyes glowing with affection, laughing softly, was Liu Erlong.
Yu Xiaogang’s heart clenched.
They were close—far too close. He watched in frozen disbelief as Erlong leaned in and kissed Flander—not with politeness or restraint, but with warmth. With passion.
She kissed him like someone in love.
He couldn’t look away.
He had always told himself that Liu Erlong was his. That even though he’d kept her at arm’s length for years, she would understand. She would wait. She would follow his vision of a greater cultivation world shaped by theory and reason.
But now... there she was, radiant and alive in ways he had never seen before—wrapped in someone else’s arms.
Flander’s arms.
He stepped back from the window, breath shallow, the color draining from his face. The ground felt uneven. The world tilted.
She had moved on.
So had he.
This academy—his so-called legacy—had thrived without him. Had even laughed at his return.
Staggering slightly, he turned away, barely keeping his footing. A student passed nearby but didn’t glance at him.
To them, he was no one.
Just an old man standing in the wrong place.
No one recognized him. No one cared.
And that truth hurt more than any insult the guards had thrown his way.
Still, despite the humiliation, despite the heartbreak of seeing Liu Erlong with another man—cheating, in his eyes—Yu Xiaogang returned to the Dean’s office door.
Pride shattered.
But clinging to something... anything.
He raised his hand, hesitated, then knocked.
From inside, a voice called out, "Coming!"
Moments later, the door creaked open. Liu Erlong appeared in the doorway. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Yu Xiaogang... is it you?" she asked softly, shocked.
Yu Xiaogang gave a stiff, hollow smile—hiding the storm in his chest.
"Yes... it’s me."
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