"Teacher, you have to believe me! By pure accident, I once entered Sunset Forest, and it's filled with hundred-thousand-year-old immortal herbs. As long as you consume one, I guarantee you'll break through to Limit Douluo!" Tang San said excitedly.
He clung tightly to Xuan Zi, unwilling to let go. This teacher of his was terribly unreliable. Although he held a high position in Shrek Academy, he had abandoned him in Zhou Yi's class in the outer courtyard for two or three months without a second thought, leaving his life and death to fate.
Even someone like Zhou Sicheng, that little brat, dared to bully him, and he didn't even have the ability to fight back.
Was respecting one's teacher and valuing his teachings a mistake? Young people these days...
"What's with you?" Xuan Zi looked at Tang San, who was clinging to his arm with tear-filled eyes, and was a little stunned.
What do you think? Tang San's face was full of grievance, but he couldn't say it outright.
He could only phrase it diplomatically: "Teacher, my family is poor. When I arrived, the Haotian Sect didn't give me much money. Since I got into the academy thanks to your connection, I can't even apply for financial aid. I have to sustain myself by forging metal outside the school every day, and I've already lost a lot of weight..."
Only then did Xuan Zi pat his forehead. His drunken face turned slightly red as he suddenly realized.
Taking on a disciple was Elder Mu's task. Xuan Zi felt that he had fulfilled his duty and had gone straight to the depths of Star Dou Forest to feast and drink. He had completely forgotten about this conveniently acquired disciple. If he hadn't just returned to the academy this morning and remembered Tang San while passing by, the boy might have been left waiting until next year...
"No money? That's easy to fix. I'll take you to find Yan Shaozhe later and have him promote you to a core disciple. As for the immortal herbs..." Xuan Zi hesitated slightly.
"Sunset Forest isn't exactly close. Even if I take you there, it'll take over a day. But the place has withered terribly; forget immortal herbs, I haven't even seen many ten-thousand-year soul beasts there. Are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely!" Tang San was overjoyed.
"Teacher, trust me this once! As a member of the Haotian Sect, I once secretly read an ancient text called the Mysterious Heaven Record. It was said to have been written by my ancestor, Tang San. It records many secrets of the continent, and the one that left the deepest impression on me was a valley deep within Sunset Forest..."
To be honest, he hadn't originally planned to let Xuan Zi know about this. After all, it was his Tang family's treasure, something he intended to pass down to his sons and grandsons. But in this urgent situation, he had no choice but to make a sacrifice.
"Tang San?!" Xuan Zi's drowsy head instantly froze upon hearing that name. He then fixed his gaze on Tang San.
"Yes! And coincidentally, that ancestor of mine had the same name as me, even the same martial soul..." Tang San grinned.
"Interesting... very interesting..." Xuan Zi patted his forehead, suddenly feeling much more awake. "Since you're from the Haotian Sect, which is full of powerful figures and has a heritage that rivals Shrek Academy, it's not surprising that you have records left by your ancestor Tang San. Fine, we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."
"Thank you, Teacher!" Tang San let out a deep sigh of relief.
Once he absorbed the immortal herbs and diligently trained, he believed he would be able to catch up to Zhou Sicheng and then beat him up mercilessly.
That kick was still fresh in his memory...
"But first, we need to take a trip to the new Class One." Xuan Zi's eyes narrowed slightly as he took a swig of liquor.
"New Class One?" Tang San was puzzled.
"Some people need to be reminded of their place. Even someone I personally assigned a task to dares to neglect her duties. Does she really think she's untouchable?" Xuan Zi snorted coldly.
Although he often drank and made mistakes, his mind was still sharp. Seeing Tang San's current miserable state, he immediately knew that Zhou Yi had completely disregarded his previous instructions.
Did she really think that just because she had Fan Yu backing her, she could do whatever she wanted in the academy?
"Teacher, isn't this a bit inappropriate..." Tang San frowned. "Although Teacher Zhou Yi often criticizes me in class, saying that I only got in through connections and should keep my head down, and she frequently singles me out for criticism, making my classmates look at me strangely, I know she means well. She's trying to toughen my heart for the future..."
But before he could finish speaking—
Xuan Zi's expression darkened completely. He gritted his teeth. "Zhou Yi…"
"Let's go!"
With that, he grabbed Tang San and vanished in an instant.
"If Shrek Academy's training methods only consist of running laps and weighted running, then we exchange students from the Sun Moon Empire have really broadened our horizons."
Xiao Hongchen said indifferently.
"After all, a self-proclaimed number one academy with ten thousand-year legacy, where so-called elite teachers only teach the most basic knowledge and leave everything else up to the students themselves—what's the point of such an academy even existing?"
He was in full attack mode.
Even the sixth-year students behind Zhou Yi widened their eyes in shock. Some of the male students even secretly gave him a thumbs-up.
They had suffered under Zhou Yi for too long.
But they had been silenced by her threats of expulsion, unable to speak up.
Now, this Sun Moon Empire exchange student had bluntly voiced their long-suppressed grievances.
Several surrounding teachers were visibly agitated but couldn't refute his words.
After all, what he said was true. If they were only targeting Zhou Yi, they actually agreed with him. Shrek Academy had many truly talented educators, but there were also a few bad apples like Zhou Yi who had only risen through connections.
And more importantly, these were Sun Moon Empire students, which made things even trickier...
"You—you… ten thousand years ago, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang trained his students this way too! His statue stands at the academy entrance, and yet you dare question him?!" Zhou Yi's face turned livid.
"Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang was called a theoretical genius. His running exercises were just a training method, not the goal itself. He had profound knowledge, like a walking encyclopedia, and could teach students how to maximize their strengths. What about you?" Xiao Hongchen sneered.
"In your so-called training, running is the only goal! From Year One to Year Six, do you have any other training methods in that barren mind of yours?"
"I—I..." Zhou Yi took a step back. In the past, she had Fan Yu's backing, so no matter how unreasonable she was, no one dared challenge her.
But now, these Sun Moon Empire students were not giving her any leeway.
Regret filled her heart. If she had known this would happen, she would have let them transfer classes. Her reputation might have suffered, but at least she wouldn't be facing this level of humiliation—she couldn't outfight them or outargue them.
By tomorrow morning, the entire academy would know about this.
How could she continue teaching here?
"Uuuuu..."
With that thought, she suddenly covered her face and started sobbing.
Xiao Hongchen: "…"
The smug smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by a look of confusion.
Crying?
The surrounding Sun Moon Empire students also scratched their heads awkwardly. What was this? If you can't win the argument, you start crying? Playing the victim?
From the shadows, Yan Shaozhe sighed and rubbed his face. "So Zhou Yi really has no skills at all? She was only propped up by Fan Yu?"
Dean Du Weilun's mouth twitched. He nodded silently.
Having worked with Zhou Yi for years, he knew exactly what kind of person she was. In the past, he had turned a blind eye because of Fan Yu, but now…
"Forget it. Let's step in before this turns into a full-blown scandal." Yan Shaozhe said flatly.
"What do you mean?" Du Weilun asked cautiously.
"Protect her at all costs!" Yan Shaozhe declared firmly. "A few little brats from the Sun Moon Empire think they can cause trouble on my turf? Dream on!"
Cough! Cough!
In an instant, Yan Shaozhe's figure slowly emerged in front of everyone.
He cleared his throat twice, drawing all eyes to him.
"Dean, you must stand up for me! They humiliated me and insulted the academy—boohoohoo…" Zhou Yi sobbed like she had found her savior.
She knew that after today, her reputation was ruined, so while she sniffled, she also shot a vicious glare at the others.
"Dean Yan, please uphold justice. I believe you heard everything just now, didn't you?" Xiao Hongchen said unhurriedly.
"As the Martial Soul Department Dean, I will, of course, be fair and impartial." Yan Shaozhe glanced at him indifferently. "I have heard everything that transpired. Teacher Zhou Yi's class has consistently ranked first in the inner court admission rate, providing a steady flow of fresh talent. Her training methods may be controversial, but her results speak for themselves."
"You may have had conflicts with Teacher Zhou Yi and wanted to switch teachers, but slandering her was not the right approach. You should have come directly to me."
"How about this? Since I happened to be here today, I will allow you to switch teachers. You only need to apologize to Teacher Zhou Yi. After all, she is innocent…" Yan Shaozhe said with a smile as he looked at them.
However, Xiao Hongchen frowned slightly, staring at Yan Shaozhe.
Such cunning rhetoric—what was originally an issue of Zhou Yi being incompetent and ruining her students had now been twisted into 'they had a grudge against Zhou Yi and were smearing her just to switch teachers'.
Sure enough, the expressions of the surrounding teachers and students changed instantly.
With Shrek's deep-rooted indoctrination and the strong sense of collective honor at play, it was natural for them to side with Zhou Yi.
"Old fox…" Xiao Hongchen cursed inwardly. Just as he was about to argue back, Ma Rulong interrupted him.
"Dean Yan, there's no need to twist the facts. What Teacher Zhou Yi has done isn't something that can be whitewashed with a few words," Ma Rulong said while giving Xiao Hongchen a meaningful look.
If they kept arguing, they'd just be falling into Yan Shaozhe's trap, getting more and more entangled. Instead, it was better to reveal their trump card and catch him off guard.
Xiao Hongchen immediately understood.
With a light tap on his soul tool storage ring, he retrieved a thick stack of documents.
Yan Shaozhe's eyes twitched. He glanced at Zhou Yi beside him, feeling slightly doubtful—could it be that Du Weilun had been hiding something from him?
Zhou Yi, on the other hand, was completely at a loss. She had no idea what they were about to expose.
"Zhang Wenyan, a member of the Bai Ling Sect, 23 years old, was Zhou Yi's first batch of students. Due to long-term high-intensity training, his potential was depleted, and he sustained numerous hidden injuries that were not properly treated. In his fourth year, he was expelled at rank 39. After returning to his sect, he developed lasting ailments and was essentially crippled. Even after seven or eight years, he is still stuck at the peak of the Soul Elder level…"
"Tian Xuan…"
"…"
As Xiao Hongchen read out the list of names and details, a wave of gasps erupted from Class 6-1 behind Zhou Yi.
Half of the names mentioned were their former classmates!
Although many of them had been eliminated and sent home over time, their names had never been forgotten.
With these revelations, memories of their classmates' 'tragic fates' resurfaced.
"Tian Xuan went home half a year ago, and he hasn't returned since. So it was Zhou Yi who expelled him?"
"That guy really trusted Zhou Yi. He always ran at the front in training, and his talent was one of the best in our class. Why was he dismissed?"
"Is the inner court admission rate really that important?"
"And Bai Zhen—I was good friends with him. But ever since we entered the fourth year, he never came back. Turns out, his old training injuries flared up… But that shouldn't be a reason for the academy to expel him."
Faced with this thick stack of files, even Yan Shaozhe was stunned.
He turned incredulously to look at Zhou Yi, but she was already deathly pale, her legs trembling uncontrollably. This was why she had never dared to step outside of Shrek City all these years—because of these very people.
They were like vengeful spirits haunting Shrek, lingering around its borders.
If she ever left Shrek, she didn't dare imagine how miserable her fate would be.
"I never thought that Shrek Academy, a place meant for education, would actually be a den of demons," Xiao Hongchen said, clicking his tongue.
Originally, he had planned to let things go since Yan Shaozhe had stepped in—these records might not even have been necessary. But the moment Yan Shaozhe twisted the facts and tried to pin everything on them, how could he hold back?
"A den of demons!?" Yan Shaozhe's powerful Titled Douluo aura erupted instantly, pressing down on everyone. His eyes narrowed as he locked onto Xiao Hongchen.
However, the latter remained calm and chuckled lightly. "Among these names, at least eleven of them fell to the Holy Spirit Cult, twenty-seven committed suicide because they couldn't endure the suffering, and countless others either saw their cultivation stagnate for life or disappeared without a trace."
"So, Shrek Academy cripples its students, forces them into the Holy Spirit Cult, and then sends more students to hunt them down…"
"Calling it a den of demons doesn't seem inaccurate, does it?"
"You—!" Yan Shaozhe was furious, clenching his teeth, but he couldn't lash out.
After all, they were exchange students from the Sun Moon Empire, and Le Xuan was still over there. If he acted rashly, it could cause serious diplomatic consequences.
His face darkened.
This situation had to be contained before it spiraled out of control. If word spread throughout the academy, it would be a catastrophe for Shrek's reputation.
"I will arrange for you to switch teachers, but this matter must not be mentioned again."
"And what about Zhou Yi? She faces no consequences?" Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Shut your mouth! Zhou Yi is a teacher of our academy. If you dare slander her again, I will send you back to the Sun Moon Empire immediately!" Yan Shaozhe said coldly.
At this point, he didn't care whether Zhou Yi's actions were true or false—he would never investigate them.
He had to stand firm and cover this up.
Xiao Hongchen still wanted to argue, but Ma Rulong tugged at his sleeve, silencing him.
Originally, they had just wanted to expose corruption—how did it turn into this…?
"This matter must stay buried inside your stomachs!" Yan Shaozhe stared intently at the surrounding teachers and transmitted his voice, "Also, inform the students in your classes clearly—if anyone leaks this to the outside, they will be immediately expelled!"
Only after everyone nodded did he finally look at Class Six-One, whose members seemed to be questioning their very existence.
His expression grew heavy. These people needed to be handled carefully, as they knew the most...
"It's all because of this useless woman!" Yan Shaozhe glared at Zhou Yi, who was cowering in fear, and shot her a displeased look.
Forget it. Once Fan Yu arrived, he would make sure to squeeze some compensation out of him—after all, they were all on the same side...
But before he could finish dealing with the matter—
A streak of light suddenly descended from the sky.
Xuan Zi appeared in his usual disheveled state, holding Tang San in one hand and a chicken leg in the other, landing right in front of everyone.
After scanning the surroundings, he raised his hand.
Zhou Yi's figure instantly appeared before him, her neck gently grasped.
"El- Elder Xuan, what are you—" Zhou Yi was filled with terror, her voice trembling.
She thought he had come to carry out justice.
But when she saw Tang San beside him, she felt a pang of regret. If she had known, she wouldn't have made things difficult for him...
At the time, she had only vented her anger on Tang San after being provoked by Xiao Hongchen and the others.
Slap!
Xuan Zi finished gnawing on his chicken bone and freed his other hand. Then, he landed a vicious slap.
The mask on one side of Zhou Yi's face was torn apart, revealing smooth, fair skin that instantly swelled up with a huge lump. Two teeth flew out, and blood splattered onto the ground.
Her expression twisted in fear and pain. "Elder— Elder Xuan, I won't dare anymore..."
Slap! Slap! Slap!
A few minutes later—
Xuan Zi tossed Zhou Yi onto the ground like a ragged sack, clapped his hands in disdain, then looked at the dumbfounded Yan Shaozhe and instructed, "Little Yan, throw her out of the academy. From now on, she is never to step foot here again."
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
You're not just slapping her face; you're slapping my face!
He had just declared that he would protect Zhou Yi, and now this...
Meanwhile, Xiao Hongchen and the others were completely stunned. Xiao Hongchen, in particular, gulped hard, his mind in turmoil.
This Elder Xuan... could he actually be a Holy Spirit Cult spy embedded in Shrek? The timing of his arrival was just too perfect...
"What? You won't even listen to me now?" Xuan Zi said unhappily.
"That brat Fan Yu, does he outrank me now?"
Yan Shaozhe let out a helpless chuckle, hurriedly explaining, "Elder Xuan, that's not—"
But Xuan Zi grew even more annoyed. "Fine, fine! I'm old, and I can't control you people anymore, huh? Very well. Since I'm just a sinner of this academy, it's about time I resigned from both the Sea God Pavilion and the Monitoring Group. I'll submit my resignation first thing tomorrow!"
With that, he vanished with Tang San in tow.
Yan Shaozhe: What the hell is going on?!
He shot a vicious glare at Xiao Hongchen—this was all those little bastards' fault!
"Dean Yan! Please, don't expel me! I'll die! They, they..." Zhou Yi crawled over frantically, begging in despair.
"You beast..." Yan Shaozhe cursed inwardly but forcefully suppressed his anger, choosing to ignore her.
It seemed... he had to ask that teacher for help.
Looking at the mess around him, he closed his eyes in helpless resignation.
——
"I'm old now, and you have your own opinions."
Mu En sat in a wheelchair, his frail body hunched over. His hair was as white as snow, and his eyes remained tightly shut as he let out a long sigh.
Yan Shaozhe: "..."
"Since you no longer listen to me, why did you even come looking for me?" Mu En continued.
"Teacher..." Yan Shaozhe called out, filled with shame.
"Don't call me teacher. You are the Martial Soul Department Dean—far too distinguished for that. I don't deserve such a title anymore. Since this is a mess you created, solve it yourself."
Mu En's expression remained indifferent.
In the next instant, Yan Shaozhe found himself standing outside the Sea God Pavilion.
"What the hell..."
He glanced at the Golden Tree Pavilion, his face filled with gloom.
"I was just trying to protect Shrek's honor. What did I do wrong?"
(End of Chapter)