Xue Beng

Xue Beng

Flender slowly stepped forward, looking utterly casual as he said bluntly, "We're from Shrek Academy. We came specially at Heaven Dou Royal Academy's invitation to exchange ideas. Lead the way."

The young man at the head of the group sized Flender up, then looked over the others' attire. A trace of disdain appeared on his face. "Country bumpkins like you want to exchange ideas with our academy? I'd say you're beggars from who knows where. Get lost, now. Otherwise, we'll have to use force."

At those words, all the Shrek teachers frowned. Dai Mubai flashed forward and stood in front of Flender. A chilling aura burst forth instantly, but just as he was about to make his next move, Shi Yi appeared before him.

"What are you doing?" Dai Mubai frowned at Shi Yi.

Shi Yi ignored Dai Mubai and looked at the leading youth with a faint smile. "If I'm not mistaken, you've been waiting here for quite a while."

The Shrek teachers also noticed the issue. Night had already fallen, and it was dinner time. Normally, most students should have been in the academy cafeteria at this hour.

"This brat looks like he was deliberately waiting for us." Zhao Wuji spoke to Flender.

"Don't act rashly. Let's see what happens first," Flender said quietly to Dai Mubai.

Dai Mubai nodded slowly, his face still dark.

"That guy looks a little familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere before," Ning Rongrong whispered to Zhu Zhuqing beside her.

The leading youth's expression did not change. Looking at Shi Yi, he said, "Waiting for country bumpkins like you? Do you think you're worthy? Get lost. We don't have time to waste on you."

"Stopping us and even trying to provoke a conflict... let me guess what you're trying to do?" Shi Yi smiled slightly at the leading youth.

The leading youth's expression finally changed. He called out to the students behind him, "Release your martial souls! Let these country bumpkins see the might of Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"

For a moment, light swirled around everyone. The Shrek group merely smiled disdainfully. Most of them were only two-ring Soul Grand Masters.

Shi Yi looked at Lu Qibin beside him and smiled. "Teacher Lu, please restrain them, but don't hurt them."

Lu Qibin smiled and nodded. With a flick of his hand, the chessboard expanded instantly, transforming into an invisible chess formation. Chess pieces surrounded the youths in an instant, leaving them unable to move.

"You dare attack us! Just you wait!" Even after seeing Lu Qibin's Soul Emperor cultivation, the leading youth was not afraid. Instead, he shouted even more fiercely.

Shi Yi slowly walked up to the leading youth and smiled. "Now we can make a proper guess. To make so many students from noble families obey you, your identity must be far from ordinary. I've long heard that the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire is an incorrigible wastrel. Seeing you today, though, it seems you're far more deeply hidden than people say."

The leading youth's pupils contracted violently at those words, and waves crashed through his heart.

The Shrek group seemed to understand something as they watched. Ning Rongrong spoke up, "So you're Xue Qinghe's younger brother."

"I don't know what you're talking about! You country bumpkins, since you've recognized this prince, you still dare lay hands on me?" Xue Beng's eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked at Ning Rongrong, and he began shouting.

Xue Beng had never expected Ning Rongrong to be among this group.

"Rongrong, what exactly is going on?" Flender asked in confusion.

Ning Rongrong came from a sect herself. Once she had confirmed that the leader was Xue Beng and realized how coincidental his appearance was, she immediately understood his intentions. Yet when she considered the implications behind it, she did not know where to begin.

"He is Xue Beng, the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire," Ning Rongrong said to Flender.

Shi Yi slowly walked up to the bound Xue Beng, lightly patted his face, and smiled. "Since Heaven Dou Royal Academy is run by the royal family and nobles, there is naturally no lack of infighting among the nobility. Why you appeared here at this hour to stop us, this prince should understand better than anyone. If you touched us, we would no longer be able to remain at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. It seems you want to fight for that supreme position as well. But after today, will you still be able to keep hiding?"

The Shrek group all showed looks of sudden realization.

Xue Beng's expression turned extremely ugly, but he still refused to admit it. "I don't know what you're talking about! You country bumpkins! Release this prince at once!"

Shi Yi said to Lu Qibin, "Let them go, Teacher Lu."

"But..." Lu Qibin hesitated. If these spoiled young nobles truly attacked after being released, it would not be easy for them to retaliate.

"Teacher Lu, if this prince does not want us to stay here, we cannot stay," Shi Yi said quietly.

The bound Xue Beng smugly said, "Country peasants like you think you can exchange ideas with Heaven Dou Royal Academy? I think you'd better get lost."

The Shrek group showed no reaction. The other side had already revealed its trap, and Flender naturally would not wade into these muddy waters.

Shi Yi turned his gaze toward Flender and smiled. "Since all of you teachers are looking for a place to retire, you won't be able to settle down in a place full of trouble like this. How could a noble academy possibly think highly of country folk like us? Dean Flender, do you have somewhere else in mind?"

Flender seemed to think of something. His eyes lit up as he said, "There is indeed a better place."

Shi Yi nodded slightly, then slowly shifted his gaze to Xue Beng and smiled. "Your Highness, you probably never imagined Rongrong would be in this group. What happened today will likely reach His Highness the Crown Prince's ears very soon. Your little scheme has only pushed you farther from that position."

With that, Shi Yi looked at Flender. Flender smiled faintly as well, understanding Shi Yi's meaning. He said to Lu Qibin, "Old Lu, release them. Since they don't welcome us, we'll leave."

Lu Qibin nodded. His martial soul and Soul Rings vanished, and the restraints binding everyone disappeared as well.

Flender and Zhao Wuji led the group back, heading down the mountain under the cover of night. Shi Yi smiled and waved at Xue Beng. "Goodbye, Your Highness Xue Beng. From now on, the abyss will gaze upon you."

Watching the Shrek group depart, Xue Beng's expression was incomparably ugly. He had remained at Heaven Dou Royal Academy under the guise of a wastrel in order to curb the expansion of Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's forces. For the sake of his own life, he had pretended to be a wastrel all these years, because he knew exactly what had happened to his second and third brothers. Yet he had never expected the image he had carefully cultivated for so many years to be seen through by Shi Yi at a glance. Even without concrete evidence, just as Shi Yi had said, Xue Qinghe would certainly keep a close eye on him.

On the way out, Flender looked at Shi Yi with concern. "You directly exposed all that. I'm afraid you won't have peaceful days ahead."

Yu Xiaogang nodded and sighed softly. "Flender is right, Xiao Yi. You need to be more careful in the future."

Shi Yi smiled faintly. "Offending a prince is nothing much. Rongrong is in this group, after all, and with your background, Teacher, a prince would not dare do much. If he still wants to sit in that position, he must gain the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan in Heaven Dou. It won't be too much of a problem. If he pushes me too far, making contact with the Crown Prince wouldn't be a bad thing either."

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "It's good that you know what you're doing."

Shi Yi turned his gaze toward Tang San. "The one who really needs to be careful is Xiao San."

"Me?" Tang San spoke in surprise. He had not taken part in what had just happened at all, so how had this fallen on his head?

"Do you remember Dugu Yan, the one you defeated in the arena? Behind her stands a Title Douluo. Those are the people who are truly frightening. You should pray that his little granddaughter doesn't complain to her grandfather." Shi Yi smiled.

"Xiao San only said a few things to her. It can't be that serious, can it?" Xiao Wu could not help saying.

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "No, what Xiao Yi said is entirely possible. Poison Douluo is neither wholly righteous nor wholly evil. He acts entirely according to his own preferences."

Tang San's eyes sharpened, and he felt a faint sense of regret in his heart.

"Enough. Don't scare yourselves over something that hasn't happened. If you ask me, Poison Douluo might not even dare touch Xiao San," Zhao Wuji said to everyone. After all, he had experienced it firsthand.

Flender nodded as well. "Old Zhao is right. Don't overthink it. Let's get down the mountain first. We came all the way to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and didn't even manage to get a meal at dinner time."

Everyone nodded and quickened their pace down the mountain.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was not far from Heaven Dou City. Before long, the group entered the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City.

Shi Yi could not help sighing as he looked at the magnificent buildings in the city. Compared with the structures built by modern technology in his previous life, the buildings in Heaven Dou City were no less impressive. Many of them even made use of soul master power.

Having hurried all the way here, the Shrek group had no mood to sightsee. They chose a decent hotel, booked rooms, and began eating and drinking.

"The prices in Heaven Dou City are ridiculously high," Flender complained.

Shi Yi smiled. "Dean Flender, someone will be coming to pay the bill soon enough."

As Shi Yi spoke, he heard a burst of hurried footsteps. He smiled. "He's here."

The next moment, the Shrek group saw Qin Ming stride in from outside, his face full of guilt. He had learned what had happened after the Shrek group left. He had planned to welcome them personally, but affairs had tied him down before Shrek arrived. Even if Qin Ming were an idiot, he would have understood that something was amiss.

Just as Flender smiled and prepared to pull Qin Ming over to sit down and eat, Qin Ming suddenly stepped forward and dropped to his knees before Flender and the others with a thud.

"Qin Ming, what are you doing?" Flender asked in surprise, hurriedly helping him up.

"Dean, I had intended to welcome you personally, but I never expected something like this to happen." Qin Ming's face was full of guilt.

"Senior Qin, this isn't your fault. Even if you had been able to welcome us, Xue Beng would have had countless ways to make us leave. In a noble academy, it is impossible to gain a foothold without a force to rely on," Shi Yi said to Qin Ming.

Flender nodded. "Xiao Yi is right. This isn't your fault. We old fellows don't want to deal with those nobles anyway. Since Heaven Dou Royal Academy doesn't welcome us, we'll simply go somewhere else."

Qin Ming sighed faintly and nodded. Shi Yi was right. If the three members of the Education Committee had not supported him from behind, how could he have become a teacher at Heaven Dou Royal Academy at such a young age?

"Enough, enough. Eat with us. You're treating us to this meal," Flender said with a laugh as he pulled Qin Ming down to sit.

Seeing that Flender and the Shrek teachers had not taken the matter to heart, Qin Ming could not help smiling. He nodded. "Now that you're in Heaven Dou, how could I let my teachers pay?"

Soon, the atmosphere at the table gradually became lively.

"Dean, have you considered going to another academy?" Qin Ming asked Flender.

"Oh? You've been in Heaven Dou for many years, so you must know this place better than we do. Do you have a recommendation?" Flender smiled.

"Blue Tyrant Academy. It is located in Heaven Dou City. I've heard that its teaching is very rigorous, and it has one particular trait: it accepts only commoner students and rejects all nobles. That academy may suit the teachers' educational philosophy better. But if it had no backing, it would be impossible for it to establish itself in Heaven Dou City," Qin Ming said to Flender.

Flender glanced at Yu Xiaogang, who was somewhat tipsy, and the corner of his lips rose slightly. Pretending to be drunk, he said, "Not a bad educational philosophy. It suits my taste very well."

Shi Yi smiled faintly at those words. Looking at Flender and Yu Xiaogang, he felt a touch of emotion, and a flicker of envy passed through his eyes. Though mutation had robbed Yu Xiaogang of the chance to become strong, it had brought him a friendship more sincere than anything else—something that even surpassed friendship. Perhaps confidants was a more fitting description. Even Shi Yi, as his disciple, could not help envying that.

Many people could spend their entire lives without ever finding such a confidant.

In such a warm atmosphere, everyone drank some wine, and even Shi Yi was no exception.

Of course, Shi Yi only drank lightly. It was a habit left over from entertaining clients in his previous life. Alcohol could numb the nerves and make people lose their reason. Even soul masters were affected if they did not deliberately expel it.

"Come on, Xiao Yi. Have a few more drinks." Oscar, flushed with drunkenness, threw an arm around Shi Yi's shoulders and raised his cup.

Shi Yi looked helpless and drank two cups with him. Ning Rongrong watched Shi Yi with an amused smile on her face.

This surprised Shi Yi greatly. Ning Rongrong had drunk quite a bit herself, yet she showed no sign of intoxication.

Before long, once they felt they had eaten enough, Shi Yi greeted everyone and returned to his room to rest.

Soon after returning to his room, Shi Yi washed up briefly and used his cultivation to purge the alcohol from his body. Just as he finished everything and was preparing to enter meditation, violent knocking sounded at his door.

"Shi Yi, something's wrong! Come out quickly!" Ning Rongrong's voice came from outside the door.