Must Have a Reason to Step In

"Gu Yue, use your Water Element to freeze him. We can't let him bleed to death, or we'll be in big trouble too!"

Watching Guang Long scream nonstop, Zhao Tao calmly turned to Gu Yue and spoke.

"Okay, got it."

Hearing Zhao Tao's instructions, Gu Yue nodded. With a flick of her finger, two blocks of ice appeared and froze both of Guang Long's arms solid.

"I'll give you five seconds. Take your boss and get out of my sight!"

Zhao Tao looked at Guang Long's two lackeys in the distance and spoke in a cold, even voice.

At Zhao Tao's words, the two remaining burly men hurriedly carried Guang Long away without looking back.

"Brother Tao, I'm really sorry. I caused trouble for everyone!"

"But Uncle Li is a good man. He's an elder who watched me grow up. I couldn't just stand by and watch him get humiliated like that!"

"If this causes any trouble later, I'll take full responsibility!"

Just then, Xie Xie stepped forward, looking guilty, and repeatedly thanked Zhao Tao.

"It's already happened, so there's no need to say more. Just remember not to act so impulsively next time."

Zhao Tao patted Xie Xie on the shoulder and comforted him.

"Thank you, Brother Tao, and thanks, everyone!"

Seeing that Zhao Tao wasn't blaming him, Xie Xie's eyes glistened with tears of gratitude. He bowed to everyone.

"All right, we've stirred up a lot of trouble. Let's get back to school and tell Teacher Wu."

After calming Xie Xie down, Zhao Tao led everyone back to Eastsea Academy.

Before leaving, Xie Xie also left Uncle Li one hundred thousand Federal Coins.

That would be enough for Uncle Li to treat his wife's illness and continue his business somewhere else.

Soon, everyone returned to Eastsea Academy.

They went to Wu Changkong's dormitory and explained the whole incident to him.

"I understand. It's good that you have a sense of justice and the courage to act."

"If anything else comes of this, I'll step in and handle it for you."

"Of course, next time, try not to be so impulsive."

"As Soul Masters, you need to take care of yourselves when you're out and about."

After listening to Zhao Tao's account, Wu Changkong didn't get angry. He simply nodded and replied calmly.

Seeing that Teacher Wu wasn't going to blame them, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie both breathed a sigh of relief.

Only Gu Yue remained as calm and composed as ever.

It seemed the incident hadn't drawn much of her attention.

"The matter with Guang Long was resolved pretty smoothly!"

"By stepping in myself instead of letting Tang Wulin do it, I kept him from confronting Guang Long head-on."

"That way, Guang Long's Iron Armored Dragon Martial Soul wouldn't provoke the Golden Dragon King Bloodline in Tang Wulin's body, and its awakening should be delayed."

"And delaying the awakening of Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King Bloodline would also indirectly delay the awakening of Tang San's Divine Sense, weakening Tang San's future power!"

As he walked back to the dormitory, Zhao Tao wore a faint smile.

As both a Transmigrator and a Reborn One, Zhao Tao wasn't some saint.

If there'd been no need, he wouldn't have picked a fight with Guang Long and brought trouble upon himself for the sake of an unrelated person like Uncle Li.

But Zhao Tao knew that even if he didn't step in, Tang Wulin, overflowing with a sense of justice, would definitely have done so.

That would only have been more likely to trigger the Golden Dragon King Bloodline inside Tang Wulin.

It would also have dealt a blow to Tang Wulin's confidence, giving the competitive boy even more motivation to unlock the bloodline's seal ahead of time.

To prevent that from happening and weaken Tang San's future power as much as possible, Zhao Tao had to step in!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye!

After the fight with Guang Long, Zhao Tao, Xie Xie, and Tang Wulin had grown closer without even realizing it.

Xie Xie and Tang Wulin in particular had buried the hatchet and become good friends.

Xie Xie had also come to respect Zhao Tao completely. Like Tang Wulin, he started calling him Brother Tao and even began to look up to him as an idol.

As for Gu Yue, she was still somewhat aloof, but she was gradually getting used to working with everyone in battle.

She and Zhao Tao especially worked together seamlessly, as if they could read each other's minds.

That very morning, Class Five's students were following Wu Changkong through their physical training when—

"Hand over the culprit! Hand over the culprit!"

A commotion suddenly erupted outside the gates of East Sea Academy Intermediate Division.

"Brother Tao, c-could this be because of what happened that day? I'll go find out!"

Hearing the commotion, Xie Xie jogged toward the academy gates. He soon came hurrying back, looking alarmed.

"Brother Tao, this is bad! This is really bad!"

"There's a huge crowd outside the academy. They've brought the injured Guang Long and are holding up giant photos of you and Gu Yue. They want to pressure the academy into handing you over!"

"This was all my fault. I'm sorry, Brother Tao!"

Xie Xie came up to Zhao Tao, looking deeply apologetic. He apologized earnestly while slapping himself hard across the face.

"Justice is on our side. Even if they try to make us look like the villains, we don't need to be afraid of them!"

"Teacher Wu is here. I'm sure we'll be fine!"

Stopping Xie Xie from hurting himself, Zhao Tao patted him on the shoulder and reassured him.

Meanwhile,

The commotion outside East Sea Academy had also caught the attention of Long Hengxu, the head of the Academic Affairs Office.

The scene outside the gates left Long Hengxu at a complete loss.

At that moment, over a hundred burly men holding all kinds of weapons had sealed off the academy.

At the front, several men were carrying a stretcher.

The man on it was none other than Guang Long, both arms encased in plaster casts.

Several other men were gathered around him.

They were holding up pictures of Zhao Tao and Gu Yue, along with signs that read "Punish the Culprits!"

"This is East Sea Academy, a place of learning. How dare you cause trouble here!"

Leading a dozen teachers, Long Hengxu scolded them furiously.

"Cause trouble? Hmph, we're here to demand justice!"

Just then, the crowd parted, and a bald man who looked like Guang Long stepped forward. His muscles were terrifyingly massive, and his gaze was icy.

His furious voice boomed like thunder, making everyone's hearts race. The ground trembled violently beneath his every step.

"You're Guang Biao? Did one of our students get into a fight with a Soul Master from your Mecha Brigade? This must be a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

Looking at the bald man in the distance, Long Hengxu felt his whole body go numb, yet he plastered on a smile.

After all, he knew Guang Biao was not only a Soul Emperor, but also a high-ranking Mecha Master who could mobilize hundreds of mechas. He was far beyond Long Hengxu's ability to stop.

"Hmph, a misunderstanding? I don't see how this is any kind of misunderstanding!"

"My younger brother, Guang Long, was badly injured by those two students of yours. You're handing over the culprits today and giving us an explanation!"

"I'll give you half an hour. If you don't hand them over, we'll go in and find them ourselves. If there's any property damage or anyone gets hurt, you'll be responsible for the consequences!"

Guang Biao showed no regard for the groveling Long Hengxu. Pointing at the giant photos of Zhao Tao and Gu Yue, he threatened them coldly, then suddenly stomped forward!

In an instant, the area around East Sea Academy's entrance shook as if a small earthquake had struck, knocking down countless students who had gathered to watch!