In My Eyes, You Never Have to Say Sorry

"Fine, I admit I threw the match. I didn't want to fight my little sister and risk hurting her. And as for being a hypocrite, when did I ever say I was a gentleman? As for strength? There are fifty of you here, thirty of them third-years who've already reached the three-ring level. Why don't you even dare summon your Martial Souls? Are you angry because I threw the match, or jealous because I've reached this level in my first year?"

As he spoke, Yue Hongchen waved his right hand. Several streaks of white light shot out from the Soul Guiding Ring on his hand, forming one Level Seven Fixed Soul Tool Cannon after another in midair. He casually tossed out ten tokens, which embedded themselves firmly in the cannons.

The moment the tokens were in place, all ten cannons began charging, their muzzles aimed at the fifty people on the stage.

The moment those people saw the cannons overhead, their legs went weak, and they collapsed to the ground. Some even wet themselves, the stench mingling with the foul liquid.

"Come on, you said I threw the match, right? Well, now I won't. I'll take on all fifty of you by myself. If you can withstand one attack from me, this ends here."

"Mu En, shouldn't you do something? There are fifty students down there," Xuan Zi asked as he ate a chicken leg.

Mu En gently tapped the armrest of his chair with one finger and sighed. "Wait a little longer. They brought this on themselves. They dared to offend someone so badly without knowing anything about him."

"But didn't Shrek's first dean say that a Soul Master who doesn't dare cause trouble isn't a good Soul Master?"

"That's why I sighed. We shouldn't treat every belief held by our predecessors as correct. Shaozhe, after this, you can take care of changing that school motto and the other unreasonable ones." Seeing that many students on the stage were already terrified out of their wits, Mu En waved to indicate that Xuan Zi could step in. "From now on, every year's student assessment will include an Ask the Heart test. Shrek won't accept students of poor character."

"Yes, Teacher," Yan Shaozhe replied respectfully.

After finishing the last bite of his chicken leg, Xuan Zi stood up and flew toward the stage.

"Boy from the Chen Clan, most of them are already terrified out of their wits. They won't amount to much in the future. Would you be willing to spare their lives?"

When the teachers on the stage saw that Elder Xuan had finally intervened, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yue Hongchen glanced at him and withdrew his Martial Soul. "This junior pays his respects to Elder Xuan."

Xuan Zi nodded with satisfaction. At least Yue Hongchen wasn't stubborn. Otherwise, if he really killed all of them, Xuan Zi would have to go comfort their parents, leaving him no time to eat meat and drink.

But Yue Hongchen's tone abruptly changed. "Forgive this junior's inability. How could a Soul Ancestor who has only just broken through Level 40 activate ten Level Seven Soul Tools? These ten Soul Tools are all powered by a special kind of token. Once activated, they can't be stopped."

"So either Elder Xuan takes all ten blasts, or they're blown to smithereens." Yue Hongchen spoke with the utmost respect, but his actions were anything but respectful.

At such close range, even Xuan Zi wouldn't find it easy to withstand the ten cannons. But the people below were still his own students, for now.

He sighed. "These fifty students were picking fights without thinking. Effective immediately, they're expelled and will never be readmitted. Yue Hongchen threw the match in the freshman assessment, so he's disqualified from the final. The teams led by Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin from Area Two will now compete for the freshman championship."

"This junior willingly accepts the punishment."

Xuan Zi nodded and looked at the ten cannons in the air. His Seventh Soul Ring lit up, and he left with them without looking back.

If the ten cannons exploded here, the entire assessment zone would be razed to the ground.

Yue Hongchen wasn't worried that Xuan Zi would keep the Soul Tools for himself. What he'd taken out were only prototypes. After one use, they'd be useless—nothing but scrap metal.

After Xuan Zi left, Yan Shaozhe announced that every year's assessment would include an Ask the Heart test. As for changing the school motto, that would have to happen gradually. There were too many mottos that needed changing.

After what had happened, no one mentioned the match-fixing again. There was no denying his strength, and he'd already been disqualified from the final. If they kept mouthing off, they'd be the next ones with a Fixed Soul Tool Cannon pointed at them.

When someone with real strength threw a match, it was called saving their strength. Most people had done it at the start of the freshman assessment; they'd simply surrendered right away, while Yue Hongchen had fought a few exchanges first. It meant the same thing. There was no difference.

But people loved to follow the crowd. Those fifty students had scattered through the audience and led the chants, so everyone else had joined in. At least they hadn't been dragged into it. That was what every student who'd cursed Yue Hongchen was thinking.

There were also some clearheaded students, about a third of the audience. They looked at the people around them, who had been loudly denouncing Yue Hongchen only moments earlier and now didn't dare make a peep, and laughed to themselves.

Those people had survived today, but they'd probably fail the end-of-term Ask the Heart test by the dozens.

After dealing with the match-fixing incident, Yue Hongchen stepped down and went to Meng Hongchen. Yan Shaozhe had the fifty students' homeroom teachers take them away. Once expelled, they were no longer members of Shrek.

"I'm sorry, Brother. I made you lose your chance at the championship." After hearing Elder Xuan's ruling, Meng Hongchen felt awful. Her carelessness had dragged him down with her.

Yue reached out and gently pulled Meng into his arms. His fingertips brushed her hair, and his voice was as soft as spring water. "In my eyes, you never have to say sorry."

Meng's eyes shifted, and tears streamed down her face. "Mm!"

She clung tightly to Yue and buried her face against his chest.

Yue gently patted her back, letting her tears soak his clothes. Crying would make her feel better.

He picked Meng up and carried her out of the assessment zone. As he passed Ning Tian and Wu Feng, he told them not to worry; none of this was anyone's fault.

Yue Hongchen carried Meng Hongchen out of the assessment zone, his steps steady.

"Done crying?" His voice was more than ten times gentler than it had been on the stage. He lightly brushed away the tear tracks on her cheek.

Meng Hongchen sniffled and lifted her head from his arms. Her eyes were as red as a little rabbit's, and tears still clung to her lashes. "Brother, you really don't blame me?"

"It's only a championship title." Yue Hongchen gave a dismissive laugh. "Shrek's assessment championship isn't worth a single strand of my little sister's hair."

As he spoke, he freed one hand, fished a candy out of his Soul Guiding Ring, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. The sweet taste melted across her tongue. Meng Hongchen pursed her lips, nearly bursting into tears again, but still nodded firmly and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

He held her and kept walking. The sunset stretched their shadows long across the ground, entwining them until they were impossible to tell apart.

At the end of the tree-lined path, Ning Tian and Wu Feng stood side by side, watching them leave. They exchanged a smile.

"Looks like no one will dare mess with Yue and Meng Hongchen again," Wu Feng said quietly.

Ning Tian nodded gently, her gaze tinged with emotion. "This battle will make his name resound far and wide. It'll also bring the Soul Engineer profession into the spotlight. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect could consider drawing closer to Mingde Hall."

Wu Feng's eyes lit up. "You mean..."

Ning Tian didn't speak. She only nodded.