You Never Have to Say Sorry to Me

"Yes, I admit to throwing the match. I didn't want to hurt my sister. As for being a hypocrite, when did I ever claim to be a gentleman? Strength? There are fifty of you here, thirty from the third year, already at the three-ring stage, yet you don't even dare to summon your Martial Souls? Are you angry because I threw the match, or are you jealous of my cultivation as a first-year?"

As he spoke, Yue Hongchen waved his right hand. Several white lights shot out from the storage Soul Tool ring on his hand, forming Level Seven Fixed Soul Tool Cannons in the air. At the same time, he casually tossed out ten tokens, which were steadily embedded into the Fixed Soul Tool Cannons.

The moment the tokens were inserted, the ten Fixed Soul Tool Cannons began to charge, their muzzles aimed at the fifty people on the stage.

Looking at the Fixed Soul Tool Cannons in the air, their legs turned to jelly. They all collapsed onto the ground, and some even released an unknown liquid from beneath them, accompanied by a foul stench.

"Come on, you say I threw the match, right? Then I won't throw it now. I'll take on fifty people alone. If you can withstand one of my attacks, this matter will be over."

"Elder Mu, aren't you going to do something? Those are fifty students," Elder Xuan asked while eating a chicken leg.

Mu En gently tapped the armrest of his chair and sighed, "Let's wait a bit longer. They deserve this fate. How dare they offend someone without knowing their background."

"But didn't Shrek's first Dean say that a Soul Master who's afraid of trouble isn't a good Soul Master?"

"That's why I'm sighing. We shouldn't assume all the views of our predecessors are correct. Shaozhe, this school motto and some of the other problematic ones will be your responsibility after this," Mu En said, seeing that many students on the stage were already terrified. He waved his hand, signaling Elder Xuan that he could act. "From now on, every student's assessment will include a 'questioning of the heart.' We don't want students with corrupt morals at Shrek."

"Understood, Teacher," Yan Shaozhe said respectfully.

After finishing the last bite of his chicken leg, Elder Xuan also stood up and flew towards the stage.

"Young man from the Hongchen family, most of them are already scared out of their wits, and their future achievements will be limited. Are you willing to spare their lives?"

Seeing that Elder Xuan had finally intervened, the teachers on the stage breathed a sigh of relief.

Yue Hongchen glanced at him and retracted his Martial Soul. "Junior greets Elder Xuan."

Elder Xuan nodded with satisfaction. Fortunately, Yue Hongchen wasn't stubborn. Otherwise, if he had actually killed them, he would have had to appease their parents, and his time for eating and drinking would be gone.

However, Yue Hongchen's demeanor changed. "Forgive my incompetence, Elder Xuan. How could I, a Soul Ancestor who just broke through level forty, activate ten Level Seven Soul Tools? These ten Soul Tools are activated by a special token. Once started, they cannot be stopped."

"So, either you, Elder Xuan, take these ten shots, or they will turn to dust," Yue Hongchen said respectfully, but his actions were far from respectful.

With ten Fixed Soul Tool Cannons at such close range, it wouldn't be easy for him to block them, but these were currently his fellow students.

He sighed. "These fifty students recklessly started this. They are expelled from the academy effective immediately and will never be employed again. Yue Hongchen is disqualified from the finals for throwing the match. The competition between Huo Yuhao's team and Dai Huabin's team in the second district will determine the champion of the freshman assessment."

"Junior is willing to accept the punishment."

Elder Xuan nodded and looked at the ten Fixed Soul Tool Cannons in the air. His seventh Soul Ring lit up behind him, and he left without looking back.

If these ten Fixed Soul Tool Cannons were to explode here, the entire assessment area would be leveled.

Yue Hongchen wasn't worried about Elder Xuan taking the Soul Tools either. What he had brought out were semi-finished products; they would be useless scrap metal after one use.

After Elder Xuan left, Yan Shaozhe announced that the "questioning of the heart" would be a required part of the assessment every year. As for changing the school motto, that would have to wait, as there were too many to change.

After this incident, no one mentioned throwing the match again. His strength was undeniable, and he had already been disqualified from the finals. If they continued to complain, they would be the next ones targeted by the Fixed Soul Tool Cannons.

Throwing a match when you have the strength is called conserving strength. Most people did it at the beginning of the freshman assessment. The difference was that they surrendered at the start, while these people surrendered after a few exchanges. The meaning was the same, with no difference.

But people liked to follow the crowd. Those fifty students, scattered among the crowd, had led the cursing, and the others had joined in. Fortunately, they weren't implicated; this was the thought of all the students who had cursed Yue Hongchen.

There were also rational students, about one-third of the spectators. They watched the students around them, who had been loudly denouncing Yue Hongchen just moments ago, and now dared not utter a word, and secretly laughed.

These people had survived today, but they would likely lose more than half of them in the final "questioning of the heart."

After resolving the issue of the thrown match, Yue Hongchen stepped down and went to Meng Hongchen's side. The fifty students were taken back by their respective homeroom teachers, arranged by Yan Shaozhe. After their academic records were removed, they were no longer members of Shrek.

"I'm sorry, brother. I've made you miss out on the championship." Hearing Elder Xuan's punishment, Meng Hongchen felt guilty. Because of her carelessness, she had implicated him.

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

Meng's eyes flickered, and tears began to stream down her face. "Mhm!"

She hugged Yue tightly, burying her head deep in his chest.

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

He picked Meng up and walked towards the exit of the assessment area. As they passed Ning Tian and the other two, he told them not to worry, that no one was to blame.

Yue Hongchen carried Meng Hongchen and left the assessment area with steady steps.

"Had enough crying?" His voice was more than ten times softer than when he was on the stage. His fingertips gently wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks.

Meng Hongchen sniffled and lifted her head from his embrace. Her eyes were red like a little rabbit's, and her eyelashes were still adorned with tears. "Brother, you really don't blame me?"

"It's just a championship title," Yue Hongchen scoffed, his tone full of disdain. "Shrek's assessment champion is not as important as a single strand of your hair."

As he spoke, he freed one hand, took out a candy from his storage Soul Tool ring, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth. The sweet taste spread on her tongue. Meng Hongchen pouted, her tears almost falling again, but she still nodded forcefully and buried her face back in his neck.

He held her and continued to walk forward. The setting sun stretched their shadows long, intertwining them, making them indistinguishable.

At the end of the tree-lined path, Ning Tian and Wu Feng stood side by side. Looking at their retreating figures, they exchanged a smile.

"From now on, I'm afraid no one will dare to provoke Yue Meng Hongchen," Wu Feng said softly.

Ning Tian nodded gently, her eyes filled with emotion. "This battle will truly make his name famous, and it will also bring fame to the profession of Soul Engineer. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect can consider aligning with Mingde Hall."

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

Ning Tian didn't speak, only nodded.