Punishment

"You lost." Luo Ze spoke slowly, with no intention of fighting in his eyes.

"Lost? Are you sure?" Arrogant Youth chuckled softly, then released his century-old soul ring. "Light Dragon Blade!"

Arrogant Youth's First Soul Skill was almost instantaneous, possessing tremendous speed and charging power. With such little distance between them, it was simply impossible for Luo Ze to dodge.

He had absolute confidence in his First Soul Skill. Among those of his kind, only two-ring Soul Grandmasters could block it.

No matter how high Luo Ze's bloodline grade was, before absolute strength, he would have to obediently step aside!

"It's over!" Arrogant Youth declared confidently as he withdrew his martial soul.

"Is it?"

The moment the words fell, Luo Ze was already behind him. Soul Power gathered instantly as he punched Arrogant Youth in the face, sending him flying straight out of the second floor.

"Wow! Such a huge hole! Brother Luo, you'll have to pay so much money for this!" Tang Wulin stared in surprise at the massive hole in the dormitory wall, unable to help feeling sorry for Luo Ze's Federal currency.

He was not worried that anyone would be seriously hurt, because he understood Luo Ze's control over his strength better than anyone. Luo Ze had not used his full strength in the fight—he had not even used a third of what he normally could.

At most, that Arrogant Youth would have a swollen, bruised face for a while.

"Let it break. It's not like I'm short five or sixty thousand anyway!"

Though he said that, a visible flash of sorrow still crossed Luo Ze's eyes. Five or sixty thousand! He would have to take two or three more missions to earn it back!

"What are you doing?!" At that moment, a deep, booming voice sounded from outside the door.

Ten minutes later.

Eastsea Academy Intermediate Division Academic Affairs Office.

"So, everything started because of a single provocation from Zhou Changxi?" Long Hengxu looked coldly at the four youths standing before him.

Other than Zhou Changxi, the other three nodded in perfect unison. As an observer, Tang Wulin also recounted the cause, course, and outcome of the matter to Long Hengxu.

"Director Long, don't listen to the nonsense from those three! Just look how coordinated they are—they must have agreed on their story beforehand!" Zhou Changxi hurriedly defended himself.

"Zhou Changxi, with the quality of your martial soul, you could originally have entered Class Three, except that your Soul Power was a little too low. But now it seems your character is just as poor. You deserved that beating. You can stay in Class Five forever!"

Zhou Changxi had just opened his mouth to argue when he saw Director Long's gloomy gaze and forcibly swallowed his words.

"Luo Ze, as for you, Zhou Changxi insulted you, so it wasn't wrong for you to hit back. But you shouldn't have hit him so hard either. Look at the state you left those two in! If I don't punish you properly, won't you turn the world upside down after graduation?"

"You too, like Zhou Changxi, will go to Class Five. And you are ordered to pay the costs for damaging public property within three days!" Long Hengxu said coldly.

"Yes." Luo Ze answered calmly, without the slightest ripple in his eyes.

His composed temperament surprised Long Hengxu. Class Five was the weakest class in the entire grade and had the fewest resources. If other Soul Masters heard they had been assigned to Class Five, they would have started arguing long ago.

Not bad, not bad. He's a talent worth cultivating. Long Hengxu could not help praising him inwardly.

After dealing with Luo Ze, Long Hengxu shifted his gaze to Arrogant Youth and Tang Wulin beside him.

"As for you two, one stood by and watched, while the other deliberately provoked the fight. You're going to Class Five too!"

"Fine!" Tang Wulin agreed without hesitation, and there was even a trace of delight in his voice.

Arrogant Youth paid no attention to Long Hengxu's words. From beginning to end, his gaze had remained fixed on Luo Ze. Fury blazed in his eyes, and he looked as though he wanted to devour him alive, making Luo Ze's back shiver.

Still, Luo Ze could not really blame him. He had punched the right side of the boy's face until it was swollen high, making him look exactly like a plump hippopotamus.

With such a ridiculous appearance, no handsome guy could possibly accept it. The fact that he had not immediately started another fight already showed he had a pretty good temper.

"That settles it. Do the four of you have any objections?!" Long Hengxu asked sternly.

"No." The four answered at once.

Even if they did, they did not dare say so.

"Then leave. Don't let me see you again!" Long Hengxu issued the order to drive them out.

Before leaving, Luo Ze suddenly remembered that he needed to hand the recommendation order to the director of the Academic Affairs Office. Since the man himself was right here, he would not have to make another trip.

Long Hengxu did not pay it much attention. He merely glanced at it before placing their recommendation letters together with the others.

After the four had gone far away, Long Hengxu's stern expression completely vanished, replaced by a faint smile.

"Not bad, truly not bad. This year's students have far more potential than the previous year's, especially that Luo Ze. He defeated Zhou Changxi and Xie Xie all by himself. He's worth cultivating!"

"Director, did you deliberately transfer them to Class Five?" the secretary beside him asked in surprise.

"Of course. Didn't Wu Changkong always boast about how strong his teaching ability is? I've handed all the good seedlings to him. If he still can't handle them, hmph!"

"Speaking of which, have the two geniuses recommended by the Spirit Pagoda arrived yet?" Long Hengxu suddenly asked.

"According to the message from the Spirit Pagoda, they set out several days ago. Based on the timing, they should already have reached Eastsea City," the secretary replied.

"Good. Notify me the moment they arrive. I'll apply to the dean and have them directly enter the advanced division. Right, what are the two geniuses called?" Long Hengxu asked.

"One is called Luo Ze, and the other is Tang Wulin." After thinking for a moment, the secretary answered slowly.

"We really are fated with the number five. We just enrolled, and we've already been assigned to Class Five again." Tang Wulin tilted his head back, enjoying the sunlight.

"Ah, I just don't know how much we'll have to pay. If it's five or sixty thousand all at once, they might as well kill me." Luo Ze spoke with a resentful expression.

Ever since he started making money, Luo Ze had realized that he was becoming more and more stingy. Whenever he bought anything, he wanted to calculate every detail, completely unwilling to waste even a single coin.

"Brother Luo, you should learn to be as generous as me sometimes. I spend five or six thousand on a single meal, and it hasn't stopped me from making money." Tang Wulin proudly patted his chest.

"You have the nerve to say that? You're famous in our association for being money-grubbing. If you hadn't saved enough money to buy Heavenly Treasures, you wouldn't be eating so extravagantly." Luo Ze exposed Tang Wulin without hesitation.

When they returned to the dormitory, the Staff Members assigned by the academy to carry out repairs were measuring the damaged area.

When they saw Luo Ze and the others, the lead Staff Member walked over. "Not bad. Fighting on your first day of school—you guys sure have promise."

As he spoke, he posted the calculated fine on the dormitory door. "Pay the fine in full within three days, or face the consequences!"

Everyone gathered around to look. Good heavens—an entire thirty-four thousand Federal currency, not a coin more or less.

After seeing the amount, everyone except Zhou Changxi remained completely calm.

Luo Ze in particular let out a deep sigh of relief. The fine was within his expectations.

"Xie Xie." Arrogant Youth stood before Luo Ze and spoke slowly.

"No need to thank me!"

Luo Ze was immersed in his joy and did not notice the increasingly dark expression on the face of the youth called Xie Xie.