Loving but Unable to Love

On their final lap, Mu Xuanheng felt his head spinning.

What was he doing? What was he even doing?

The person beside him was Gu Yuena, for heaven's sake; how did he end up actually running with her?

Xue Di, residing within his mind, felt a strange sensation, as if something that belonged to her had been snatched away.

"Who is this person?" She felt a sense of familiarity, yet the person was a complete stranger.

As they finished the exercise, both of them panted heavily.

"Thank you, Mu Xuanheng."

"Don't mention it."

Because they were the only two who had finished, there was no one else around watching them.

Mu Xuanheng felt somewhat conflicted; unlike Tang Wulin, he actually knew who this person was.

In his spiritual sea, he faced Xue Di and posed a question to a soul beast: "If you don't like someone, and that person doesn't like you, but there is a mutually beneficial relationship between you, can you be together? What would the final outcome be?"

Xue Di: ???

The one who reacted most strongly wasn't Xue Di, but Electrolux: "Death. You will die a miserable death. If one side develops genuine feelings, yet one day you must cross blades, who among you could bear that?"

Even though he was merely a remnant soul, he felt a strong aversion to such things.

"One should not act against their own heart. Child, what do you intend to do?" Electrolux was curious about his choice.

"Since she has come to my side, how could I just let her go?" He glanced at Gu Yuena beside him. "Regardless, I shall guide her."

Electrolux: "To guide her, you must remain calm yourself. This also means you cannot fall in love."

"So, it is to make her fall in love with me, while I must not fall in love with her."

Gu Yuena looked up at Mu Xuanheng. Their eyes met inadvertently, and they immediately looked away.

"You mean to make him fall in love with me, but I must not fall in love with him?" The Silver Dragon King, who had yet to take human form, was conversing with a god.

"He possesses the means to help soul beasts alleviate their conflicts. Only by making him fall in love with you will he sincerely help you."

The Silver Dragon King looked on with cold eyes: "Why should I trust you?"

"Because you have no choice but to trust me. I will help you transform into a human, and then you can recover your strength as quickly as possible within human society. After all, even I cannot easily recover power at the level of a God King. If you can complete this wager, I can give you the opportunity to reach the God Realm and kill the Golden Dragon King."

Having received help, the Silver Dragon King took the form of Gu Yuena and came to find Mu Xuanheng.

She firmly believed she would never develop feelings, and Mu Xuanheng possessed the same mysterious confidence.

Xue Di finished listening to Mu Xuanheng's thoughts: "Humans are truly despicable. I thought you were different. It turns out you are just the same."

Mu Xuanheng's head throbbed; both spirits behind him didn't seem very satisfied with his handling of the situation.

"Really, you have to trust me. There is a reason for me doing this."

Electrolux: "Jumping into a swamp, sinking deeper and deeper."

Gu Yuena looked at him: "The laps are almost over, do you have any thoughts?"

Mu Xuanheng emerged from his spiritual sea: "I do have a few thoughts."

He pointed at a student: "Did this person run a few laps short just now?"

"Before the teacher came down, he skipped two laps and pretended to have finished. He probably forgot how many he ran by now." Her gaze toward Mu Xuanheng was somewhat playful: "Are you planning to remind him?"

The corners of Mu Xuanheng's mouth curled up slightly: "Zhou Yi is my teacher's wife; I know what the consequences will be, so giving a reminder doesn't hurt. Don't you think he should be reminded?"

"Then how do you intend to remind him?"

"Point it out directly."

Mu Xuanheng shouted: "Hey, classmate, you've been exposed. You'd better hurry up, or you're done for."

The few who had stopped looked toward Mu Xuanheng; he was the one who had stood up inexplicably in the class earlier.

"Hey, why are you still looking? I'm talking to you, you skipped two laps. If you don't finish, you'll be punished by the teacher later."

The student who was called out looked at him with disdain, as if mocking Mu Xuanheng for being a busybody.

As the saying goes, it is hard to save a soul determined to die. He had done his best to warn him.

Gu Yuena stood beside him: "What do you plan to do later? Watch him get punished?"

She was very curious about Mu Xuanheng's choice.

"A small punishment is fine, but if it's too severe, I'll try to intervene." Mu Xuanheng did not support Zhou Yi's teaching philosophy, but he didn't like these students either.

The main point was that if you don't have the corresponding strength to oppose the rules, then you follow them first.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be unfair to the students who ran honestly if you didn't punish those who cheated?

Driven by Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao also completed the training at the last moment.

Over a hundred people gathered in the square. Zhou Yi was no different from the original story, announcing the nine names to be expelled.

"You are all opportunists. Everyone who skipped a few laps really thought I didn't see? Mu Xuanheng even reminded you just now; did you think he was stupid?" To some extent, Zhou Yi was standing up for him.

Gu Yuena tapped him lightly twice: "Aren't you going to give it a try?"

She was very curious whether Mu Xuanheng would step out to save these students under such circumstances.

Mu Xuanheng raised his hand: "Teacher, isn't this punishment a bit too severe? The purpose of punishment is education, and education requires giving them a chance. A punishment like yours is actually stifling their growth."

Having someone challenge her was something Zhou Yi was quite satisfied with: "You have an objection?"

"I suggest you let them participate in class public service to earn a chance to stay." Translated into plain language, this meant the class cleaning would be their responsibility from now on, and any chores would have to be done by them first.

"I said, you can stay if you beat me."

The cultivation of a six-ring Soul Emperor was released, suppressing everyone present.

The others were at most two-ring, so who could resist a six-ring Soul Emperor?

Only Gu Yuena stood by his side. She also felt that some of the punishments were truly excessive.

Moreover, in her view, this was exactly like the plight of soul beasts.

"Oh, you even brought someone along. Do you two think you can beat me?"

"Can we fight in a group? All of us against you?" Mu Xuanheng decided to drag in some cannon fodder.

The youth were high-spirited, and there were always people willing to join them.

At the very least, those who had been expelled stepped up, only to be tossed aside immediately.

The others were too terrified by Zhou Yi to even lift their heads. "It's just the two of you left."

Huo Yuhao actually stood up first: "No, there's me too." After dodging Zhou Yi's first attack, he was embedded into the ground.

Mu Xuanheng said apologetically: "Sorry, classmate Gu Yuena, I've dragged you into the mud."

"I have always lived in the mud; I don't need you to drag me."

Mu Xuanheng: "Teacher Zhou Yi, the two of us won't hold back."

Zhou Yi suddenly opened her hand, revealing a disc inside: "Mu Xuanheng, your teacher gave me a Level 7 Soul Tool yesterday. Do you have the confidence to break through this Level 7 Soul Tool?" The small disc carried a massive deterrent force.

Mu Xuanheng surrendered immediately; he was joking, how could a three-ring fight a Level 7 Soul Tool?

"You few, clean up Shrek Square before going to eat. Everyone else, get upstairs to study in fifteen minutes."

The few who had been threatened with expulsion were beaming with joy. Mu Xuanheng had actually managed to save them.

"Classmate Mu Xuanheng, classmate Gu, thank you both. Don't worry, we'll sweep your share too."

Mu Xuanheng took a sweeping Soul Tool out of his spatial Soul Tool: "No need, I have a little gadget."

It was from his self-developed Lazybones Series, which he found very useful.

But Zhou Yi jumped down, confiscated it, and tossed it aside: "Go find your teacher. Don't interfere with my teaching here."