A Worldview Shattered

"Ning Rongrong! Don't test my patience. This is Shrek Academy, not your home. Other people may be afraid of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but I, Dai Mubai, am not. If you make me angry, I'll rape you before I kill you, then rape you and kill you again!"

At those words, Feng Xinglie's face darkened. He'd already encountered Dai Mubai's outrageous line while reading the novel, but seeing him say those eight words to a little girl barely over ten years old still dealt a devastating blow to his worldview.

"Heh heh, I'm so scared~"

Ning Rongrong wasn't buying it. Her young-lady temper flared right up, and she didn't believe Dai Mubai would really dare lay a hand on her. She'd forgotten, though, that Dai Mubai had been building up his anger ever since the first day of school. After Zhu Zhuqing had just given him a thorough scolding, he was already on the verge of exploding. Her taunt snapped the taut string in his mind. Before Ning Rongrong could finish speaking, a surge of Soul Power erupted from his body. He used Martial Soul Possession and attacked.

Crack!

Just as Dai Mubai's savage tiger claw came within a few centimeters of Ning Rongrong's cheek, a hand suddenly shot out from the side and seized his wrist.

"Ah!"

Only then did Ning Rongrong react. Seeing Dai Mubai's claws had come within a hair's breadth of tearing up her face, she turned deathly pale and shrieked.

"Apologize."

Feng Xinglie's hand clamped around Dai Mubai's right wrist like a steel vise. His voice was icy as he spoke.

"Feng Xinglie! You bastard, you again! You still dare stick your nose into my business!? You really think I, Dai Mubai, am afraid of you!?"

Dai Mubai was blinded by rage and couldn't spare a thought for the difference in strength between them. It seemed like ever since he'd run into this guy, his life had gone from bad to worse. With that thought, a yellow and a purple Soul Ring lit up beneath his feet.

"First Soul Skill: White Tiger Protection Barrier! Third Soul Skill: White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"

After activating all his enhancements, Dai Mubai raised his free hand, extended his tiger claws, and swiped at Feng Xinglie's throat.

"Ah!!!"

Unfortunately, before the attack could even reach him, Dai Mubai let out a scream and crouched down, clutching his trapped right hand. Though Feng Xinglie used the same move, he wasn't about to show Dai Mubai the tender mercy he'd shown Zhu Zhuqing. He clenched his palm, and Dai Mubai's bones creaked horribly. Then he pressed down lightly, and Dai Mubai was forced to his knees.

"Apologize."

Seeing Dai Mubai's knees about to touch the ground, Feng Xinglie spared him the last shred of dignity he could. He stopped pressing down and demanded an apology again.

"Bastard... Bastard!!!"

Humiliation and fury surged straight to Dai Mubai's head. He struggled to look up, only to see Feng Xinglie gazing down at him with a hint of disgust. He knew that look all too well. Before fleeing to Shrek, he'd often seen it in the eyes of his elder brother, Dai Weisi. That familiar cowardice crawled through him in an instant, but like oil poured on a fire, it ignited all his rage.

"Second Soul Skill: White Tiger Blazing Light Wave!"

He opened his mouth, gathering a tremendous mass of energy inside it. Dai Mubai prepared to unleash his final attack, but...

Feng Xinglie suddenly kicked upward with all his might, like a footballer sending a ball flying, and slammed his foot into Dai Mubai's chin. Dai Mubai's mouth snapped shut, his teeth biting down on the White Tiger Blazing Light Wave before it could be released. A violent explosion followed. When the smoke cleared, every one of Dai Mubai's teeth had been blasted out. His mouth hung open and wouldn't close, with only half his tongue dangling inside.

"Apologize!"

And Feng Xinglie still wasn't finished. Dai Mubai had attacked him again and again, and Feng Xinglie was losing his temper too. His hand, which had stopped pressing down, bore down once more. Dai Mubai's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground. At the same time, there was a sharp crack as Feng Xinglie wrenched his trapped wrist out of its socket.

"Th-this... I don't think you need to apologize after all..."

Even Ning Rongrong, the Little Demoness, couldn't help feeling afraid at the sight of the gruesome scene. Somehow, she found herself pleading on Dai Mubai's behalf. Feng Xinglie still said nothing. He stared coldly at Dai Mubai, his grip slowly tightening.

"Ah, ah..."

Dai Mubai couldn't speak. He looked up again at Feng Xinglie's gaze, fixed on him from above. All the fury in his heart had drained away, leaving nothing but endless fear. He immediately bent forward, making meaningless sounds and nodding at Ning Rongrong. Only then did Feng Xinglie finally let go, allowing Dai Mubai to crumple to the ground like a dead dog.

"Boss Dai!"

Seeing that it was over, Ma Hongjun and Oscar, who had been scared stiff, hurried over to help Dai Mubai up. But someone was even faster than them: Flender.

In truth, Flender had been watching from the shadows and assumed it was just a bit of roughhousing between students, so he hadn't paid it any mind. His teaching motto was "Those who don't dare cause trouble are good-for-nothings." So even when Dai Mubai had fired the White Tiger Blazing Light Wave point-blank, Flender hadn't considered stepping in. After all, the academy had auxiliary Soul Masters who could heal him. What he hadn't expected was for Feng Xinglie to kick apart Dai Mubai's second Soul Skill. For a moment, he couldn't even tell which of them had gone too far. By the time he came to his senses and tried to stop them, it was too late.

"Ah..."

Flender's hawk-like eyes fixed on Feng Xinglie. A moment later, he could only let out a sigh before carrying Dai Mubai toward the academy. It wasn't that Flender didn't want to avenge his most senior disciple. The problem was that Feng Xinglie had acted under the pretext of protecting Ning Rongrong. If this matter blew up and Dai Mubai's line about raping her before killing her, then doing it again, reached the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, then even if Flender had Ning Fengzhi's personal letter in hand, the Sword and Bone Douluo would mince him into meat paste.

"Sorry... I just couldn't stand what Dai Mubai said. I scared you all."

Seeing that everything was over, Feng Xinglie realized he'd gone a little too far and hurried to apologize to everyone.

"What are you apologizing for? You did nothing wrong! That lecherous tiger deserved a lesson!"

Xiao Wu, who feared nothing under heaven or earth, was the first to jump in. She'd always liked a good fight, and after learning what had happened, she naturally looked down on Dai Mubai's behavior. With her setting the tone, and seeing that Feng Xinglie had returned to his usual kind self, the others relaxed too.

"Exactly, Xiao Wu's right. And you were protecting me and standing up for me. I haven't even thanked you yet. Just for saving this young lady's face from being ruined, you'll be a friend of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect forever!"

Ning Rongrong gave Feng Xinglie a pat, trying to look mature. Zhu Zhuqing didn't say anything, but she nodded slightly. After all, scumbags were the enemy of every girl. Sensing the mood around them, the other three boys could only shake their heads helplessly. It felt like the rift within the group was growing wider by the day.