Ye Shuyuan reached out and helped Shui Qingrou to her feet.
"We heard about what happened from Shui Yue'er when we arrived."
"I'm sorry this happened, but I, Ye Shuyuan, swear on my honor that I never let them use this sort of thing to deal with their Evil Fire."
"Senior, there's no need to apologize. Bringing this Poison senior with you is already the greatest help you could give Skywater Academy."
Shui Qingrou's voice caught in her throat. The events of the past few days had been unbearable for her.
She was only a Soul Saint. At first, she had been able to hold her own against Flender, who was a Soul Saint himself.
But those Shrek people had no sense of honor. Aside from Flender, most of the other teachers were also powerful Soul Saints.
If they hadn't had the advantage in numbers, Shui Bing'er would probably have been kidnapped long ago.
Ye Qingzhou stepped out from behind Ye Shuyuan, bowed politely, and asked,
"Dean, didn't you go to the local Spirit Hall Branch for help?"
Spirit Hall Branches could be found in almost every city and village.
The strength of the branch hall master stationed there varied according to the size of the city.
In a major city like Skywater City, there would at least be powerful Soul Saints, if not Soul Douluo.
Shui Qingrou shook her head and sighed softly.
"If asking Spirit Hall for help had worked, I wouldn't have sent Yue'er all this way to find you."
Dugu Bo roughly understood what Shui Qingrou meant, and his expression darkened.
"You mean the Spirit Hall Branch master in Skywater City is in league with those Shrek bastards?"
He had never liked the people of Spirit Hall, and the branch hall master's actions only deepened his aversion to them.
Ye Shuyuan fell silent. He didn't want to get involved in Spirit Hall's affairs, nor did he want to interfere.
But now, he had no choice.
Spirit Hall's lower ranks were a mixed bag.
Shui Qingrou nodded. Without the Spirit Hall Branch's permission, Shrek wouldn't have dared to do something like this.
Ye Qingzhou wasn't surprised that Shrek had joined forces with Spirit Hall.
They had done it once in the original story, after all.
Which time?
Of course, when Shrek borrowed a Spirit Hall elder's reputation to recruit students in Suotuo City.
Ye Shuyuan spoke slowly. "Leave the Spirit Hall matter to me."
Xiao Zhou's father was Luo Feng, deputy captain of Spirit Hall's Angel Legion, and he had some influence within Spirit Hall.
"Thank you for your help, Medical Saint Douluo. But who is...?" Only now did Shui Qingrou notice Ye Qingzhou beside Ye Shuyuan. She paused in surprise.
Ye Shuyuan introduced Ye Qingzhou. "He's my grandson, Ye Qingzhou."
"So this is the Medical Saint's grandson. I've heard so much about you."
"Bing'er, come over here."
Shui Qingrou beckoned Shui Bing'er over.
Shui Bing'er sprang up from the edge of the bed and went to Shui Qingrou's side, her gaze cold as frost.
But a closer look revealed the grievance she hid beneath that frost. More than anything, though, she looked exhausted.
"Greetings, Medical Saint, Poison senior, and Ye Qingzhou. I'm Shui Bing'er."
She had been harassed for days and could no longer focus on cultivating or rest in peace.
As soon as Shui Bing'er finished speaking, the dean's office door swung open from the outside. A teacher from Skywater Academy walked in.
The moment she entered the office and saw three unfamiliar faces before her, she wondered if she had walked into the wrong room.
"Um, sorry. I must have the wrong room."
Just as the teacher was about to leave, Shui Qingrou called out to her.
"Stop. If you have something to say, say it."
Hearing her dean's voice, the teacher finally noticed Shui Qingrou, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er, whose view had been blocked by Ye Shuyuan, Dugu Bo, and Ye Qingzhou.
"Dean, those Shrek bastards are back."
At that, the atmosphere in the dean's office turned bitterly cold, chill spreading through the room.
Noticing Shui Bing'er's expression, Ye Shuyuan said, "Let's go. With me here, they won't get away with this."
Ye Qingzhou and Shui Yue'er came to Shui Bing'er's side and comforted her together.
"Bing'er, don't worry. Just stay behind my grandpa and Old Poison. With them here, no one will dare lay a hand on you."
Shui Yue'er chimed in, "That's right, Sis. This time, we'll take the initiative and make Ma Hongjun and those other bastards run off with their tails between their legs."
"Mm." Shui Bing'er remained cold and reserved. Aside from her disgust toward Ma Hongjun and the others, her expression held little else.
Shui Qingrou, Ye Shuyuan, Dugu Bo, Ye Qingzhou, Shui Yue'er, and Shui Bing'er left the dean's office.
Shui Qingrou's office was on the third floor of Skywater Academy's administration building. Turn left and walk ahead, and you'd reach a corridor.
From the corridor, the windows offered a clear, unobstructed view of everything outside.
Directly opposite the corridor was the academy's field.
It was class time, so only a few Skywater Academy students without lessons were strolling around campus.
On the field, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun brazenly ogled the girls from Skywater Academy.
Dai Mubai's eyes were fixed on the girls' legs beneath their skirts. "Fatty, we came to the right place. There are so many girls here—it's a feast for the eyes."
Ma Hongjun's eyes were full of greed as he looked at the beautiful girls from Skywater Academy.
"Right, Boss Dai? Once we win over that little Shui Bing'er, we can come to Skywater Academy and feast our eyes every day."
Dai Mubai slung an arm over Ma Hongjun's shoulder, but his gaze never left the female students' thighs.
"That Shui Bing'er must be blind. Your Martial Soul is the Evil Fire Phoenix, which can rival hers. If the two of you fuse, you'll definitely produce a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
"It'd be good for both of you. I can't believe she'd still refuse. Some people just have no sense."
Ma Hongjun's imagination ran even wilder.
"Shui Bing'er's just too proud for her own good. But those proud types are usually full of surprises in bed."
Three years ago, he and his teacher had found a way to cure his Evil Fire. Out of all the possible methods, he'd chosen the easiest and most pleasurable one.
That was cultivating together with female Soul Masters of the ice attribute. But they didn't have enough women to choose from, and in the end, they found Shui Bing'er, who possessed the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, with help from his teacher's friend, Liu Erlong.
Their voices weren't loud, but everyone present could hear every word.
Ye Shuyuan and the others had witnessed their entire performance and looked at them with utter contempt.
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