Since Zhao Wuji had stepped in, there was naturally no need for Dai Mubai to get involved.
Ye Zhiqiu watched Zhao Wuji warily. This man had casually shattered his third Soul Skill, which meant his Soul Power Level was definitely no lower than Ye Zhiqiu's.
"You're their teacher? Which academy are you from?"
Dai Mubai had been the one to start the trouble, so Canghui Academy had the moral high ground. Ye Zhiqiu immediately challenged Zhao Wuji.
But Dai Mubai had picked a fight as soon as he arrived, and all three of them were dressed in their own casual clothes rather than academy uniforms like the students from Canghui Academy. Ye Zhiqiu had no idea where they were from.
If they were students and teachers from a major power or a prestigious academy, Ye Zhiqiu would consider himself unlucky and swallow the loss.
But if they were from some small academy or an obscure third-rate power, he would pursue the matter to the end. It concerned his reputation and that of Canghui Academy.
Zhao Wuji did not answer Ye Zhiqiu's question. Instead, Soul Rings rose slowly from beneath him.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.
When Zhao Wuji's first two Soul Rings appeared, Ye Zhiqiu's expression turned grave.
The first two Soul Rings followed the standard configuration. And since Zhao Wuji was leading this group of students, his Soul Power Level had to be at least that of a Soul Ancestor.
Ye Zhiqiu's Soul Ring configuration was quite poor. Even against a Soul Ancestor with a standard configuration, he would have a hard time.
Then two more Soul Rings rose from Zhao Wuji: purple, purple.
Ye Zhiqiu's face began to darken.
Black. Zhao Wuji's fifth Soul Ring appeared—a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Ye Zhiqiu clenched his fists, tense with nerves.
Black. Zhao Wuji's sixth Soul Ring appeared.
Ye Zhiqiu was drenched in sweat, fear rising in his heart.
But it was not over. The final Soul Ring rose from Zhao Wuji.
Black!
"A Seven-Ring Soul Sage!"
Ye Zhiqiu cried out inwardly. His legs trembled, and he could barely stay on his feet.
Only now did he realize what sort of person he was facing. A Seven-Ring Soul Sage with a standard Soul Ring configuration was a major figure even in the Soul Master World. Even if he worked as a teacher, he would be more than qualified to serve as the dean of an advanced Soul Master Academy.
As far as Ye Zhiqiu knew, Shi Nian, the dean of Canghui Academy, was a Soul Sage.
Blue Sunshine Academy was a comprehensive academy with primary, intermediate, and advanced divisions.
These corresponded to primary, intermediate, and advanced Soul Master Academies.
But that was beside the point. Back to the matter at hand.
Ye Zhiqiu stared at the seven Soul Rings around Zhao Wuji. There was only one thought in his mind: run!
But could he really get away? Even if he could escape, what about the children from Canghui Academy?
They definitely wouldn't be able to get away.
Ye Zhiqiu considered himself a responsible teacher. He would not abandon his students and run, so he shakily stepped forward and approached Zhao Wuji, ready to accept his punishment.
In truth, had Ye Zhiqiu done anything wrong?
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had been the ones to start the conflict. Canghui Academy had merely fought back in self-defense.
Though their methods had been a little extreme.
The only thing Ye Zhiqiu could be faulted for was attacking his juniors.
But none of that mattered. In the Soul Master World, the bigger fist made the rules.
Ye Zhiqiu could only hope that the Soul Sage before him had no intention of killing them all to keep them quiet.
"I admit I was wrong! Please... please spare those children."
Ye Zhiqiu stood before Zhao Wuji, his posture utterly submissive.
"Fine. If you can take three moves from me, I'll let today's matter go."
Zhao Wuji was not some bloodthirsty brute. At least, not right now.
So he had no intention of taking Ye Zhiqiu's life.
He had only displayed all his Soul Rings because he wanted to imitate Tang Hao that day.
Zhao Wuji had to admit, his imitation was rather convincing.
With that, Zhao Wuji did not attack at once. Instead, he waited for Ye Zhiqiu to use a defensive Soul Skill.
Ye Zhiqiu naturally did not waste the opening. His second and fourth Soul Rings flashed at the same time.
A pale blue shield appeared around him.
Seeing this, Zhao Wuji loosened up his muscles, then swung his palm at Ye Zhiqiu's protective shield.
Bang!
His palm slammed into the shield with a tremendous crash, and fine cracks appeared across its surface.
Seeing this, Ye Zhiqiu had just breathed a sigh of relief when, in the next instant, a web of cracks spread across the entire shield.
With a crisp shattering sound, the shield formed by all of Ye Zhiqiu's defensive Soul Skills was casually smashed apart by Zhao Wuji.
Boom!
Zhao Wuji followed with a punch, sending Ye Zhiqiu flying into the air.
Then he leaped high and kicked Ye Zhiqiu straight back down to the ground.
A palm strike, a punch, and a kick.
Three moves in all. Ye Zhiqiu lay sprawled on the ground, unable even to crawl back up.
Zhao Wuji did not even look at him. He simply turned and walked away.
These were the three moves Tang Hao had used on him that night. Tang Hao had said Zhao Wuji only had to last the time it took an incense stick to burn, but in reality, one palm strike, one punch, and one kick had driven Zhao Wuji into the ground so deep he couldn't be pried out.
In the end, Flender had to dig him out with tremendous effort.
Today, Zhao Wuji had imitated Tang Hao's dramatic entrance that night, displaying his Soul Rings before beating someone with his bare hands.
"This feels amazing! Who knew scaring people with Soul Rings and beating them up barehanded could be so satisfying?"
That was what Zhao Wuji was thinking now.
Only after Zhao Wuji returned to the inn and went upstairs to rest did the students from Canghui Academy cautiously approach their fallen teacher, Ye Zhiqiu.
"Teacher! Teacher!"
A female student shook Ye Zhiqiu, but he did not respond.
Trembling, she held a finger beneath his nose and was overjoyed to find that he was still breathing.
"Teacher's alive. He's just unconscious."
The girl was relieved. Ye Zhiqiu had brought them to the Star Dou Great Forest so she could obtain a Soul Ring. If Teacher Ye had died, she would have had no one to help her get one.
"Those people are awful. They picked a fight and then beat Teacher Ye up like this."
A boy spoke indignantly.
"Which academy are they from? When we get back, we'll tell Dean Shi Nian what happened today and ask him to avenge Teacher Ye and get justice for Canghui Academy."
But no one could answer which academy Dai Mubai and the others belonged to. From beginning to end, Dai Mubai had done nothing but start trouble; he had not revealed a single thing about them.
The Shrek group also returned to the second floor of the inn and checked into their rooms.
Li Luo, Ning Rongrong, and Xiao Wu shared one room.
Zhao Wuji, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar were short on money, so the three of them squeezed into one room.
Dai Mubai was a rich young master and naturally had no shortage of money, so he took a room of his own. But as he entered, he still whistled at Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing glared at Dai Mubai in disgust. When she ignored him, Dai Mubai went straight inside and shut the door.
When Zhu Zhuqing escaped, she had brought nothing with her. She had only a dozen or so Gold Soul Coins on her, and ten of them had gone toward the Shrek Academy entrance fee.
She had spent more on food, clothes, and other necessities later.
So now she was completely broke and could not afford a room.