[Image] Qian Renxue Became the Third Party?! Compensation of One Hundred Thousand Gold Soul Coins?! Was His Face Made of His Ass?!

"I know, I know—that's the number one authority on Martial Soul Theory today, Grandmaster!"

"Huh? Him? The one from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan... the useless one?"

In the VIP seats,

Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, Prince Xue Xing, and the others all gaped,

staring at the famous "Grandmaster" with utter disbelief.

They couldn't figure out how this man's brain worked,

or how he could possibly say

such earth-shattering nonsense.

If Ning Fengzhi and the others were merely watching the show,

Yu Luomian was another matter entirely!

His face was mottled purple and green, the veins at his temples twitching as he ground his teeth.

He felt as though he'd lost every last shred of dignity!

He wanted nothing more than to tear that disgraceful fool onstage limb from limb.

That bastard was practically rubbing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's dignity into the dirt!

But he couldn't go up there.

If he did, that pile of shit they'd finally managed to shake off would stick to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan all over again.

Just thinking about it made him seethe!

On the arena.

After hearing Yu Xiaogang's speech, Flender froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"Right! Xiaogang's right!

The winner should be one of my students!

And they should pay compensation for emotional distress, reputational damage, and medical expenses!

Ten thousand? No, twenty thousand! Thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

Watching the people onstage, Qian Renxue seriously wondered how they could even say such things.

Were they human?

She suspected they were Soul Beasts wearing human skin.

She didn't want to talk to creatures like that, for fear of lowering her IQ.

"Referee?"

She called out to the referee, handing the decision over to him.

The experienced old referee had lived for most of his life,

yet he'd never seen anything like this.

He tilted his head, thinking over what they'd just said. It sounded like they had a point... my ass!

The competition rules did indeed state, "A contestant may not attack their opponent after surrendering,"

but that applied after they'd surrendered,

not while they were in the middle of attacking.

The other guy's sword was already thrusting toward you when you yelled surrender. If he'd managed to avoid your vital spots in time and spared your life, you should be thanking him.

Not to mention, you were the one who launched a sneak attack. Even if it hadn't been an accidental injury, a little punishment wouldn't have been unreasonable.

Besides, the Soul Fighting Arena cared about winning and losing.

Surrendering meant the match was over...

Who actually cared whether you lived or died?

As long as nobody was killed, the Soul Fighting Arena turned a blind eye.

And they wanted the winner disqualified, on top of that?

If the arena ruled the way they wanted, wouldn't the audience members who'd placed bets tear the place apart?

After thinking it through, the old referee announced coldly:

"The Evil-Eyed White Tiger's injury was accidental and does not affect the result! The match is decided!"

"I object! I refuse to accept this! It's unfair!"

Flender had been dazzled by the sight of those hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, and he immediately shouted in anger.

Yu Xiaogang's face was dark too,

but he put on an air of righteous indignation:

"You clearly violated the rules. Why are you still protecting them?"

"Where is the fairness?"

"Where is the justice?"

Those clowns immediately drew a chorus of angry curses from the audience.

"Get off the stage! Get off the stage!"

"How can anyone be so shameless? Even a three-year-old understands that you have to honor a bet. How can you have so little grace?"

"Hey—you bastards still haven't noticed, have you? The other side only bet one Gold Soul Coin! That's fucking hilarious!"

"Everyone else bet at least hundreds, if not thousands of Gold Soul Coins. This 'Snow Madman' may not have set a minimum, but you still had the nerve to challenge him with a one-coin bet?"

"Was your face made out of your ass?"

"..."

Flender and Yu Xiaogang had of course heard the audience's curses.

"Dean, Grandmaster, why don't we..."

"Maybe we should just forget it?"

Even Dai Mubai, who'd been pretending to be dead, couldn't keep it up anymore. If he carried on, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger's reputation would stink all the way out of Heaven Dou City.

"Fine, fine! Just you wait!"

With faces ashen, Flender and Yu Xiaogang dragged the blood-soaked Dai Mubai off the arena in disgrace.

It wasn't that the audience had driven them off.

They'd felt those piercing gazes, sharp as needles—the Soul Fighting Arena's experts were clearly warning them!

Qian Renxue had won.

But thinking back on what had just happened, she still found it completely unbelievable.

"Remember what I told you, forever."

Ling Xiao's voice rang in her mind.

"Never underestimate how low a person can sink, especially the people from Shrek Academy!"

He wasn't surprised by what had happened. He was only surprised that the events that should have taken place during the Soul Master Tournament

had somehow landed on his disciple instead.

"Shrek Academy?"

Qian Renxue thought for a moment. She seemed to recall a newly established academy by that name.

Blue Tyrant Academy had been quite famous, so its sudden name change had naturally attracted some attention.

She was still wondering why Blue Tyrant Academy had changed its name to Shrek,

and how its teachers and students had cultivated such shamelessness...

But as she passed a corner backstage,

a burst of arguing suddenly interrupted her thoughts, and the conversation even mentioned her name.

"Feng Xiaotian, stop following me around every single day!

I don't feel a thing for you—not even the tiniest bit. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"I know, I know. I've always known!

But that doesn't matter.

I believe that one day, you'll be moved by my true feelings!"

"No, you don't understand.

I like men who are dazzlingly brilliant and can hold up the heavens—someone like Fei Xue!

I'll accept your confession only if you can beat Fei Xue!"

Huo Wu pointed at Qian Renxue, who was approaching from the other direction.

She'd thought she wasn't speaking very loudly—

but every single word had carried clearly to Qian Renxue's ears.

Qian Renxue felt like she was about to fall apart!

She didn't know whether to pretend she hadn't heard anything... or pretend she hadn't heard anything!

You two lovebirds, don't drag me into your argument!

I'm innocent!

I'm just some random passerby!

Qian Renxue roared inwardly.

But what she hadn't expected was—

"Sure, no problem!"

"I, Feng Xiaotian, will definitely defeat Fei Xue and confess to you fair and square!"

Feng Xiaotian's voice was threaded with excitement, embarrassment, and jealousy.

As soon as he finished,

he rushed over in three strides:

"Fei Xue! I, Feng Xiaotian, challenge you! If you accept, I'll do anything you ask!"

His words

immediately drew plenty of attention.

The people from the Divine Wind Team and Blazing Fire Team had also heard the commotion

and roughly guessed what was going on.

They could only sigh and pretend they hadn't seen or heard a thing.

In secret, though, they wondered—

Did Huo Wu really like that Fei Xue?

After all, she'd been going to the Soul Fighting Arena every day lately. It was certainly unusual.

Huo Wushuang felt helpless too.

What could he do?

On one side was his little sister; on the other was his good friend.

Besides, it wasn't his decision to make, and Huo Wu wouldn't listen to him anyway.

What a headache, what a headache!

At that moment,

Qian Renxue was even more troubled—and more embarrassed—than he was!

She was so embarrassed she could've dug a hole in the ground with her toes!

You'd do anything? If she told you to stop being a simp, would you do that too?

Qian Renxue rolled her eyes inwardly.