Shrek or the Seven Devils

"You didn't have a nightmare!"

"That man was Oscar..."

Lin Yan's expression was a mix of stifled laughter and guilt; on one hand, he found what Oscar had done to Dai Mubai hilarious, but on the other, he felt embarrassed that he hadn't been able to control his strength.

"My apologies, Mubai."

"It was my first time sparring with someone, and I didn't quite gauge my force correctly."

Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai didn't blame him, instead offering Lin Yan a faint smile.

"It's fine, we're brothers."

"I'm genuinely happy for you from the bottom of my heart that you have such strength; how could I possibly blame you?"

"Just hurry up and heal me; once I'm fixed up, I'm going to teach that guy a lesson."

As he spoke, he cast a resentful glare toward Oscar.

He had been wondering how, in such a short time, he could have suddenly dreamed of someone **his mouth; it turned out this brat was the one behind it.

"I... I meant well, I really didn't do it on purpose."

Oscar knew his good intentions had led to a disaster, nearly choking Dai Mubai to death, and his eyes began to dart around uncontrollably.

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang, acting in his capacity as a teacher, finally walked over.

"Enough! You are still in class; do you think this is a playground? There is absolutely no discipline here."

The group looked at Yu Xiaogang with strange expressions, wondering what had suddenly gotten into him.

Lin Yan, Dai Mubai, and Oscar hadn't even said anything, yet he was the one getting angry.

"Your performance is absolutely abysmal. As a Spirit Master, you don't even understand the effects of your own Spirit Skills—how do you expect to fight on a battlefield like this?"

Clearly, this remark was directed at Lin Yan.

"And you! Dai Mubai, you possess 37th-rank spirit power, yet you lost to Lin Yan, who is only at the 36th rank. Is your White Tiger Martial Soul nothing more than a sick cat?"

"What did you say?"

Dai Mubai hadn't felt much when he lost to Lin Yan, but after being scolded by Yu Xiaogang, a surge of anger suddenly welled up in his heart.

He stared daggers at Yu Xiaogang with his heterochromatic eyes; had it not been for the man's status as a teacher, he would have already attacked.

Yu Xiaogang felt a bit uneasy under the glare, averted his gaze, and cleared his throat.

"Hmph~ Is this what you call monster geniuses? Your performance today has left me very disappointed. Now, all of you will be punished. Start running—run from the academy to Suotuo City and back. I expect you to complete ten round trips before lunch."

"There are rocks prepared at the academy gate; each of you will carry one on your back. Remember, you are a team. If even one person fails to complete the punishment, then no one gets to eat."

As soon as these words were spoken, even the girls behind them were stunned.

"Wait! Are you here to pick a fight? You even had the stones prepared in advance!"

Ning Rongrong didn't indulge Yu Xiaogang in the slightest and immediately retorted with fury.

"If you want us to do running training, just say so. What's with this 'one person errs, everyone suffers' routine? Don't tell me you think this makes you look clever?"

Yu Xiaogang's face turned livid at these words, and he stammered for a long time without finding a rebuttal, because he had indeed intended to use this as a pretext to boost team cohesion.

As long as he could bind these students together, wouldn't his beloved disciple Tang San have a loyal and powerful team in the future?

Unfortunately, the process was full of thorns...

The scene remained silent for a long time until Flender, who had been in the shadows, finally stepped out to mediate the conflict.

"Enough! Grandmaster is a teacher at our academy; you only need to execute the training plan he has arranged. Now, go run your laps."

"Mubai, if your injuries are serious, you can go back and rest first."

"No! They are a team. If Dai Mubai goes back to rest, then someone else must run ten extra laps for him and carry his rock as well."

Yu Xiaogang seized the opportunity, straightening his back beside Flender.

This scene infuriated everyone, especially Dai Mubai, who had reached his limit.

However, Lin Yan stopped him and shook his head at Dai Mubai.

"Forget it, Mubai. You were injured by my mistake, so go back and rest. I will run those ten laps and carry the rock for you."

It wasn't that Lin Yan was putting on an act; he genuinely wanted to help Dai Mubai. Setting aside the fact that he had "stolen" his good brother's wife, his relationship with Dai Mubai over these years had been quite good.

Sitting on the ground, Dai Mubai looked at Lin Yan with eyes full of emotion.

He remembered the scene from a few days ago in the dormitory when the four of them held their palms together, and that phrase, "Brothers in heart!"—Lin Yan clearly hadn't just been saying it for show.

Rising from his near-death state, he braced himself against the lingering, sharp pain and stood up with the help of Ma Hongjun and Oscar.

"Lin Yan! Good brother."

"I've decided that you're my brother for life! Brothers in heart!"

"It's just weighted running; if I let my brother shoulder the burden for me because of a minor injury, would I even be a man?"

As Dai Mubai spoke, he worked himself into a frenzy, ripped off the Blue Silver Emperor vines Lin Yan was using to heal him, and strode toward the bamboo baskets at the academy gate.

Everyone watched his retreating figure with respect, and Ma Hongjun and Oscar, moved by the atmosphere, also looked at Lin Yan with teary eyes.

"Brothers are kept in the heart!"

As the words fell, the two of them followed right behind Dai Mubai, shouldering the bamboo baskets and boulders inscribed with their names, and ran toward Suotuo City without looking back.

Lin Yan watched the three figures recede into the distance, nearly vanishing from his sight, and his expression turned somewhat bewildered.

What was going on? Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Why were they all acting so abstract?

He couldn't quite grasp the thought process of Dai Mubai and the others, nor did he know what hidden meaning they had interpreted, but... it seemed he had inadvertently deepened his bond with them!

Only the girls, Lin Yan, and Tang San remained in the field.

The group exchanged glances, and then Ning Rongrong let out a cold snort. After glaring at Yu Xiaogang, she grabbed Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu and went off to find their own bamboo baskets.

Seeing the three girls leave in unison, their gazes not lingering on Tang San for even half a second.

At this moment, Yu Xiaogang finally realized the severity of the situation.

It seemed he had played it a bit too far...

It was true that they had been twisted into a single rope, but why did it feel like the master of this rope had shifted from his beloved disciple Tang San to this brat, Lin Yan?

Tang San's eyes were complex; he had a feeling that he was being ostracized.

This feeling had persisted ever since the first day he entered the academy and tried to cause trouble for Lin Yan.

At least Xiao Wu had stood on his side a few days ago, but ever since they returned from the Star Dou Forest, even Xiao Wu had begun to distance herself from him.

"Teacher, I am going to run as well."

Tang San said dejectedly to Yu Xiaogang, then turned and headed toward the school gate to find his own stone...