Within the Sky Screen, Xu Feiyan delivered her final verdict, deciding how Dai Yuhao would be dealt with.
"Whatever the case, I am this child's teacher. Since he has made such a grave mistake, I bear some responsibility as well..."
Xu Feiyan sighed softly and spoke in a calm voice.
"From now on, I will continue to be this child's teacher and take responsibility for correcting his way of thinking, until I have instilled in him a normal set of values."
"Starting today, no more random people will be allowed to fill this child's head with random nonsense. He must be kept apart from that woman. I will personally keep an eye on you and make sure you get a good, good, education."
The corners of Xu Feiyan's rosy lips curled up slightly.
"!! No! I don't want to be with you, you wicked woman! I want to see Mom! I want to see Mom!"
Yuhao's eyes flew open, and he shouted hoarsely.
"Hmph. Foolish boy, be quiet. Your teacher is speaking. Who gave you permission to interrupt?"
Xu Feiyan's gaze instantly sharpened.
"You're not my teacher! I don't have a teacher like you!"
"Smack!"
A whip formed from starlight struck Yuhao across the back, drawing a muffled groan from him.
"I said, be quiet!"
A look of pleasure flickered across Xu Feiyan's face. She seemed very satisfied with the punishment.
The next moment, Xu Feiyan waved her hand again. A flash of starlight sealed Yuhao's mouth shut.
"Mmmph! Mmmph!"
"From now on, I will no longer teach you how to cultivate or fight. After all, the greater one's abilities, the greater the harm one can cause."
"I will teach you how to run a business, manage commerce, and take over some of the family's profitable enterprises in the future. That will also allow you to contribute to the family."
"And I will teach you the Sea God's Holy Precepts, the White Tiger Clan's family rules and letters, and all kinds of moral writings. You will study them properly. Once you have truly become an upright child and learned to conduct yourself with integrity, I will teach you how to cultivate again!"
As she spoke, Xu Feiyan looked utterly pleased with herself. Yuhao, on the other hand, was furious beyond words.
"Smack!"
In a study, Yuhao angrily flung a book to the floor and stood up.
"I won't study this lying nonsense! What good is any of this? Will it make me a powerful Soul Master?"
Yuhao snapped furiously.
"Pick it up."
Xu Feiyan crossed one long, elegant leg over the other and spoke coolly.
"I won't!"
"Hmm?"
Before long, little Yuhao was dangling in the air, bound by ropes made of starlight, his arms and legs flailing helplessly.
Xu Feiyan held a whip in her hand. It wasn't the starlight whip formed from her Soul Power, but a real leather whip! She licked her rosy lips and asked:
"I'll give you one more chance. Are you going to pick it up?"
"Gulp!"
Yuhao couldn't help swallowing.
Although he was strong-willed, with a determination far beyond that of a child his age, he was still a child, after all. Faced with the cold, black leather whip right in front of him, he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
"I... I..."
"Smack!"
The Duchess's whip had already come down on little Yuhao. His eyes flew open.
"Ah!"
In the end, after that day, Yuhao memorized three pages of Essentials of Business before the Duchess finally let him go.
"Lie down!"
The Duchess spoke coldly.
Yuhao shuddered. After a brief hesitation, he still obeyed Xu Feiyan and lay stiffly on the bed.
But to his surprise, the Duchess's cool fingers began kneading his smooth back, which had been bared when she'd taken off his shirt before whipping him.
Threads of cool Soul Power seeped into Yuhao's body, drawing a faint moan from him. Though she was pressing the spots she'd whipped earlier, he strangely felt very little pain. Instead, the sensation was a little numb and ticklish.
The Duchess seemed to have rubbed some kind of ointment onto her fingers, smearing it across Yuhao's back as she massaged him. Under her strange technique, Yuhao felt the pain gradually easing.
Even the Soul Power flowing through his body seemed to move more smoothly.
"W-why?"
Yuhao asked weakly.
"You did well today. This is your reward. As long as you listen to your teacher and study everything you're supposed to learn, you'll get all sorts of rewards every day."
Xu Feiyan spoke calmly as she massaged him.
Yuhao wanted to shout, "I don't want a reward from a wicked woman like you." But for some reason, perhaps because the sensation felt too soothing, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Soon his eyelids began to droop. Before long, he had fallen asleep under the massage.
From that day onward, things continued in much the same way. Almost every day, Xu Feiyan set aside time to "teach" Yuhao alone.
Seeing how "devoted" the Duchess was, even the few oldest family elders still alive couldn't find any grounds to question or challenge her, either emotionally or rationally.
After all, at the root of it, Yuhao really had acted on impulse and beaten his own older brother, Dai Huabin, into that state! And Huo Yun'er's possession of the precious White Tiger Dagger was an indisputable fact!
Huo Yun'er claimed that the Duke had personally given it to her. But with Dai Hao away, who would believe her? If she weren't Yuhao's mother, she would probably have been beaten to death for such a grave offense!
During Xu Feiyan's "private lessons," Yuhao was still punished if he resisted or failed to properly complete his assigned work.
The worst time, Yuhao was tied to a chair with a sock stuffed in his mouth and made to sit there for the entire day!
And when he behaved well, he still received rewards.
Sometimes it was delicious, nutritious food; sometimes, a massage; sometimes, a day off; sometimes, new clothes; and sometimes, gifts like Soul Guidance toys.
"That woman is truly devious. This way, no matter how talented that child is, she'll have ruined him completely!"
Beyond the Sky Screen, countless people couldn't help lamenting.
"Exactly. The key is that even the people in the family can hardly find any grounds to challenge her for doing this. She's airtight in both sentiment and reason. What a clever woman!"
"What a pity. In this life, Huo Yuhao will probably be completely toyed with by that woman, missing the fastest period of his growth and cultivation. In the future, he might really end up doing just what she planned: taking over the White Tiger Clan's business and having no chance of becoming a powerful Soul Master!"
While everyone was talking, something unexpected happened on the Sky Screen.
"God... God... Platform?"