Yan Shaozhe's Gift, Mu Tianyi Decides to Build His Own Faction, Zhou Yi Faces Zhang Lexuan's Revenge

Yan Shaozhe did not give Zhou Yi another chance to speak. He waved a hand.

"Enough. Go back and reflect on yourself. Go wherever you should go, and stop embarrassing yourself here."

Zhou Yi's face turned livid. Her lips trembled twice, but in the end, she could not say a word. Clutching her shoulder, she turned and left.

Yan Shaozhe swept his gaze over the watching students, his tone softening.

"Everyone, disperse. Go back to class."

The crowd scattered with soft murmurs, but no one actually went far. They stood at the corridor and stairwell entrances, secretly peeking in this direction.

Yan Shaozhe turned to Mu Tianyi and lifted his chin.

"You. Come with me."

Mu Tianyi followed him, his pace neither hurried nor slow, his face expressionless.

Gongyang Mo stood by Freshman Class One's window, watching Mu Tianyi follow Yan Shaozhe across the square. The worry on his face was impossible to hide.

He wanted to follow, and his foot shifted, but he pulled it back.

Behind him, Ling Luochen stood by the window. Her pale blue eyes followed that moon-white figure from afar, her gaze carrying a trace of curiosity.

At the fifth-year classroom window, Zhang Lexuan had witnessed the entire process.

Her fingers clenched around the windowsill until her knuckles turned white, and her expression was as dark as an impending storm.

Only after Yan Shaozhe appeared and took Mu Tianyi away did she release her grip. She snorted coldly and returned to the classroom.

News traveled faster than the wind.

The claim that "someone from Freshman Class One defeated Teacher Zhou in a single move" spread throughout the entire Outer Court in just one morning.

Yan Shaozhe also had a dean's office in the Outer Court.

It was located on the top floor of the Outer Court teaching building. It was not large, but it was clean and orderly.

After entering, the sternness on Yan Shaozhe's face seemed like a mask someone had ripped away. In the blink of an eye, it was replaced by a smiling expression.

He walked to the tea table, personally poured a cup of tea, and pushed it toward Mu Tianyi. His tone was far gentler than it had been downstairs.

"Tianyi, sit. Make yourself comfortable."

Mu Tianyi glanced at the tea but neither sat nor drank.

Yan Shaozhe did not mind. He sat down himself, raised his teacup for a sip, and began to explain.

Zhou Yi had always been arrogant. With Fan Yu backing her, she had been throwing her weight around the Outer Court for more than a day or two.

It was not that he did not want to deal with her. It was that she was difficult to deal with.

Fan Yu was valued by the Soul Guidance Department, and both Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er had their eyes on him. If Yan Shaozhe directly made a move against Zhou Yi, people would inevitably have something to say.

But Mu Tianyi was different. He was a student. It was "self-defense," so if he hit her, then he hit her.

Yan Shaozhe had simply gone with the flow and replaced her. No one could say anything about it.

With that thought, Yan Shaozhe set down his teacup, took out three items from his storage Soul Tool, and placed them on the tea table.

One was a soul bone, dark red throughout and giving off warm energy fluctuations. Judging by its quality, it was at least ten thousand years old.

The second was a medicinal pill in a jade bottle, with a label for a Soul Ascension Pill still affixed to its seal.

The third was a herb, silvery white from stem to leaf. A faint glow flowed over its leaves, and merely sitting there, it gently stirred one's spiritual power.

"Tianyi, this soul bone is ten thousand years old. You recognize the Soul Ascension Pill too, and this Silver Light Grass is beneficial to spiritual power." Yan Shaozhe pushed the three items toward Mu Tianyi. "The Silver Light Grass was prepared for you. As for the soul bone and Soul Ascension Pill, you can use them to win people over."

Mu Tianyi sat down and looked at the items before him, a flash of surprise passing through his eyes.

What was going on today?

Had an iron tree blossomed?

Yan Shaozhe, that miserly old skinflint, was actually willing to part with something?

Mu Tianyi suspected he had not woken up yet.

Yan Shaozhe paid no attention to the change in Mu Tianyi's expression and continued on his own.

"That roommate of yours, Gongyang Mo, has the Rainbow Dragon martial soul." Yan Shaozhe raised his teacup, his tone casual. "I've reviewed this year's student roster. Among this batch, he is unquestionably the strongest support-type student. Winning him over will not be a loss for you."

Mu Tianyi did not decline. He put all three items into his own storage Soul Tool.

Yan Shaozhe had made his meaning very clear.

The items were gifts, but the favor came at a price.

By accepting them, Mu Tianyi was accepting that favor.

Mu Tianyi accepted them readily, not because he coveted such petty benefits, but because Yan Shaozhe's words reminded him of something.

He needed his own faction.

The older generation would eventually grow old.

Mu En could not protect him for a lifetime, nor could the elders of Sea God Pavilion stand behind him forever.

He needed his own faction—a group of people who could truly fight at his side and entrust their backs to one another.

But winning people over was one thing. It did not mean he had to take in just anyone.

Someone like Dai Yueheng, who had the White Tiger Duke Mansion behind him and was destined never to share Mu Tianyi's loyalties, was not worth investing too much effort in.

Mu Tianyi thought it over and decided to start by choosing from the Inner Court Shrek Seven Devils of the original story.

Coming back to himself, he raised his head and looked at Yan Shaozhe.

"Old Yan, I want information on a few people."

Yan Shaozhe was slightly taken aback, then grew interested. "Who?"

"Gongyang Mo, Ling Luochen, Chen Zifeng, Xixi, and Yao Haoxuan."

Yan Shaozhe raised his teacup, pondered for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I'll try to get it to you before tomorrow."

Mu Tianyi added, "Also, I don't want to see that woman Zhou Yi again."

"I remember the person behind her seems to be from the Soul Guidance Department. Old Yan, if that person behind her doesn't know what's good for them, please handle it for me."

He spoke in a very calm tone, as though he were discussing something utterly insignificant.

Mu Tianyi had long since ceased to be the child he once was.

The experiences of those people in the Inner Court, along with Mu En's teachings, had also made him understand one thing.

Good people never lived long.

As someone in a position of power, he needed to learn to hide kindness behind his methods.

A dagger hidden behind a smile was never treachery, but self-preservation. Combining favor and authority was not hypocrisy either, but balance.

He would never hope for fairness. He would only calculate gains and losses.

Yan Shaozhe glanced at him and set down his teacup.

He knew that Fan Yu was an eighth-ranked Soul Engineer valued by Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er. Mu Tianyi knew it as well.

An eighth-ranked Soul Engineer truly did not amount to much to the current Mu Tianyi.

This brat was already level forty-five at twelve. At this cultivation speed, becoming a Titled Douluo within fifteen years was practically certain, and even reaching for Super Douluo was not impossible.

By then, an eighth-ranked Soul Engineer would not even be worth mentioning before him.

"I'll go have a word with Fan Yu." Yan Shaozhe's tone became indifferent, as though he were speaking of something entirely ordinary. "It would be best if he knows what's good for him. If he doesn't..."

He paused and did not finish the sentence, but its meaning was already plainly laid out on the table.

Mu Tianyi nodded.

Others might not understand Yan Shaozhe, but Mu Tianyi was absolutely one of the people who understood him best.

Do not be fooled by Dean Yan's usual petty and miserly behavior.

If he truly turned ruthless, even Evil Soul Masters would not be enough before him.

He had never relied on a soft heart to reach the position of Martial Soul Department dean.

Late at night.

Teachers' dormitory.

Zhou Yi lay in bed, tossing and turning.

Her husband, Fan Yu, had recently gone away on official business, but for some reason, she always felt that someone was watching her from the shadows.