A Favor Returned

After thinking it through, Huo Yuhao returned to his room and began cultivating. The once-gentle atmosphere in the courtyard instantly turned cold.

Gu Yuan picked up the teacup from the stone table and lightly rubbed his fingertips against its warm sides. The smile slowly faded from his face, and a faint chill flashed through his eyes, which had seen through the ways of the world.

He had noticed long ago that Zhou Yi looked at Huo Yuhao with undisguised calculation in her eyes.

What she had set her sights on was never just Huo Yuhao's talent in the Mental Attribute. It was also the help that his ultimate spiritual power could provide to the Soul Guidance Department.

Under the pretext of taking him as her disciple, she wanted to bind Huo Yuhao tightly to the Soul Guidance Department, to herself and Fan Yu. She wanted to trade this heaven-gifted prodigy for the department's standing, and for greater influence at Shrek for herself and Fan Yu.

Not to mention, her so-called iron-blooded teaching was, at its core, nothing but shameless, twisted exploitation. She used extreme methods to force students to break through, heedless of the limits of their physical and mental endurance.

Take the hundred-kilometer cross-country run from before. She knew full well some of the freshmen couldn't finish it, yet she had still set strict elimination rules. She simply enjoyed having the power to decide who stayed and who left.

If someone like her wasn't given a warning, she would really think she could do whatever she pleased on Shrek's turf, and make plans she had no business making.

"Come out."

Gu Yuan set down his teacup. His voice was calm, but carried an unquestionable authority as he spoke toward the shadows in the corner of the courtyard.

The instant his words fell, a black figure silently emerged from the shadows like a ghost.

The man wore a black outfit, his features cold and stern. His presence was completely concealed; even standing there, he seemed to blend into the night.

Ling Ye dropped to one knee and bowed. His voice was low and respectful. "My lord, what are your orders?"

Gu Yuan looked toward the Soul Guidance Department on the western side of Shrek Academy, lightly tapping his fingers on the stone table. His tone gave no hint of his feelings. "Zhou Yi is a crooked-minded woman, consumed by greed, and she's set her sights on Huo Yuhao. Go teach her a lesson and make sure she remembers it."

Ling Ye gave a slight nod, waiting for Gu Yuan to continue.

"Be sure not to go too far." Gu Yuan's voice cooled.

"Make her suffer enough. And pass along a message: she'd better keep her hands and schemes to herself. Shrek's freshmen aren't hers to torment as she pleases."

"Understood." Ling Ye bowed in reply, without the slightest hesitation.

He knew perfectly well how protective his lord was. Zhou Yi had brought this on herself by setting her sights on Huo Yuhao. His lord was already showing extraordinary mercy by ordering only a physical punishment.

"Go." Gu Yuan waved a hand, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. The chill in his eyes gradually faded, and his usual warmth returned.

Ling Ye bowed once more, then flickered away and vanished into the night without leaving behind the slightest trace, as though he had never appeared.

The courtyard fell quiet again. Gu Yuena walked out of the house at an unhurried pace and sat across from Gu Yuan. Her cool voice rang out. "She's nothing but a clown. Why bother?"

"Even a clown can be a nuisance." Gu Yuan smiled faintly, his tone indifferent.

"Better to nip those improper thoughts in the bud than wait until she causes trouble and try to make up for it afterward."

Gu Yuena gave a slight nod and said no more.

She knew that Gu Yuan might seem easygoing, but he kept those two children, Huo Yuhao and Jin Ruiqiu, under his protection. Anyone who dared harbor bad intentions toward them would pay the price.

At that moment, on the outskirts of Shrek City, at the edge of the forest.

Zhou Yi was walking leisurely along a forest path toward the academy. She had just had a huge argument with Fan Yu and was still seething.

Fan Yu thought she was being too hasty. She shouldn't have pressured Huo Yuhao to decide on the spot, the very first time she met him, whether to join the Soul Guidance Department and become her disciple. She should have given the boy time to think it over.

But Zhou Yi thought that a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius like Huo Yuhao had to be seized at once. If she waited, those old foxes in the Martial Soul Department might snatch him away. Then getting him into the Soul Guidance Department would be as hard as scaling the heavens.

"Such foolish kindness." Zhou Yi spat, her face full of disdain.

"I'll get him into the Soul Guidance Department first and train him for a few years. Once he becomes a top Soul Engineer, Fan Yu and I will naturally rise in standing at Shrek!"

The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that she had done the right thing. A smug expression gradually spread across her face.

The thing she was most proud of in her life was her sharp eye for talent. And now, with a single glance, she had spotted Huo Yuhao, an unparalleled gem still waiting to be polished.

Ultimate spiritual power, a thousand-year second Soul Ring, Soul Grandmaster at the age of ten, and mastery over his spiritual power so advanced it had reached the pinnacle. How was this just a freshman? He was a heaven-gifted prodigy tailor-made for the Soul Guidance Department!

As long as she kept Huo Yuhao firmly in her grasp, he would surely become a top Soul Engineer who surpassed Mingde Hall. And as the one who had guided him, she would naturally leave a striking mark on Shrek's history.

The more Zhou Yi thought about it, the more pleased she became. Her steps grew lighter, and she failed to notice the air around her turning cold. A terrifying pressure silently descended over the forest path like a curtain of heaven.

Only when a cold voice rang out without warning behind her did she react. "Zhou Yi?"

Zhou Yi stiffened all over and stopped in her tracks. Her scalp prickled.

She whirled around and released her Martial Soul in an instant. Six Soul Rings rose from beneath her feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—as the full power of a Soul Emperor erupted from her.

She stared hard in the direction the voice had come from.

A man in a black outfit stood in the middle of the path. She had no idea when he had appeared.

He stood perfectly still, not a trace of Soul Power leaking from him. Yet Zhou Yi felt as though an ancient Ferocious Beast had set its sights on her. The hairs all over her body stood on end, and even breathing became terribly difficult.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Zhou Yi shouted sharply, her clenched fist trembling uncontrollably.

She could clearly sense that this man's strength was far beyond anything she could imagine—perhaps even more terrifying than the Sea God Pavilion Elders at Shrek Academy!

Ling Ye didn't answer. He simply raised a hand, slowly.

A vast, surging pressure burst from him in an instant.

Black Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red! Nine Soul Rings in all, and the last was a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, scarlet as blood!

A Titled Douluo! And a Super Titled Douluo at that!

Zhou Yi's pupils contracted sharply. Her mind went blank, and it felt as though all the blood in her body had frozen.

She never would have imagined that a mere trip outside Shrek City would bring her face-to-face with a Titled Douluo—and one who had clearly come for her!

She had never made an enemy of any Titled Douluo in her life. She'd barely even had the chance to cross paths with one. Why had this lord come after her?

"Your Excellency! Have you mistaken me for someone else?!" Zhou Yi's voice instantly turned tearful. All her earlier smugness and arrogance vanished, leaving only bone-deep terror.

"I'm Zhou Yi, a teacher at Shrek Academy. I've never offended you! Have you got the wrong person?"

Ling Ye's face remained expressionless. His cold voice rang out again, devoid of emotion. "You're the one I came for."

"You made plans you had no business making. I came to teach you a lesson."

The instant his words fell, Ling Ye moved.

He didn't even release his Martial Soul. With a casual sweep of his hand, an invisible blast of Soul Power crashed down on Zhou Yi like Mount Tai collapsing.

The gap between a Titled Douluo and a Soul Emperor was like a heavenly chasm, impossible to cross. Zhou Yi didn't even have time to react before the terrifying blast of Soul Power struck her.

"Pfft—"

Zhou Yi spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a broken kite, slamming into the tree behind her so hard that its trunk shattered.

She felt as if every bone in her body had been crushed. Her meridians throbbed with tearing pain, and she couldn't even circulate her Soul Power.

But that was only the beginning.

Ling Ye's figure flickered, and he appeared right in front of her. He raised a hand and struck again. He didn't use much Soul Power, but each blow landed precisely across her body, and every one was accompanied by the crisp crack of breaking bones and Zhou Yi's heart-rending screams.

He didn't injure her vital organs. Instead, he struck only the most painful places, beating her until she was covered in wounds.

Purple bruises covered her face and body. Her arms and legs were fractured, her once-neat hair had become a disheveled mess, and she was utterly wretched.

"Mercy, Your Excellency! Mercy!" Zhou Yi curled up on the ground, covered in blood and weeping as she begged.

"Please, stop hitting me!"

Even now, she still had no idea what she had done to offend this important figure.

If he kept going, she'd lose half her life.

Ling Ye stopped and looked down at Zhou Yi, who was sprawled miserably on the ground. His cold voice rang out again, carrying an unquestionable warning. "Keep your thoughts to yourself."

"This time, it's only a physical punishment. If there's a next time, breaking a few bones will be the least of your worries."

"I'll remember! I'll remember!" Zhou Yi hurriedly pressed herself to the ground, nodding again and again as she made her promise in a trembling voice.

Ling Ye gave her a cold look and said no more. His figure flickered, and he vanished into the night once more, disappearing without a trace as though he had never appeared.

All that remained on the forest path was Zhou Yi, injured and wretched, sprawled on the ground. She cried as she sucked in hissing breaths, her teeth bared. Every bone in her body felt as if it had come apart, and even the slightest movement sent pain drilling through her.

She lay there for a full hour before she could finally force herself upright. Limping, she dragged her battered body toward Shrek Academy.

Along the way, she wrapped herself up from head to toe, terrified that someone would see her in such a miserable state.

Early the next morning, the classroom of Freshman Class One at Shrek Academy was already full.

The remaining freshmen sat stiffly in their seats, their faces tense. After yesterday's devilish training, they were terrified of Zhou Yi, their "twisted teacher." They were afraid she'd come up with some new way to torment them today.

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao sat in the front row, whispering to each other.

"What do you think Teacher Zhou will make us do today? That hundred-kilometer run yesterday nearly killed me." Xiao Xiao stuck out her tongue, her face still full of dread.

Wang Dong wrinkled her nose and snorted. "What else? She'll just find some new way to torment us."

As they spoke, dragging footsteps came from the classroom door, accompanied by faint gasps.

The classroom fell silent in an instant. Every student held their breath and turned to stare at the door.

The next moment, Zhou Yi limped inside.

When the students saw what she looked like, they all froze, eyes wide and mouths gaping so far they could have fit an egg.

The usually brisk and imposing Teacher Zhou was now a complete mess.

Her face was mottled with purple and blue bruises. Her left eye was swollen to a slit, a scab of dried blood split the corner of her mouth, and bruises covered her cheeks.

Thick bandages were wrapped around her neck and wrists. She limped as she walked, her right leg clearly injured too; every step made her bare her teeth in pain. Bandages covered her from head to toe, and her usually neat hair was a tangled mess. She looked nothing like the iron-blooded teacher she had once been.

The classroom was as silent as a grave. You could have heard a pin drop.

The students froze in their seats. They looked at one another, and each saw the laughter they were struggling to hold back.

No one had expected Zhou Yi, who had been so fearsome yesterday and had worked them to the bone, to show up today with a swollen, bruised face and wounds all over.

The contrast was simply too great. They couldn't help themselves.

But they didn't dare laugh. Everyone knew Zhou Yi's temper. If they let out a sound, she'd probably skin them alive today.

So they all lowered their heads, shoulders shaking violently as they bit down hard on their lips and fought back their laughter, faces turning red from the strain.

Huo Yuhao sat in his seat, staring at Zhou Yi, battered and wretched at the front of the classroom. He froze for a moment, then felt as if he understood.

He had told Gu Yuan about the Soul Guidance Department the night before. Zhou Yi had turned up like this today, so it could only have been Gu Yuan.

A rush of warmth filled Huo Yuhao's heart, though he couldn't help feeling amused as well. He knew Gu Yuan was backing him up, afraid Zhou Yi might take advantage of him.

At the podium, Zhou Yi watched the students' shoulders shaking as they struggled not to laugh. Her face turned green with rage. She was about to slam the desk and roar, but the moment she lifted her hand, she tugged at her injuries and sucked in a sharp breath of pain, nearly falling off the podium.

She had wanted to fly into a rage, but when she remembered the Titled Douluo's warning from the night before, the curses at the tip of her tongue died in her throat.

She could only grit her teeth, pick up a piece of chalk, and write today's lesson on the blackboard. In a hoarse voice, she began, "Today we'll cover the basic applications of Martial Souls and the precise control of Soul Power..."

Her voice had lost its usual severity and chill. Instead, it was weak and hoarse. Even as she taught, she kept baring her teeth and drawing in sharp breaths whenever she moved the wounds on her face.

The students suffered even more from holding back their laughter. They buried their heads lower, their shoulders shaking like sieves. The only sounds in the whole classroom were Zhou Yi's hoarse lecture and the students' suppressed laughter.

For the entire class, Zhou Yi didn't utter a single harsh word.

As soon as the bell rang, she immediately limped out of the classroom in a wretched hurry, afraid that if she stayed another second, she'd lose the last shred of face she had in front of the students.

The moment she left, thunderous laughter erupted in the classroom.

The students laughed and chattered among themselves, each feeling thoroughly vindicated.