The next day!
When Feng Tianyu got up that morning and took Grey Wolf to wash up, he didn't cause a stir this time.
After the previous morning's incident, the students on the same floor already knew the academy had specially admitted a genius with a mutated external Martial Soul.
Now, when those students saw Grey Wolf, they merely clicked their tongues in wonder. None of them mistook him for a Soul Beast anymore.
After washing up, Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf went downstairs with Beibei.
As they stepped out of the dormitory, they spotted a striking figure in fiery red not far away. She had long, flowing red hair and wore a short red dress. Her face was exquisite, and her figure slender, but an unsettling air of wickedness between her brows made people wary of meeting her gaze.
Students leaving the dormitory, male and female, younger and older, all gave the striking figure a wide berth.
Clearly, she had a fearsome reputation throughout the academy.
When Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf came out, the woman's crimson eyes turned toward them. Grey Wolf was simply too recognizable, especially among a crowd of students.
The woman strode over in high heels, clacking loudly, and stopped in front of Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf. Leaning forward with her hands on her hips, she sent a wave of heat mixed with a murderous aura crashing over them. Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf both darkened their expressions.
She had come looking for trouble!
The woman spoke in a cold voice:
"You're Feng Tianyu?"
It sounded like a question, but her tone was utterly certain, as if she'd already decided he was Feng Tianyu.
Feng Tianyu frowned. Judging by the woman's appearance and her imperious air, he had a good idea who she was.
But they were right by the dormitory entrance, and Mu En was lying on a recliner not far away. He had nothing to worry about.
"That's me."
Beside Feng Tianyu, Beibei's expression had already changed the moment he saw the woman. Now he quietly introduced her:
"Tianyu, she's Ma Xiaotao, a third-year senior at our academy. Her nickname is... Flame Maniac..."
He whispered the last few words so softly they were barely audible, as if afraid Ma Xiaotao might hear him.
Ma Xiaotao glanced at Beibei but didn't deny it. She was indeed the Flame Maniac.
She was a descendant of Ma Hongjun and had inherited his mutated Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul. Its flames were fierce, scorching, and domineering, but the evil fire was difficult to control. It made her temper volatile and left her irritable and eager to fight.
She was fourteen and had a Soul Power rank of 38. Though she hadn't reached the point of losing control, her evil fire occasionally erupted without warning. Few people in the entire academy dared to get too close to her.
Ma Xiaotao turned her gaze back to Feng Tianyu, her tone leaving no room for argument:
"You're exactly the one I came to see, Feng Tianyu. You're a student my teacher specially recruited into the Martial Soul Department, yet not only are you ungrateful, you actually shamelessly ran off to the Soul Guidance Department. Your behavior is absolutely disgusting!"
"Now I'll give you a choice. Get your ass back to the Martial Soul Department, or don't blame me for what I do to you!"
Feng Tianyu let out a breath, his gaze as cold as a blade. Damn it, Shrek Academy really was a mental asylum. Once you entered this place, you ran into every kind of lunatic.
Before he'd even awakened his Martial Soul, he'd actually wanted to study at Shrek Academy and stay on as a teacher. He must have been out of his mind back then.
If he ever came to power, he'd have to thoroughly clean house at Shrek Academy. Damn it, the place was full of lunatics and madmen—a blight on Douluo Continent.
His choice to join the Soul Guidance Department was his own. What did Ma Xiaotao think she was, ordering him back to the Martial Soul Department?
Braving the heat and murderous aura, Feng Tianyu stared straight at Ma Xiaotao.
"Is that what you want, or what your teacher wants?"
Ma Xiaotao folded her arms across her chest and lifted her chin, her tone utterly arrogant.
"I came here on my own. As my teacher's disciple, it's only natural that I help shoulder his burdens and correct some of the academy's unhealthy trends. It's my responsibility."
"Are you going to agree or not? Just give me one answer."
Feng Tianyu's voice rang out firmly:
"Even Dean Yan couldn't stop me. You'd better mind your own business!"
Ma Xiaotao's expression turned icy, and murderous intent rose in her eyes. A powerful aura burst forth, as if a phoenix were crying out from within her. Her wavy hair stirred without a breeze, and she clenched her right hand into a fist and struck with blinding speed, aiming straight for Feng Tianyu.
Beibei's eyes widened. Seeing that he couldn't stop her, he instinctively looked toward Mu En on the recliner. But Mu En seemed to be asleep and didn't intervene as Beibei had hoped.
Many of the students who had stopped to watch turned away, unable to bear looking. They could already picture Feng Tianyu with a bruised and swollen face.
Only Feng Tianyu, the one at the center of it all, didn't even blink. He stood tall and straight as a pine.
The next instant, a wave of heat swept across his face, but Ma Xiaotao's fist stopped just an inch from his nose.
Ma Xiaotao let out a surprised snort.
"Not bad. You've got guts!"
"Private fights are forbidden inside the academy. I'm not about to openly violate the rules for your sake. But the academy encourages practical combat, and sooner or later you'll have to step into the Soul Fighting Arena."
"I'll be waiting for you there. You're a first-year, so you've got less than a year. I hope you'll still have the nerve to accept my challenge then."
"Don't disappoint me!"
With that, Ma Xiaotao tossed her wavy hair and turned away from the dormitory entrance. Her departure was just as baffling as her arrival.
Seeing that things hadn't gotten out of hand, Beibei sighed in relief, grabbed Feng Tianyu by the sleeve, and spoke quickly:
"Tianyu, Ma Xiaotao is no ordinary person. She has the top-tier Beast Martial Soul, the Evil Fire Phoenix. She's fourteen and has a Soul Power rank of 38!"
"Don't accept her challenge. The academy encourages practical combat, but it doesn't let upper-year students challenge lower-year students whenever they want. As long as you don't accept, there's nothing she can do!"
"In a year, Ma Xiaotao might break through to Soul Power rank 40. Once she absorbs a Soul Ring, she'll become a Soul Ancestor."
"You can't beat her..."
Feng Tianyu glanced at Grey Wolf. He couldn't possibly reach Soul Power rank 40 within a year, but he had Grey Wolf!
Grey Wolf noticed Feng Tianyu's gaze and bared his teeth in a wide grin:
"This Great King hasn't even shown his power yet, and they already think I'm easy to bully! I don't need a year. I'll make you a few fun little gadgets, combining them with Soul Tool Technology. My inspiration just keeps on coming!"
Feng Tianyu trusted Grey Wolf to bring him a pleasant surprise. He looked in the direction Ma Xiaotao had gone.
"She's come all the way here to provoke me. If I cower now, wouldn't I lose my courage to keep pushing forward?"
"If I avoid the fight today and the next one tomorrow, how am I ever supposed to reach the peak of the Soul Master path?"
"Not only will I accept her challenge, I'll win!"
At those words, even Mu En, who had been pretending to sleep, opened his cloudy old eyes. A glint flashed in them.
He was the master of the Sea God Pavilion and the guardian deity of Shrek Academy, not Feng Tianyu's babysitter. He didn't concern himself with every little squabble between students.
That was why he'd kept pretending to sleep. But when he heard what Feng Tianyu had said, even he couldn't help but take notice.
Just for this courage, Mu En was all the more pleased with Feng Tianyu.
Before you continue