Feng Tianyu fought back the urge to roll his eyes.
Yan Shaozhe really was nitpicking. Just because he had stood still, Yan Shaozhe had docked him fifty points. He really couldn't stand the thought of Feng Tianyu getting a perfect score.
He trusted Grey Wolf. There was no way anything could go wrong in a fight against a thousand-year Soul Beast.
Ha!
Maybe Yan Shaozhe would look bad if Feng Tianyu got a perfect score.
Grey Wolf still remembered Yan Shaozhe, too. That birdman's Phoenix Flame had burned him badly last time. Now the birdman was picking a fight with them again. It was enough to make a wolf furious.
"With this great king's peerless skills, taking down a thousand-year Soul Beast is as easy as catching a lamb. And he still docked our points? Is he blind or something?!"
Feng Tianyu couldn't even be bothered to raise an eyelid.
"Grey Wolf, let's go. We won't be staying in the Martial Soul Department anyway. We'll head back to the Soul Guidance Department and continue our research."
"We've got plenty of projects waiting for us!"
Grey Wolf followed Feng Tianyu, fuming.
"I'll settle the score with that birdman sooner or later!"
Seeing Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf about to leave, Yan Shaozhe called out one last time, unwilling to give up.
"Feng Tianyu, come back to the Martial Soul Department. You have exceptional talent, and only here can you make the most of it."
"Your Martial Soul's combat ability alone would make you a key candidate for training when you enter the Inner Court. Staying in the Soul Guidance Department is a waste of your talent."
Feng Tianyu kept walking and waved a hand.
"Dean Yan, you saw us fight like Soul Masters and decided we belong in the Martial Soul Department."
"But you don't realize that if we fought as Soul Engineers, we'd finish the battle even faster."
"We've completed our assessment. If there's nothing else, we'll be going."
Feng Tianyu now had plenty of Soul Guidance devices invented by Grey Wolf: the Magnification Lamp, the Shrink Lamp, the Aging Ray Gun, the Rejuvenation Ray Gun, the Electric Charging Belt... They just consumed a lot of Soul Power.
They still had plenty of projects to work on. The Energy Converter, for instance: how to convert the energy of heaven and earth into Soul Power on a large scale. And then there was the Time Machine. Once they had that, he and Grey Wolf could return to that pitch-black night long ago and stop Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui from fooling around. They wouldn't even have to get their hands dirty. They could simply make that loathsome Yan Shaozhe disappear from this timeline.
Yan Shaozhe's face turned livid. Across all of Shrek Academy, only Feng Tianyu dared to ignore him like this.
"Feng Tianyu, Grey Wolf, you won't escape the Martial Soul Department's grasp. You're strong now, but my disciple Xiaotao is stronger. She'll beat you until you come crawling back to the Martial Soul Department. Teachers don't interfere in fights between students."
Then Yan Shaozhe shouted, his voice icy:
"Continue the assessment!"
Yan Shaozhe seemed to be furious. No one in the Great Beast Arena dared speak above a whisper.
Every student who made it into Shrek Academy was exceptionally talented, with pride and a temper of their own. They might talk back to a teacher now and then, but none of them dared act insolently in front of Yan Shaozhe.
They'd certainly seen something new today!
Someone had actually dared to defy Yan Shaozhe. Some of the academy's usual troublemakers admired Feng Tianyu and couldn't help thinking that he was a role model.
After completing the Upgrade Assessment and showing off a little, Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf returned to the Soul Guidance Department workshop. They spent the whole day there, and only got ready to leave for cultivation in the afternoon.
On the way back to the dormitory, they ran straight into Ma Xiaotao, whom Yan Shaozhe had sent to intercept them. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking from Feng Tianyu to Grey Wolf, a hint of surprise on her face.
"I heard about your performance in the Upgrade Assessment. I have to say, it impressed me. A yellow and a purple Soul Ring Configuration, and you beat the thousand-year Bloodthirsty Demon Bear head-on as a Soul Grandmaster!"
"Not many in the Martial Soul Department can match that kind of talent."
"I'll say it again: the Martial Soul Department is the only orthodox path. The Soul Guidance Department is just a place for students with no talent to waste their days!"
"Wasting your days in a place like that is a terrible waste of your gifts. It's also a slap in the face to my teacher, who took you under his wing."
"Come back to the Martial Soul Department, and I'll look after you. I guarantee you'll be able to throw your weight around and get the department's full support."
"If you won't agree, I'll beat you until you do. I'll be waiting for you at the Great Soul Arena tomorrow morning."
Feng Tianyu looked at Ma Xiaotao's proud face, the kind that brooked no defiance, his gaze cold and his expression indifferent.
"Ma Xiaotao, has anyone ever told you how disgusting it is when you act like you're above everyone else and force your will on them? Have you really never been beaten?!"
"Maybe not before, but you will be now. I know the academy's motto: real combat is encouraged, and those afraid to cause trouble are useless!"
"Tomorrow, then. We might as well settle our old grudge while we're at it. I'll teach you a lesson about meddling in other people's choices!"
With that, Feng Tianyu and Grey Wolf walked right past Ma Xiaotao and headed for the dormitory. There was no point trying to solve anything with words.
For someone like Ma Xiaotao, spoiled rotten and foul-tempered, the only way to bring her to her senses was to plant a fist squarely in her face.
Ma Xiaotao turned and watched the boy and wolf walking away. Her fists clenched with a crack, her brows knitted, and flames seemed to burn in her eyes. Fury filled her chest until she felt ready to burst.
"Hmph! I try to help, and you spit in my face! My teacher and I can't stand seeing you neglect your proper studies, so we wanted to set you on the right path. And you ungrateful brat have the nerve to insult me!"
"I've beaten everyone at Shrek Academy. Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you're young!"
Evil Fire surged inside Ma Xiaotao, deepening the murderous look in her eyes.
Compared with eight months ago, Ma Xiaotao was no longer a level-38 Soul Elder. She was a level-42 Soul Ancestor!
The Evil Fire within her was becoming harder and harder to suppress. It could erupt at any moment.
Yet she was stubborn and unruly by nature, and often let the Evil Fire run wild rather than suppressing it. In short, she needed a good beating.
Maybe if someone beat her until she felt deep fear in her bones, she'd have a chance to control her temper and suppress that unruly Evil Fire.
The news that Ma Xiaotao and Feng Tianyu would fight at the Great Soul Arena the next day spread across campus like the wind, all within a single afternoon.
One was the upperclassman who ruled the school, Ma Xiaotao. The other was Feng Tianyu, a troublemaker who had jumped ship from the Martial Soul Department to the Soul Guidance Department.
The news of a fight between the two sent students and teachers from every year into a stir.
Upperclassmen Dai Yaoheng, Chen Zifeng, Yao Haoxuan, Xixi, Ling Luochеn, Gongyang Mo... and the other prodigies had already decided to go watch.
The new first-year students were also eager to see the clash between these two famous figures. Among them were Jiang Nannan, who had come to Shrek Academy to get away from Xu Sanshi, and Xu Sanshi, who had followed Jiang Nannan there.
The entire academy grew lively at the thought of the coming fight.
Most people thought Ma Xiaotao would win. After all, she was fourteen, with level-42 Soul Power, while Feng Tianyu was six and only at level 23. It would be a laughingstock if she couldn't beat him.
But Feng Tianyu had one yellow and one purple Soul Ring, as well as a mutated, external Martial Soul. He might just put on a spectacular fight.
So there were plenty of students and teachers looking forward to the match.
Before you continue