The night breeze was cool over the Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy's training grounds.
Zhao Dabao knelt on the cold flagstones, clutching his head, where only a few strands of hair remained, and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
His deranged behavior quickly shattered the campus's quiet.
Students and instructors in the surrounding dormitories were roused. Many rushed to the edge of the training grounds without even stopping to grab their coats.
"Isn't that Instructor Zhao? What's he doing out here in the middle of the night?"
"I don't know. He looks like he's gone mad. He keeps rolling around on the ground."
"That's terrifying. He's shouting something about a liar. Did something happen to him?"
The students pointed and whispered among themselves, their voices rising into a din.
Just then, a stern scolding rang out from the edge of the crowd.
"What are you all standing around for? Don't you need to sleep? Break it up, all of you!"
A tall, stern-faced middle-aged man strode over.
He wore a crisp uniform, with a Dean of Students badge pinned to his chest.
Seeing Zhao Dabao rolling around on the ground in the middle of the training grounds, the Dean of Students' brow furrowed, his eyes full of disgust and displeasure.
The Dean of Students hurried up to Zhao Dabao and demanded, looking down at him, "Zhao Dabao! You're an academy instructor. What kind of conduct is this, shouting in the middle of the night? What on earth is wrong with you?"
At the Dean of Students' stern rebuke, Zhao Dabao jerked his head up.
His eyes were bloodshot, and his whole face was twisted with fury and despair.
He didn't hear a word the Dean of Students said. He only waved his hands incoherently, yelling like a madman out of his mind.
"My Marrow Cleansing Pill! My Top-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill! And my Gold Soul Coins!"
Zhao Dabao grabbed the Dean of Students by the trouser leg and rasped, "The system lied to me! It clearly said the rewards had been issued, so why didn't I get anything? It was all a scam! Give me my things back!"
The Dean of Students jumped at Zhao Dabao's frenzied appearance and yanked his leg free, scolding him, "What Marrow Cleansing Pill? What system? Are you drunk? Someone, get him up and take him away! Stop making a spectacle of yourself!"
Just as several male instructors prepared to step forward and drag him away, the situation suddenly changed.
After three straight days of having Su Yu snatch everything from him without receiving a single system reward, and with his emotions now at their breaking point, the Soul Power inside Zhao Dabao suddenly broke loose like a wild horse without reins.
A violent surge of Soul Power burst from his plump body, forcing the nearby instructors to stumble backward.
"Argh!"
Zhao Dabao let out a howl of unbearable pain.
His eyes rolled sharply upward, revealing a frightening expanse of white.
Then his body toppled straight backward, slamming heavily onto the flagstones.
A flood of white foam bubbled from his mouth and ran down his chin, soaking his neck.
His limbs stiffened as he convulsed wildly on the ground. He had completely lost consciousness and fallen into a state of qi deviation.
The watching students drew in sharp breaths at the sight. A few timid girls even screamed and covered their eyes.
"Something's wrong! He's suffering a qi deviation! Hold him down!"
The Dean of Students' face changed dramatically, and he shouted in alarm.
Several powerful instructors rushed forward at once and joined forces to release their Soul Power, firmly suppressing the frenzied energy coursing through Zhao Dabao.
After a chaotic struggle, they finally subdued the raving Zhao Dabao. They fetched a stretcher and carried him straight to the academy infirmary.
The infirmary was brightly lit.
The academy's best healing-type Soul Master withdrew the hand he had pressed against Zhao Dabao's wrist, drenched in sweat, his expression grave.
"How is he?"
The Dean of Students asked anxiously.
The healing-type Soul Master sighed and shook his head. "There's no hope. The Soul Power in his body ran completely wild, and his meridians have been severely damaged, broken inch by inch. His life is out of danger, but he'll never be able to use even the slightest bit of Soul Power again. He's now completely crippled."
The instructors in the infirmary exchanged stunned looks at the diagnosis.
A perfectly healthy Soul Master had gone mad in the middle of the night and ended up crippled.
The news quickly reached the academy's senior staff.
That night, the higher-ups of Nuoding Academy convened an emergency meeting.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was grave.
"Zhao Dabao acted like a lunatic on the training grounds in the middle of the night. Not only did he alarm the entire academy, he crippled himself in the process. This behavior has seriously damaged Nuoding Academy's reputation!"
One vice dean slammed a hand on the table and said indignantly.
"Exactly. Our academy can't keep a cripple who suffered a qi deviation on as an instructor. What will other academies think of us if word gets out?"
The Old Dean listened to everyone's discussion, his face dark.
Without hesitation, he picked up his pen and signed his name on a file.
"Draw up the dismissal order at once."
The Old Dean ordered coldly, "Have someone throw the unconscious Zhao Dabao out the academy gates tonight. Nuoding Academy doesn't need a disgraceful waste like him."
The cold night wind howled through the streets of Nuoding City.
Two burly academy guards carried the unconscious Zhao Dabao and tossed him onto the cold street outside the academy gates like a piece of garbage.
With a dull thud, Zhao Dabao sprawled on the ground like a lump of mud, abandoned by everyone.
At the window of Dorm Seven, Su Yu stood quietly, taking in everything happening outside the gates in the moonlight.
Watching Zhao Dabao's pitiful figure being thrown out, he clapped his hands in satisfaction.
He hadn't sent a single soldier into battle or sparked any direct conflict. By changing just a few words on the System Panel, he had neutralized a potential threat with a top-tier sign-in cheat without shedding a drop of blood.
What was more, he had squeezed every last opportunity out of the other man.
Xiao Wu stood behind Su Yu.
She, too, had seen what happened outside the gates.
As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, she understood better than anyone what it meant for a Soul Master to lose his cultivation and become a cripple.
Xiao Wu looked at Su Yu's calm silhouette and couldn't help swallowing, the sound clear in her throat.
She felt a chill crawl up her spine.
This human boy was terrifying. He seemed harmless on the surface, but he was devious to the core.
To kill without drawing blood—that was what made a truly ruthless character.
She silently swore that she would never anger this demon, or her fate would be ten thousand times worse than that fat man's.
Su Yu reached out and closed the window, shutting out the cold wind.
He turned and looked at Tang Wu, who sat obediently on her bed.
Su Yu took the Top-Grade Marrow Cleansing Pill from his robes. It gave off a rich, fragrant scent.
The pill emitted a faint glow in the dim dormitory.
Holding the pill, he walked over to Tang Wu, a glint of anticipation in his deep eyes.
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