A Hundred Thousand Gold Soul Coins for Your Life?

The dormitory fell quiet again.

Lin Yaoyang had just sat back down at the desk when he heard a soft hum behind him.

He turned around.

Wang Dong had somehow woken up. She was groggily propping herself up, her pink-blue short hair sticking up in a messy tangle, her eyes half-open and half-closed. She looked like a little bear that had just been dragged out of hibernation.

She looked around, confirmed that she was back in the dormitory, and still wore the dazed expression of someone who had just woken up.

"Brother Lin... how did we get back?"

"What?" Lin Yaoyang leaned back in his chair and looked at her with an amused half-smile. "Did you want to lie outside?"

"..."

Wang Dong choked on her words and could not be bothered to argue with him.

She rubbed her eyes, trying hard to recall what had happened before she fainted.

That fiery red figure, that terrifying heat, that suffocating pressure... the fragments of her memories gradually came together.

"What exactly happened just now? Who was that fiery red figure?"

Lin Yaoyang's expression did not change. His tone was as calm as if he were reciting a textbook.

"An Evil Soul Master."

All traces of sleepiness vanished from Wang Dong's face in an instant.

"What? An Evil Soul Master?!" Her voice rose sharply, and her body instinctively tensed.

Every soul master on the Douluo Continent knew what the words "Evil Soul Master" meant.

They were the common enemies of all soul masters and soul beasts, beings who stood against every living creature on the continent—scourges who were to be killed on sight without mercy.

"After you fainted, I was planning to kill that Evil Soul Master to avenge you."

"I didn't expect Dean Yan Shaozhe to suddenly appear and stop me."

Wang Dong froze.

He had planned to kill that Evil Soul Master... to avenge me?

She looked at Lin Yaoyang's expressionless face, and an indescribable feeling suddenly welled up inside her.

This guy might have had a sharp tongue, might always look at her as though she were an idiot, and might have given her an awful nickname like "Little Wang"...

But he was actually pretty good to her.

"Dean Yan Shaozhe? Why did he stop you?" Wang Dong suppressed that small flicker of emotion in her heart and seized on the important point.

"Because that Evil Soul Master is his disciple." Lin Yaoyang's voice turned slightly cold. "Something went wrong with her cultivation. She became crazed and already showed the traits of an Evil Soul Master."

Wang Dong recalled what she had seen before fainting. That fiery red figure, radiating fierce and chilling power, with eyes red as blood... she really had looked like the Evil Soul Masters from the legends.

"Those vermin in Shrek Academy's upper ranks," Lin Yaoyang snorted, his tone dripping with undisguised mockery, "actually couldn't bear to kill a disciple who showed signs of becoming an Evil Soul Master. What hypocrisy."

Wang Dong fell silent.

Evil Soul Masters were the enemies of the continent. Anyone who encountered one was supposed to step forward and execute them. That was an ironclad rule drilled into every soul master since childhood.

But when the "Evil Soul Master" became one of their own...

Lin Yaoyang looked at her expression, a cold smile curling across his lips.

"What they don't understand is that if someone is an Evil Soul Master for one minute, they're an Evil Soul Master for life. Even if they don't lose control now, they will sooner or later. People like that are even more terrifying than ordinary Evil Soul Masters."

Wang Dong pressed her lips together and slowly nodded.

"That's true..."

A tiny seed had been planted in her heart.

Lin Yaoyang did not continue the subject.

He took out the wooden box from his storage Soul Tool and pushed it in front of Wang Dong.

"What's this?" Wang Dong took it, opened the box, and found two gold cards lying quietly inside.

"The academy's compensation for us," Lin Yaoyang said.

Wang Dong picked up one of the gold cards, turned it over for a look, and her eyes widened at once.

"A limit of a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins? That much?"

"You think a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins is a lot?" Lin Yaoyang put the other gold card into his storage Soul Tool, speaking as casually as if he were saying, "I had a bowl of noodles today."

Wang Dong blinked and looked at him uncertainly. "Isn't it?"

Her family might have been wealthy, but they would not simply give her this much money at once!

"Whoever comes to Shrek doesn't have at least some family wealth? Besides, your Martial Soul isn't ordinary either, is it? The Light Goddess Butterfly—it's at least above the level of a top-tier Martial Soul. With your background, would you really be short of money?"

Wang Dong's eyelashes trembled faintly, but she did not reply.

Lin Yaoyang continued, "They nearly killed you. A hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins to buy your life—do you think that's worth it?"

Wang Dong curled her lips. "But I'm fine, aren't I?"

"That's because I was there." Lin Yaoyang reached out and poked her shoulder, neither too hard nor too gently. His tone carried an utterly matter-of-fact certainty. "Without me, you would already be dead."

The poke made Wang Dong's shoulder tilt to one side. She gave a soft huff and put away the gold card.

"So what? I'm just short on money!"

She said it with her mouth, but the corner of her lips still could not help lifting.

After putting the money away, she suddenly remembered something and sprang up from the bed.

"Right! Class today!"

She had completely forgotten that they still had class today.

Lin Yaoyang did not even raise his eyelids. "Why go? Just say you're injured and need rest."

Wang Dong thought about it, found that reasonable, and slowly sat back down.

"I guess that's true."

She was quiet for two seconds, then turned toward him, her eyes sparkling.

"Let's go to Shrek City. I'll treat you to a meal!"

Lin Yaoyang finally raised his head and looked at her.

"Sure." He smiled. "Then I won't hold back."

"Hmph, when have you ever held back?" Wang Dong jumped down from the bed and straightened her hair and clothes. Her movements were much more brisk now. "Come on, come on. Let's go before it gets to mealtime, or there'll be too many people later."

Lin Yaoyang got to his feet and left with her.

Wang Dong walked half a step ahead of him. Her footsteps were light, and she hummed an unknown little tune under her breath. She seemed to be in an excellent mood.

Lin Yaoyang watched her back, the corner of his lips lifting slightly.

"Little Wang."

"What?" Wang Dong did not turn around.

"If you're treating, can I order the most expensive thing?"

"Just try it." Wang Dong turned back and bared her teeth at him.

Night.

Sea God Lake, Lakeheart Island.

Inside an exquisite wooden house on the island.

Yan Shaozhe pushed open the door and entered.

"You're awake?"

Ma Xiaotao sat in a chair, twisting the corner of her clothes with both hands, her face full of grievance and regret.

She had already returned to normal. After the Evil Fire receded, the face hidden behind the mask was revealed.

Her pale pink eyes easily gave people a soul-stirring feeling.

Big eyes, a slightly baby-fat face.

It was hard to connect her with that flame-covered "Evil Soul Master" from earlier.

"Teacher, I... I thought I could control it..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was nearly inaudible. Even she knew how unconvincing those words sounded.

Yan Shaozhe walked to the window and stood with his back to her in silence for a long time.

He turned around. Anger flashed across his face, but it quickly turned into heartache. Looking at the student he had raised with his own hands, he let out a helpless sigh.

"Xiaotao, you said the same thing the last few times. But when did you ever successfully control it?"

Ma Xiaotao lowered her head and said nothing.

"Today, you even injured a student."

"I'm sorry..." Her voice was muffled, and she lowered her head even further.