Conversation

Wang Dong froze for a moment.

Why are you all looking at me?

She suddenly realized that the "resentful look" she had just given was exactly the same as Jiang Nannan's and Xiao Xiao's.

Her face grew slightly warm, and she hurriedly turned her head away.

Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao exchanged a glance.

This guy was so delicate and handsome... he wasn't gay, was he?!

Lin Yaoyang did not notice the silent exchange among the three girls.

"Nannan, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, you should head back first. This senior sister may have something to discuss with me."

Jiang Nannan bit her lip, glanced at Zhang Lexuan, then at Lin Yaoyang, and ultimately nodded.

"Alright, we'll go first. See you tomorrow."

She turned and left, but after taking a few steps, she looked back once more.

Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao followed after her. Each lost in her own thoughts, the three girls walked silently beneath the moonlight.

The campus path fell quiet.

Lin Yaoyang looked at Zhang Lexuan and asked, "How should I address you, senior sister? What did you need from me?"

Zhang Lexuan smiled faintly.

Her smile was light, like moonlight itself.

"Hello. My name is Zhang Lexuan, and I am an Inner Court disciple of Shrek Academy."

Her gaze settled on Lin Yaoyang, slowly sweeping over him from head to toe.

"I heard that an unparalleled genius had arrived in the Outer Court, so... I came to take a look."

The night breeze drifted past, stirring her long black hair.

Beneath the moonlight, her smile was gentle and serene, like a white lotus quietly blooming in the night.

Lin Yaoyang's heart stirred slightly as he watched her smile.

Not because of her beauty, though she truly was beautiful.

It was because beneath her smile, he saw something else.

A trace of exhaustion, hidden so deeply that perhaps even she herself had not noticed it...

Lin Yaoyang did not expose it.

He nodded slightly, a polite smile appearing at the corner of his lips as well.

"Senior sister has excellent judgment. Thank you for the compliment!"

As Zhang Lexuan watched him smile, she thought to herself.

This young man was far more flamboyant than she had imagined. His sharpness showed in full, without the slightest hint of feigned modesty.

Zhang Lexuan had seen many geniuses in the Inner Court. Every student called a "monster" possessed a distinct temperament.

Some were dazzlingly sharp, some reserved and profound, and some arrogant and unruly.

But the feeling Lin Yaoyang gave her was unlike any of them.

Zhang Lexuan smiled slightly and decided to get straight to the point.

"Student Lin Yaoyang," she said gently, though every word was clear, "I came today because I wanted to have a talk with you."

"About what?" Lin Yaoyang's tone was indifferent. His gaze rested on her face, devoid of any unnecessary emotion.

"About your cultivation, your thoughts, and your views on Shrek," Zhang Lexuan said. "Elder Mu asked me to get in touch with you and see whether there is anything the academy can do for you."

After saying that, she softened her tone, her eyes carrying sincere seriousness as she earnestly pressed on, "If you have any requests, you may state them directly. The academy will consider them as appropriate."

Lin Yaoyang lifted his eyes to look at her. His tone remained calm and unruffled, without the slightest politeness or pretense, as he stated his thoughts directly. "I have two requests. First, I want to change dormitories. Second, I want to cultivate inside the Golden Tree."

Zhang Lexuan frowned slightly at this, surprise flashing through her eyes as she asked first, "Change dormitories? Why?"

Rather than answering directly, Lin Yaoyang calmly asked in return, "Senior sister, what do you think of Shrek's dormitories?"

His question immediately rendered Zhang Lexuan silent.

Though she spent most of her time in the Inner Court, she knew that the freshman dormitories were extremely crude. Not only was the environment noisy, but there was no atmosphere conducive to cultivation whatsoever. It was entirely a deliberately harsh trial arranged by the academy, and for a moment, she did not know how to respond.

After several breaths of silence, she collected her thoughts and turned to the matter of the Golden Tree, her tone becoming particularly serious. "The Golden Tree is Shrek's foundation and the core of the entire academy. It concerns the academy's legacy, and there have always been strict rules governing who may enter. People cannot enter at will."

"According to Shrek Academy's ancient custom, only after students enter the Inner Court may they gain one opportunity to cultivate within the Golden Tree."

After a pause, she looked at Lin Yaoyang, whose disposition and talent both far surpassed those of his peers, and added, with a somewhat uncertain note of hope in her voice, "However, your circumstances are exceptional, and Elder Mu values you greatly. If you insist on going, perhaps Elder Mu will make an exception and give you one opportunity to cultivate within the Golden Tree."

She had deliberately mentioned Mu En.

In Shrek, no one was unaware of the weight carried by that name.

The Dragon God Douluo, a Rank 99 Limit Douluo, Shrek Academy's stabilizing pillar.

A single word from him could alter anyone's fate.

Zhang Lexuan thought Lin Yaoyang would at least show some reaction.

Lin Yaoyang showed none.

"Elder Mu?" His tone remained indifferent. "That old man who lies at the dormitory entrance every day, basking in the sun?"

Zhang Lexuan's brow twitched slightly.

She had seen many expressions whenever people mentioned Mu En: reverence, worship, nervousness.

But there was nothing in Lin Yaoyang's expression.

It was as though he were speaking of a stranger who had nothing to do with him.

"That's him," Zhang Lexuan said. "Elder Mu thinks highly of you."

"What does he value about me?" Lin Yaoyang asked. "My talent? My Martial Soul? Or does he think I'm easier to control?"

His words were so direct that even Zhang Lexuan was taken aback.

"That is not what Elder Mu means," Zhang Lexuan said. Her voice remained gentle, but her tone was more serious than before. "Shrek Academy has stood for ten thousand years and nurtured countless outstanding Soul Masters. Elder Mu has devoted his entire life to the academy. Every student he values, he sincerely hopes will succeed."

"Is that so?" Lin Yaoyang's lips curved slightly. There was no mockery in his smile, but there was no warmth either. "Then what about Zhou Yi? She was also trained by Shrek. Did Elder Mu know about her teaching methods?"

Zhang Lexuan fell silent.

Of course she knew about Zhou Yi. On the first day of school, a freshman homeroom teacher had been beaten by a student. The news had spread even through the Inner Court.

After all, quite a few students had suffered under Zhou Yi.

She had heard that Lin Yaoyang's flames had burned Zhou Yi beyond recognition. Several healing-type Soul Masters had failed to treat her, and in the end, she had been expelled from the Martial Soul Department and transferred to the Soul Tool Department.

She knew even more clearly that Zhou Yi's teaching methods had not existed at Shrek for merely a day or two. The academy's higher-ups could not possibly have been unaware of her brutal methods—corporal punishment at the slightest provocation, threats of expulsion, and an elimination rate of one-third.

But the students Zhou Yi trained did indeed achieve excellent results, and her husband was a Level 8 Soul Engineer, so no one touched her.

Until Lin Yaoyang appeared.

"The academy has already dealt with Zhou Yi's matter," Zhang Lexuan said.

"Dealt with it?" Lin Yaoyang gave a soft laugh. "Transferring her from one department to another counts as dealing with it? If she goes to the Soul Tool Department and keeps teaching like that, how do you plan to deal with her then? Transfer her to the cafeteria to become a chef?"

Zhang Lexuan choked on her words.

She wanted to refute him, but she found no words with which to do so.

"Student Lin Yaoyang," she said after taking a deep breath, deciding to approach it from another angle, "you seem to have some... prejudice against Shrek?"

"Prejudice?" Lin Yaoyang looked at her, his gaze almost excessively calm. "Not really. I just don't like being treated as an idiot."

"No one is treating you as an idiot."

"Hard to say. Using a goal someone might achieve in the future as a bargaining chip—what do you think?"

"..."