Dai Mubai and the others are brutally beaten by Canghui Academy, the second martial soul "Time"

"Boss Dai." Ma Hongjun nudged Dai Mubai with his elbow, his eyes still glued to the girl as he lowered his voice.

"That chick looks pretty good."

Dai Mubai followed his gaze for a glance and curled his lip in disdain.

"She's from Canghui Academy."

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet inn, everyone heard it clearly.

"So what if she's from Canghui Academy?" Ma Hongjun was still grinning foolishly.

Dai Mubai raised his voice slightly, his tone carrying an innate sense of superiority.

"Just a tiny Canghui Academy, what's there to be so flashy about?"

This sentence was like a stone thrown into a cesspool.

On the Canghui Academy side, all seven of them changed expressions simultaneously.

The tall student stood up abruptly, his chair toppling backward with a loud crash.

The people beside him also stood up, their knuckles cracking as they clenched their fists, their gazes growing increasingly hostile.

One of the sturdier boys bypassed the table and strode directly toward Dai Mubai's side.

On his way, he spotted the waiter serving dishes.

A wicked plan instantly formed in his mind.

As the waiter passed by Ji Ye, the boy slammed into him.

The waiter, carrying a large, full bowl of hot soup, was sent lunging forward. The bowl flew out of his hands, and the scalding broth traced an arc through the air, splashing toward Ji Ye.

Ji Ye didn't even lift an eyelid.

His hand moved, so fast that no one present could see it clearly.

His left hand shot out, grabbing the waiter by the collar and yanking him backward.

His right hand traced a half-arc in the air, fingers splayed. A transparent Void barrier instantly condensed into shape. The boiling soup struck the barrier as if hitting an invisible wall, and not a single drop splashed out.

The broth slid down the Void barrier and back into the soup bowl.

The inn was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The sturdy boy from Canghui Academy stood rooted to the spot, his mouth agape, eyes wide as saucers.

The tall student from Canghui Academy's expression shifted, but he refused to back down.

"Not bad."

Dai Mubai slammed the table and stood up.

"Do you people from Canghui Academy not have eyes when you walk?"

"Say that again?" The tall student took two steps forward. All seven members of Canghui Academy stood up—four men and three women—glaring menacingly at the Shrek side.

Dai Mubai didn't retreat; he stood up and took two steps forward.

"What if I did?"

Ma Hongjun stood up to follow behind him, and Oscar hesitated for a moment before following as well.

Tang San didn't move; he was watching Ji Ye.

Ji Ye retracted the Void barrier, turned, and sat back down in his chair. He picked up his teacup and took a sip, his expression remaining completely unchanged throughout.

On Dai Mubai's side.

The tall student's mouth twitched, revealing an infuriating grin.

"Fine, you've got guts. Outside, Spirit Master duel, dare you?"

"Afraid of you?" Dai Mubai lifted his chin and turned to walk toward the door.

Ma Hongjun followed, and Oscar hesitated for two seconds before trailing after them.

Tang San stood where he was, looked at Ji Ye, then at Xiao Wu, gritted his teeth, and followed behind Oscar.

The four men walked out.

The people from Canghui Academy swarmed out after them. As the inn door closed, the room fell silent.

Ji Ye lifted his teacup and took a slow sip, showing no intention of moving.

"Are we not going?"

Ji Ye shook his head.

"No rush."

Ning Rongrong glanced at him, hesitated, then moved her chair to sit beside him, also remaining still.

Zhu Zhuqing looked toward the door and chose to sit back in her original seat.

She wasn't going either.

Xiao Wu stood where she was, head bowed, her hands twisted together until her knuckles turned white.

She glanced toward the doorway; Tang San had already stepped out. She then looked at Ji Ye, who was not looking at her, but was instead sipping tea. Yet, that invisible pressure weighed upon her like a mountain.

She bit her lip, slowly walked back to Ji Ye's side, and sat down.

Sounds of fighting drifted in from outside the inn, intermingled with Dai Mubai's furious roars and Ma Hongjun's miserable screams.

Xiao Wu's hand, holding her teacup, paused slightly, but she still did not move.

The sounds of the fight lasted less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before turning into one-sided wailing.

A cup of tea later.

The inn door was pushed open.

The members of Canghui Academy stood there, laughing so hard they were doubled over.

The tall one stepped on Dai Mubai's face and mocked, "Is this the strength of Shrek Academy?"

"You didn't even touch a single hair on us, tsk tsk tsk."

Dai Mubai's face was pressed against the muddy ground, a low, guttural roar escaping his throat, but his body could no longer hold itself up.

The tall one looked down at him with a smug grin, then spat a glob of phlegm directly onto Dai Mubai's face.

Dai Mubai's body shuddered violently, his fists clenching until they creaked, but he could not crawl back up.

The members of Canghui Academy walked inside, roaring with laughter.

They looked at the four people with Ji Ye with mocking eyes.

The implication was as if they were calling them cowards.

Dai Mubai lay on the ground, motionless.

Ma Hongjun crouched nearby, blood still streaming from his nose, not knowing what to say.

Oscar stood to the side, at a complete loss.

Tang San frowned and walked over, intending to help Dai Mubai up, but Dai Mubai shook his hand away.

Dai Mubai scrambled up from the ground and wiped the phlegm from his face with his sleeve, his eyes bloodshot.

He turned around and saw that inside the inn, Ji Ye was sitting at the table, holding a teacup, quietly sipping his tea while staring at him.

Ning Rongrong sat beside him, as did Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu sat opposite him.

The four of them had not stepped out from start to finish.

But they were watching him.

All four of them were watching him.

Watching him get stepped on, watching him get spat upon, watching him lie on the ground like a dead dog.

Dai Mubai's mind exploded with a buzz.

"Ji Ye!!!"

Like a crazed beast, his eyes blood-red, his soul power surged wildly across his body. Three soul rings lit up, and his right hand condensed a blinding white light.

White Tiger Intense Light Wave!

He blasted it directly toward Ji Ye.

The White Tiger Intense Light Wave carried a sharp, piercing whistle, wrapped in all of Dai Mubai's rage and humiliation, slamming toward Ji Ye's face like a cannonball.

Ji Ye set down his teacup.

Second Martial Soul, "Time," activated.

Within a radius of fifty zhang, everything stood still.

Dai Mubai's White Tiger Intense Light Wave hung in mid-air like a frozen meteor, the white light solidified, no longer flowing.

Ma Hongjun's hand, wiping his nosebleed, stopped in mid-air, a bead of blood suspended at his fingertip, neither dripping nor falling.

Oscar's mouth was open, a word stuck in his throat, unable to be uttered.

Tang San's hand, reaching out to stop Dai Mubai, stopped in mid-air, fingers slightly splayed.

Ning Rongrong's eyes, caught mid-blink, froze.

Zhu Zhuqing's movement of turning her head stopped halfway.

Xiao Wu's motion of lifting her head stopped halfway.

The entire inn had become a giant piece of amber, with everyone frozen inside.

Except for Ji Ye.

He stood up, his chair making no sound.

He walked around the table and stepped toward Dai Mubai, his footsteps light, making no noise as he trod upon the wooden floor.