"Boss Dai." Ma Hongjun nudged Dai Mubai beside him with his elbow, his eyes still glued to the girl as he lowered his voice.
"That girl's pretty cute."
Dai Mubai followed his gaze, then curled his lip disdainfully.
"Canghui Academy."
His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet inn, everyone heard him clearly.
"What about Canghui Academy?" Ma Hongjun was still grinning foolishly.
Dai Mubai raised his voice a little, his tone brimming with natural superiority.
"Just some little Canghui Academy. What's there to strut about?"
Those words landed like a rock tossed into a cesspit.
All seven people from Canghui Academy changed expressions at once.
The tall student sprang to his feet, knocking his chair over with a loud crash.
The others beside him stood up too, fists cracking as they clenched them, each wearing a more hostile expression than the last.
One burly young man went straight around the table and strode toward Dai Mubai's group.
On the way, he spotted the waiter serving food.
A wicked plan instantly took shape in his mind.
As the waiter passed Ji Ye, he deliberately slammed into him.
The waiter was carrying a large bowl brimming with hot soup. The collision sent him pitching forward and the bowl flying from his hands. The scalding soup 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.
His left hand shot out, grabbed the waiter by the collar, and pulled him backward.
His right hand swept through half an arc in the air, fingers spread wide. A transparent spatial barrier instantly took shape. The scalding soup struck it like it had hit an invisible wall, not a drop splashing out.
The soup ran down the spatial barrier and flowed into the bowl.
The inn was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The burly young man from Canghui Academy stood frozen, mouth agape, eyes wide as bells.
The tall student from Canghui Academy's expression shifted, but he refused to back down.
"Not bad."
Dai Mubai slapped the table and stood up.
"Don't your people from Canghui Academy watch where you're going?"
"What did you just say?" The tall student stepped forward twice. All seven people from Canghui Academy stood up, four men and three women, glaring at Shrek's group like tigers watching their prey.
Dai Mubai didn't retreat. He stood up and took two steps forward.
"What about it?"
Ma Hongjun stood and followed him. Oscar hesitated, then followed too.
Tang San didn't move. He was watching Ji Ye.
Ji Ye withdrew the spatial barrier, turned, and sat back down. He lifted his teacup and took a sip, his expression unchanged throughout.
Meanwhile, Dai Mubai's group—
The tall student's mouth twitched into an irritating grin.
"Fine, you've got guts. Outside. Soul Master duel. Dare to?"
"Like I'm afraid of you." Dai Mubai lifted his chin, turned, and headed for the door.
Ma Hongjun followed him. Oscar hesitated for two seconds, then followed too.
Tang San stood in place, looked at Ji Ye, then at Xiao Wu. He gritted his teeth and followed Oscar.
The four men went outside.
The people from Canghui Academy all streamed after them. The inn door shut, and the room fell quiet.
Ji Ye lifted his teacup and slowly took a sip, showing no intention of moving.
"Shouldn't we go?"
Ji Ye shook his head.
"No rush."
Ning Rongrong glanced at him, hesitated, then picked up her chair and sat beside him. She didn't move either.
Zhu Zhuqing looked toward the door, then chose to sit back down.
She wasn't going either.
Xiao Wu stood where she was, head lowered, her hands twisting together until her knuckles turned white.
She glanced at the door. Tang San had already gone outside. Then she looked at Ji Ye. He wasn't looking at her; he was drinking tea, but the invisible pressure weighing on her felt like a mountain.
She bit her lip and slowly walked back to Ji Ye's side, then sat down.
The sounds of fighting came from outside the inn, mixed with Dai Mubai's furious roars and Ma Hongjun's screams.
Xiao Wu's hand holding her teacup twitched slightly, but she still didn't move.
The fighting lasted less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea before turning into one-sided wailing.
After a cup of tea's time.
The inn door was pushed open.
The people from Canghui Academy stood there, laughing so hard they were doubled over.
The tall student had one foot on Dai Mubai's face and sneered.
"So this is Shrek Academy's strength?"
"You didn't even manage to touch a single hair on us. Tsk, tsk."
Dai Mubai's face was pressed against the muddy ground. A low growl came from his throat, but he could no longer push himself up.
The tall student looked down at him, a smug smile on his lips. Then he spat, and a mouthful of spit landed on Dai Mubai's face.
Dai Mubai's body shuddered violently. His fists clenched with a crackling sound, but he couldn't get back up.
The people from Canghui Academy laughed as they walked inside.
Their eyes turned to Ji Ye and the other three, full of mockery.
Their looks seemed to say, "Cowards."
Dai Mubai lay face-down on the ground, motionless.
Ma Hongjun crouched beside him, his nose still bleeding, at a loss for words.
Oscar stood off to one side, helpless.
Tang San frowned and came over to help Dai Mubai up, but Dai Mubai swatted his hand away.
Dai Mubai climbed to his feet and wiped the spit from his face with his sleeve. His eyes were bloodshot.
He turned around and saw Ji Ye sitting at the table inside the inn, quietly drinking tea as he watched him.
Ning Rongrong sat beside him, Zhu Zhuqing beside her, and Xiao Wu across from him.
The four of them hadn't come outside once.
But they were watching him.
All four of them were watching him.
Watching him get trampled underfoot, spat on, and left sprawled on the ground like a dead dog.
Dai Mubai's mind exploded with a roar.
"Ji Ye!!!"
Like a rabid beast, his eyes blood-red, he let Soul Power surge wildly over his body. Three Soul Rings lit up, and a dazzling ball of white light gathered in his right hand.
White Tiger Intense Light Wave!
He fired it straight at Ji Ye.
The White Tiger Intense Light Wave came with a sharp whistle, carrying all of Dai Mubai's fury and humiliation as it hurtled toward Ji Ye's face like a cannonball.
Ji Ye set down his teacup.
His Second Martial Soul, "Time," activated.
Everything within a radius of fifty zhang froze.
Dai Mubai's White Tiger Intense Light Wave stopped in midair, like a frozen meteor. Its white light solidified and no longer flowed.
Ma Hongjun's hand, wiping his nosebleed, stopped in midair. A drop of blood hung at his fingertip, neither falling nor dripping.
Oscar stood with his mouth open, a word caught in his throat, unable to come out.
Tang San's hand, reaching to stop Dai Mubai, halted in midair, his fingers slightly spread.
Ning Rongrong's eyes stopped halfway through a blink.
Zhu Zhuqing's turn of her head halted halfway through.
Xiao Wu's raised head stopped halfway.
The entire inn became a giant amber, with everyone trapped inside.
Everyone except Ji Ye.
He stood up, and the chair made no sound.
He walked around the table and headed toward Dai Mubai, one step at a time, his footsteps light and silent on the wooden floor.
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