Dare Not Cause Trouble, Be Mediocre?

Lin Yan arrived at the teaching building. The moment he stepped into the classroom, he first spotted Huo Yuhao seated in the front row.

Just as he was about to find a seat at random, he heard two familiar voices.

"Brother Lin! Over here, over here! We saved you a seat!"

Following the voices, he saw that it was indeed his roommate, who had "disappeared" for three whole days, along with his good brother, Little Fatty Chen Beixuan.

Though he was somewhat surprised that the two had arrived so early and had even thought to save him a seat, he still walked over.

Seeing their pale faces, especially Ye Liangchen's—already skinny as a bamboo pole, he now looked as though he were on the verge of death.

Since they had at least remembered to save him a seat, Lin Yan casually advised them, "You two should restrain yourselves a little."

Hearing Lin Yan say that, Ye Liangchen scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "I couldn't hold back, I really couldn't! Back home, my father kept too tight a leash on me. This time, no one was watching me, so I let loose just a tiny little bit..."

As the three chatted, the sound of footsteps drew closer. Soon after, Zhou Yi entered with a long face.

Zhou Yi swept her gaze across the class, then walked straight to the podium and spoke in a hoarse voice like a battered gong.

"My name is Zhou Yi. I am your homeroom teacher."

"I don't know how many of you will make it through the next year with me. But let me tell you this: in my class, no trash will ever pass the assessment. What I intend to cultivate are monsters, not idiots."

After hearing her words, quite a few students below showed angry expressions.

Most of those who had passed the assessment to enter Shrek were children of nobles from the three great empires. They were all geniuses who had received focused training from a young age and could absolutely be called elites among their peers.

They were accustomed to praise in their daily lives, and they had heard the word "genius" so often their ears had grown calluses. When had anyone ever insulted them like this?

Now that Zhou Yi had called them trash and fools, they were naturally furious.

Zhou Yi braced both hands on the podium and leaned forward. Her next words shocked everyone again. "Stand up if you have fought during these past few days since enrollment."

While the entire class remained silent, two people stood up. That's right—it was Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong!

"Only two?"

Zhou Yi raised her brows, her tone full of disdain. "What a bunch of trash. Don't you know that those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities? Everyone other than those two, get outside and run one hundred laps around Shrek Square. Anyone who fails to finish will be expelled immediately."

Watching this scene, Lin Yan clicked his tongue twice and thought to himself, Here it comes, here it comes. Those who dare not cause trouble are mediocrities—the classic of classics!

The instant Zhou Yi finished speaking, the whole classroom erupted.

Very quickly, one student shot to his feet. "Teacher, I refuse to accept this! Why should we be punished when we didn't fight?"

Zhou Yi replied flatly, as though it were only natural, "Because I said so! If you refuse to accept it, you can get lost. As the homeroom teacher, I have the authority to expel any student. I'll give you one minute. If I don't see you running around Shrek Square within one minute, the entire class will be expelled."

Before Zhou Yi had even finished speaking, six Spirit Rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—rose from beneath her feet, and an overbearing aura pressed down upon the students.

Under that pressure, every student below widened their eyes and gritted their teeth as they resisted. Their gazes were filled with resentment as they stared fiercely at Zhou Yi's sharp, mean old face.

If looks could kill, Zhou Yi would have been killed eight hundred times over by now!

But Lin Yan had not come to Shrek to run laps under a useless hack like Zhou Yi, nor was he interested in playing any back-and-forth tug-of-war game with her!

In his previous life, whenever he read Douluo fanfiction, he had felt that some protagonists could clearly have dealt with Zhou Yi swiftly and decisively, yet they always dragged it out for ten or twenty chapters, letting Zhou Yi berate them to their faces.

What a tedious mess! Like an old woman's foot bindings—stinking and unbearably long!

More importantly, for Lin Yan, this was also an opportunity: an opportunity to announce his existence to Shrek's upper ranks in the most shocking and convincing way possible!

"Teacher Zhou, is this your method of teaching? Intimidating, threatening, and oppressing students?!"

As Lin Yan spoke, he rose gracefully and calmly as though he had felt none of Zhou Yi's pressure at all. His gaze was as sharp as a blade as he looked toward her on the podium with a sneer.

In the silent classroom, Lin Yan's voice was not loud, yet it exploded beside everyone's ears like thunder striking the ground!

Every student's gaze instantly focused on Lin Yan. There was shock, admiration, and even disbelief—someone actually dared to confront the harsh and domineering Teacher Zhou head-on!

Seeing someone withstand her pressure, stand up, and even dare to refute her, Zhou Yi's face instantly darkened until it seemed as though water could drip from it. Malice surged through her hoarse voice.

"What are you supposed to be? A piece of trash, and you dare criticize my teaching? Sit down and shut up immediately! Say one more word, and I'll have you thrown out of Shrek right now. For the rest of your life, don't even think about setting foot in this academy again!"

Lin Yan did not indulge Zhou Yi's threats in the slightest. His tone grew colder, every word like a knife. "Old hag, I gave you face, didn't I?"

"You keep calling people trash and things. Other than spewing shit from your mouth and relying on expulsion and threats to scare people, what else can you do?"

"You dare insult me?!"

Zhou Yi trembled with rage. Her shriveled fingers gripped the edge of the podium so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

At that moment, she also realized that the only person in the class capable of standing against her pressure should be the class's sole Soul Elder—Lin Yan.

"Lin Yan! You must be tired of living!"

"Don't think that you can act however you please in front of me just because you have talent! Let me tell you, Shrek never lacks geniuses! I'll give you one last chance. Get the hell back to your seat!"

After saying that, Zhou Yi abruptly swept her gaze across the students below. Her eyes were as vicious as a hungry wolf's as the pressure of a Soul Emperor surged once more, fiercely enveloping the entire classroom. "Anyone who dares look again or say another word will all be expelled together! I mean what I say. If you don't believe me, try it!"

At those words, many students below instantly went pale and lowered their heads subconsciously. Though they were filled with anger, no one dared risk their Shrek enrollment and future.

However, there were also a few students whose hatred remained completely undisguised. They continued staring fiercely at Zhou Yi, their gazes seemingly wishing to slice her into a thousand pieces.

Lin Yan ignored Zhou Yi's threatening stare entirely. With a derisive snort, he stepped forward. A faint fiery aura rose around him, forcefully pushing Zhou Yi's pressure back!

"You want to expel me? Are you worthy?"

"Zhou Yi, I did some research on you before. Haven't you always boasted about your excellent teaching and high advancement rate?"

"Then let me ask you this: does your so-called 'high advancement rate' come from genuine teaching ability, or from cruel selection?"

His eyes swept across the room, lingering especially on the few students who had dared not lower their heads despite Zhou Yi's threats. His voice was sonorous and forceful, every word striking at the heart. "Everyone may not know this, but Teacher Zhou here admits no fewer than a hundred new students every year. Yet by the end, only around half remain!"

"The rest are either threatened by her until they are driven into a corner and can only withdraw on their own, or kicked out of the academy under fabricated excuses. Worse still, some are beaten, abused, and forced into excessive training, their path of cultivation utterly ruined!"

"Your so-called high advancement rate has never been because you teach well. It is because you weed people out ruthlessly!"

Lin Yan looked at Zhou Yi again, his tone growing ever sharper.

"You eliminate all students who have potential but are temporarily weak, leaving only the few who are already extraordinarily gifted, then claim all the credit for yourself. And you still have the nerve to call yourself a teacher of Shrek? Using your method, even a beggar could achieve a one hundred percent advancement rate!"

Lin Yan had struck Zhou Yi's sore spot. Her face alternated between green and white as she shrieked without pause, "Nonsense! I am strict with them! It is for their own good! What do you know about teaching? Dare slander me again, and believe it or not, I'll cripple you right now!"

"Strict?"

Lin Yan sneered endlessly. "Strictness built upon patient guidance and helping students make up for their shortcomings is true strictness!"

"But your brutal conduct—teaching nothing, refusing to distinguish right from wrong, and resorting to beatings, scolding, and threats at every turn—how can that possibly be called strictness?!"

"And one more thing, Zhou Yi. Let me ask you: have you dared to leave Shrek City all these years?"

"You haven't!"

"Because you know perfectly well that those students you trained into cripples are waiting outside the city, waiting to take your dog life!"