Dai Mubai's Incompetent Rage

That afternoon, Yi Chen arrived at the Shrek Academy training grounds alone.

The setting sun slanted low, casting long, stretched shadows of the wooden stakes across the field.

Dai Mubai was shirtless, striking the iron-wood stakes before him punch after punch. Sweat slid down his defined muscular contours, shimmering with a bronze luster in the evening light.

Each of his blows landed with a heavy, muffled thud. The iron-wood stakes were covered in dents of varying depths, clearly having endured significant impact.

Hearing footsteps, Dai Mubai did not turn his head, saying coldly, "You aren't welcome here."

Ignoring his hostility, Yi Chen walked to the edge of the training ground with his hands behind his back and sat on a bench, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather: "Are you done yet? If you're done, come over and let's talk."

Dai Mubai spun around abruptly, his evil, heterochromatic eyes fixed on Yi Chen, filled with undisguised hostility and vigilance: "I have nothing to talk to you about."

"Is that so?" Yi Chen leaned back against the bench, crossing his legs and resting his hands on his knees. "Regarding the engagement between you and Zhu Zhuqing, I think it is necessary for us to have a chat."

Dai Mubai's pupils constricted slightly, his voice turning even colder: "That is a matter settled between the Star Luo Empire and the Zhu family. What business is it of an outsider like you?"

"Zhuqing is my disciple." Yi Chen's tone remained flat, yet his words carried an unquestionable weight. "Her affairs are my affairs."

Dai Mubai sneered: "Disciple? How long have you even known her? How much do you understand her? By what right do you interfere in her marriage?"

Yi Chen did not answer immediately. He watched Dai Mubai quietly for a few seconds before speaking slowly: "It is true that I haven't known her for long, but I know she does not like you."

This sentence struck like a sharp dagger, piercing straight into Dai Mubai's heart.

His face turned ashen instantly. He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He took a deep breath, forcing down the rage in his heart, his voice low and hoarse: "By what right do you say she doesn't like me? You aren't her!"

"She told me herself." Yi Chen's tone remained calm. "This morning, I asked her if she liked you, and she answered quite bluntly: she doesn't, and she never has."

Dai Mubai's body jolted violently, as if someone had doused him with a bucket of ice water.

He opened his mouth to say something, only to find he couldn't utter a single word.

He had always assumed that Zhu Zhuqing was merely cold by nature and poor at expressing herself, but that she held him in her heart.

They were childhood sweethearts, partners betrothed since birth, destined to walk through life together.

He never imagined that Zhu Zhuqing would say such things.

"Impossible..." Dai Mubai's voice trembled, but he quickly regained his tough exterior. "You must have bewitched her! What kind of love potion did you feed her to make her obey your every word!"

Yi Chen shook his head and sighed: "Dai Mubai, you know deep down exactly what Zhuqing's feelings for you are. You just refuse to admit it."

He stood up, walked over to Dai Mubai with his hands behind his back, and looked at him with calm eyes: "You grew up with her; you should know her attitude toward you better than anyone. She fears you, avoids you, and never takes the initiative to get close to you. This isn't shyness or reserve—it is a rejection from the bottom of her heart. Can you really not feel it?"

Dai Mubai's face flickered between pale and livid. His lips parted several times, but he ultimately failed to utter a rebuttal.

Because he knew in his heart that everything Yi Chen said was the truth.

Zhu Zhuqing had kept him at arm's length since they were children, dodging him whenever she could.

He had always attributed it to her introverted personality and lack of social skills.

But now that Yi Chen had pointed it out to his face, those details he had deliberately ignored suddenly became painfully clear.

Watching his devastated appearance, Yi Chen's tone softened slightly: "Dai Mubai, I didn't come here to argue with you. I just want to tell you one thing: Zhuqing does not want to marry you. If you truly care for her, you should respect her wishes instead of forcibly binding her to your side."

Dai Mubai suddenly looked up, a flash of ferocity in his eyes: "What do you know?! This is the rule of the Star Luo Empire! It is a pact passed down through generations between the Zhu family and the royal house! It isn't something she can just back out of because she wants to!"

"Rules are made by people." Yi Chen's tone remained flat. "Since they are made by people, they can be changed."

"Changed?" Dai Mubai sneered. "Who do you think you are? You think you can change the ancestral laws of the Star Luo Empire with a single word?"

Yi Chen did not answer immediately, instead watching him quietly, his gaze as calm as water.

Then, he slowly released a sliver of his aura.

Just a sliver.

But as that aura landed on Dai Mubai, it felt as if an invisible mountain had crashed down upon him!

His legs went weak, and he collapsed directly to his knees, his hands bracing against the ground to keep from face-planting!

The soul power within him was like a clay ox entering the sea in the face of this aura; he couldn't even summon a single thought of resistance!

He wanted to roar, to struggle, but found he couldn't even move a single finger!

Yi Chen looked down at him from above, his voice as flat as if he were stating a fact: "I am a level 99 Limit Douluo. Never mind a mere Soul Master like you; even the ancestors of your Star Luo royal family would have to speak to me with courtesy."

He withdrew his aura, and Dai Mubai felt the pressure lift instantly. He gasped for air, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

Yi Chen stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the kneeling Dai Mubai: "Do you think the Star Luo Empire would offend a Limit Douluo for the sake of your engagement?"

Dai Mubai looked up, his eyes filled with resentment and anger, but more so with a sense of powerlessness.

Because he knew in his heart that Yi Chen was right.

Although the Star Luo Empire was one of the two great empires on the continent with immense strength, it was impossible for them to offend a Limit Douluo for the sake of his personal engagement.

Never mind that he was only a prince; even the Emperor of Star Luo himself would have to weigh the consequences carefully when facing a Limit Douluo.

In the face of absolute power, so-called rules, ancestral laws, and pacts were nothing more than empty talk.

"I will communicate the matter of the engagement to the Star Luo royal house and the Zhu family personally."

Yi Chen turned and walked toward the exit of the training ground, saying without looking back, "You would be wise to let go voluntarily. It will be better for you, and for Zhuqing."

After taking two steps, he paused and glanced sideways, his peripheral vision catching the sight of Dai Mubai still kneeling on the ground: "If you insist on pestering her, I wouldn't mind letting you experience for yourself what true despair feels like."

After saying this, he walked out of the training ground without looking back.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled across the empty training ground, stretching Dai Mubai's shadow long and thin.

He knelt on the ground, slamming his fists into the earth with such force that he left two deep indentations.

"Yi Chen..." He gritted his teeth as he spat out the name, his eyes filled with resentment and fury, though a profound sense of powerlessness weighed even heavier.

For the first time, he realized with piercing clarity that in the face of absolute strength, so-called status, position, and background were nothing more than illusions.

Everything he had taken such pride in was worthless before that man.