Yan Shaozhe Makes His Move

After Lin Yao's dragon breath struck Wang Qingming, he did not immediately cease his assault. Instead, he bent his legs and pushed off, taking advantage of the momentum to soar into mid-air.

With the aid of his Ender Dragon Martial Soul, Lin Yao's flight speed was immense. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before Wang Qingming. His dragon-transformed right claw curled into a fist, and he slammed it directly into Wang Qingming's abdomen, sending the man flying backward.

At this sight, the expressions of the outer court students in the stands, who had previously dismissed Lin Yao, turned noticeably grave.

Regarding this battle, they had actually hoped for Wang Qingming to win, as he was already an inner court student and posed no competitive threat to them.

Lin Yao, however, was a newcomer who had just entered the outer court. No one knew what his plans for the future were, but one thing was certain: the number of people admitted to the inner court from Shrek Academy each year was limited. You were either the numerator or the denominator.

The strength Lin Yao had just displayed effectively locked him into a seat as a numerator.

In an environment where the competition was fierce and the rewards were few, the way some outer court students looked at Lin Yao had already begun to shift.

However, those who managed to survive here for a long time were not fools who would act as the first bird to be shot. Although they harbored other thoughts, none of them intended to make a rash move.

Lin Yao did not care about any of this. He merely looked at Wang Qingming with indifference, his eyes filled with disdain, and said calmly, "Is this the level of your so-called inner court? It seems you aren't worthy of the glory you speak of, either."

Although Lin Yao did not subscribe to the "glory of Shrek"—a term used to brainwash students—as someone who had spent his previous life surfing the internet, he naturally knew that when engaging in a war of words, one had to focus on breaking the opponent's mental defenses.

Hit them where it hurts; that was the logic.

Using the opponent's own logic to trample them was the only way to truly inflict psychological pain.

Wang Qingming struggled to his feet, the purple flames still raging on his body. He let out a miserable shriek, like the final cry of a dying beast, and charged at Lin Yao once more.

Seeing Wang Qingming's "fight to the death" stance, Lin Yao snapped his fingers, actively withdrawing the soul power of his dragon breath. He then assumed a stance, preparing to land one more punch to knock him out completely.

Lin Yao's purpose in this fight was to establish his authority, not to kill. He had been consciously controlling his strength throughout, which was why he withdrew the dragon breath.

Just as Lin Yao's fist was about to strike Wang Qingming's chest, a majestic voice echoed from afar, drawing closer to the soul fighting arena.

"Stop this at once!"

The voice arrived accompanied by a wave of pressure that silenced the area around the arena, but it was still too late. Lin Yao's fist had already slammed into Wang Qingming's body, and Wang Qingming's palm had also struck Lin Yao's shoulder.

The difference was that Wang Qingming's palm landed a fraction of a second after Lin Yao's fist, causing the force in his palm to dissipate from the impact of Lin Yao's blow; the power of that strike was now no more than dusting off a coat.

Lin Yao's punch, however, remained unaffected and landed solidly on Wang Qingming's chest. With a crisp crack, Wang Qingming was sent flying backward once again like an arrow released from a bow.

Only this time, he did not crash into the arena floor. He stopped unnaturally in mid-air, as if someone had used soul power to catch his body.

Wang Qingming avoided the secondary impact damage, but there was no joy in his eyes. Instead, he looked back with a hint of terror, clearly recognizing the owner of that voice.

Lin Yao also looked toward the source of the sound and saw a familiar figure slowly walking onto the arena. It was none other than Yan Shaozhe, the man who had delivered his recommendation letter years ago.

Yan Shaozhe surveyed the bloodstains on the stage before looking at the two of them. Wang Qingming, feeling guilty, immediately stepped out of the field of soul power that had been supporting him and stood to the side, head bowed, waiting for Yan Shaozhe's reprimand.

Lin Yao, however, remained indifferent, standing steadily as he waited for Yan Shaozhe to speak first. Yan Shaozhe glanced at them both before asking Wang Qingming, "What did I tell you?"

Wang Qingming no longer possessed the arrogance he had shown toward Lin Yao earlier. He simply kept his head down and said to Yan Shaozhe, "Junior Brother Lin is a seed student valued by the Academy. I was told to be courteous when welcoming him, as he may become a resource for us in the future..."

Yan Shaozhe glared at Wang Qingming, his voice dropping in temperature. "And this is how you welcome him? By bringing him onto the soul fighting arena?"

Lin Yao spoke up calmly, "I was the one who requested the arena. This senior just happened to have a foul mouth."

If anything, Lin Yao's words only made Yan Shaozhe's expression darker. He stomped his foot, and a layer of soul power rose, isolating the space between them and the others. He waved a hand at Wang Qingming and said in a flat tone, "If I recall correctly, you should have graduated by now. Take this opportunity to officially graduate from the Academy early this year."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingming's face turned deathly pale. His legs went weak, and he prepared to kneel before Yan Shaozhe. "Dean Yan, I was wrong. Please, give me another chance..."

Yan Shaozhe waved his hand, his tone becoming much calmer as he spoke to Wang Qingming, neither warm nor cold. "This was decided by the Sea God Pavilion; pleading with me is useless. Although you are graduating from Shrek Academy, I hope you remember that you are a disciple of this institution. If we ever learn that you have acted in a way that violates the spirit of Shrek Academy, we teachers will certainly come to purge the sect."

Wang Qingming nodded, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Go down and treat your wounds. The rest of this has nothing to do with you." Yan Shaozhe released the sound-isolating barrier while speaking to Wang Qingming.

Although Lin Yao could not hear exactly what was said, he could guess the gist of it by reading their lips. He didn't say anything further, merely looking at Yan Shaozhe and saying, "Dean Yan, I will return to rest as well."

Yan Shaozhe nodded, then surveyed the arena where they had fought. Finally, he fixed his gaze on the black dragon scales remaining from Lin Yao's transformation. He nodded at Lin Yao and said, "Your talent is indeed exceptional, and you are worthy of the person our teacher personally asked us to bring back. I hope you do not squander your efforts here at Shrek and that you reach the peak of the soul master world soon..."