"It's fine. Your student wasn't wrong. Shrek Academy isn't a place where you can't speak the truth." As Qian Duoduo spoke, he pulled Fan Yu away.
As soon as they returned to the Soul Guidance Department, Qian Duoduo said sternly to Fan Yu, "What were you thinking? Do you know who the student you argued with is?"
Fan Yu's mouth twitched. He then said to Qian Duoduo, "Dean Qian, he may be a student, but to talk back to me like that in front of everyone, this..."
Qian Duoduo helplessly rubbed his forehead, dropped into a nearby chair, and took a sip of coffee. "So you do know he's a student? Is it appropriate for a teacher to get into a shouting match with a student in front of everyone? The student may not know any better, but you should."
"And let me make this clear: you can get into trouble with ordinary students if you want. I can handle the pressure from the Martial Soul Department. But not this student. Do you even know who the hell he is? Mu En once forced Yan Shaozhe to personally deliver his admission letter. With that kind of connection, do you think you can afford to provoke him?"
At Qian Duoduo's words, Fan Yu shuddered, then nodded. "I understand, Dean Qian. Sorry for the trouble."
Qian Duoduo sighed, then patted Fan Yu on the shoulder. "Fan Yu, you're a future pillar of our Soul Guidance Department.
"But I still have to tell you this: the Soul Guidance Department is a huge department. Though its standing at Shrek Academy can't compare to the Martial Soul Department, with its deep roots, supporting an entire department is far more difficult than teaching a few students."
Fan Yu quickly nodded at Qian Duoduo's words. Qian Duoduo put an arm around his neck and continued, "So I hope you understand: keeping a department like this running has already worn me out. I don't need any more trouble. Understand?"
Fan Yu immediately felt goosebumps rise across his back and quickly nodded.
Qian Duoduo's meaning couldn't have been clearer. Fan Yu was a genius, but not everyone in the Soul Guidance Department was useless. If he kept causing trouble, the department could take back everything it had given him.
Soul Engineers were different from ordinary Soul Masters. Ordinary Soul Masters relied on nothing more than their Soul Rings, Soul Skills, Soul Power, and Martial Souls.
No matter how you argued or what tricks you used, those things couldn't be taken away. If you wanted to target a Soul Master, the most you could do was use simple tactics like an ambush or poison.
But as a Level 8 Soul Engineer, Fan Yu knew all too well the tricks people in the Soul Tool world used to ruin others. If Qian Duoduo truly decided to go after him, all he had to do was join forces with the other teachers in the Soul Guidance Department and plant a few land mines of academic fraud under Fan Yu's feet. His Soul Engineer certification would be revoked in no time.
Without his Level 8 Soul Engineer certification, he would be nothing but an ordinary Soul Douluo. Although he would still earn far more than an ordinary person, it would be nearly impossible for him to afford using and building Soul Tools on his own.
If his Martial Soul had truly been outstanding back then, he wouldn't have chosen the path of Soul Guidance cultivation.
A Soul Engineer without Soul Tools was like a tiger without teeth. He might not be completely useless, but he wouldn't be far off.
At that thought, Fan Yu's expression grew more serious. He told Qian Duoduo earnestly, "Dean Qian, I promise this will never happen again."
Qian Duoduo nodded, then waved him away. "Go on, get back to work."
After Qian Duoduo had alternately scolded and frightened Fan Yu into behaving, on the other side, Mu Jin pulled Lin Yao aside.
"Thank you, Lin Yao." Tears still glistened on Mu Jin's face, but her voice had returned to its usual calm.
Lin Yao said to Mu Jin, "Teacher Mu, you're clever and beautiful. There must be plenty of boys who like you. There's no need to hang yourself from a single tree."
Mu Jin sighed despondently. Then she said to Lin Yao, "I know. I understand all of that. If you can understand it, how could I not? It's just that to me, Fan Yu will always be the illusion of someone I once loved when I was young."
As she spoke, Mu Jin looked toward Ye Guyi, whom Lin Yao had sent to rest farther away, and asked him, "If Ye Guyi went madly in love with someone else, what would you do?"
Lin Yao leaned against the railing, his voice calm and confident. "She won't fall for anyone else."
Mu Jin glanced at Lin Yao, then smiled. "I said if."
Lin Yao shrugged and said to Mu Jin, "There is no 'if.' And even if she fell in love with someone else, it wouldn't shake my resolve to reach the summit and become the strongest Soul Master in the Soul Master World. In this world, only strength can give you everything else."
Mu Jin nodded. As she looked at Lin Yao, her eyes held a hint of admiration she could barely conceal. "It's rare for someone your age to see things so clearly. In that regard, you're at least a once-in-a-thousand-years talent."
Lin Yao smiled and said to Mu Jin, "You flatter me, Teacher Mu. It's really just that the circumstances I live in and the things I've been through leave me no room for romantic fantasies or grand, impassioned dreams."
Mu Jin said to Lin Yao, "If things are really as you say, then why did you speak up for me?"
Lin Yao answered casually, "No other reason. You're my teacher."
Mu Jin nodded. Lin Yao added, "My father could also be considered a teacher, in the broad sense of the word. It's just that most of his students have never met him."
Mu Jin nodded, then studied Lin Yao. "I heard Dean Yan personally came to deliver your invitation and recruit you."
Lin Yao nodded. Mu Jin smiled in understanding and said to him, "Then your circumstances really are harsh. They truly leave you no room for romantic fantasies. After all, if you hadn't accepted that invitation and come here, almost every faction would have hunted you down.
"After all, Shrek Academy has recognized your talent. If you joined another faction, you'd be a threat to them in the future, so they'd all hunt you down in unison. And Dean Yan's personal visit to deliver the invitation was also a signal that the academy had decided to claim you..."
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