A Word About This Book

Under the man's stern rebuke, both sides dispersed. Lin Yao cast the man a disdainful glance, then said coldly, "Dean Yan, since you're here, why bother hiding yourself like this?"

The white-clad man's steps faltered slightly as he landed at Lin Yao's shout.

After coughing, the man said calmly, "Lin Yao, you're still as flamboyant as ever. Don't you know to show respect to your elders?"

Lin Yao did not continue provoking Yan Shaozhe. He merely said evenly, "I was practically about to be turned into roast chicken. What respect for elders are we talking about?"

Yan Shaozhe waved a hand and said to Lin Yao somewhat impatiently, "Oh, get out of here. Others can say that, but you? You challenged a Soul Emperor the moment you enrolled, and now you're saying a Soul Emperor almost turned you into roast chicken? What, are you saying Shrek Academy's education is no good—that the more we teach you, the worse you get?"

Lin Yao waved his hand and said to Yan Shaozhe, "Those are two different matters. A Soul Emperor personally trained by Dean Yan can hardly be compared to an ordinary Soul Emperor, can she?"

Yan Shaozhe choked on the flattery, then coughed and said, "That may be true, but I know the people I teach. Xiaotao absolutely would not have truly hurt you. You can rest assured about that."

Lin Yao sneered. "You know them so well, yet you let her come to the outer academy and cause trouble again and again. Tell me, is she really crazy or only pretending to be? Why does she always come to the outer academy to make trouble? Why don't we ever see her doing it in the inner academy? Don't tell me there are actually people in the inner academy who can gang up and beat her?"

Yan Shaozhe paused at the sharp question before saying to Lin Yao, "All right, you're getting off track. Let's return to what happened today."

Lin Yao said casually, "Isn't what happened today already clear enough? Ma Xiaotao was obviously the one picking a fight. Even if you don't punish her, there's no need to protect her so openly, is there?"

Ma Xiaotao clenched her fists and defended herself to Lin Yao. "I only wanted to spar with that junior sister. I came here while fully conscious. Since it was a spar, how could I possibly hurt her?"

"By fully conscious, you mean diving straight down from the water like a mad bull, right?" Lin Yao retorted without the slightest courtesy. Ma Xiaotao's words caught in her throat, and Yan Shaozhe promptly rapped Lin Yao on the head.

"Quiet, all of you. Do any of you even have any respect for me, the dean of the Martial Soul Department? Ma Xiaotao, you are confined for one month. Write me a self-criticism afterward."

Yan Shaozhe then turned to Lin Yao and said calmly, "Student Lin Yao, the inner academy's discipline was indeed lacking in this matter. We will give you some compensation. You may think about what kind of compensation you want, and we can discuss it."

Lin Yao was somewhat surprised by Yan Shaozhe's attitude. In the original story, he had simply tossed out a couple of Soul-Raising Pills and called it a day. Lin Yao looked at Yan Shaozhe and said, "Dean Yan, aren't you afraid I'll ask for far too much?"

Yan Shaozhe smiled, patted Lin Yao on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Shrek Academy is absolutely sincere in its attitude toward you. You can rest assured of that..."