"Brother Ming, are we really going to let Xu Yue keep challenging people?"
High above Spirit Ice Plaza, Ya Li looked down at the two who had resumed fighting in the arena. Worry filled her beautiful eyes.
"Let him fight." Yun Ming smiled. "Nothing this interesting has happened at Shrek in years. It's time to bring in a catfish and stir up this stagnant pond."
"But..." Ya Li was still worried. "Could this cause another major incident?"
The two of them had been keeping an eye on the Outer Court. They knew that while Xu Yue had been in seclusion, the students in Class One had been ostracizing Gu Yue and the others.
It wasn't that they couldn't be bothered to intervene. They simply couldn't.
Yun Ming didn't mind, but Ya Li feared this might become another fuse that set off Xu Yue's anger.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine. I'm here."
Yun Ming smiled, unconcerned.
"Besides, Xu Yue's return might be a good thing. He can give those old-timers, drunk on their own glory, a wake-up call."
He paused, his voice turning heavy.
"After all, you and I both know the Federation has always seen Shrek as a thorn in its side. 'A state within a state'—who knows how many times they've said that behind our backs?"
Ya Li knew that well. She was a top-tier genius raised by the Federation; how could she not know what its leaders thought?
At the mention of it, she sighed softly.
"Brother Ming, don't take this the wrong way, or think I'm siding with the Federation. I truly think that if Shrek keeps going like this, it'll run into trouble sooner or later."
"How could I not know?" Yun Ming shook his head. "The day I became Sea God Pavilion Master, I started