A Small Trick to Make His Escape

"What?"

Yan Shaozhe clearly had not processed it. How could he have expected a new student to dare defy the dean's words?

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."

With that, Ling Tianchen turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Yan Shaozhe's voice deepened.

"I still have something to say."

Two yellow, two purple, and five black soul rings slowly rose beneath Yan Shaozhe's feet.

In an instant, golden light blazed forth, and a scorching yet sacred aura abruptly filled the entire office.

A pair of enormous golden wings spread behind him, their span exceeding five meters. Their resplendent glow illuminated the entire office in dazzling gold.

The faint pressure of a Super Douluo spread through the room. Though it was not deliberately directed at Ling Tianchen, an ordinary Soul Elder would likely have gone pale and fallen to their knees by now.

Yet Ling Tianchen remained where he was, his expression unchanged.

"As you can see."

Yan Shaozhe stood with his hands behind his back, his voice carrying a trace of pride.

"My martial soul is the Bright Phoenix, a phoenix breed even stronger than the Water-Congealing Soaring Luan. As fellow possessors of phoenix bloodlines, I can offer you some guidance."

Offer me some guidance? At a time like this, are you trying to make me laugh?

Ling Tianchen nearly failed to keep a straight face as an overwhelming sense of absurdity washed over him.

The Phoenix Rebirth attached to Yan Shaozhe's most prized ninth soul skill, Phoenix Descent, was merely one of the innate abilities granted by Ling Tianchen's Phoenix God King bloodline.

Even though he had yet to recover even one ten-thousandth of the Phoenix God King's power, using rebirth three or five times in succession would still be effortless.

Having Yan Shaozhe teach him how to use a phoenix martial soul was beyond showing off an axe before an expert.

At that thought, Ling Tianchen's expression immediately turned rather strange.

"Dean Yan, are you... sure you want to guide me?"

"What? I'm a rank ninety-five Super Douluo, and I can't guide a junior like you?"

At last, a trace of emotion appeared in Yan Shaozhe's tone.

Young people these days certainly had talent and strength, but their arrogance was a little too much.

Had no one in his family ever taught him what it meant to respect one's teachers and elders?

"My apologies. Dean Yan, your strength is naturally formidable. But... I refuse."

After saying that, Ling Tianchen did not linger. He turned and headed for the door.

"You cannot leave."

Yan Shaozhe frowned and slowly extended his right hand toward Ling Tianchen's shoulder.

It looked utterly ordinary, and its speed could not even be considered fast, yet it gave off an inescapable feeling.

A Super Douluo truly was a Super Douluo. If I don't show some real skill, I really can't do anything to him.

Ling Tianchen sighed inwardly.

Time-Reversal Domain, activate!

A strange ripple spread out in an instant.

Yan Shaozhe felt dazed for a moment, only to find himself back in the position from before he had extended his hand.

And in that brief opening, the office door had already been pushed open, and Ling Tianchen walked out without looking back.

By the time he came to his senses, the office was already empty.

"Hm?"

He furrowed his brows, lowered his head to look at his right hand, and for a moment even wondered whether he had remembered wrong.

"What just happened? Didn't I reach out to stop him? Why didn't I move?"

"Strange... could it be that Mei'er has come over too often lately? Does she really want a child that badly?"

Yan Shaozhe muttered to himself, unable to make sense of it.

He shook his head. Since Ling Tianchen had already left, he naturally could not chase after him. That would be far too beneath the dignity of the dean of the Martial Soul Department.

It was just a pity for that child, Ma Xiaotao. Lately, she had suffered terribly from the effects of her evil fire, to the point that she could no longer continue cultivating. If this went on, she might not be able to participate in the Soul Master Tournament a little over a year from now.

"Why are all of Ling An's children so stubborn? It would have been one thing if Ling Luochan refused to help her teammate Ma Xiaotao suppress her evil fire, but why is her younger brother Ling Tianchen just the same?"

He shook his head helplessly, then suddenly seemed to remember something. The corners of his lips lifted slightly.

"But it seems he was assigned to Class One? Hehe, Zhou Yi loves dealing with troublesome students like him the most."

Yan Shaozhe leaned back in his chair, revealing a gloating smile.

Ling Tianchen had just left the dean's office and reached the ground floor when he spotted Ning Tian standing not far away.

That red-haired tagalong, Wu Feng, was nowhere to be seen. It seemed Ning Tian had gone to quite some effort to shake her off so she could come alone.

When she saw Ling Tianchen emerge, Ning Tian's eyes brightened slightly. She immediately walked over, her hands clasped behind her back and a perfectly measured smile on her face.

"Tianchen, may I call you that? It feels a little distant to keep calling you by your full name."

"Whatever. It's not like I have any other nicknames."

Ling Tianchen spread his hands, but he did not stop walking and continued toward the dormitory area.

Seeing this, Ning Tian naturally fell into step beside him.

"That's great. By the way, Dean Yan didn't make things difficult for you just now, did he?"

"What do you mean?"

Ling Tianchen glanced sideways at her.

"I mean... what happened beneath the dormitory building."

Ning Tian blinked.

"It's already spread throughout the entire new student district. Everyone is saying you crippled someone's martial soul with a single move, and they're all talking about it."

As she spoke, she seemed a little embarrassed and lightly touched the tips of her index fingers together in front of her chest.

She could not exactly say that she had specifically gone to ask around about him, could she? That would make her seem far too calculating.

In truth, when she learned that Ling Tianchen's soul ring configuration was yellow, purple, black, she had been utterly shocked.

As someone born into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, she understood better than ordinary soul masters what that soul ring configuration meant.

That was definitely not something that could be achieved merely by consuming a few pieces of whale glue. Such a configuration had to conceal astonishing foundations and opportunities behind it.

Thinking of this, Ning Tian could not help regretting things again.

Had she known earlier, she should not have kept putting on airs in the cafeteria. She should have been more proactive. Perhaps their relationship would already have progressed further by now.

"Oh, you mean that. It was merely a small matter I needed to accomplish at Shrek Academy. Not worth mentioning."

"As for Dean Yan, with his discernment, he should not be so incapable of distinguishing right from wrong. Naturally, he'll clear my name."

"I-is that so?"

Ning Tian blinked, then lowered her voice and leaned a little closer, pretending to be mysterious.

"But I heard people say that Dean Yan is, well, how should I put it... a little... narrow-minded."

"Of course!"

She immediately waved her hands.

"That's all what other people said. It has absolutely nothing to do with me!"

Ling Tianchen could not help laughing.

"I understand. You don't need to say more. Still, thank you for your concern."

"..."

Ning Tian's eyes immediately lit up, and an unconscious smile curled across her lips. At the very least, coming over to take the initiative this time had not been completely without gain.

Just as the two of them left side by side, a pair of red eyes stared fixedly in their direction from behind a large tree not far away.

Wu Feng gritted her teeth, her small fists clenched tightly.

"Young Mistress, you actually sent me away just so you could secretly come find him!"