Zhou Yi's Death

After Zhou Yi was sent flying by Ling Tianchen's punch, she crashed directly onto the edge of Sea God Lake.

Fortunately, she was lucky enough not to fall straight into the lake.

Otherwise, if a dignified Soul Emperor died in such a humiliating way as drowning, she would probably become the biggest joke in Shrek Academy's history.

But Zhou Yi clearly had no mood to count herself fortunate.

She lay on the ground, feeling as though every bone in her body had fallen apart, while waves of dizziness washed over her mind.

After being beaten so badly she could barely tell friend from foe, she no longer had any chance of breaking free from the ice.

"Damn little brat..."

Zhou Yi gritted her teeth.

Once she regained her mobility, she would definitely go argue with Yan Shaozhe!

She had followed his orders to temper Ling Tianchen's character, yet not only had she failed to temper him, she had nearly gotten herself killed instead.

President Yan couldn't possibly assign her this task and then refuse to clean up the mess for her. Better yet, he should have the Soul Guidance Department put pressure on him. In any case, Ling Tianchen absolutely could not be allowed to get off easy!

Just as she viciously planned what to do next, a red dot suddenly appeared amid the mist over Sea God Lake in the distance.

That red dot rapidly grew larger. It was unmistakably a red figure, and a terrifying wave of heat swept over in an instant.

Zhou Yi was delighted when she saw the red figure. Wasn't that Ma Xiaotao?

Although Ma Xiaotao was arrogant by nature and had repeatedly challenged her authority, eventually getting expelled from the class by Zhou Yi for refusing to obey management.

Later, however, Ma Xiaotao seemed to have become Yan Shaozhe's disciple and successfully entered the inner courtyard.

Even so, Zhou Yi still habitually believed that Ma Xiaotao's achievements today were partly thanks to her.

Wasn't that true? Teaching her for less than a semester still counted as teaching her, didn't it?

Xiaotao... hurry and save me!

Zhou Yi screamed endlessly in her heart.

However, the red figure showed no sign of slowing down.

"Something's wrong!"

She seemed to have heard that there was a flame demon in the inner courtyard, known not only for her formidable strength, but also for her violent temper and extreme tendency to lose control and go berserk.

Could that... be Ma Xiaotao?

Zhou Yi finally sensed that something was amiss, but it was already too late.

At this moment, Ma Xiaotao's consciousness had long since been swallowed by the rampaging evil fire within her body.

Originally, Yan Shaozhe had wanted her to rest and recuperate on the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Bed in Sea God's Pavilion. However, as someone who had always been restless and active, she simply could not endure prolonged seclusion. Thus, she had taken advantage of some free time to come above Sea God Lake and clear her head.

Yet the moment she released her martial soul, the evil fire seemed to be drawn by something and began raging violently through her body. This time, it had even caused her to lose consciousness.

Guided by instinct, she flew toward the source that attracted her. Then, a cold aura entered her senses.

To Ma Xiaotao in her current state, it was as enticing as a spring in the desert, or Qiaolezi and Sprite after a run.

Acting entirely on instinct, she pounced straight at the ice sculpture radiating extreme cold. Her arms and wings spread at the same time, tightly wrapping around the entire sculpture.

"So comfortable..."

A bone-piercing chill sank deep into her marrow. Ma Xiaotao could not help letting out several soft moans as she freely released the evil fire within her body.

Completely unaware that there was still a living person inside the block of ice in her embrace.

As the blazing flames burned themselves out completely, the ice melted, and the evil fire began roasting Zhou Yi's body.

Even in her normal state, Zhou Yi would have found it nearly impossible to break free if Ma Xiaotao held her and burned her. How could she resist now? She could only watch helplessly as she was roasted alive.

"No..."

The last of her life force was gradually devoured.

Zhou Yi, the teacher who had once stood high above others in the classroom, who had once eliminated countless students through harsh methods, ultimately died at the hands of a student she had once taught because of an accident.

Perhaps until her final moment, she would never have imagined that her life would end in such a manner.

If she could choose again, would she regret those merciless decisions she had made?

No one knew.

After completely releasing the evil fire once, Ma Xiaotao gradually regained consciousness. Her body now felt cool all over, and her eyes were filled with confusion. "Strange, why isn't it hot anymore?"

But she was quickly startled by the small amount of ashes left beneath her.

"How is that possible? Did I lose control again?"

Her voice trembled.

"That was roughly what happened. Ma Xiaotao lost control and happened to run into Zhou Yi. Seeking coldness, she completely unleashed her evil fire on Zhou Yi, and you know what happened afterward..."

Du Weilun spoke in a low voice.

Yan Shaozhe felt his head swelling. He lightly pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Since things have come to this, let's go back first. Where is that troublesome disciple, Ma Xiaotao?"

"Teacher Li has already taken her back to Sea God's Pavilion. Xiaotao is fine, but she feels rather guilty."

"I'll give her a proper scolding when I return. Little Du, stay behind and deal with the current disturbance. Don't inform the Soul Guidance Department of Zhou Yi's death for now. We can still maneuver around this."

"Understood."

"Ling Tianchen, come with me!"

Ling Tianchen had also learned the rough details from the information Yan Shaozhe had blurted out during his initial lapse in composure.

He was currently trying hard not to laugh.

He couldn't laugh yet. Xiao Xiao was still beside him. At the very least, he had to wait until they left before laughing.

He felt not the slightest sympathy upon hearing of Zhou Yi's death. On the contrary, he wanted to give Ma Xiaotao a thumbs-up.

Peach, you finally did something right. Although it was just an accident this time, the result... could only be said to suit my wishes perfectly.

Although it was merely a coincidence, he could not help sighing inwardly. Our coordination was simply flawless. What a brilliant chain of schemes—Zhou Yi stumbled right onto the executioner's block.

Yan Shaozhe took Ling Tianchen and flew straight toward Sea God Island at tremendous speed.

"President, where are you taking me? Let me state this in advance: this has nothing to do with me."

"How is it unrelated? If you hadn't refused to submit to discipline, none of this would have happened afterward."

"I don't care about that. Zhou Yi struck first, and don't pin her death on me."

"That is for us to decide. For now, go cool your head in the little black room."

"A room in Sea God's Pavilion?"

Ling Tianchen's eyes lit up. This was also an experience one had to sample after coming to Shrek Academy. He hadn't expected one fight to speed up this process.

Yan Shaozhe was somewhat surprised, then smiled faintly. "You actually know about it. Then enjoy yourself in there. The Sea God's Pavilion meeting will decide how to deal with you, but rest assured, we will never bury the potential of any genius."

Seeing Yan Shaozhe's practically explicit attitude, Ling Tianchen was somewhat speechless.

Sure enough, once he revealed his ultimate attribute, the people of Shrek immediately showed their eagerness to recruit talent.

After all, ultimate-attribute soul masters held extraordinary significance for Shrek. Almost all of the previous ultimate-attribute soul masters had come from Shrek Academy.

More than four thousand years ago, an ultimate-fire soul master had emerged out of nowhere, leading Shrek in turning the tide and repelling the Sun Moon Empire's army, thereby establishing the academy's position on the continent.

However, Ling Tianchen did not believe that the value of the yellow, purple, and black soul ring configuration he had displayed earlier was inferior to that of a mere ultimate-attribute soul master.

Did no one truly recognize the significance of a ten-thousand-year third soul ring?

Without a secret art to temper the body through bloodline power, given the strength of the human body, others could eat whale glue until they exploded and still only dream of achieving it. Even if their physical fitness truly improved further, who could withstand mental shock at level thirty? He was the only one whose soul power had reached the tangible yet formless realm.