第39章 冲突爆发,硬钢周漪

Lu Chen and Wang Dong hurried quickly to the Teacher Office Building, and from afar they saw Huo Yuhao flustered and bustling as he hovered around Sun Lu.

Sun Lu sat on the bench in the corridor, her shoulders shaking with every sob, tears dripping down continuously as a small patch of her collar grew damp.

Huo Yuhao crouched in front of her, gripping a handkerchief he had borrowed from goodness knows where. He wanted to hand it over yet felt too shy, breaking out in a thin layer of nervous sweat on his forehead as he repeated the exact same phrases over and over: "Don't cry," and "Everything will be fine."

Yet the results were clearly less than ideal.

"Yuhao, what's the situation like right now?"

Hearing Lu Chen's voice, Huo Yuhao jerked his head up, his expression looking precisely like he had just laid eyes upon a savior.

With a sudden bounce, Huo Yuhao sprang to his feet and hurried forward, lowering his voice as he said, "Brother Lu, you're finally here. Xiao Xiao is inside pleading right now, but Teacher Zhou has set her mind on expelling Sun Lu, and no matter how anyone tries to persuade her, it's completely useless."

Huo Yuhao let out a sigh, quickly recounting the details he had gathered.

Sun Lu had carelessly sprained her ankle during yesterday's training, and even after the Healing System teacher at the infirmary handled it and she rested for the entire night, it still hadn't fully recovered, causing her to miss the training target Teacher Zhou had set.

Zhou Yi believed that an injury was no excuse, for on the battlefield enemies would never show you leniency simply because you were hurt.

"Monitor..."

Sun Lu raised her head, her red, swollen eyes looking toward Lu Chen as her voice choked up so much she could hardly form complete sentences.

She was ordinarily an extremely introverted and shy girl who would blush just from speaking a few words to the boys in class, yet crying like this in front of so many people right now clearly meant she no longer cared about any sense of embarrassment.

Her Shrek Academy recommendation quota was something her mother had spent countless amounts of heart and soul on, lowering her pride to beg everywhere before finally securing it from the city lord.

In order not to let down her mother's expectations, she trained desperately every single day.

Her dream was simply to be able to let her mother live a good life.

Yet now, merely because of an accidental injury, all of this was about to vanish into thin air.

Lu Chen looked into Sun Lu's eyes, which were filled with expectation and entreaty, and simply stated, "It's fine. I'll go inside and take a look first, you guys wait for me here."

Meanwhile, inside the office, the atmosphere was as oppressively gloomy as the sky right before a violent storm.

Xiao Xiao stood before Zhou Yi's desk, her fists tightly clenched and her shoulders trembling slightly as she used every ounce of strength to make a final plea for her friend.

Zhou Yi sat upright behind the desk, her expression as hard as iron without the slightest sign of being moved.

Spread out before her was a student file—precisely Sun Lu's—and an eye-catching red circle had already been drawn on it in red ink.

Hearing the door sound, the two of them turned their heads to look over simultaneously.

The instant Xiao Xiao saw Lu Chen, a trace of faint hope flashed in her eyes, and her lips moved, yet no words came out.

Zhou Yi merely lifted her eyelids, the gaze behind her lenses remaining as cold and sharp as frost without the slightest trace of change.

Lu Chen gave Xiao Xiao a look, signaling for Xiao Xiao to leave.

Xiao Xiao understood and turned to leave the office.

Seeing Lu Chen enter, Zhou Yi leaned back against her chair, her hands crossed over her desk as she pulled the corners of her mouth into a cold arc. "Lu Chen, if you came here to plead for Sun Lu, you can save your breath. Xiao Xiao has already wasted twenty minutes of my time, and I have no desire to waste a second twenty minutes."

"Teacher Zhou, I roughly understand the situation. Even though you don't want to listen, as the monitor, I have an obligation to ask on Sun Lu's behalf." Lu Chen's tone was exceptionally calm. "Sun Lu's injury is an objective fact, not her trying to slack off or cut corners. To eliminate her simply because of a single injury and bout of sickness, I believe that is unreasonable."

The moment Lu Chen's words fell, Zhou Yi's gaze landed on Lu Chen like a knife, carrying a hint of chill in her voice. "Lu Chen, are you questioning my teaching methods?"

"Yes, Teacher Zhou. I believe your teaching methods are wrong."

"In this entire month, you haven't taught us a single theoretical course; all of our classes have been physical training."

"In merely one month, seventeen people have been eliminated from our class, with five of them due to attitude and the remaining twelve all because they failed to complete the physical training!"

"I think this is unreasonable. According to the academy's rules, they ought to be eliminated at the Freshman Assessment!"

Lu Chen met Zhou Yi's gaze without the slightest retreat.

Every teacher possessed their own distinct teaching methods.

Yet this was not a reason for Zhou Yi to arbitrarily expel classmates from the class.

The academy's rules were simple: only those who passed the Freshman Assessment could continue remaining in Shrek Academy, while those who failed must leave.

Yet their Teacher Zhou placed her own rules above the academy's rules, expelling students at will.

Furthermore, Lu Chen had also learned that the reason the students taught by their Teacher Zhou had the highest advancement rate was, to a very important extent, due to having a small base number.

For example, if the class taught by Zhou Yi had fifty people and forty of them successfully advanced, then the advancement rate was eighty percent.

Meanwhile, another class had a hundred people, and even if their advancement rate was only sixty percent, the actual number of people was still greater than the students taught by Zhou Yi.

Aside from this, Lu Chen also learned that among the older students who had been taught by Zhou Yi, a portion of them carried irreversible hidden injuries in their bodies due to years of harsh training.

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Zhou Yi's gaze grew even colder.

"Lu Chen!" Zhou Yi's voice was like ice-tempered nails. "Class monitor, is it? Do you not forget who it was that promoted you to this position of monitor!"

"If you leave right now, I can pretend that what just happened never occurred!"

The meaning behind Zhou Yi's words was glaringly obvious, serving as a naked threat.

She wanted to tell Lu Chen that the position of monitor was something she gave him, and she could strip him of it at any moment as well—he had best think things through carefully before speaking!

Yet Lu Chen's expression remained as calm as still water, his voice sounding out neither humble nor arrogant. "Teacher Zhou, if you feel I am unsuited to continue serving as monitor, you are entirely welcome to strip me of it right this instant."

"But I still must say: your teaching methods are wrong."

The moment Lu Chen finished speaking, Zhou Yi's complexion turned exceptionally unsightly in that instant.

Her gaze stared fixedly at Lu Chen, her chest rising and falling slightly as she was clearly not lightly angered by these words.

Both the monitor and vice monitor she had personally chosen were opposing her at this very moment.

Silence hung within the office for a full ten seconds, the air seemingly congealed into a solid at that moment.

Then, Zhou Yi suddenly smiled.

Only, the smile was cold and sharp, carrying a dangerous, amused edge born from being provoked instead.

"Good, very good. Lu Chen, you truly continue to impress me."

Zhou Yi slowly stepped forward a pace, her torch-like gaze locking onto Lu Chen. "You said something to Dai Huabin previously—since he is a Spirit Master, things should be handled according to a Spirit Master's rules."

Reaching this point, Zhou Yi abruptly shifted the tone of her speech, every single word ringing out with resounding impact. "Don't you feel there is a problem with my teaching methods? Then I will give you a chance."

"As long as you can last ten minutes under my attacks—ten minutes, and I will admit my teaching methods are wrong, and Sun Lu can stay. But if you lose—"

Zhou Yi paused, raising a hand to point toward the direction of the academy gates as her tone turned decisive and absolute.

"You leave Shrek Academy."