"Who said that?" Zhou Yi's expression turned icy.
Saying something like that at this moment was an outright challenge to her authority as their homeroom teacher.
"I did." Ye Chen slowly stepped out of the crowd.
"Fine. You're expelled!" Zhou Yi said darkly.
"Expel me? You don't have the authority!" Ye Chen sneered.
He didn't believe that a snob like Yan Shaozhe would let someone with his talent leave.
Besides, even if he really was expelled, he could join the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and enter Mingde Hall.
That would give him the perfect chance to use Mingde Hall's resources to create Battle Armor.
Shrek Academy had only ever been a temporary stop for him. He hadn't planned to stay long anyway.
"I'm the homeroom teacher. In this class, my word is law!" Zhou Yi prepared to strike as she spoke.
Soul Emperor-level soul power pressure swept toward Ye Chen.
It forced Ye Chen to summon his martial soul to withstand it.
An immensely powerful, auspicious golden radiance exploded from Ye Chen's body, its light shooting skyward.
Countless golden rays slowly took shape behind him, forming the phantom of a massive beast.
Its golden fur looked as though it had been cast from molten gold, each hair flowing with a warm, lustrous glow. A pair of luminous white jade qilin horns curved slightly atop its head. Its body resembled both a lion and a fox, with strong, agile limbs.
Most striking were her eyes-a pair of crystalline golden pupils, clear and luminous.
At the center of her forehead, a narrow, crimson third eye slowly opened, countless tiny runes of fate swirling within it.
Most astonishing of all, once Ye Chen released his Three-Eyed Golden Lion martial soul, a faint golden glow of fortune surrounded him, making the nearby Soul Masters feel incredibly comfortable.
Even the circulation of their soul power grew faster.
Zhou Yi, by contrast, felt her mind tremble and the soul power within her turn sluggish.
Watching from the side, Wang Dong was stunned. "He wasn't even using his full strength when he fought me?"
Indeed, Ye Chen hadn't used fate power at all during his fight with Wang Dong. In his eyes, using fate power against a two-ring Soul Master would have been downright embarrassing.
Zhou Yi was different. She relied on her Soul Emperor cultivation to insult students, so of course Ye Chen couldn't stand her.
As Ye Chen released his martial soul, three soul rings-two purple and one black-slowly rose from beneath his feet.
"He's actually a Soul Elder!"
"Two Thousand Year Soul Rings and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring! Oh my god, what kind of genius is he?"
"That's just too freaking cool!"
Seeing Ye Chen's soul power and soul rings, Zhou Yi clearly realized something was wrong.
This student most likely had powerful backing. She couldn't afford to offend him.
But she was already roasting over the fire. If she backed down now, she would lose every last shred of authority.
"What? You want to fight your teacher?" Zhou Yi threatened.
To her surprise, Ye Chen replied mockingly, "Didn't you say it yourself? A Soul Master who doesn't dare stir up trouble is a mediocrity. Well, I happen to dislike you. What of it?"
Then Ye Chen turned to the surrounding students. "Everyone, I don't believe one Soul Emperor can beat all of us Soul Masters!"
"If we listen to this homeroom teacher, we'll get expelled sooner or later. We all came to Shrek Academy to learn and improve. If we're expelled for no clear reason, how are we supposed to explain that to our families?"
"Why not rise up right now and make the academy give us a different homeroom teacher? If anything happens, I, Ye Chen, will take full responsibility!"
As Ye Chen's words fell, the students around him sank into thought.
Wang Dong was the first to walk over to Ye Chen's side.
Two soul rings, one yellow and one purple, appeared beneath his feet.
"A Soul Grandmaster? And his second soul ring is a thousand-year one? Another genius?"
Seeing someone stand beside Ye Chen, the other students began to waver.
The vast majority of them were only One-Ring Soul Masters. Having two rings already marked exceptional talent, let alone three.
Ye Chen looked at Wang Dong in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"None of your business. I felt like it!" Wang Dong said haughtily.
Just then, a petite girl with two jet-black ponytails, a round face, and fair skin walked up to them.
"This looks like fun. Count me in."
As the girl finished speaking, two yellow soul rings appeared, and a dark golden silhouette surged from her palm, solidifying in an instant.
A massive bronze cauldron with three legs and two handles, covered in ancient seal-script inscriptions, floated in the air before her.
An ancient, weighty hum resounded through the classroom.
"Another Soul Grandmaster?"
With Ye Chen, a three-ring Soul Elder, taking the lead, and two Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters beside him, the students' passion was thoroughly ignited.
"Then let's go all out against her!"
"I've hated this old hag for ages! She's hideous, and she still bullies students!"
"Exactly! It's always 'expelled' this, 'expelled' that. I've had enough!"
In an instant, most of the students revealed their martial souls and stood on Ye Chen's side.
Only a handful refrained, and Huo Yuhao was one of them.
Tang Ya had previously tried to invite Ye Chen to join the Tang Sect, but Ye Chen had refused, so Huo Yuhao disliked him intensely.
Naturally, he wouldn't stand beside him.
The situation had descended into complete chaos.
Outside the Sky Screen, Ning Rongrong grew excited at the sight.
"Why didn't anyone stand with me when I rebelled against Shrek Academy back then?"
Meanwhile, in the Dragon King Era.
Watching the scene, Xu Xiaoyan questioned Gu Yue beside her.
"Gu Yue, are we still going to take Shrek Academy's entrance exam? Its reputation doesn't seem all that great right now."
Gu Yue looked utterly indifferent. "I don't mind either way."
She had already joined the Spirit Pagoda anyway. What difference did it make whether she applied to Shrek Academy?
Even the normally resolute Tang Wulin hesitated.
"Why does this Shrek Academy look so mediocre?"
Meanwhile, the Sky Screen's chat box had also descended into utter chaos.
Watching one offensive comment after another scroll past, Flender finally reached his limit.
He could no longer hold back.
"Come on, you're their homeroom teacher! What are you afraid of? Just put them all in their place!"
Back then, hadn't he reprimanded Ning Rongrong, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, when she refused to obey?
No matter how outrageously powerful these students' backgrounds were, couldn't she simply suppress them all?
Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Zhou Yi decided she had to subdue Ye Chen first to stop this riot.
"Little one, be careful. That Soul Emperor is about to strike," Bibi Dong warned.
"Don't worry. I'd like to see exactly what this Zhou Yi is capable of," Ye Chen said.
At that moment, Zhou Yi suddenly vanished from where she stood.
She charged toward Ye Chen with Soul Emperor-level soul power.
Just before she could hit him, a massive cauldron suddenly appeared in midair inside the classroom and bore down on her.
It forced Zhou Yi to reach out with one hand and catch it.
On the other side, the enormous wings of Wang Dong's Light Goddess Butterfly spread behind him, their dazzling blue-and-gold surfaces shimmering in the sunlight.
"First soul skill, Wing Guillotine!"
Surging soul power poured furiously into his two forewings. Every golden pattern covering them blazed outward, forming a three-inch-wide band of sharp golden light along their edges, as solid as refined steel.
The once-soft, magnificent butterfly wings instantly became two enormous guillotines spanning several meters, their edges flashing coldly as they sliced through the air with sharp hisses.
Wang Dong gripped the inner edges of his forewings with both hands. Using the beating of his hindwings, he rose into the air and spun, slashing down with his forewings crossed. Two heavy golden blades of light shot straight toward Zhou Yi's face.
Zhou Yi instinctively raised her other hand to block.
"You're far too green." Zhou Yi smiled smugly, having clearly seen through both their attacks.
Just then, the black soul ring on Ye Chen's body lit up.