This Was a Good Thing

Gu Mingyuan fell silent for a moment. He looked at Yan Shaozhe without arguing or complaining.

"So my punishment has been announced, right?" Gu Mingyuan asked. "Can I leave now?"

Yan Shaozhe nodded.

Gu Mingyuan turned to leave. Just as he did, Zhang Lexuan called after him. "Gu Mingyuan, I hope you make it into the Inner Court someday. I'll be waiting for you!"

Gu Mingyuan kept walking without looking back.

"If the Inner Court relies on people like you, who care more about personal ties than rules, it's doomed sooner or later. But..."

He stopped and turned his face slightly. His gaze passed over Zhang Lexuan and settled on Tang Ya in the hospital bed.

"I'd much rather see Senior Tang Ya earn her way into the Inner Court on her own merits someday."

"You!" Anger flared in Zhang Lexuan, and she instinctively moved to lash out.

But when she turned and followed Gu Mingyuan's gaze, she froze.

On the bed, Tang Ya clenched her fists, stung deeply by his words. Beside her, Bei Bei lay with his eyes fixed on her from beginning to end.

His eyes were full of pain and self-reproach over Tang Ya's humiliation. He did not spare even a glance for Zhang Lexuan, who had just stood up for him.

Nor did he say a word in her defense, not even for appearances' sake.

Zhang Lexuan watched them, and her clenched fists slowly loosened. A familiar, complicated ache flooded her heart.

As they left the infirmary, the cool early-autumn breeze carried away the smell of medicine clinging to them.

Zhou Sichen could no longer contain the anger he had held in the whole way. He kicked a pebble off the path. "Brother Gu, they were blatantly taking sides! Tang Ya brought people into our courtyard by force and attacked first. Why are you the one who gets barred from recruiting?"

Cao Jinxuan said nothing, but his furrowed brow showed the same indignation. Lin Yan and Jiang Wenzhou followed behind, looking somewhat guilty. They felt they had brought this trouble on Gu Mingyuan.

Gu Mingyuan only smiled and patted Zhou Sichen on the shoulder. "It's fine. Come on. We've been at this most of the day. Let's get something to eat."

He led the four of them straight toward the dining hall, his steps light and his mood seemingly untouched by the punishment.

On the surface, he had taken a loss he could not protest. In truth, Yan Shaozhe's restriction order was exactly what he needed.

The spectral figure had only just pressured him in the underground chamber to keep expanding his forces. Recruiting openly in Shrek City, where every faction had eyes watching, would risk exposing him. Screening recruits would also take enormous time and effort.

How many people with real potential were there, anyway?

He was already pleased to have found Lin Yan and Jiang Wenzhou.

Now Shrek Academy itself had issued an official restriction order. That gave him a perfectly legitimate reason to fend off the Holy Spirit Cult's demands for expansion and let his little courtyard enter a period of quiet consolidation at its current size.

Still, understanding the situation did not mean Gu Mingyuan would forget this debt. One day, he would make Shrek's leadership repay what they had done today, with interest.

Meanwhile, inside the infirmary.

After giving Du Weilun a few more instructions about medication and recovery, Yan Shaozhe left the ward.

The room fell quiet. Treatment had stabilized everyone's injuries. Bei Bei, the most badly hurt, had broken bones in his chest and damaged meridians. Wrapped in thick bandages, he had fallen asleep.

Huo Yuhao lay in the innermost bed. The resentment that had weighed on him had finally eased somewhat. Gu Mingyuan had not been severely punished in the end, but the academy's handling of the matter had clearly favored them.

At last, he understood the weight of the word "value."

Because he had displayed Ultimate Ice and revealed his Twin Martial Souls, the lofty dean of the Martial Soul Department had personally stepped in, forced through a justification that hardly held up, and secured them compensation of one million Gold Soul Coins and high-grade Whale Rubber.

Huo Yuhao clenched his fists, feeling the faint but pure Ultimate Ice within him. The humiliation and setbacks were only temporary. Given time to grow, he would use his Ultimate Ice to prove his strength to everyone.

Late that night, on Sea God Island, inside the Sea God Pavilion.

Yan Shaozhe softened his footsteps as he entered the familiar, simply furnished room.

Mu En still reclined in his old wicker chair, rocking with a faint creak. Hearing the footsteps, he did not open his eyes. "How is Bei Bei?"

Yan Shaozhe stopped and hesitated before answering honestly. "His injuries are fairly serious. Three bones in his chest are broken, and the force of the blow damaged his internal organs and meridians. But we've given him the best medicine. His foundation is unharmed, and he should recover after half a month in bed."

He had expected Mu En to be distressed. Instead, the old man in the chair merely gave a soft "Mm."

"Good." Mu En's voice betrayed neither pleasure nor anger.

"Because of me, none of you ever dare let him suffer a little. It's good for him to take a hard fall this time. He needs to learn that there's always someone stronger."

Yan Shaozhe paused, then grew serious and began reporting what truly mattered about the evening's conflict.

"Teacher, the one who injured Bei Bei was Gu Mingyuan from Class One. But more importantly, the conflict began with Huo Yuhao." Yan Shaozhe explained slowly,

starting with Huo Yuhao's Twin Martial Souls and the Ultimate Ice he had brought back, then moving on to Gu Mingyuan's Third Soul Skill, which could convert Ultimate Defense into Ultimate Strength without loss, and the dispute that had arisen over the Tang Sect name.

At the mention of "Ultimate Ice" and "conversion into Ultimate Strength," the fingers Mu En had rested on the edge of the wicker chair finally went still.

He slowly opened his eyes, and an inscrutable look passed through their clouded depths.

"Ultimate Ice, Ultimate Defense, and the Ultimate Strength produced through conversion..." Mu En murmured, as though asking Yan Shaozhe or perhaps only himself,

"Is a great new era upon us?"

A moment later, he gathered his thoughts and looked at Yan Shaozhe. "How did you handle it?"

Yan Shaozhe described his plan to compensate both sides while assigning each a share of the blame, then detailed the Tang Sect Expansion Restriction Order he had imposed on Gu Mingyuan.

When Mu En finished listening, he closed his eyes again and let out a long sigh.

"Foolish."

Yan Shaozhe's expression changed, and he lowered his head slightly. "Teacher, I had little choice."

"Huo Yuhao already has the rare Twin Martial Souls, and now we've confirmed that he possesses Ultimate Ice," Yan Shaozhe said, explaining his reasoning.

"He already held a small grudge against the academy over how the classes were assigned after the freshman assessment. If the academy hadn't made its position clear and reassured him this time, that rift would only have widened."

"Besides," Yan Shaozhe added, a calculating glint in his eyes,

"Xiaotao's evil fire has always been a danger. Huo Yuhao's Ultimate Ice is its natural counter. If we have him help suppress it in the future, we could not only resolve that danger but perhaps even help Xiaotao refine her fire into true Ultimate Fire. All things considered, this was the best outcome for the academy."