Zhou Yi: Wang Dong, You're Useless!!

On the viewing platform, Mu Jin stood with his arms folded. He looked at the despondent Zhou Yi and drove every word home: "Old Zhou, a bet's a bet. Don't forget to hand over the Soul Bone and the Level 8 Soul Tool. If you can't stand losing, then pack your things and get out of Shrek, just as we agreed. Stop leading students astray."

Zhou Yi clenched her fists so tightly her fingertips dug into her palms, but she refused to back down. She glanced at Huo Yuhao, who stood triumphant below, and said with biting contempt, "He just rode the coattails of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Elemental Envoy! He basked in the glory of two Soul Elders, that's all. Without his teammates protecting him, a level-sixteen weakling like Huo Yuhao couldn't even take one move from Wang Dong. What's he so smug about?"

Mu Jin stared at her, dumbfounded, then laughed in exasperation.

Huo Yuhao had met a Martial Soul Fusion Skill head-on and shattered it with a single arrow. Everyone had seen it!

And she called that riding his teammates' coattails?

For this sharp-tongued, thankless old woman, admitting someone else's talent was harder than climbing to heaven!

"Right, right. Whatever you say." Mu Jin couldn't be bothered to argue. After those perfunctory words, his tone turned razor-sharp, each word striking Zhou Yi where it hurt. "After all, only you could do something as stupid as telling a genius with Twin Martial Souls to slap a hundred-year Soul Ring onto her Second Martial Soul. You call it elite education, but you're strangling your student's talent. A teacher and a role model? Do you deserve either title?"

With that, Mu Jin turned and left without another glance at Zhou Yi's livid face.

Zhou Yi remained where she was, glaring venomously at Mu Jin's retreating back. She ground her teeth, yet could not find a single word of rebuttal.

She had made the bet herself. Now that she had lost so utterly, she had no choice but to swallow her anger.

At last, Zhou Yi gave a cold snort and stormed off, flinging her sleeves.

Zhou Yi's office.

Zhou Yi's office was the complete opposite of its owner. Girlish pink filled the room, from lace curtains to plush ornaments, and the decor was soft and cozy. Against that backdrop, Zhou Yi sat with her face twisted and fury pouring off her, like a venomous scorpion hidden in a powder box.

Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Yang Wusi stood before her desk with their heads bowed. The air was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.

Defeat already weighed heavily on their hearts. Facing Zhou Yi's wrath now felt like falling into an icy abyss.

"Wang Dong! You useless fool!" Zhou Yi slammed the desk and shot to her feet. She pointed a pale pink fingernail at Wang Dong, her voice shrill. "I've poured my heart and soul into teaching you and devoted every resource to training you. Yet you couldn't even beat a level-sixteen trash Soul Master? You even used a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and what happened? You lost completely and made me look like a fool!"

Beneath her pink-and-blue hair, Wang Dong's face flushed scarlet. Her proud eyes brimmed with hurt. She clenched her fists, about to protest, but Zhou Yi cut her off.

"And you, Yang Wusi!" Zhou Yi turned on him in an instant, her gaze scornful. "A branch member of the Breaking Clan, and you can't even use the Soul Breaking Spear properly. You're a disgrace to your clan!"

Finally, she looked at the petite Xiao Xiao, her voice dripping with disdain. "So what if you have Twin Martial Souls? The Soul-Calming Cauldron and Phoenix-Coming Flute have nothing but useless abilities! You couldn't control the field or defend anyone. You dragged the team down the entire time. Keeping a student like you at Shrek is a waste of resources!"

Xiao Xiao was already blaming herself for their defeat. Her moist eyes reddened at once, her nose stung, and tears gathered in her eyes.

No one had ever spoken to her so cruelly, much less her own teacher, who had belittled her Twin Martial Souls in front of everyone. Hurt surged through her like a tide.

"I... I didn't..." Xiao Xiao protested in a tiny voice, barely louder than a mosquito's buzz and thick with tears.

"Crying! That's all you know how to do! Only failures shed tears!" Seeing Xiao Xiao cry, Zhou Yi showed not a trace of sympathy. Instead, she grew even angrier. "The lot of you are hopeless! I had such high hopes for you, and you couldn't even beat a level-sixteen Huo Yuhao. You're a disgrace to Shrek!"

"Enough!"

Wang Dong could no longer hold back. Suppressed fury rang beneath the pride in her voice. "We lost. I admit we weren't strong enough, and I'll accept the punishment! But all you ever do is insult us and take your anger out on us. You never teach us how to address our tactical weaknesses. You just threaten students with harsh rules and expulsion!"

"You expelled more than sixty students in three months, crushing their dreams of Shrek on a whim. Is that your idea of education?"

"Huo Yuhao won because he used his own mental strength to break my Martial Soul Fusion Skill. That was his ability, not him riding anyone's coattails! You can't see anyone else's hard work. You only see wins and losses. Someone like you doesn't understand what it means to be a real teacher!"

"You only ever look at the result, never the process. If we lose, we're useless. If we win, it's because you taught us well. Is that fair?"

"Fair?" Zhou Yi looked as though she had heard the greatest joke in the world. Her face contorted further. "At Shrek, there's only strength and weakness. There's no fairness! You lost, so you're incompetent! Students I teach should never lose!"

Those utterly unreasonable words shattered the last of Xiao Xiao's resolve.

She could hold back no longer. Covering her face, she burst into tears, which streamed between her fingers. Sobbing, she turned and stumbled out of the office, her wounded cries echoing down the corridor.

"Xiao Xiao!" Yang Wusi and Wang Dong cried out. They started after her, but Zhou Yi stopped them with a sharp shout.

Outside the office, Huo Yuhao, Gu Yue, and Ning Tian were returning to their courtyard together. They heard the vicious shouting inside and saw Xiao Xiao run out crying. All three stopped short.

As the young heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Tian had been raised with care and good manners. She could not bear to see a teacher treat students so harshly. Anger flashed across her gentle face.

Gu Yue's violet eyes turned cold. Huo Yuhao's gaze darkened, frost settling over his usually mild expression.

A teacher's duty was to pass on knowledge, teach skills, and answer questions, not to hurl insults and shirk responsibility. Zhou Yi had long since crossed the line no teacher should cross.

"Xiao Xiao, don't be upset." Ning Tian stepped forward first and gently patted Xiao Xiao's back. "Winning and losing are part of every battle. It wasn't your fault."

Huo Yuhao came forward. His voice was calm but firm, with none of a victor's mockery, only sincere comfort. "Your Twin Martial Souls are exceptionally strong at controlling the field. The Soul-Calming Cauldron's binding and the Nine-Phoenix Phoenix-Coming Flute's slowing effect are both top-tier control abilities. Don't take Zhou Yi's words to heart."

Xiao Xiao covered her face. Her sobs gradually quieted, but the hurt spilled out of her. "She... she's always like this. If we win, it's because she taught us well. If we lose, we're useless. She expelled more than sixty classmates in three months. She was the one who told me to add a Soul Ring, so why... why did she say I added it recklessly...?"

Huo Yuhao, Gu Yue, and Ning Tian heard every word.

A glint passed through Huo Yuhao's eyes. He made a mental note of it all—

Expelling students at will, stifling the talent of someone with Twin Martial Souls, mistreating students, and shirking responsibility: every one of those accusations could bring Zhou Yi down.

He had never approved of Zhou Yi's cruelty. Now, with this information in hand, he had enough to make her honor the bet and leave Shrek for good.

Wang Dong and Yang Wusi also came out of the office. Wang Dong's eyes were red, and her proud stubbornness remained, though the old hostility was gone. Yang Wusi stood with his head bowed, silent and dejected.

Huo Yuhao said nothing more about it. "She isn't the only teacher at Shrek. A truly strong person is never defined by someone else's cruelty."

With that, he signaled to Gu Yue and Ning Tian, and the three of them walked away.

At the corner of the corridor, Huo Yuhao looked back toward the office. A cold glint flashed in his eyes—

Zhou Yi, we'll settle this score one piece at a time.