The Unexpected Attack and Compensation

After comforting Xiao Xiao, who had burst into tears of grievance, Huo Yuhao, Gu Yue, and Ning Tian turned to leave.

A sea breeze swept along the shore of Sea God Lake, carrying a faint mist. Huo Yuhao walked with his eyes lowered, a trace of gravity hidden in his gentle expression.

It was not that he did not want to stand up for Xiao Xiao. Reality was simply harsh. For one thing, he had only met her once. Though he despised Zhou Yi's misconduct, he would not rashly risk himself for a stranger.

For another, they were only freshmen. Under Shrek's rules, students could never stand against a senior teacher with an impressive promotion rate. Zhou Yi was just such a teacher—though her so-called high promotion rate had been built by expelling every weaker student and sacrificing their futures. The academy would never punish her for the sake of a freshman.

Without a voice, no amount of outrage would change anything.

They had to establish a student Club, and fast!

Only by gathering strength of their own could they protect the people they wanted to protect and seek the justice they deserved in this rigidly hierarchical academy.

A sharp glint flashed through Huo Yuhao's lowered eyes. His steps quickened unconsciously as he headed toward Sea God Lake.

The three reached a secluded stretch on the lake's western shore and stopped abruptly.

A savage wave of heat erupted out of nowhere, as if a black sun had fallen to earth. The scorching air warped, and every plant within dozens of meters turned yellow and withered in an instant!

To Gu Yue, who commanded every element, the attack would not even count as a scratch. But to Huo Yuhao, weakened by his depleted Soul Power, and Ning Tian, whose abilities were purely supportive, it was a killing blow!

A dark figure arrived in a flash. At last, the three saw who it was:

She wore the scarlet uniform of an Inner Court student. Blood-red hair whipped wildly around her tall, slender frame, while a chilling ferocity comparable to that of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast surrounded her. A violent aura struck them head-on.

A crimson mask covered her face. Only her blood-red eyes showed, burning with madness beyond her control.

A Shrek Inner Court student. Red uniform, red hair, Evil Fire, loss of control—

It was Ma Xiaotao!

Huo Yuhao's heart sank. A few days earlier, he had deliberately timed a visit to Sea God Lake to check for anything unusual, but had found nothing. Of all times, Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire had erupted when he was at his weakest!

His Soul Power was nearly spent, Ning Tian had no combat ability, and every debuff imaginable seemed to be stacked on him. Of course, with Gu Yue, the Silver Dragon King, there was still a sliver of hope.

Screech—!

A savage phoenix cry rang across the lakeshore. Flames exploded around Ma Xiaotao, her crimson Evil Fire seeming to set the sky ablaze and boil the sea. She had lost control completely. Her gaze locked onto the three of them, and she charged straight at them like a Ferocious Beast spotting prey!

A rueful smile crossed Huo Yuhao's face. He had no choice. His Heavenly Eye snapped open, golden light surging from it:

Innate Soul Skill: Annihilation!

His Ultimate Spirit drove straight into Ma Xiaotao's sea of consciousness. At the same time, light flickered in his palm, and the Ultimate Light of the Reignbow Arbiter burst forth!

He did not use Perfected Lord of Clear Origin and Wonderful Dao's Ultimate Ice. Pure, sacred light poured out like warm sunshine, perfectly countering Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire Phoenix power.

Mu En had taken an interest in him at first sight precisely because of that Ultimate Light. Huo Yuhao was practically a younger, improved version of Mu En. To encounter someone like that in his twilight years—how could Mu En see it as anything but a blessing from heaven?

Ma Xiaotao's charge faltered. The light enveloped her raging Evil Fire, instantly soothing the turmoil within her. But what followed was an even fiercer burst of fury!

Before she could attack again, Gu Yue's cool voice rang out, a sudden chill flashing through her violet eyes:

"Ice Seal."

There was no elaborate Soul Skill incantation. The Ice Element condensed to its limit, and a thick layer of crystalline ice instantly encased Ma Xiaotao. Turned into an ice sculpture, she plunged straight into the cool waters of Sea God Lake.

The tension drained from Huo Yuhao. Having overextended his Ultimate Spirit and light power, his vision went black. He lost consciousness and slumped to the side.

"Yuhao!" Ning Tian cried. She rushed forward and caught him securely in her arms, her golden hair falling around a face full of panic and worry.

"Someone's here! It's Xiaotao! And there are Outer Court students!"

Urgent shouts sounded in the distance. An Inner Court teacher in white flew toward them, his face impassive and his eyes cold. He looked at the three of them as though they were weeds by the roadside, not caring in the slightest.

He glanced at the unconscious Huo Yuhao, then at Gu Yue and Ning Tian. Tossing them a small jade bottle, he said with condescending arrogance, as if granting them a favor, "This is a Soul Ascension Pill. Forget what happened today and take him away at once."

No apology. No explanation. Only the "favor" of letting them live, as though an Inner Court student injuring someone were a trivial matter.

Holding Huo Yuhao in her arms, Ning Tian fixed him with a frosty gaze. Her voice was calm, but every word rang firm. "Not enough."

"Is this Shrek Academy's response? If we hadn't been able to protect ourselves, all three of us would be lying dead here today! One Soul Ascension Pill is your answer for three lives? If we had died, I doubt you would have offered even a word of false comfort!"

The teacher's expression darkened. The pressure of a Soul Saint abruptly bore down on Ning Tian, and his voice turned cold with menace. "Insolent! You're slandering Shrek's honor. I can deal with you right here!"

"Deal with me?" Ning Tian showed no fear. She held Huo Yuhao tighter and looked the teacher straight in the eye. "Go ahead and try. I am Ning Tian, young mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. If you dare touch me, the sect will demand an explanation from Shrek!"

The teacher's expression changed drastically. He froze where he stood.

He could push commoners and minor nobles around as he pleased, even kill them to silence them. But the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was one of the continent's leading sects. Ning Rongrong and Oscar had graduated from Shrek ten thousand years ago, and the relationship between the two sides was delicate. He did not dare provoke them!

"What happened here?"

A warm male voice came from nearby. Yan Shaozhe, the refined-looking Dean of the Martial Soul Department, approached at an unhurried pace, his white hair stirring in the breeze.

The teacher hurried over and recounted what had happened, embellishing the story while leaving out his own arrogance and threats.

Yan Shaozhe waved him to silence. His gaze settled on Ning Tian, recognition flickering in his eyes. "I know you. Ning Tian, young mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."

When he looked at the unconscious Huo Yuhao, relief and calculation flashed through his eyes—

The boy with Ultimate Light!

No wonder he managed to suppress Xiaotao's Evil Fire for a time. This boy is worth far more than I thought.

With a pained look, he took a drop of iridescent liquid from his Soul Tool. It assumed the shape of a phoenix and radiated gentle light. "This is the Glazed Phoenix Tear, a rare treasure of the light attribute. It should make up for today's wrongdoing. Shall we leave the matter here?"

Ning Tian had been about to refuse, but then she remembered that establishing their Club required the academy's approval. This was the perfect bargaining chip. She nodded. "I'll accept the treasure, but the academy must agree to one condition."

"Go ahead," Yan Shaozhe said, relieved. As long as the matter did not escalate, trading a treasure to appease the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was well worth it.

"We want to establish a student Club. The academy must approve it immediately and raise no objections."

"Agreed." Yan Shaozhe accepted without hesitation. To him, it was nothing more than freshmen playing around—hardly worth worrying about.

In the Medical Room, a gentle glow of Soul Power surrounded Huo Yuhao.

He slowly opened his eyes. Every bone in his body felt as though it had come apart, leaving him sore and weak.

The first things he saw were two faces close beside him. Ning Tian, her golden hair slightly mussed, was dozing with her head by the bed; Gu Yue sat watch on the other side, her silver hair falling over her shoulders.

Something gently touched the softest place in Huo Yuhao's heart, and his gaze softened at once.

"Mmm... Yuhao, you're awake!" The movement roused Ning Tian. She lifted her head immediately, a bright smile spreading across her face as the worry vanished from her eyes.

"What happened after I passed out?" Huo Yuhao asked softly. His last memory was of Gu Yue sealing Ma Xiaotao in ice.

Ning Tian told him everything exactly as it had happened: the teacher's arrogance, how she had confronted him by invoking the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Yan Shaozhe's compensation, and the condition she had set for their Club.

The more Huo Yuhao heard, the deeper his frown grew. In the end, he only sighed softly.

Deep disappointment flashed through his gentle eyes.

Shrek Academy was no longer the academy from ten thousand years ago that had accepted only monsters.

The Inner Court was arrogant, teachers lacked integrity, human lives were treated as weeds, and double standards and privilege ran rampant. The rot had reached its very bones.

"It seems we need to establish our Club for more than a name in the freshman tournament. We need a place of our own in this foul, chaotic Shrek—somewhere we can protect what matters to us."

Huo Yuhao murmured the words softly, his resolve growing firmer than ever.