Blue Tyrant Academy

Blue Tyrant Academy and Heaven Dou Royal Academy could not have felt more different.

The royal academy was like a golden garden put on display; even the wind rustling through its leaves seemed to follow the rules. Blue Tyrant Academy was like a blade driven straight into the ground. Its gatehouse was hardly lavish, but it was solid, and no one had bothered to repair the sword cuts and fist marks on its walls. They told every visitor plainly: this was no place for pampered young masters.

Bai Jin glanced at the Gate sign and nodded. "This place is much easier on the eyes."

Flender thought so too.

More precisely, once he saw the words "generous compensation," he found the entire academy positively beautiful.

A teacher received them. After hearing that Flender's group was from Shrek and reading Qin Ming's earnest letter of introduction, he quickly led them deeper into the academy.

Before long, a woman came over from the Training Ground.

She wore simple, practical fighting clothes. Her eyes were sharp, and she walked with the wind at her heels. She looked less like an academy head than someone fresh from a bout on the Soul Fighting stage. When she saw Flender, her steps faltered.

Flender stopped too.

Yu Xiaogang stood to one side, his expression complicated.

Liu Erlong.

Bai Jin had been idly sucking on a piece of candy. At the sight of their reactions, his eyes lit up.

"There's a story here."

Ning Rongrong hurriedly tugged at his sleeve. "Uncle Bai, don't say it!"

"I haven't even asked yet."

"It's written all over your face."

Liu Erlong shifted her gaze from Flender to the rest of Shrek. She wasted little time on pleasantries. After hearing why they had come, she said simply, "If you can teach, can fight, and have a backbone, you can stay."

Flender coughed. "And the pay..."

Liu Erlong glanced at him. "You won't lose out."

Flender immediately said, "How generous, Headmistress."

Liu Erlong turned to Bai Jin.

Her gaze held none of Prince Xue Xing's scrutiny, nor the fear ordinary Soul Masters showed when they met a powerhouse from Spirit Hall. She merely looked him up and down and asked, "Are you here to teach too?"

"No." Bai Jin answered at once. "I'm here for the free meals."

Flender nearly choked.

Liu Erlong laughed instead. "If you can get yourself fed, that's a skill too. Can you fight?"

Bai Jin considered it. "A little better than I can eat."

Zhao Wuji could not help cutting in. "Headmistress Liu, take that to mean the opposite. If he's only a little better at fighting than eating, the rest of us might as well retire."

Interest sparked in Liu Erlong's eyes.

She liked people who spoke plainly, and she liked people with ability. Bai Jin carried a trace of Spirit Hall about him, but none of its lofty airs. He seemed so loose-limbed he might not have bones at all, yet every Soul Master nearby instinctively treated him as the center of the room.

Someone like that was trouble.

And very useful.

"The Training Ground is yours," Liu Erlong said. "Pay for anything you break."

Bai Jin looked at Flender.

Flender immediately turned his head. "Don't look at me. I have no money."

Ning Rongrong murmured, "I'm starting to think our academy really does have traditions."

Zhao Wuji muttered, "You looked downright tragic walking down that mountain. Now you just look like you found cheap rent."

Flender pretended not to hear.

Blue Tyrant Academy arranged lodging and a Training Ground for Shrek. The grounds were not as splendid as those at the royal academy, but they were spacious, with sturdy flooring, wooden posts, iron chains, and obstacle walls. The moment Bai Jin arrived, he drove everyone inside without even waiting for lunch.

It was not as though Blue Tyrant Academy's students had never seen a commotion.

This place had always been rougher than the royal academy. Students sparred often, and teachers often lost their tempers. But they had never seen a group fresh from being shown the door by the royal academy get herded into a Training Ground by a young man with Silver Hair before they had even set down their bags.

Nor had they ever seen that young man, candy in his mouth, chase several genius Soul Masters around the grounds like ducks.

Someone whispered, "Who is he?"

A teacher beside him lowered his voice. "He's from Spirit Hall. Don't ask."

The student shut his mouth at once.

The words Spirit Hall carried weight in any Soul Master Academy. But even more striking was the sight of the Shrek group being run ragged without a single one of them daring to stop.

"Today's training has changed."

Ma Hongjun wailed, "Didn't we just get thrown out of the royal academy? Can't we rest and soothe our wounded hearts?"

"You have a heart?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then train until it's stronger."

Ma Hongjun: "..."

Bai Jin walked to the center of the Training Ground, picked up a wooden stick, and drew several lines in the dirt.

"We may have a mission tonight. This isn't Soul Fighting or an academy sparring match. It's a real Evil Soul Master hideout. Your job isn't to beat me. It's to stay alive and finish what needs doing."

The laughter slowly died away.

Tang San was the first to nod. "Understood."

Bai Jin looked at him. "You're in charge of controlling the field and rescuing people. Don't start by trying to calculate a way to trap every enemy. The situation will change, and so will they."

Tang San said gravely, "I'll leave room to adapt."

"Room? Keep your hands and feet ready to move," Bai Jin said. "No matter how good your head is, it's useless if your feet stay still."

He turned to Xiao Wu.

"You'll intercept anyone who gets close, but don't stray too far from Tang San. One of you charges, the other controls. Don't turn it into two separate fights."

Xiao Wu huffed. "I know."

"Zhu Zhuqing."

Zhu Zhuqing raised her eyes.

"Cut off their retreat. Don't get drawn into a fight, don't chase too far, and come back first if something feels wrong."

"Mm."

"Ning Rongrong."

Ning Rongrong stood straight. "Here!"

"Your boosts aren't battle cries. You decide when to give strength, when to give speed, and when to conserve Soul Power. I won't remind you."

Ning Rongrong bit her lip. "All right."

"Dai Mubai holds the front. Fatty, control your fire; don't set the old district alight. Oscar, prepare your sausages ahead of time. Don't wait until someone screams for help before you start making them."

Oscar raised a hand. "Could you put that another way?"

"No."

Once training began, plenty of Blue Tyrant Academy students gathered to watch.

They had heard a few monsters had arrived and only wanted to see the spectacle. But before half an incense stick had burned, their excitement gave way to silence.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass wove between the wooden posts like a living net. Xiao Wu charged along its strands, shattered a row of posts with her kicks, then immediately pulled back. Zhu Zhuqing was almost invisible; only the black flash of her claws could be seen behind the obstacle walls.

Ning Rongrong stood at the rear, light flowing around her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. This time, she did not scatter her boosts blindly. She watched everyone's rhythm, giving Dai Mubai strength when he pressed forward and Zhu Zhuqing speed when she changed position. When Tang San's Soul Power began to dip, she stopped at once to give Oscar time to resupply him.

Bai Jin watched from beside a wooden post, occasionally flicking out a little Soul Power.

Those flicks were not powerful, but they always forced out whatever the others found most awkward.

Just as Tang San tried to bind an imagined enemy with his Blue Silver Grass, Bai Jin's Soul Power cut in from the side, forcing him to save Xiao Wu first.

Just as Dai Mubai was about to stubbornly take an attack head-on, the distance beneath his feet suddenly opened up. His punch missed, and Zhu Zhuqing gave him a cold look.

The moment Ma Hongjun's flames crossed the boundary, Bai Jin flicked a finger. The flames curled back, nearly setting Fatty's hair on fire.

"Mr. Bai!" Ma Hongjun cried miserably. "I was wrong!"

"What did you do wrong?"

"I shouldn't have burned the building!"

"No," Bai Jin said. "You shouldn't have let anyone see you do it."

Flender had just stepped onto the Training Ground. At those words, his foot slipped.

Liu Erlong, standing beside him, laughed.

"That kid's interesting."

By dusk, Lin Yu finally arrived.

He did not enter the grounds. He stood at the Gate and nodded to Bai Jin.

Bai Jin's smile faded.

"Found them?"

Lin Yu said quietly, "They're moving goods through Warehouse Three in the old district at midnight. Our people spotted White Ghost Mask and several of the missing children."

The mood on the Training Ground changed in an instant.

Xiao Wu's face darkened. "Children?"

Tang San clenched his hands too.

Bai Jin looked at them all. "Tired?"

Ma Hongjun was about to say yes, but one look in Bai Jin's eyes made him swallow the words.

Dai Mubai said firmly, "No."

Bai Jin smiled.

"Good."

He turned and headed out.

"No exam tonight."

Everyone froze.

Bai Jin looked back. His Azure Blue eyes shone startlingly bright in the dusk.