Yan Shaozhe Came to Apologize in Person

Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi fell silent at once. Neither said another word.

Mu En had spoken. If they kept arguing, they were asking for a beating.

Mu En sighed and waved a hand. "Off with you, all of you. Not one of you gives this old man peace of mind. Shaozhe is like this, and Xuan Zi is no better. You've given me a headache with all your bickering."

Neither of them had any room to criticize the other. They were two peas in a pod.

One had grown used to lazing around with wine and chicken legs, then shirking responsibility whenever trouble struck. The other was riddled with rotten habits and never gave anyone peace of mind.

Whenever Mu En thought about what he had turned Shrek into, he felt too ashamed to face its forebears.

Only by raising Jiang Chen well could he face the ancestors with his head held high.

Before long, the Elders filed out. Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe left too, finally giving Mu En some quiet.

Yan Shaozhe, meanwhile, was thinking about how to apologize and salvage the situation at the lowest possible cost.

Time flew, and daylight spread across the sky.

The students of Shrek Outer Court left their dormitories one after another and headed to the teaching buildings for class.

But the shock Jiang Chen had given them at daybreak had yet to fade.

He was a boy like a god!

When the morning classes ended, Jiang Chen stretched and yawned in Freshman Class Nine's classroom.

After his Martial Soul Second Awakening, the most immediate change was that he felt stronger.

Not only had his Soul Power reached level thirty, but his Soul Skills had changed as well. Every skill he had before had been upgraded.

His Soul Skills were now:

"First Soul Skill: Phoenix Feathers."

"Second Soul Skill: Phoenix Wrath."

The former was a wide-area group-attack Soul Skill that unleashed an indiscriminate assault from the sky. The latter was a pure amplification skill with no upper limit, so long as his body could withstand it.

Jiang Chen could only give it a thumbs-up.

The Ice Phoenix Martial Soul lived up to its name. Its Soul Skills were frighteningly powerful.

Jiang Chen had also discovered something unusual. Unlike other phoenix Soul Masters, he possessed something called Ice Flame.

In other words, he wielded both Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Fire.

That Ultimate Fire was, of course, Ice Flame.

Jiang Chen opened his palm, and blue flames sprang to life. The temperature around him rose in an instant.

For the moment, he had no idea where this Ice Flame had come from.

Could it have something to do with my phoenix bloodline?

Jiang Chen still could not figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. It did him no harm, after all.

That's settled, then. Time to eat.

The Freshman Tournament was approaching, and he had no idea when the academy would arrange for him to obtain his third Soul Ring. He had reported his situation to Mu En as soon as he emerged.

Just then, Ning Tian and Wu Feng of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect approached Jiang Chen in Freshman Class Nine's classroom. They struck up a conversation and invited him to join them for a Grade A Meal.

They knew about the strange phenomenon Jiang Chen had caused, as well as his Martial Soul Second Awakening.

As the saying went, when you were on the rise, everyone around you was a good person.

But once you fell on hard times, all you got were cold looks.

Jiang Chen had learned that the hard way.

Jiang Chen turned down Ning Tian's invitation without hesitation. "Thank you for the kind offer, Miss Ning Tian, but I'm used to eating alone. I won't be joining you."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Ning Tian and Wu Feng standing there in a daze.

Wu Feng gritted her teeth. "That guy's so full of himself! So what if he awakened the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul? Does he have to act like that? My lady's the sect's young master, and I have the Red Dragon Martial Soul!"

Ning Tian smiled gently. She could understand Jiang Chen's state of mind.

If she had awakened the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, her standards would have soared too. If she were going to marry, it would have to be to a God King!

But she had not.

Ning Tian also knew why Jiang Chen had suddenly turned so cold. It had to have something to do with the great senior student Ma Xiaotao.

According to word from students of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Jiang Chen and Ma Xiaotao seemed to have broken up.

That appeared to be what had finally awakened his Ice Phoenix Martial Soul.

What wonderful news!

For Ma Xiaotao to do something so foolish, she really was all curves and no brains.

Now the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had its chance.

Ning Tian quietly resolved to win Jiang Chen over, bring him into the sect as her husband, and make him her strongest support.

Besides, she liked Jiang Chen.

Like jade was the stranger strolling by; among young gentlemen, none could rival him. Jiang Chen fit those words.

His strength, status, and looks all matched what she wanted in a husband.

Ning Tian turned to Wu Feng and scolded her. "Wu Feng, don't speak ill of Senior Jiang. Say another bad word about him, and you can go clean the toilets."

Wu Feng stared at her in shock.

Wait, what?

My lady, you changed your tune fast. Now he's Senior Jiang?

Fine. Senior Jiang it is. Wu Feng had no desire to clean the toilets.

Shrek's toilets were the foulest she had ever seen, filthier and stinkier than anything at the sect.

Wu Feng had never understood why Shrek, clearly the wealthiest academy, had facilities that looked as dreadful as they had ten thousand years ago.

Maybe the inner court is paradise.

Before long, Ning Tian and Wu Feng headed toward the dining hall too.

After eating, Jiang Chen sat in the garden by the academy entrance and meditated.

The afternoon class was practical combat. He could attend it or skip it.

His focus was now on the Freshman Tournament, so he could afford to miss his regular classes.

True strength was strength in a fight.

Just then, Jiang Chen looked up in surprise. Someone was coming his way: Yan Shaozhe, the Dean of the Martial Soul Department, wearing a smile on his thin-cheeked face. Those hollow cheeks made him look like the sort of man even ghosts and gods would struggle to deal with.

The sight of him gave Jiang Chen an instant headache.

Here again?

Don't tell me he's here because of Ma Xiaotao.

If he is, this should be a spectacle.

This time, though, Jiang Chen had no intention of being cordial to Yan Shaozhe. He had plenty of pride now.

Go ahead and expel me if you want!

Yan Shaozhe sat down beside Jiang Chen and forced a warm smile. "Jiang Chen, I heard you awakened the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul and gained Ultimate Ice. Is that true?"

Jiang Chen ignored him and closed his eyes to meditate.

So he really did come because of Ma Xiaotao.

That master and disciple have no shame at all. One moment they say we're going our separate ways; the next, I awaken the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, and he comes crawling back with that shameless grin.

Yan Shaozhe did not get angry.

To tell the truth, he regretted what he had done.

Had he known Jiang Chen could awaken the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, he would have done anything to keep him welded to Xiaotao's boat. But it was too late now.

Yan Shaozhe tried again. "Have you eaten?"

Jiang Chen still ignored him.

"How has your cultivation been lately? Are you short on resources?" Yan Shaozhe asked.

Jiang Chen gave no answer.

Yan Shaozhe changed tack. "Mu En told me you broke through to level thirty. The Martial Soul Department is arranging a Soul Hunting trip for you. We plan to send your Class Nine classmates along. It should be the day after tomorrow."

At the mention of Soul Hunting, Jiang Chen finally spoke. "Oh. Got it."

Seeing that Jiang Chen had finally answered, Yan Shaozhe drew a deep breath. "Jiang Chen, I came to tell you a few things. I was the one who urged Xiaotao to break up with you. Every mistake was mine, not hers. If you're unhappy about anything, tell me. Whatever I can give you, I won't refuse."

"I handled this badly. I was narrow-minded. If you need someone to blame, blame me."

"If you'll make up with Xiaotao, I'll accept even an unreasonable demand. Will you think about it?"