Zhou Yi's Secret

The boy's face was remarkably youthful, but his deep eyes held none of the awe or restraint one might expect from a newcomer entering the continent's foremost academy. Instead, he wore the disdainful look of someone strolling through his own backyard.

Most importantly, he wore no Shrek freshman badge on his chest.

"Where did this wild brat come from? He doesn't even know the school rules, yet he dares swagger through Shrek Academy?"

Zhou Yi narrowed her sunken, triangular eyes and slowly rubbed her fingers together. A flicker of displeasure crossed her mind.

She stamped a foot, then shot toward the black-clad boy like an enormous bat, the air shrieking in her wake.

Outside the gates of Shrek Academy, two graceful young women hurried after him.

They were Ning Tian, the young sect master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect who had clashed with Xiao Dong at the city gate, and her close friend Wu Feng.

"Young sect master, have you lost your mind? Why must we follow that arrogant lecher?!"

Wu Feng gritted her teeth. Beneath her short, fiery-red hair, her pretty face was full of resentment. She rubbed her still-numb wrist and stamped her foot.

The humiliation of being driven back by that punch made her want to tear the hateful bastard in black to pieces. But Ning Tian had not only forbidden her from calling on the sect for revenge—she had dragged her along to follow him. Wu Feng was fit to burst.

"Wu Feng, don't be willful."

Ning Tian drew a deep breath, her delicate face unusually grave. She glanced at the indignant redhead and lowered her voice. "Think carefully about what he said at the city gate. How would an ordinary wandering cultivator know the secret of our ancestor Rongrong's ascension ten thousand years ago, or the degeneration of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda bloodline?"

"More than that, he didn't release a trace of Soul Power or his Martial Soul, yet he struck you—a Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster—hard enough to leave your bones aching. Have you ever heard of anyone in the younger generation, anywhere on the continent, doing that?"

Ning Tian's eyes flickered, and she curled her fingers beneath her sleeve. "His origins are a mystery. He's no ordinary man. If he truly possesses some earth-shaking secret that could break the limits of our Martial Soul, you know better than I do what that would mean to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect as it gradually declines."

Wu Feng faltered under Ning Tian's calm, methodical reasoning. Furious as she still was, she had to admit how thoroughly her young sect master had thought it through.

"Hmph. Even so, look at the way he acts. He's no disciple of a respectable sect. For all we know, he's a swindling Evil Soul Master."

Wu Feng pursed her lips and muttered the words, but she followed obediently all the same.

The two passed through the broad gates and scanned the avenue. They soon spotted the black-clad figure ambling along not far ahead.

"Look where he's going—straight for the Registration Office. Is he a freshman reporting in too?"

Wu Feng stared at his back in surprise.

"I don't know why, but I have a feeling he isn't here simply to study..."

Ning Tian frowned. Before she could finish, her eyes snapped toward the shaded path ahead. A cold-looking figure in white came hurtling toward them and stopped before the black-clad boy like an iron wall!

"Is that..."

The moment Ning Tian recognized the elderly woman in white, shock and alarm swept across her face.

"It's Zhou Yi! That vicious old hag from the Outer Academy—the one notorious for being utterly unreasonable?!"

At Ning Tian's startled cry, Wu Feng's narrow eyes flew wide. Her face lit up with barely contained delight at someone else's misfortune.

They had heard of Zhou Yi's fearsome reputation before coming to Shrek. Rumor had it that eight out of ten freshmen who fell into her hands lost a layer of skin. Anyone who dared talk back had their bones broken on the spot and was thrown out of the school gates!

"Hahaha! The heavens do have eyes!"

Wu Feng planted her hands on her slender waist. Her ample chest shook with her laughter, and her eyes shone with anticipation.

"That arrogant bastard put on quite a show at the city gate, didn't he? Now he's run into the Outer Academy's fiercest monster. Let's see how he survives today!"

Ning Tian shook her head with a rueful smile. Reason told her this might be a chance to gauge Xiao Dong's abilities, but Zhou Yi's domineering manner troubled her. How would that mysterious boy escape a seasoned Soul Emperor?

Under all those watchful eyes, Xiao Dong stopped in the middle of the shaded path as the woman in white landed before him.

"Boy, who are you? State your name and produce your letter of recommendation. Why are you wandering around without a freshman badge?"

Zhou Yi looked down at Xiao Dong, her bark-like face cold with disdain. Her voice was harsh, as though she were interrogating a criminal.

At the blunt questioning, Xiao Dong showed no panic or respect. Instead, an amused smile tugged at his lips.

"Who I am is none of your business, you old hag."

Xiao Dong lazily scratched his ear, then lifted his gaze to glance sideways at Zhou Yi.

"Whoa!"

The older students who had stopped to watch drew sharp breaths almost as one. Their expressions were a sight to behold.

A freshman had dared call Zhou Yi an old hag to her face—in Shrek Outer Court?!

That went beyond arrogance. He was practically begging to die!

"You little beast! You're courting death!"

As everyone expected, the words old hag sent Zhou Yi into a rage. Savage light flared in her triangular eyes, and killing intent rolled outward like a tide.

"You reckless fool! If I don't discipline you properly on your elders' behalf today, you'll start thinking Shrek Academy belongs to your family!"

Zhou Yi clenched her hand. Six brilliant Soul Rings rose beneath her feet: two yellow, two purple, and two black. The pressure of a Soul Emperor bore down on Xiao Dong like a mountain crashing onto his head!

She clearly meant to use her overwhelming Soul Power to crush the insolent boy into submission.

"He's done for now. Zhou Yi has even released her Martial Soul and Soul Rings!"

From a distance, Wu Feng beamed at the Soul Ring Configuration. She turned to Ning Tian, her eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of revenge.

Ning Tian's brows drew together. The mysterious boy was plainly capable, so why had he done something so foolish the moment he entered Shrek? Was he truly arrogant enough to provoke an enraged Soul Emperor?

Yet beneath the shocked and gleeful gazes around him, Xiao Dong stood at the center of the storm without a trace of panic. Instead, a faint, dark-red glow appeared deep in his eyes.

He drove his X-Ray Vision to its limit!

In the next instant, the image of the vicious, wrinkled old woman before him began to peel away layer by layer.

First, he saw through the exquisitely made disguise mask on her face!

Beneath that ugly, aged exterior lay the stunningly beautiful face of a young married woman. Her brows were finely drawn, her nose was elegant, and her full red lips trembled with anger. She possessed a mature allure that had not faded in the slightest.

Then his gaze passed unhindered through Zhou Yi's loose, heavy white robe.

A pale expanse of flesh met his eyes!

Beneath the roomy robe was a lush, voluptuous body. Her heavy breasts strained against a thin black lace undergarment, leaving it badly stretched, while the deep cleavage between them gleamed with tempting maturity.

Soft curves tapered to a narrow waist. Below, tight lace underwear pressed into her full hips, and her long, shapely legs completed a figure with all the allure of a mature married woman!

The two images overlapped. The monstrous old hag who routinely berated and beat students in the Outer Academy was, beneath her disguise, a stunning woman whose appearance was enough to leave anyone reeling!

"Well, well... What a body you're hiding. You dress up in that rotten-bark disguise every day to scare people. Is that what that useless Fan Yu likes?"

Xiao Dong took in the sight with relish. A mocking smile curled his lips as he folded his arms. His leisurely words struck like thunder from the ninth heaven!

Zhou Yi had been on the verge of attacking, but at his casual words—and the name "Fan Yu"—every movement of her body froze!