Zhou Yi's heart lurched when she heard Lin Chen's voice.
Hearing his voice was what she feared most right now.
But she quickly forced herself to calm down.
She was in the right here. The students she had expelled had cut corners and failed to complete their teacher's instructions.
Even if Lin Chen's words flowed like a rushing river, he couldn't whitewash their actions.
She was throwing punches from the moral high ground. No one could stand against her.
She had won this round. Whatever Lin Chen said, she held the advantage, while he was at a disadvantage.
No, Lin Chen was bound to lose.
The others were filled with hope when they saw Lin Chen step forward to speak.
They were all children, frightened into tears by Zhou Yi. Their earlier arrogance and crafty corner-cutting had long since vanished.
They had only just left home and stepped out into the world, only to be taught a harsh lesson the moment they arrived at the academy. Who wouldn't panic?
Lin Chen didn't look kindly on them. Cutting corners was wrong, after all.
But that wasn't what he wanted to address.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao looked at Lin Chen, wondering what exactly he intended to say.
Zhou Yi looked smug.
But what Lin Chen said next was completely outside her expectations.
"Teacher."
Lin Chen walked forward and spoke lazily.
"I saw it too. They really did skip some laps."
"And you counted wrong. I counted for you."
"He skipped five laps, he skipped six, and he skipped three."
Lin Chen pointed at each of the students who had been singled out, giving the exact numbers.
"Wait, is this really the time to discuss that?"
Zhou Yi frowned.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"If you're trying to help me supervise them, I've already expelled them. There's no need for you to say anything else."
Zhou Yi thought she had already guessed what Lin Chen was trying to do.
Was he actually trying to smooth things over between us?
Heh, too late. There's no winning me over now.
But Lin Chen merely smiled.
"Teacher Zhou Yi, you've misunderstood."
"What I'm saying is that you're right. They really did skip laps and cut corners."
"Absolutely. Everything you said was right."
Lin Chen shrugged.
"But I have a question."
"Could you answer it for me?"
"Speak."
Zhou Yi spoke coldly.
She didn't believe Lin Chen could pull any more tricks. Her victory was already assured.
"Teacher Zhou, I just wanted to ask."
Lin Chen spoke unhurriedly.
"Cutting corners and having bad moral character aren't things you can lump together, are they?"
"Cutting corners is more about being lazy, trying to be clever, and hoping to bluff your way through. At its core, it's 'I don't want to suffer, but I still want the results.'"
"An eleven- or twelve-year-old child fails to finish a task and lies about completing it. That's certainly nothing to be proud of, but it doesn't quite amount to having bad moral character, does it?"
"Having bad moral character is far more serious. It means maliciously hurting others, deliberately doing harm, and having a problem with your moral bottom line."
"Lying about finishing a task and deliberately setting up classmates or bullying the weak are on completely different levels."
"How does going for a run and failing to meet the target suddenly become a matter of bad moral character?"
"So what if I don't run at all? I'm trying to be clever. I'm cutting corners."
"If I were an adult, fine. My behavior would already be set in stone, and I couldn't change."
"But Teacher Zhou Yi, we're all new students. We've just enrolled. We came to the academy to receive an education."
"Wouldn't the normal line of reasoning be that you've discovered they're cutting corners and have picked up bad habits at home?"
"Wouldn't the normal thing be to teach them how to correct those habits?"
"How come with you, it goes straight to expulsion?"
"So you can't teach them, is that it?"
"Your Shrek Academy only accepts good students who excel in both character and academics. They don't just need strength and talent, but a good upbringing and good character too. Everything has to be good."
"Then what do they need you for?"
"A talented student's innate talent can't be improved any further in the first place. You don't need to teach them that, so all you can work on is everything else."
"Maybe they're talented but have a bad personality. Maybe they weren't brought up well. Those are all things your academy should address. Teach them to be better!"
"Holy shit, Teacher! This method of yours is great-using running to identify which students have problems."
"You pick out the ones with problems, but I thought that after finding them, you'd help them correct their mistakes."
"Develop teaching plans tailored to them and correct their mistakes."
"Correct their bad habits. They're only eleven or twelve, after all. Their lives have only just begun! Catch their mistakes early and fix them early."
"Then they can all grow into capable people."
"Holy shit, but after finding their problems, you actually just expelled them. So you can't teach them after all!"
"If you can't teach, why the hell are you a teacher? You useless piece of trash!"
"What did you say?!"
Lin Chen's insults grew nastier and nastier.
Zhou Yi couldn't take it anymore.
But the other ordinary students all felt that Lin Chen was right after hearing what he said.
Getting expelled over a run really was absurd. They also thought those students had done something wrong, but wouldn't a reprimand have sufficed? Failing that, make them run ten extra laps.
Expulsion really was going too far.
Lin Chen's words made even Wang Dong cheer.
The others cried out excitedly as well.
They were about to be expelled by Zhou Yi anyway, so they no longer needed to put on pleasant faces for her.
Hearing Lin Chen's words was like hearing heavenly music, filling them with encouragement.
"Exactly, Teacher! We came to the academy to study. We came here to be taught by you!"
"Sure, I have flaws! You've spotted them too, but you can't teach me, so you just expel me!"
"So this is what Shrek is like. Then I might as well leave!"
"You can't teach any students at all. You only accept geniuses, and you demand that those geniuses be good in every possible way!"
"The kind who are completely beyond reproach.
"Then what do you even teach? What does your academy even teach?"
"So your Shrek Academy just sits back and enjoys the fruits of other people's labor!"
"You demand that students be geniuses and that their families raise them perfectly before delivering them into your hands, fully formed. Then you take all the credit in the end!"
Once Lin Chen got things started, the others joined in the uproar. They had all spotted the overlooked issue and began bombarding Zhou Yi with criticism.
Zhou Yi was left speechless.
What had been a perfectly good scene of her expelling students had turned into a crowd attacking her.
Furious, Zhou Yi unleashed her Martial Soul.
Buzzz-
She released her terrifying Soul Rings. The crimson phantom of a fire dragon spiraled upward behind her, and scorching waves of heat swept across the entire field.
The immense pressure bore down on everyone until they could neither speak nor catch their breath.
"You, Lin Chen! I've put up with you for long enough!"
Zhou Yi pointed at Lin Chen, trembling with rage.
"You just love undermining me! What exactly did I ever do to offend you?"
"They were clearly in the wrong, and now you're blaming me!"
"Then refute it, Teacher!"
Lin Chen spread his hands, looking utterly innocent.
"I'm only stating a point of view. Go on, refute it!"
Before you continue