I Might as Well Leave Shrek Academy!

Faced with the newcomer's sudden attack, Chen An's gaze sharpened as he poured soul power into the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear palm bone in his right hand.

Five long, narrow blades instantly emerged from the front of his palm, dark golden light rippling over them like water.

Chen An immediately activated his soul bone skill, Dark Gold Dreadclaw!

Five dark golden blade beams erupted from the sharp blades extending from his hand!

With a whistle of wind, the razor-sharp Dark Gold Dreadclaw beams tore through the air, then sliced apart the oncoming red pillar of light like a hot knife through butter!

After shredding the red pillar, the Dark Gold Dreadclaw lost none of its power and slashed straight toward his attacker.

The boy who had attacked Chen An had red hair and regular features. His name was Zhao Wen, and he was the grandson of Elder Zhao Jing of Shrek Academy.

At Shrek Academy, only Inner Court students, Inner Court teachers, and the academy's senior leadership were entitled to live permanently on Sea God Island. Besides them, the immediate family members of the academy's senior leaders could live there with them.

That was why Zhao Wen could be on Sea God Island despite his young age.

Zhao Wen had attacked Chen An because his grandfather was one of the two Titled Douluos who had died during the Body Sect's invasion.

In Zhao Wen's eyes, the Body Sect had invaded Shrek Academy because of Chen An. Without Chen An, the Body Sect would never have appeared, and his grandfather would not have died.

With that thought in mind, seeing Chen An was like seeing his sworn enemy. He immediately lost control and attacked.

But the nine-year-old Zhao Wen had clearly let hatred go to his head. He had never considered whether he was a match for Chen An.

His cultivation as a two-ring Soul Grandmaster was nothing but window dressing before Chen An's Dark Gold Dreadclaw.

Watching the five dark golden blade beams grow larger before his eyes, Zhao Wen suddenly smelled death. His face turned deathly pale, and his legs went weak.

At that critical instant, a middle-aged man wearing the uniform exclusive to Inner Court teachers stepped in front of Zhao Wen.

His eyes narrowed at the dark golden blade beams sharp enough to tear apart the air. Gathering soul power in his hand, he extended his arm and grabbed at the Dark Gold Dreadclaw, accompanied by a thunderous clang of metal.

The blade beams formed by the Dark Gold Dreadclaw were forcibly slapped apart, turning into violent gusts that sent Chen An's and the Inner Court teacher's robes snapping. Leaves and dry twigs on the bluestone path beneath their feet were blown away.

His life spared, Zhao Wen swayed and collapsed onto his backside, his crotch growing wet.

"Boohoo, Uncle Wang, you have to stand up for me!"

Zhao Wen clung to the middle-aged Inner Court teacher's leg and cried, "Uncle Wang, did you see that? Killing my grandfather wasn't enough for him. He wants to kill me too! Hurry up and beat him!"

The Inner Court teacher, Wang Xiaoming, looked at Chen An and felt an enormous headache coming on.

As an Inner Court teacher and a Soul Douluo, he naturally knew who Chen An was. He also knew that Chen An was an unparalleled genius whom Mu En valued highly.

He had a firm sense of right and wrong. Although the Body Sect's invasion had inflicted tremendous losses on Shrek Academy,

and even several of his colleagues had died, he knew that none of this was the child's fault. Chen An was a victim too.

If anyone had to be identified as the perpetrator of this incident, it was undoubtedly the Body Sect.

What troubled him, however, was that people throughout Shrek Academy held considerable resentment toward Chen An. They all believed that without him, this battle would never have happened.

They completely ignored that Chen An was a child with no freedom to choose. They ignored that the academy's senior leaders had kept him at Shrek Academy, and that their refusal to hand him over to the Body Sect had sparked the battle.

Although that was what he thought, his words carried little weight, and he could hardly oppose the prevailing view within the academy.

Wang Xiaoming did not accept Zhao Wen's one-sided account. He pulled his leg free, wiped the tears and snot from his trouser leg, then asked Chen An, "Private fights are forbidden on Sea God Island. Why were you two fighting?"

Chen An cupped his hands and replied, "Teacher, I was planning to go to the dining hall to eat.

"But while I was walking there, he suddenly appeared, shouted that I was a curse who had killed his grandfather, and attacked me with a soul skill. I only fought back to protect myself."

Wang Xiaoming turned to look at Zhao Wen again. Seeing his shifty gaze, he immediately understood what had happened.

Looking at Chen An, he could not help feeling pity. He thought that this child would probably have a difficult life at Shrek Academy from now on.

Anyone with clear eyes knew what had caused the battle, but people had emotions. The friends and relatives of those who had died were grieving and furious. Unable—and unwilling—to seek revenge against the Body Sect, they would inevitably vent their anger on Chen An.

Although they might not actually do anything to him, strange looks and ostracism would probably be unavoidable.

Wang Xiaoming said to Chen An, "I understand what happened. It wasn't your fault; it was Zhao Wen's. I'll reprimand him. Go and have your meal."

Chen An nodded, then glanced at Zhao Wen, who had wet himself in fright. With a soft chuckle, he walked past him as though looking at an ant.

Wang Xiaoming watched Chen An's young back, straight as a pine, then looked at Zhao Wen's wet trousers and shook his head. He could not even be bothered to say much by way of reprimand and promptly turned to leave.

Only Zhao Wen remained, his eyes wide as he cried, "Boohoo, Grandpa, now that you're gone, they're all bullying me! Boohoo..."

Sea God Island, the Inner Court dining hall.

As the core of Shrek Academy, the Inner Court offered treatment entirely different from the Outer Court. Outer Court students merely paid to study at Shrek Academy, then returned to their own homes after graduation.

Inner Court students, by contrast, had truly joined Shrek Academy and were considered its own people.

Not only did they pay no tuition, but Shrek Academy also regularly distributed cultivation resources to them and provided various highly nutritious foods free of charge to support their cultivation.

The food in the Inner Court dining hall was specially prepared by food-type Soul Masters, using rare ingredients, and tasted excellent.

At the serving window, Chen An ordered a portion of jade sea cucumber gelatin, a portion of stewed heavenly dragon meat, and a basin of hibiscus crystal rice. Then he found a corner, took a seat, and began eating heartily, completely ignoring the strange looks and murmurs of the surrounding Inner Court students.

After his meal, Chen An returned to the two-story villa the academy's senior leaders had arranged for him. He sat cross-legged and began absorbing the energy in the food.

Before long, a knock sounded at the door. Chen An opened it to find a beautiful woman with a gentle, poised bearing standing before him. It was Zhang Lexuan.

Chen An said, "Sister Xuanxuan, you're here."

During his few days at Shrek Academy, Zhang Lexuan had been responsible for guiding his cultivation most of the time.

Just as Chen An was about to invite Zhang Lexuan inside,

she smiled and shook her head. "Chen An, I won't be guiding your cultivation anymore. The academy has established a Youth Class in the Inner Court, specifically for exceptionally gifted young talents under twelve.

"The teachers there are all elders with Titled Douluo cultivation. Their understanding of cultivation is far deeper than mine. Even the senior elders will give lessons when they have time."

Hearing this, Chen An asked, "Then when do classes start?"

Zhang Lexuan said, "Today. I came to take you to class."

With that, Zhang Lexuan took Chen An by the hand and led him toward a building in the northwestern corner of Sea God Island.

Soon, a building appeared before Chen An.

It occupied over a thousand square meters, with sweeping eaves and bracketed supports. Magnificent and imposing, it was built entirely of wood. Compared with the Outer Court's towering, technologically styled teaching buildings, the structures on Sea God Island in the Inner Court had an antique charm, steeped in the atmosphere of a bygone age.

Chen An entered the building, passed through the corridor, and soon arrived at the classroom door.

Most of the seats inside were already occupied by boys and girls under eleven.

These children were all descendants of Shrek Academy's senior leaders or Inner Court teachers. Every one of them possessed a remarkable martial soul and an exalted background.

Originally, Shrek Academy had only Outer Court students and Inner Court students. There had been no Youth Class admitting children younger than eleven.

Mu En had established it specifically to deepen Chen An's bonds with and affection for Shrek Academy.

Chen An glanced into the classroom from the doorway and immediately spotted Bei Bei, surrounded by the others like a moon encircled by stars.

Bei Bei had short, dark blue hair and handsome features. A gloomy expression hung over his young face without a trace of a smile. He was clearly in a bad mood.

During his few days at Shrek Academy, Chen An had seen Bei Bei several times on Sea God Island.

Chen An's impression of Bei Bei was that he was an oversized brat, utterly different from the refined, easygoing figure in the original story. They seemed like two entirely different people.

Bei Bei's eyes widened at the sight of Chen An.

Bei Bei deeply resented Chen An. His only remaining relative, his great-great-grandfather, had fought the Body Sect's sect master, Du Busi, because of Chen An, consuming a tremendous amount of his life force.

That meant he would soon lose even his last remaining relative.

Having lost both parents in childhood, how could Bei Bei possibly show Chen An a pleasant face?

The other students in the class wore various expressions when they saw Chen An. Some frowned, some showed dislike, and some rejection, but not one looked welcoming.

Clearly, the Body Sect's invasion had brought Shrek Academy devastating pain. Almost everyone knew someone who had been injured or killed.

Thus, when confronted with Chen An, the spark that had ignited everything, these boys and girls under eleven, whose minds were still immature, inevitably regarded him with strange looks.

If Mu En had known that the class he had established specifically for Chen An had not deepened his bonds with and affection for Shrek Academy, but had instead achieved the opposite, he would surely have dissolved it.

Unfortunately, because his battle with Du Busi had consumed so much of his life force, Mu En was in secluded cultivation in an underground chamber beneath the Golden Tree, stabilizing his life force. He knew nothing of what was happening outside.

Meanwhile, Mu En's disciple Yan Shaozhe, who had been responsible for carrying out the plan, was busy dealing with the trouble caused by the deaths of Outer Court students, appeasing their parents and arranging compensation.

He had no time to concern himself with anything else and simply handed all the minor matters over to his subordinates.

Ignoring the strange looks from the many students in the class, Chen An walked straight into the classroom and casually chose a seat toward the back.

The moment Chen An sat down, several boys and girls led by Bei Bei rose from their seats and surrounded him.

Chen An looked impassively at the children surrounding him, a trace of impatience slipping into his expression.

Ever since his martial soul awakening, he had wanted to join a major power. His goal had been to accelerate his growth through its resources while gaining its protection so he would not die before reaching his potential.

Instead, Zhang Lexuan, who belonged to Shrek Academy, had discovered him, practically forced him to join Shrek Academy, and ultimately brought him back there.

Otherwise, if Chen An had been allowed to choose for himself, he would certainly have joined the Body Sect, which suited him best.

At first, Chen An had thought that since he was already here, he might as well settle in. So he had joined Shrek Academy—what of it? One place was as good as another. As long as there were resources and enough peace and security, there would be no problem.

But now, staying at Shrek Academy meant being talked about and subjected to strange looks. Chen An was already growing dissatisfied. This had seriously disrupted his plan to keep his head down and cultivate in peace.

All he wanted was to cultivate peacefully. With his talent and the vast reserves of spiritual origin provided by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, reaching Level 99 Limit Douluo was a certainty. He would encounter no bottlenecks at all.

He had no desire to pay attention to anything else, much less get involved.

Looking at Bei Bei, Chen An said, "Bei Bei, what do you want? If you don't have any business with me, stop crowding around me. You're blocking my view."

Seeing Chen An's indifferent attitude, Bei Bei instantly flared with anger.

His great-great-grandfather and so many of Shrek Academy's teachers and elders had sacrificed so much for Chen An. How could Chen An act as though none of it mattered?

He should have been moved to tears with gratitude. He should have been full of thankfulness toward Shrek Academy. What was this attitude of his supposed to mean? What did all those people's sacrifices count for?

Bei Bei snapped, "Chen An, what's that supposed to mean? Don't you feel any guilt? So many people died because of you! You—get up!"

As soon as Bei Bei finished speaking, his followers chimed in one after another, clearly eager to bully Chen An, the supposed villain.

Looking at Bei Bei and the others, who seemed intent on teaching him a lesson, Chen An curled his lips into a disdainful smile. Even Ma Xiaotao, a three-ring Soul Elder, was no match for him.

Where had these rookies under eleven, most of whom were One-Ring Soul Masters or two-ring Soul Grandmasters, found the nerve to swagger before him? They even wanted to cause trouble for him, acting as though they were going to push him around and bully him.

In response, Chen An rose from his seat, lifted his chin, swept his gaze around them, and cracked his knuckles.

"What, do you want to go to the Soul Fighting Arena and spar with me?"