The whole crowd erupted

Seeing Yan Shaozhe arrive, Fan Yu relaxed a little, though his emotions remained conflicted. "Dean Yan, you've come at just the right time. A student injured Teacher Zhou Yi. Although her injuries have been properly treated, this was clearly an act of insubordination. If such behavior goes unpunished, it will be difficult to maintain order in the academy!"

Yet this time, Yan Shaozhe showed him no consideration at all. He snorted coldly. "Fan Yu, don't try to twist the facts. I've already learned exactly what happened. This entire chain of events began because Zhou Yi struck first."

Fan Yu froze, clearly not expecting Yan Shaozhe to rebuff him so bluntly. Unwilling to accept it, he said, "Dean Yan, but I..."

"Enough!" Yan Shaozhe snapped.

"Fan Yu, as a teacher, Zhou Yi not only failed to fulfill her responsibilities, but even used force against a student. That in itself was the gravest violation of the academy's rules. Besides, she's broken those rules several times before. If not for you, do you think she would still be allowed to stay at the academy?"

Yan Shaozhe's sharp rebuke stunned Fan Yu. He opened his mouth, but could find no suitable words to argue back.

"Ultimately, this is a matter for the Martial Soul Department. Your Soul Tool Department needs to stop overreaching. If you have a problem, have Qian Duoduo come speak to me," Yan Shaozhe said coldly.

Fan Yu clenched his fists, his eyes full of resentment, yet there was nothing he could do. In the end, he could only shoot Tian Chen a dark look before carrying Zhou Yi away.

After Fan Yu carried Zhou Yi away, a brief silence settled over the scene.

Once Fan Yu had left with Zhou Yi, Yan Shaozhe swept his gaze over the students present before finally resting it on Tian Chen. His tone softened a little. "Young man, may I ask your name?"

Tian Chen raised his head slightly, his calm gaze carrying a hint of sharpness. After meeting Yan Shaozhe's eyes for a moment, he slowly replied, "Tian Chen."

Yan Shaozhe nodded slightly, his voice filled with unmistakable approval and admiration. "Tian Chen, I greatly admire your strength and composure. I am the dean of Shrek Academy, and let me make this clear: Teacher Zhou was entirely at fault today. The academy will not punish you in any way."

Tian Chen was a little surprised to hear this. He had not expected Yan Shaozhe to side with him so openly.

Still, it was not entirely unexpected. After all, at Shrek, talent let you do whatever you pleased, and Shrek would do everything it could to bind you to the academy. All he had done was fight a teacher.

He inclined his head slightly and replied in a steady voice with a hint of resolve. "Dean, I appreciate your fairness. However, while I never seek trouble, I'm certainly not afraid of it. If someone insists on challenging the rules or crossing my bottom line, I won't back down."

Yan Shaozhe nodded. In truth, he favored Tian Chen so strongly because their brief exchange had made him realize that the boy's mentality was nothing like that of an ordinary child. Instead, he was remarkably mature and unyielding.

With someone of that temperament, suppression would only backfire. Not only would it fail to earn his goodwill, it might also sow the seeds of deeper conflict.

That alone was enough to put any thought of punishing Tian Chen out of Yan Shaozhe's mind. Rather than do that, he might as well offer some support and understanding, giving Tian Chen a stronger sense of belonging to the academy.

Then Yan Shaozhe turned his attention back to all the students, his voice steady and firm. "All right, everyone, return to your classroom! The academy will arrange for another teacher to cover your afternoon lessons so your studies won't be disrupted. I hope you'll focus on learning rather than dwell on the dispute just now."

"Yes, Dean." Everyone in Class One broke into delighted smiles and returned to their classroom for lessons.

Once the students returned to the classroom, they appeared to settle down, but lively discussions about Tian Chen broke out among them:

"Did you see that? Those were three black soul rings! They say only Soul Kings have soul rings like those, but how old is Tian Chen?"

"And that's not all. He dared to stand up to Teacher Zhou directly, and he wasn't afraid of her attacks at all. What does that tell you? He's not just strong—he's incredibly brave too!"

"Actually, I think Tian Chen was right. Truly strong people don't prove their worth by using violence to suppress others, but by helping others grow. We're at Shrek to learn, not to fight."

Meanwhile, quite a few girls were already gazing at Tian Chen with lovestruck eyes. Their looks were full of admiration and affection, and a few even whispered among themselves:

"Tian Chen isn't just incredibly strong—he's so handsome too. How could anyone resist him?"

"Especially those mismatched gold and red eyes. They're absolutely mesmerizing. There's something so different about him."

Wang Dong sat at his desk, listening to his classmates shower Tian Chen with praise, his heart filled with mixed emotions. Recalling his earlier prejudice against Tian Chen and the apology that followed only strengthened his determination to work hard and catch up. Tian Chen really does deserve everyone's respect, Wang Dong thought. I have to become stronger. At the very least, I can't keep lagging behind him.

Meanwhile, Tian Chen remained as low-key as ever. Sitting in a corner, he calmly surveyed the room, seemingly unconcerned by the others' discussions. Yet his occasional smile suggested that he tacitly welcomed this situation. After all, gaining his peers' recognition was another way to become part of the group.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yi slowly awoke in the infirmary and found herself lying on a spotless white hospital bed. Her body still ached from the Soul Profound Hand Seal and the Blood-Eroding Mark, making her frown.

She tried to sit up, but the moment she moved, pain shot through both hands. Clearly, the injuries caused by the combined effects of the Soul Profound Hand Seal and the Blood-Eroding Mark had yet to heal. Fan Yu was keeping her company beside the bed, while a healing soul master in white busied himself nearby, sorting medicines.

Wracked with pain, with the wounds at her seven orifices still not fully healed, Zhou Yi shouted angrily, "Where's that little bastard? How dare he do this to me! And you, Fan Yu—did you just stand there and watch a student walk all over me?"

Even now, Zhou Yi did not believe she had done anything wrong. She had merely been educating her students using her own distinctive teaching methods.

What could I possibly have done wrong? These teaching methods were based on those of Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang from ten thousand years ago. Isn't that enough to prove how outstanding I am?

Seeing her like this, Fan Yu hurriedly explained, "I don't want to let this go either, but Dean Yan arrived afterward. He stated outright that this incident was entirely your fault and that the academy wouldn't punish Tian Chen at all."

Zhou Yi grew even angrier, nearly sitting up in bed. "What? Yan Shaozhe is actually favoring a student like this? I'm a teacher at this academy!"

Fan Yu sighed helplessly. "Zhou Yi, calm down first. Dean Yan made it clear that, as a teacher, you not only failed to fulfill your responsibilities, but also used force against a student. That in itself was the gravest violation of the academy's rules. Besides, you've broken the rules several times before. If not for me, you probably would have been forced to leave the academy long ago."

Zhou Yi's face turned livid at those words. Through gritted teeth, she said, "So that student just gets away with it? Does our academy have no rules at all?"

Fan Yu continued explaining, "Dean Yan also said that this was ultimately a matter for the Martial Soul Department, and the Soul Tool Department shouldn't overreach. If we have a problem, we're to have Qian Duoduo speak to him. So for now, we can only swallow this humiliation."

Zhou Yi trembled slightly. Clearly, she was deeply dissatisfied with this outcome, but she also knew there was nothing she could do under the circumstances. In the end, she could only say bitterly, "Fine. Very fine. What a wonderful academy. I'll remember this day."

Seeing this, Fan Yu could only quietly take her hand and try to comfort her. "Zhou Yi, recover from your injuries first. We can discuss everything else later."

At that moment, the man in white—the healing soul master—approached the bed and cautioned her, "Teacher Zhou, the bleeding from your seven orifices has only just stopped. If you continue getting worked up, your injuries may worsen."

At those words, Zhou Yi finally calmed down a little, though her eyes remained filled with resentment and murderous intent. She muttered to herself, "Just you wait, brat. You've already given me reason to kill you."