Honor? This was the sacred ground of Soul Masters?

"This person..."

"Already has a Way of Seeking Death!"

"How can someone like that be a teacher..."

Tang Wutong's mood instantly soured, displeasure filling her heart. She wasn't one to speak ill of others.

Still less would she willingly bring up the Way of Seeking Death. That wasn't a good habit, after all, but she really couldn't hold it in.

Wasn't this teacher going too far?

Brother Chu had only come to apply for a job at Shrek Academy so he could take better care of Yudie, and she had a problem with that?

"For her, this is only the tip of the iceberg of outrageous things she's done."

Seeing the anger on her face, Tang Ya shook her head. This wasn't even the most outrageous thing that woman had done.

"There's more?"

"Sister Xiao Ya, you were in her class before, after all. Why don't you tell us what else she's done..."

Tang Wutong looked astonished. There was another killing blow waiting?

As a teacher, could that woman be just as unreliable in front of her students...?

"It seems this teacher, Zhou Yi, has done plenty of heartless, unscrupulous things!"

Tang Wutong fell silent after saying that.

"If we're talking about the most shocking thing..."

"Teacher Zhou Yi frequently expels students. Yes, exactly the sort of expulsion you're imagining..."

Helplessness crossed Tang Ya's face. Recalling those memories, she reluctantly described what had happened in her old class.

"Expels students?"

Those words left both girls astonished.

"Teachers at the academy have the authority to expel students?"

Tang Wutong frowned, unable to keep herself from asking.

"They do. Academy teachers really do have the authority to expel students, so that part isn't Teacher Zhou Yi making trouble."

"It's just that most expulsions are for students with moral failings, or those who commit serious offenses the academy won't tolerate. But Teacher Zhou Yi does it for... her advancement rate!"

"We're already at Shrek Academy, the finest academy on the continent. This advancement rate means the chances of entering the Inner Court. Precisely because of her expulsion strategy, Zhou Yi's class ranks first every year."

"Unbelievable, right?"

Tang Ya could barely keep her composure either, and spoke with a sigh.

In the outer court, other people might only treat this as an after-dinner anecdote, a joke at Zhou Yi's expense.

But she had actually experienced it.

Her own talent wasn't particularly good, but through hard work and perseverance, she had passed the entrance examination and officially become a new student.

Yet before she had even finished her first year, her insufficient talent and weak soul power had unfortunately made her one of the students that woman tried every possible means to expel.

Her name had even appeared at the very top of the list.

After all, with her cultivation and talent, she had absolutely nothing that could help improve that woman's advancement rate. Especially since her martial soul was only Blue Silver Grass...

As everyone knew, Blue Silver Grass was useless.

Even if she had the supposed title of Tang Sect leader, she had been the sect's only member at the time. What use was that? Apart from Shrek presumably letting her enroll readily on account of those two things, it brought no benefits.

Her weak cultivation and abilities had undoubtedly made her a weakling in that woman's eyes. If Bei Bei, whom she had only recently started dating, hadn't approached Zhou Yi back then, she probably would have been expelled long ago.

"Expelling students for the advancement rate..."

What a peculiar thing to say.

Just listen to that. What a plain, unvarnished reason. Expel everyone who couldn't enter the Inner Court, and wouldn't everyone left be someone who could?

"How simple and brutal!"

Tang Wutong stood rooted in shock. This was the first time she had heard of such a reason for expelling students, and it had happened at Shrek Academy, of all places...

How can she be that shameless?

She couldn't help pondering it.

Didn't everyone come to Shrek Academy to seek resources, cultivate diligently, and gain a better future?

Yet this "sacred ground of Soul Masters" pulled something like this, arbitrarily expelling students for a supposed advancement rate. Was that really appropriate?

"She's gone way too far."

"I thought picking on Master earlier was bad enough. How could she do something like this too!"

Anger spread across Huo Yudie's face as she fumed.

She had thought the woman causing trouble without any reason in front of everyone was strange enough. She hadn't expected her to be even worse than she had imagined.

She was on par with the people of the Dai Family!

And she had actually ended up with someone like that as her homeroom teacher!

"Sister Xiao Ya, doesn't the academy do anything about this?"

At that moment, she realized a particularly important point and immediately asked in confusion.

Beside her, Tang Wutong instantly looked over too, clearly harboring the same question.

Could the academy's higher-ups really be indifferent to this?

"They do..."

"But her husband is the director of the Soul Tool Department, and a candidate to become its next vice dean. On top of that, the department's vice dean is his master, and its dean is his master's wife..."

Those words from Tang Ya instantly stunned Tang Wutong.

"So she's someone with connections."

And her husband was practically the crown prince of half the Soul Tool Department. As long as Zhou Yi didn't go too far or do anything too serious, the Soul Tool Department would probably clean up her messes.

Meanwhile, no one knew what Huo Yudie was thinking.

"Has no one filed a complaint against her?"

Tang Wutong couldn't help pressing further.

"It's very hard for that to achieve anything..."

This time, Chu Ge spoke.

Beside him, Huo Yudie also fell speechless. A shadow crossed her lovely face as a guess formed in her heart.

Had no students ever wanted to spread word of something like this?

The answer was obviously no. But who could they tell? Yan Shaozhe, whom they had no way of even meeting, or someone else?

Besides, those expelled had middling or below-average talent, and most were inexperienced students with no backing. If they were expelled, they could still attend another academy. But if they inadvertently ended up accused of "slandering" Shrek, they would be in serious trouble.

As a result, those expelled students could only swallow their anger and silently suffer the loss.

"But..."

Tang Wutong wasn't stupid either. Hearing those words, how could she fail to reach the same conclusion as the two before her?

News of an expulsion wouldn't spread through Shrek, but if it spread under the label of slander, trouble would surely follow.

Shrek Academy's honor seemed very important to these students. At least, everyone who graduated from here seemed to take pride in Shrek Academy?

Though she didn't understand why Shrek, which recruited geniuses to enroll, had anything to do with honor...

"So this is the sacred ground of Soul Masters renowned across the continent."

Tang Wutong's expression grew contemplative.

Zhou Yi certainly had serious problems, but was it really right for Shrek Academy to tolerate this happening?

And then there was Shrek's honor...

For a moment, the immense, inexplicable fondness she had originally felt for Shrek diminished sharply.

Yet some subconscious voice in her heart seemed to be persuading her that none of this mattered. That complicated shift left her dazed, without knowing exactly why she had become like this.

"Classes start tomorrow."

"I'd like to see just what sort of extraordinary character this teacher who casually expels students really is."

In the end, Tang Wutong regained her composure. She wanted to see just how bold this audacious woman really was.

That teacher, Zhou Yi, certainly seemed incredibly daring.

Speaking of people with connections...

I suppose I count as one too.

Tang Wutong gave a soft snort as she thought.

As if anyone here doesn't have connections.

"Where's Bei Bei?"

After they parted ways, Tang Ya came to the café where she had arranged to meet Bei Bei, ready to find out what he wanted to tell her.

But even after searching the café, she couldn't find him.

"I'm not late, either."

She looked up at the clock inside the café, confusion on her face. When she made plans with someone, she would set out for them, and this time was no exception.

Although she had met Brother Chu along the way, she certainly wouldn't miss her appointment after their conversation.

"Did Bei Bei stand me up?"

Tang Ya quietly sat down, looking at a loss. How could someone ask a girl out and then fail to show up himself!

(End of chapter)