"Teacher, I went to the Inner Court earlier, but I couldn't find Chu Ge anywhere. He probably left the academy today..."
Ma Xiaotao returned to Yan Shaozhe's office, speaking slowly as she pushed open the door.
Yet when she saw the old man beside Chu Ge, looking utterly dejected and wearing somewhat tattered clothes, surprise instantly spread across her face.
So Chu Ge was here. No wonder she hadn't found him.
But that clearly wasn't the important question now. What mattered most was... what on earth had happened to her teacher?
"Teacher, you..."
"What happened?"
Ma Xiaotao couldn't help asking.
Earlier, her teacher had been so full of spirit, his face brimming with smiles. How had he ended up like this...?
She had only been gone for a little while. How had her teacher become such a wreck?
For a moment, she even wondered whether this really was her teacher, or whether something unclean had possessed him.
"Oh, Xiaotao."
"Your teacher is fine."
Yan Shaozhe came back to his senses, a smile flickering across his face. Feeling the faint traces of pain still lingering in his body, he shook his head.
He couldn't very well say that, during his fight with Chu Ge, he had been completely pinned down and beaten until he had almost retreated into his shell.
Humiliating. Utterly humiliating!
He had thrown away every scrap of dignity he possessed as a mighty expert.
"Thank goodness Chu Ge's First Martial Soul was the Blue Silver Emperor. He healed all my injuries..."
"If Xiaotao had seen the miserable state I was in before..."
Yan Shaozhe pondered this, silently thanking Chu Ge in his heart. Otherwise, his image as a powerful, imposing teacher would probably have come crashing down before his disciple.
"All right..."
"As long as you're fine."
Ma Xiaotao hesitated. Perhaps he could explain away everything else, but those signs of battle all over him made her feel that something extraordinary had happened.
"Well, since Chu Ge is here..."
"I'll take him with me, Teacher."
Ma Xiaotao stopped dwelling on it and turned her gaze back to Chu Ge, speaking earnestly.
She had gone to the Inner Court to find him earlier, but without success. Now that she had found him, she could carry out the little task her teacher had assigned her.
"Go on."
Yan Shaozhe hurriedly nodded in reply.
"Oh, Dean Yan."
Seeing the state he was in, Chu Ge didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He also felt a surge of reflection.
Sure enough.
There was still an enormous gulf between one Titled Douluo and another. The difference between having a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and not having one was simply too great.
Was Yan Shaozhe weak? To Chu Ge, he was.
The man couldn't even withstand a single hammer strike from him.
Yet among the Titled Douluos across the entire continent, someone with his rank ninety-five cultivation stood quite high in the rankings of this era.
All Chu Ge could say was that his own strength was indeed what he had expected. With six black Soul Rings and three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, being powerful was inevitable.
"From now on..."
"I'm never sparring with Chu Ge again..."
Watching the two recede into the distance, Yan Shaozhe breathed a sigh of relief. A resolute look appeared on his face as he spoke with a bitter smile.
He had originally thought that, while Chu Ge was still young, he ought to help his disciple establish some standing with him as Xiaotao's Master.
What he hadn't expected was that he already couldn't beat Chu Ge when the young man was only twenty, let alone in the future.
"The younger generation is truly formidable. Truly formidable."
Yan Shaozhe gritted his teeth, wanting to cry but finding no tears.
He was the dignified dean of Shrek Academy. Didn't he deserve some dignity too?
"Chu Ge, what happened to my teacher?"
"Did he get into a fight with someone?"
On their way back, Ma Xiaotao thought it over but still couldn't resist asking. She couldn't imagine who could have reduced her teacher to that state.
Her teacher was a powerful expert who could hold his own even against a Super Douluo. There was no reason for him to end up like that.
"Hmm..."
"Probably."
Chu Ge hesitated.
He couldn't very well say that he was the one who had beaten him up.
"I knew it."
Ma Xiaotao looked thoughtful. Although she had already suspected as much, she still couldn't help feeling shocked. Anyone who could beat her teacher had to be quite powerful.
"I wonder who was so out of line."
"How awful."
She spoke with a heart full of gloom.
Beside her, Chu Ge, the culprit himself, said nothing and silently shrugged. He hadn't wanted the man to end up like that either.
If anyone was to blame, it was Dean Yan for being so very brave.
At least in the moment he bravely took Titan's Hammer head-on, he had thoroughly illustrated the meaning of the word courage.
"From what you said earlier, you went looking for me?"
"What did you need me for, Xiaotao?"
Chu Ge followed her toward the Inner Court as he asked.
"Nothing particularly special."
"Teacher just told me to take you to meet my teammates, so I went looking for you."
Ma Xiaotao smiled faintly and explained earnestly.
"The other six members of this generation's Shrek Seven Devils, besides me. They're all talented Soul Masters too."
"Meeting the Shrek Seven Devils, huh?"
Hearing this, Chu Ge nodded thoughtfully. Yan Shaozhe had already mentioned it to him earlier, so he naturally wasn't particularly surprised.
Of the Shrek Seven Devils, he had already met Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochеn. There was no hurry to meet Dai Yueheng of the Dai Family.
As for the other four, mentioning them brought unpleasant things to mind.
There was also that infamous scene where a certain Titled Douluo fought back desperately and, despite being rank ninety-eight, almost failed to defeat a Soul King. These four students had each met a more miserable fate than the last.
"Then let's go."
Chu Ge answered with a smile.
He really didn't have anything pressing to do. Since he could meet a few unfortunate victims... ahem, a few of this era's finest geniuses, there was naturally no reason not to.
"They should still be practicing their tactical coordination at this hour. We'll be representing the academy in the upcoming Mainland Soul Master Tournament."
Ma Xiaotao introduced them with a bright smile. Chu Ge could even see a glimmer of starlight flash through her eyes, but he secretly sighed at the sight.
In the original story, for the sake of the so-called glory of Shrek, she had succumbed to darkness at a critical moment in the tournament and become an Evil Soul Master.
Although she had indeed received considerable resources after joining the Holy Spirit Cult, that had never been what she wanted. She must have been in despair then too.
"I'm sure this tournament will go smoothly for you."
Chu Ge replied with a smile.
"Hehe."
"I think so too."
Ma Xiaotao nodded, beaming.
As they chatted and laughed, Ma Xiaotao brought her companion to an open space. Six figures had gathered there: four men and two women.
Among them, aside from the blue-haired, aloof beauty Ling Luochеn, who was quietly cultivating, the others were all talking.
They were this generation's Shrek Seven Devils, the very symbol of Shrek's finest geniuses. However...
Beyond being geniuses, the seven members of this generation were also the most tragic Shrek Seven Devils in a thousand years.
"Seven."
"Unlucky souls."
(End of chapter)
Before you continue