Unlike Freshman Class One, whose homeroom teacher had suddenly been replaced, the other classes' homeroom teachers were still alive and kicking.
So, reluctant as they were, most of the freshmen returned to their classrooms.
Soon, only a sparse scattering of people remained on the path.
"El, thank you."
Just then, Lu Renjia found an opportunity to approach El.
The ordinary-looking boy blocked El and Huo Yutong's path, his face filled with gratitude, admiration, and a trace of desolation.
He bowed deeply to El.
"If it weren't for you, who knows when those of us persecuted by Zhou Yi would ever have received justice."
Most likely, never...
After all, how could the great Shrek Academy ever be wrong?
Especially when they were merely a group of nobodies with no backing and unremarkable talent.
"No need to thank me."
El waved dismissively.
"Strictly speaking, standing up for you was just incidental."
"That old hag simply offended me."
"Even without you, I would've gone after her!"
At its core, El speaking up for people like Lu Renjia had merely been a way to slap labels on Zhou Yi.
When arguing, you had to slap labels on your opponent.
Whether they worked or not, slap them on first.
Especially somewhere that had to follow the rules, at least on the surface.
But if that made you think your Uncle Radiant Dragon King was some champion of justice, you couldn't have been more wrong.
Lu Renjia paused, then spoke in a voice that remained resolute.
"Whatever your actual purpose was, El, it doesn't change the fact that you helped us."
"Without you, we never would've received compensation. Even if we had, Zhou Yi probably wouldn't have received any meaningful punishment!"
"You have no idea, El."
"How excited and happy I was when I saw you thrashing Zhou Yi in the arena!"
"If only Bao Huiyi could've seen it too..."
Remembering the friend who had given him so much companionship and help, Lu Renjia choked up again.
Finally, he steadied himself and bowed to El, bending so deeply that his upper and lower body formed an acute angle.
"...I'm sorry, El, Huo Yutong. I've wasted your time."
He wiped his tears away, looking apologetic.
"But if I don't say these things now, I'm afraid I won't have another chance."
"I've already decided to withdraw from the academy."
"Why?"
Huo Yutong, who was holding El's arm, asked in confusion.
"Hasn't Zhou Yi already been punished?"
"It's because of what he said earlier."
El gently stroked the top of Huo Yutong's head. He smiled, but his eyes were as still as a stagnant lake.
"Shouting 'You're all accomplices' in front of so many people was practically a slap across the faces of the academy's higher-ups."
"Of course, most of them wouldn't hold a grudge against a freshman. After all, what he said wasn't exactly wrong."
"But what if one or two of them are petty?"
If Shrek Academy could have one Zhou Yi, it could naturally have a second, a third, or even more "Zhou Yis."
In Lu Renjia's eyes, after the torment he had endured left him frightened, Shrek Academy had long since ceased to be the continent's glittering number-one academy.
Once the rose-tinted glasses came off, this place harbored filth and corruption and ranked people by seniority... it wasn't really all that different from his small hometown.
Shrek was simply bigger, had more powerful people, and enjoyed a better reputation.
"Oh, so that's why."
Huo Yutong nodded thoughtfully.
"I thought, with so many powerful people among the academy's higher-ups, surely none of them would stoop to getting angry with a student..."
Wouldn't that be far too unbecoming of a powerful expert?
After giving little Huo a few pointers, El turned back to Lu Renjia, who was preparing to leave. His voice was calm, yet carried an ironclad certainty.
"You don't need to withdraw."
"Huh?"
Lu Renjia froze.
"Since you think Shrek is no good now, that it doesn't deserve the title of the continent's number-one academy as you envisioned it, all the more reason for you to stay and change it."
"I give you my word: as long as I'm in this academy, you will never suffer the slightest unfair treatment."
"El."
Lu Renjia slowly raised his head, tears gradually welling in his disbelieving eyes.
"Perhaps your talent alone won't let you rise into the academy's leadership or change all this through your own strength, but you can stay on as a teacher after graduating.
"There are bound to be geniuses among your students. You can teach them what is right and what is fair, and let them carry on your spirit, can't you?"
"Little by little, the day will come when Shrek Academy changes."
"So stop talking about withdrawing."
"Stay at the academy and work hard."
El waved, then turned and left with Huo Yutong.
"Consider it your reward for joining my side in time. If you run into any injustice, come find me. I'll sort it out for you."
"Thank you, El!!"
Remaining where he stood, Lu Renjia shouted after their retreating figures, his face full of gratitude.
"El really is a good person..."
Hearing the murmur behind him, El curled his lip.
A good person, huh...
Maybe.
After reincarnating, his temper really had improved considerably.
In the past, for someone like Zhou Yi, he would at the very least have stripped all the dragon blood from her body, driven bronze pillars through her bones, and left her hanging by a thread of life in astral gales and snowstorm for seven days.
Nothing like now, when he had merely branded her with an Enslavement Mark as punishment and even left her with cultivation roughly at the Soul Ancestor level.
"Elder Zhuang, how is Teacher Zhou Yi doing?"
Meanwhile, inside the Sea God Pavilion,
Several people stood around Zhou Yi, whose outward appearance had more or less recovered, though she remained unconscious.
"This energy truly is unlike anything I've ever seen."
The old man addressed as Elder Zhuang frowned and withdrew the vines in his hands, which brimmed with rich life energy.
Especially somewhere that had to follow the rules, at least on the surface.
But if that made you think your Uncle Radiant Dragon King was some champion of justice, you couldn't have been more wrong.
Lu Renjia paused, then spoke in a voice that remained resolute.
"Whatever your actual purpose was, El, it doesn't change the fact that you helped us."
"Without you, we never would've received compensation. Even if we had, Zhou Yi probably wouldn't have received any meaningful punishment!"
"You have no idea, El."
"How excited and happy I was when I saw you thrashing Zhou Yi in the arena!"
"If only Bao Huiyi could've seen it too..."
Remembering the friend who had given him so much companionship and help, Lu Renjia choked up again.
Finally, he steadied himself and bowed to El, bending so deeply that his upper and lower body formed an acute angle.
"...I'm sorry, El, Huo Yutong. I've wasted your time."
He wiped his tears away, looking apologetic.
"But if I don't say these things now, I'm afraid I won't have another chance."
Before you continue