Yan Shaozhe's compensation

"Zhou Yi! Go back first!" Du Weilun felt that if he let Zhou Yi stay any longer, she would sooner or later anger a genius like Lin Xuanchen into leaving, so he immediately barked at her.

"What? You want me to leave?" Zhou Yi froze, sounding incredulous.

"Yes, leave first. I'll handle this," Du Weilun said evenly.

In the end, Zhou Yi shot Lin Xuanchen another vicious glare before reluctantly turning and leaving Du Weilun's office.

"Lin Xuanchen, have a seat. I think we can have a proper talk." Du Weilun wearily rubbed the space between his brows and gestured toward the sofa in his office.

In Du Weilun's eyes, Zhou Yi certainly could not compare to a genius like Lin Xuanchen. His immediate priority was to persuade Lin Xuanchen to stay.

It did not matter if he offended Zhou Yi. So what if her husband was Fan Yu, the vice dean of the Soul Tool Department? He had Yan Shaozhe backing him.

Once he reported this matter to Yan Shaozhe, even if Zhou Yi tried stirring up trouble, Yan Shaozhe would surely smooth things over for him.

"Mm." Lin Xuanchen nodded and, without standing on ceremony, plopped down on the sofa. "What did you want to discuss, Director Du? If it's what just happened, save your breath. I'll be leaving Shrek Academy."

"Lin Xuanchen, please don't threaten to withdraw at every turn." Du Weilun gave a helpless, wry laugh. He really could not understand why Lin Xuanchen was so quick to talk about leaving.

All he needed to do now was persuade Lin Xuanchen to stay, then bring him to Yan Shaozhe. Whatever happened afterward would have nothing to do with him; Yan Shaozhe would handle it.

"Forget it, Director Du. I have just one request: either replace my homeroom teacher right this instant, or I withdraw right this instant." Lin Xuanchen crossed one leg over the other and spoke indifferently.

"Uh... well... Lin Xuanchen, could there be some misunderstanding between you two?" Du Weilun asked tentatively.

"A misunderstanding?" Lin Xuanchen immediately scoffed and rose from the sofa. "Is that old idiot fit to be a teacher? She hadn't taught us a single thing before trying to put us in our place. The first words out of her mouth were to call us new students trash and morons."

"And she dressed it up as 'I don't teach trash.' If a student really is a genius, would they even need her to teach them? Gold will shine wherever it goes." Lin Xuanchen sneered. "Wouldn't you agree, Director Du?"

"Zhou Yi's methods are indeed somewhat extreme." Du Weilun offered no rebuttal to Lin Xuanchen's words.

Du Weilun knew how Zhou Yi usually taught. It was precisely because she expelled students at the drop of a hat that the academy had transferred her from the third year to the first year.

Yet he had never expected that, immediately after being transferred to the first year, Zhou Yi would not only fail to rein herself in but grow even worse, nearly costing Shrek Academy a genius.

"Lin Xuanchen, Shrek Academy can offer you appropriate compensation. Before that, though, you need to come with me to meet someone," Du Weilun said, softening his tone.

"Meet someone? Fine, lead the way." After considering it briefly, Lin Xuanchen agreed without hesitation.

Lin Xuanchen figured Du Weilun most likely intended to take him to Yan Shaozhe. That would not affect him much, and he might even squeeze out a few benefits, so he readily agreed.

Du Weilun said nothing further and led Lin Xuanchen toward Yan Shaozhe's office.

After all, Du Weilun was a dignified rank-eighty Soul Douluo and the director of studies for Shrek Academy's Outer Academy. Repeatedly getting the short end of the stick in front of a junior hardly put him in a good mood, and he was feeling thoroughly frustrated.

Before long, Du Weilun brought Lin Xuanchen to the door of Yan Shaozhe's office.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Du Weilun raised his hand and knocked on the door, producing several sounds as his hand struck the wood.

"Come in." A voice soon came from behind the door.

Only after receiving a response did Du Weilun push the door open and lead Lin Xuanchen inside.

"Oh? Weilun, what's this?" Yan Shaozhe was sitting in his office chair reviewing files. When he saw Du Weilun enter with Lin Xuanchen, he asked with some confusion.

Du Weilun promptly gave Yan Shaozhe an account of everything he knew about the incident.

After hearing the whole story, Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up, and he fixed Lin Xuanchen with a burning gaze.

Don't tell me Yan Shaozhe really is gay... Why is he just like Du Weilun...? Lin Xuanchen felt rather uncomfortable under that gaze, and all sorts of thoughts surfaced in his mind.

"Weilun, you can go back first. Leave this to me." Yan Shaozhe smiled slightly and looked at Du Weilun.

"All right." Du Weilun nodded and left Yan Shaozhe's office.

"Little Chen, may I call you that?" Yan Shaozhe asked gently.

"Mm-hmm, whatever you like," Lin Xuanchen said with a nod.

"Little Chen, I've more or less learned about your situation. Shrek has indeed been somewhat negligent when it comes to training Zhou Yi," Yan Shaozhe said with a faint smile.

"How about this? Shrek Academy can offer you appropriate compensation. What do you think?" A calculating glint flashed through Yan Shaozhe's eyes as he spoke slowly.

"Compensation? That works. When I fought Zhou Yi earlier, I felt like I couldn't even breathe properly. I even felt as though hidden injuries were building up inside me." Lin Xuanchen spoke with a perfectly straight face, looking utterly earnest.

"So you'll have to give me some Soul Bones and Immortal Herbs, at the very least. Oh, right, and those Soul Tools. Get me a couple of rank-eight or rank-nine ones to play with, too." Lin Xuanchen thought for a moment, then added, "Preferably, you could capture the Emperor Auspicious Beast so I can keep her as a pet."

Yan Shaozhe looked at the completely unharmed Lin Xuanchen and listened to his demands, one after another. If his Bright Phoenix martial soul had not been keeping him in check, he probably would have lost his composure right then.

Yan Shaozhe was notoriously petty, and in the original story, nobody was better at painting grand pies in the sky. He had promised Huo Yuhao all sorts of things, from a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone to a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, yet he had secured none of them for him. Huo Yuhao had obtained them all himself.

At this moment, he had intended to give Lin Xuanchen a graceful way to back down, paint him another grand pie in the sky, and toss him a few little favors. Afterward, they could use Shrek's glory to bind this genius firmly to the academy.

But he had never expected Lin Xuanchen to refuse to play by the script! Forget a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone-Yan Shaozhe could not even bear to part with a fifty-thousand-year soul bone. Actually making him give Lin Xuanchen a Soul Bone would hurt worse than killing him.

"Whew."

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, steadied his fraying composure, and said, "Little Chen, those conditions you just mentioned are still a little too demanding."