The Academy's Response

By the time they returned to the classroom, more than half the students were already seated.

Zhang Lan walked over to his seat by the window, sat down, and opened the freshman handbook on his desk.

Nan Qiuqiu and Xiao Xiao sat down in their seats. Xiao Xiao turned to glance at Zhang Lan and asked quietly:

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Xiao Xiao broke into a grin, flashed a victory sign, and turned back to talk to Nan Qiuqiu.

Nan Qiuqiu leaned back in her chair with her arms folded across her chest. The corners of her mouth curved upward, but she did not laugh aloud.

Wang Dong sat down beside him, slipped his bag off his shoulder, unzipped it, and took out a notebook to set on his desk.

He flipped through the notebook, closed it, then opened it again, rubbing the edges of the pages between his fingers.

Zhang Lan turned a page of the freshman handbook without looking at him.

Wang Dong held back for a while before finally leaning closer and asking in a low voice:

"Those black spheres from your fourth soul skill-what exactly are they?"

Zhang Lan turned a page.

"Gravity."

Wang Dong waited two breaths, but nothing more came.

He stared at Zhang Lan's profile for a while. Zhang Lan kept his eyes on the book, showing no intention of explaining.

Wang Dong bit his lip and turned away. He flipped his notebook to a blank page and forcefully scribbled a couple of strokes, the tip of his pen scoring a shallow groove in the paper.

That afternoon, someone shoved open the door to Du Weilun's office.

It was the same teacher who had delivered the documents that morning. This time, he did not even call out "Director." He came in and braced himself against the doorframe, gasping for breath.

Du Weilun was reviewing a teaching plan. His pen stopped, and he looked up at the visitor, his brows already drawing together.

"What is it now?"

"They fought. Zhou Yi and that freshman, Zhang Lan, in the Soul Fighting Arena."

Du Weilun set his pen on the desk and leaned back slightly.

"Who won?"

"Zhang Lan."

The teacher swallowed.

"Zhou Yi was knocked unconscious. They just carried her off."

Du Weilun fell silent for two breaths, then stood.

Without a word, he picked up the jacket draped over his chair and laid it over his arm. He came around the desk and passed the teacher without slowing, leaving him with only one sentence:

"Go find Dean Yan."

Yan Shaozhe's office was at the end of the corridor on the third floor of the Outer Court's main building. The plaque on the door bore only his name, nothing else.

When Du Weilun knocked and entered, Yan Shaozhe was standing by the window on the phone, his back to the door. His white robe hung to his ankles, and his silver-gray hair was neatly tied back.

He listened to the report on the other end for a while, said, "Understood," then hung up and turned around.

"You're just in time."

Yan Shaozhe pointed to the sofa.

"I just received word that Zhou Yi is in the infirmary."

Du Weilun sat on the sofa, set his jacket aside, and recounted the entire incident from beginning to end.

He began with Zhang Lan's and Nan Qiuqiu's soul power levels at freshman registration, then their assignment to Zhou Yi's Class One.

Then he described how Zhou Yi had publicly challenged Zhang Lan to a fight in the Soul Fighting Arena after he talked back to her in class that day, and finally how Zhang Lan had revealed five soul rings-two purple and three black-and beaten Zhou Yi unconscious.

He spoke evenly, adding neither oil nor vinegar, simply laying out the events before Yan Shaozhe.

Yan Shaozhe sat opposite him with his hands clasped over his knees. Even after hearing the whole account, he did not rush to speak.

His expression barely changed throughout, but Du Weilun noticed his fingers tap lightly against his knee twice.

"That freshman's name is Zhang Lan?"

Yan Shaozhe asked.

"Yes."

"His martial soul is the Star of Eden. A Five-Ring Soul King, with two purple rings and three black."

"Twelve years old."

Yan Shaozhe's fingers tapped once more.

"How did Zhou Yi react?"

"She had to be carried off."

Du Weilun said,

"Her soul power was exhausted, and she lost consciousness."

"The infirmary said it's nothing serious. She'll recover after two days of rest."

Yan Shaozhe nodded and leaned back against the sofa, his gaze resting on the ceiling for several breaths.

Du Weilun knew he was thinking and did not interrupt.

Zhou Yi's teaching ability was among the best in the Outer Court. Her students had the highest rate of admission to the Inner Court, and Yan Shaozhe knew that better than anyone.

But Zhou Yi was also notorious for her extreme temperament: corporal punishment, verbal abuse, and expelling students at the drop of a hat. There were complaint letters every year. They had been suppressed for so many years because her results spoke for themselves, and no one dared touch her.

But this time was different.

This time, she had lost in the Soul Fighting Arena to a twelve-year-old freshman. Worse, she had been beaten unconscious and carried off in front of more than half the Outer Court's teachers and students.

"As for her husband,"

Yan Shaozhe spoke,

"the Soul Tool Department has been short-handed lately, hasn't it?"

Du Weilun understood what he meant and said nothing.

Yan Shaozhe rose from the sofa, walked over to his desk, picked up the internal communicator, and pressed a button.

Someone on the other end answered almost immediately. Yan Shaozhe's voice was calm:

"Starting tomorrow, Zhou Yi will be transferred to the Soul Tool Department. There's no need to assign her any further work in the Martial Soul Department."

"Wang Yan will take over as Class One's homeroom teacher."

The person on the other end acknowledged the instructions, and the call ended.

Yan Shaozhe put down the communicator and turned to look at Du Weilun.

"Keep an eye on that Zhang Lan, and Nan Qiuqiu as well."

"Don't let them be mistreated, but don't let them think Shrek Academy can't function without them, either."

"Train them as they should be trained."

Du Weilun stood, picked up his jacket, and nodded.

"I understand."

He left the office, closing the door behind him.

The corridor was brightly lit. Outside the windows, the shadows of the plane trees fell across the floor, swaying back and forth.

He headed along the corridor toward the stairs, his steps a little lighter than when he had arrived.

That settled Zhou Yi's situation.

A Soul Emperor being knocked unconscious by a freshman would not sound good for Shrek Academy's reputation once word spread, but swift action could keep the repercussions to a minimum.

Transferring her to the Soul Tool Department was a dignified way of putting it. In reality, it meant removing her from frontline teaching in the Martial Soul Department and tossing her to her husband to manage.

Out of sight, out of mind.

As for Class One's new homeroom teacher, Wang Yan, Du Weilun knew the man.

He was in his early forties, with Blue Silver Grass as his martial soul. A Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, his cultivation was not high, but he was a conscientious teacher with a good temper-the polar opposite of Zhou Yi.

With him in charge of Class One, at least the students would no longer be pushed to the brink of death.

Du Weilun reached the ground floor and passed through the covered walkway toward the Martial Soul Department's teaching building.

Several students greeted him along the way. He nodded in response, already considering what would happen once Wang Yan took over Class One.

That class had monsters like Zhang Lan and Nan Qiuqiu, as well as a freshman like Wang Dong with a particularly impressive soul ring configuration, plus another dozen or so talented children.

Wang Yan was mild-mannered. Whether he could keep those little monsters in line remained to be seen.

Early the next morning, in the Freshman Class One classroom.

When Zhang Lan arrived, the classroom was already full.

He walked over to his seat by the window and sat down. Wang Dong sat beside him and put his bag away.

Nan Qiuqiu and Xiao Xiao had arrived as well. Xiao Xiao was leaning over her desk, talking to Nan Qiuqiu. When she saw Zhang Lan enter, she raised her head and smiled at him.