Yan Shaozhe actually felt a headache coming on as he looked at Wang Dong before him.
He knew Wang Dong's identity: the heir to the renowned Clear Sky Hammer.
If his family learned that he had nearly been injured by an "Evil Soul Master" at the academy...
At that thought, Yan Shaozhe could not help shuddering.
He drew a deep breath and put on an even more kindly smile than before.
"Students, you can rest assured about this."
"The academy's compensation will certainly satisfy you."
"Please trust the academy's reputation."
Only then did Zhang Lan withdraw his Soul Skill and release Ma Xiaotao.
Inside the dormitory, Zhang Lan sat cross-legged on his bed.
He pretended to regulate his breathing.
Zhang Lan had not used his full strength in this battle.
Otherwise, before Yan Shaozhe could even arrive,
Ma Xiaotao would already have been torn to pieces by the Gravity Ray inside the Eight Desolate Heavy Prison.
"Zhang Lan, are you... all right?"
Wang Dong asked from beside him, sounding worried.
"I'm fine."
Zhang Lan replied.
Only after hearing Zhang Lan's answer did Wang Dong feel reassured.
Before long, someone knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Three unhurried knocks.
Wang Dong went to open the door.
A middle-aged teacher stood outside, wearing the standard green robe of a Shrek teacher.
A silver badge was pinned to his chest, and he held an exquisite wooden box.
His face wore a practiced smile. He looked like a teacher who specialized in handling matters like this.
"Hello, you two."
The middle-aged teacher's smile was just right.
"I'm here to deliver your compensation. Please accept it."
With that, the teacher placed two storage Soul Tool Rings in Wang Dong's hand.
"The dean said that thanks to your timely report, today's incident resulted in no casualties."
"Please accept this small token of our sincerity."
"I won't disturb your rest any longer. I'll be going now."
With that, the middle-aged teacher left.
Wang Dong looked down at the rings in his hand but did not put them away immediately.
He glanced back at Zhang Lan.
Zhang Lan got off the bed, walked to the doorway, took a ring from Wang Dong's hand, and probed it with his Soul Power.
The space inside was not large, but it held quite a few things.
Five Gold Soul Coin savings cards, each worth one million, four Soul Ascension Pills, and three Mystic Water Pills.
There was also one Profound Nether Pill.
"Not bad."
That was Zhang Lan's verdict.
Compared with the original story, the compensation Zhang Lan and the others received could be considered lavish.
But to Zhang Lan, it was merely better than nothing.
Night fell.
Sea God Lake, on the island at its center.
Inside an exquisite wooden cottage on the island.
Yan Shaozhe pushed the door open and entered.
"You're awake?"
Ma Xiaotao sat in a chair, twisting the hem of her clothes in both hands, her face full of grievance and frustration.
She had returned to normal. After the evil fire receded, the face concealed beneath her mask was revealed.
Her pale pink eyes could easily leave someone feeling as though their soul had been stolen away.
Large eyes and a slightly baby-round face.
It was difficult to connect her with the "Evil Soul Master" who had been wreathed in flames earlier.
"Teacher, I... I thought I could control it..."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, until her final words were almost inaudible.
Even she knew how unconvincing those words sounded.
Yan Shaozhe walked to the window and stood with his back to her, remaining silent for a long time.
He turned around, anger flashing across his face, only to give way to heartache almost immediately.
Looking at the student he had raised himself, he sighed helplessly.
"Xiaotao, you said the same thing the last few times."
"But when have you ever successfully controlled it?"
Ma Xiaotao lowered her head and said nothing.
Then, as she examined her condition, Ma Xiaotao cried out in surprise.
"What is it, Xiaotao?"
Yan Shaozhe asked in confusion.
"My evil fire... is gone?"
Yan Shaozhe abruptly turned around, his eyes full of disbelief.
"What did you say?"
"The evil fire... I can't feel it anymore."
Ma Xiaotao raised both hands and turned her palms over. The savage aura that had once surged and burned inside her was now completely beyond her senses.
She tried circulating her Soul Power. Her Fire Phoenix Martial Soul still responded, but the violent sensation that it might spiral out of control at any moment had vanished without a trace.
Yan Shaozhe hurried over, pressed a palm against her back, and sent his Soul Power inside.
A moment later, his expression became extremely strange.
"It really has... the evil fire has gone dormant."
He withdrew his hand, his brows tightly furrowed.
"That shouldn't be possible. This evil fire is an inborn affliction of your Martial Soul."
"Even the academy's elders were helpless against it. How could it suddenly..."
"Teacher, could it have been the student who stopped me?"
Ma Xiaotao ventured hesitantly.
"Inside his Soul Skill, my evil fire was constantly being attacked by those strange rays."
"Could those rays be effective against the evil fire?"
Yan Shaozhe did not answer immediately.
He walked to the window and gazed at the moonlight shimmering over Sea God Lake, his fingers unconsciously tapping the window frame.
"Xiaotao, how would you like a junior fellow disciple?"
Ma Xiaotao blinked, still unable to follow his train of thought. "Teacher, do you mean..."
"But..." She hesitated. "After what happened today, would he...?"
Yan Shaozhe waved a hand and smiled with complete confidence.
"I have a clever plan."
A twelve-year-old Soul King, two purple rings and three black, with a special gravity attribute.
He can even annihilate evil fire.
Now that a genius like this has come to Shrek, he can forget about leaving!
Three months was neither a long time nor a short one.
Over those three months, Zhang Lan's life was peaceful.
He attended classes every morning and cultivated his Soul Power in the afternoons.
The days passed one after another in that fashion.
Zhang Lan's cultivation rose to rank fifty-two.
Ever since Zhang Lan condensed his Soul Core, the Soul Power he needed to advance each rank had been beyond an ordinary person's imagination.
Only by frantically absorbing the surrounding Soul Power for those three months, with the help of those pills, had Zhang Lan managed to advance two ranks.
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Electrolux had made some progress in his research into the soul spirit contract.
By Zhang Lan's estimation, this version was somewhat better than the version that first appeared in the original story he had read in his previous life.
After a Soul Master died, their soul spirit could be preserved.
It could serve as an inherited soul spirit for the family's younger generations.
Now, Electrolux was working to break through the technical barriers to improving soul spirits.
Zhang Lan envisioned soul spirits cultivating alongside their Soul Masters to increase their own age.
The ultimate version Zhang Lan envisioned for soul spirits was as follows:
A Soul Beast would sign a contract and become a soul spirit.
After the contract was canceled, it could return to its Soul Beast form.
The Soul Beast could switch between the two forms.
As for Soul Bones, once a soul spirit cultivated to a hundred thousand years, it could provide its Soul Master with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
When the contract was terminated, the Soul Bone would remain.
However, the Soul Beast would be severely injured and need a long time to recover.
Still, even Electrolux would need a great deal of time to make all those requirements a reality.
Zhang Lan was in no hurry to perfect soul spirits, though.
That morning, the Freshman Class One classroom was packed.
Wang Yan pushed the door open and walked in.
He stepped up to the lectern and swept his gaze across the class. Without pleasantries or pointless talk, he got straight to the point.
"I have an announcement today."
The classroom instantly fell silent, everyone's gaze fixed on Wang Yan.
"The Freshman Assessment begins tomorrow."
At those words, the classroom erupted into an uproar.
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