Just as families had their own traditions and nations their own character, any organization made up of people would inevitably develop a particular culture.
And if Lin Xi had to sum up Shrek's culture in one word, it would be "arrogance."
In the original Douluo II, everything Shrek Academy did reeked of arrogance.
Take one example.
During Yuhao's first year, Zhou Yi had strongly recommended him to Shrek's higher-ups, and Wang Yan had repeatedly told Xuan Zi how highly he regarded him.
And the result?
Simply because his first Soul Skill was white, the entire upper echelon of the Martial Soul Department refused to spare him even the slightest share of resources.
Xuan Zi outright declared that he had no future, and the Martial Soul Department even downgraded his promised core disciple position to a temporary one.
They abandoned him outright simply because his first Soul Skill was ten-year.
Yet interestingly enough, Xuan Zi had experienced Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing during his second year.
And what had his assessment been then? "A born commander of Soul Masters"!
In other words, it was not that he could not recognize how terrifying that Soul Skill was. He simply had not investigated.
That was laughable.
In terms of results, Yuhao had taken down Ning Tian and single-handedly beaten Wu Feng.
In terms of capabilities, his Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Wang Dong could even affect a Soul Douluo.
In terms of credentials, two renowned outer court teachers, Zhou Yi and Wang Yan, had vied to recommend him.
Yet Xuan Zi and the others had stubbornly refused to investigate even a little.
And these very same people, upon learning that Huo Yuhao had Twin Martial Souls, including an Ultimate Martial Soul, had swarmed around him like flies catching a whiff of something rotten.
And what had they promised Huo Yuhao then?
First, guaranteed admission to the inner court for Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
Second, a complete set of Soul Bones for Huo Yuhao, at least one of which would be a hundred-thousand-year one.
Third, at least one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring for Huo Yuhao.
It was no exaggeration to say that when Lin Xi had read this in his previous life, he had laughed in sheer anger.
Of those three promises, one amounted to nothing, one had not been fulfilled, and one had never been acted upon.
Leaving aside the fact that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, both possessing Twin Martial Souls, were bound to enter the inner court anyway, which of Huo Yuhao's hundred-thousand-year Soul Bones and Soul Rings had Shrek provided?
A classic case of painting a grand feast and trying to snare a white wolf with empty hands.
They wanted all the benefits without paying any price, putting their stupidity and malice on full display.
Perhaps they thought that simply displaying Shrek's name would tempt any genius into joining them.
Just like this old man's attitude toward Lin Xi now.
The white-robed elder had never imagined he would be rejected, and froze for a moment.
"Child, do you really know what the Sea God Pavilion is? You should think this through."
"Of course I do." Lin Xi smiled mockingly. "What I'd like to ask is, do you truly know what it means for a twelve-year-old Soul Elder to be able to crush a Soul Emperor? You should think this through."
Lin Xi had merely repeated the elder's words back to him, yet the elder was immediately left speechless.
Indeed, the Sea God Pavilion had members in every generation, but a genius of Lin Xi's caliber had never appeared before.
Lin Xi's meaning was simple: the elder was not qualified to be his teacher!
The elder took a deep breath and wanted to continue persuading him, only for Lin Xi to raise a hand and stop him.
"Let's set that aside for now. What I'd rather know is, what's going on with this woman?"
The elder sighed helplessly inwardly.
"She is Ma Xiaotao, a disciple of Yan Shaozhe, dean of the Martial Soul Department. Because her Martial Soul is flawed, she is prone to losing her reason while cultivating. I hope you won't blame her too much."
"Blame her? Not at all. Why would I blame her? She wasn't capable of doing anything to me. If anything, I should be worried about her blaming me."
Lin Xi sneered as he said:
"But I can't say how those students she injured will feel."
"What?!"
The elders' expressions tightened.
The one at their head asked urgently:
"Did Xiaotao encounter other students besides you?"
"Yes." Lin Xi shrugged. "Several students suffered burns. I've already had my Servant take them to the infirmary."
"Outrageous!" the elder shouted. "Why did you make that decision on your own? Don't you know matters like this should be left to adults?"
"Why are you suddenly so worked up?" Lin Xi gave a cold laugh. "Afraid you won't have time to seal their mouths?"
"Urgh!"
The elder froze for a moment.
He finally noticed the contempt on Lin Xi's face.
Only then did he realize that Lin Xi was extremely, extremely displeased about this attack.
But it was already too late.
As senior academy officials, after arriving at the scene of an incident, they had not first checked whether anyone else was injured. Instead, they had asked who had injured the well-connected perpetrator.
In Lin Xi's mind, his already low opinion of Shrek fell once again, hitting rock bottom.
Seeing that the elder still wanted to explain, Lin Xi shook his head and stepped back.
"Sorry, seniors. My emotions are a little unstable right now. I'm heading to class."
With that, he took Huo Yutong's small hand and left without looking back.
A middle-aged man quietly questioned the elder.
"Teacher, why did you let him leave?"
Anyone with eyes could see that Lin Xi was deeply dissatisfied. Shouldn't they hurry to soothe him at a time like this?
Otherwise, what if Lin Xi left the academy in a fit of anger?
The elder shook his head.
"It's fine. It was only a minor conflict. I believe that after spending time at the academy, he will sooner or later come to understand what happened today."
The elder did not truly take Lin Xi's anger to heart.
This was not a mindless act, but a judgment based on logic.
In the elder's view, Lin Xi had been upset because Ma Xiaotao had attacked him, yet he had not received the respect he deserved.
Then it did not matter.
Because from today onward, Lin Xi was destined to receive Shrek Academy's utmost attention.
His standing would only be higher than Ma Xiaotao's.
In other words, Lin Xi would one day occupy the position Ma Xiaotao had today, enjoying tremendous authority within the academy.
By then, today's conflict would become a tiny interval on a scale, remembered by no one.
Clearly, he had underestimated Lin Xi's anger.
Huo Yutong followed cautiously behind Lin Xi and asked:
"Brother Lin Xi, why are you so angry?"
Through her tireless efforts over the past two days, she had already gained an initial grasp of using the power of emotions.
Although influencing others was still far beyond her, she had become adept at sensing the emotions of familiar people through spiritual power.
To her, if Lin Xi's usual emotions were a steady sea that seldom rippled, then right now they were a raging volcano that could erupt at any moment.
This was extremely rare for Lin Xi. Huo Yutong could not remember ever seeing him so angry.
Lin Xi remained silent for a long while, then sighed and gave an answer Huo Yutong had not expected.
"I'm sorry, Yutong. I'm taking my anger out on others, redirecting my anger at myself onto them."
"Huh?"
Huo Yutong blinked.
Lin Xi explained gravely:
"I actually knew long ago that the woman called Ma Xiaotao would come here and go berserk around this time, but I carelessly forgot. Those two students didn't have to get hurt."
"But that isn't your responsibility, is it, Brother Lin Xi?"
Huo Yutong tilted her little head incredulously.
This did not seem like the Lin Xi she knew.
Lin Xi would never blame himself over something like this.
"Yes, of course it isn't my responsibility."
Lin Xi nodded firmly.
Ma Xiaotao bore full responsibility for those two students' injuries. They had absolutely nothing to do with him.
Afterward, they would even have to thank Lin Xi for rescuing them from Ma Xiaotao.
"So I'm not blaming myself."
He was angry at his own mistake.
"I've been growing more and more arrogant these past few days. I'm clearly still far from having the strength to protect myself, yet I let a little success go to my head and made a mistake. That's what I'm angry at myself for."
He had only just achieved a little success, yet he was already so pleased with himself that he had forgotten something this important. If this continued, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Perhaps he would end up like Huo Yuhao, watching the person he loved most die before his eyes.
"So, Yutong." Lin Xi took a deep breath and held Huo Yutong's hand. "Can you help me? Since you can sense other people's emotions, keep watch over me. If I get carried away again like I have these past two days, knock some sense into me, hard."
"...All right."
Huo Yutong was silent for a while before nodding.
Lin Xi smiled.
"Thank you."
He led Huo Yutong toward the classroom.
Watching Lin Xi's back, Huo Yutong's expression gradually grew solemn.
The burden on Brother Lin Xi's shoulders was too heavy. He was constantly forcing himself to stay on edge, refusing to allow himself the slightest mistake lest he drag down those around him.
Huo Yutong felt both happy and unwilling to accept this.
Happy because she knew he was doing this partly for her, and unwilling because she could not help him at all.
She was still too weak to share any of Lin Xi's burden.
I have to grow stronger quickly.
Under the gentle early-morning sunlight, Huo Yutong once again made up her mind.
At that moment, she still did not know that the greatest storm since she had entered the academy was about to arrive.
In less than two hours, Lin Xi's information had been dug up and placed on Yan Shaozhe's desk.
The dean of the Martial Soul Department, who could cast aside his dignity for talented people, immediately rose and headed for the Soul Tool Department.
Keeping Lin Xi in the Martial Soul Department at any cost had already become his foremost objective.