The center of the inner court.
Dai Yueheng's residence.
At that moment, he still had no idea what had happened.
He had never expected the younger brother he considered useless to act so decisively this time.
The task had been assigned at noon, and he had carried it out by evening. Though the result wasn't much, his ability to get things done was top-notch.
As a result, he was completely unprepared and continued cultivating as usual, until Zhang Lexuan came storming to his door.
"Dai Yueheng, come out!"
The angry, feminine shout was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Dai Yueheng opened his eyes in confusion. His heart skipped a beat as a terrible premonition surfaced.
Given Eldest Senior Sister's temperament, she wouldn't visit so abruptly and disturb her juniors' secluded cultivation unless it was something important.
At first, he didn't even think of Zhang Yang or his brother Dai Huabin. He walked out of the room in bewilderment and looked up at the beauty in midair.
The afterglow of the setting sun illuminated her mature, lovely face. Dai Yueheng thought, How beautiful, before sensing that something was wrong.
"Eldest Senior Sister, what can I do for you?"
He frowned, having noticed the fluctuations of Soul Power.
It was practically confirmed: she had come with hostile intentions. The only question was why.
Zhang Lexuan made no attempt to hide it. "Your younger brother is called Dai Huabin, a new student this year, right?" she asked coldly.
Dai Yueheng finally caught on. His expression stiffened slightly, and he nodded. "That's right, but I'm not close to him."
Yes, they really weren't close. They just happened to have the same mother and father.
He hadn't even worked out the whole situation, yet he was already in a hurry to distance himself.
Dai Yueheng was much more quick-witted than Dai Huabin. He guessed something might have gone wrong, and unwilling to make the woman he loved dislike him, he had no choice but to sell his brother out.
"Oh? You're not close to your own younger brother?" How could Zhang Lexuan believe such a clumsy excuse? Her chill grew even stronger.
"Eldest Senior Sister, you're from a noble family too. You should understand that the struggle to be named heir has always been this way." Dai Yueheng had made up his mind: he would deny it to the death!
No matter what had happened, there was no evidence anyway.
As long as he played dumb and distanced himself, he wouldn't draw the fire onto himself.
Normally, given Zhang Lexuan's personality, she really wouldn't act rashly.
But today was clearly different. Dai Yueheng's brother had picked a fight with Zhang Yang, cornered him in a grove, and bullied him.
How despicable! How dangerous! My poor Zhang Yang! Do you really think I can't tell you were pulling the strings in secret?
"Words are useless. A brother pays his younger brother's debts. That's only right and proper."
"He went and bullied Zhang Yang, acting with such malice."
"You bear responsibility for failing to discipline him, so I'll get some justice for Zhang Yang!"
Zhang Lexuan was unmoved. Her Soul Power surged out like a tide, and she attacked as soon as she finished speaking.
Dai Yueheng's face twitched violently several times. He was both speechless and heartbroken.
Dai Huabin bullied Zhang Yang? Then go after him! I may be the mastermind, but haven't I avoided being exposed? Isn't it inappropriate to hit me?
Besides, more importantly... Eldest Senior Sister, just how close are you to that Zhang Yang for you to take it upon yourself to get justice for him?
As a simp and an admirer,
Dai Yueheng felt a faint ache in his soul at her words.
But it lasted only a moment. Soon, he no longer felt that way.
It wasn't that the pain had disappeared; it had moved. His heartache had turned into pain in his flesh and bones.
Eldest Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan was an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. Her Martial Soul was the exceedingly rare [Moon], and her fighting prowess was fearsome!
Her first, second, and third Soul Rings lit up-three in all-shining with brilliant silver light.
They transformed into sleek, crescent-shaped beams that rained down on Dai Yueheng. How could a Six-Ring Soul Emperor like him possibly fight back?
In an instant, the sounds of impacts echoed: puff, puff, puff.
They were followed by scream after scream.
Zhang Lexuan hadn't lost her reason. She was merely angry about what had happened to Zhang Yang, so she didn't use her full strength.
Not only did she use just her first three Soul Rings, but her control over her Soul Skills also allowed her to avoid his vital points perfectly.
She aimed to injure his skin but not his sinews, his flesh but not his bones, focusing on pain and torment without putting his life in the slightest danger.
Though Dai Yueheng howled miserably in pain, all his injuries were superficial. Relying on his cultivation to withstand them, he could recover in ten days to half a month.
Not to mention, Shrek Academy had no shortage of medicinal pills.
At worst, she could give him some healing pills after the beating.
As Shrek's Eldest Senior Sister, Zhang Lexuan judged her force well, and his screams echoed throughout the inner court.
Naturally, they drew the attention of quite a few students, who looked over curiously and happened to see the beating.
So Eldest Senior Sister was training Senior Brother Dai Yueheng's ability to take a beating. How wonderful, to be personally trained by Eldest Senior Sister.
Seeing this, the inner-court disciples all expressed their envy.
Then they returned to their cultivation. None of them intended to court trouble.
Meanwhile, several of the higher-ups on Sea God Island also noticed the commotion.
They quietly came closer and hid in the shadows to find out what was happening, but none of them stepped forward to stop it.
"What happened? Why is she hitting him so hard? Did that boy Dai Yueheng make Lexuan angry?"
"I haven't heard anything. Don't jump to conclusions. Maybe they're just cultivating. Didn't you see Lexuan avoiding his vital points?"
"But... but his screams are too pitiful. If the outer-court disciples happen to hear them, what will they think we're doing?"
"Oh, that's easy. I'll set up a barrier to cut this area off from the outside, and the sound won't get out!"
The elders muttered among themselves.
Very considerately, they helped Zhang Lexuan take care of the aftermath.
Once the barrier was in place, Dai Yueheng's screams gradually faded from the world.
But as for when it would end... the elders didn't care, and neither did the inner-court disciples.
Even Zhang Yang, the "victim," still had no idea that Zhang Lexuan was taking revenge for him.
At that moment, he was standing in front of Huo Yuhao's grilled fish stall, tasting a skewer of grilled fish like a living advertisement.
"Is that boy Zhang Yang? The handsome newcomer?"
"Heavens, why does it look like his whole body is glowing?"
"An illusion! It must be an illusion! How could a person glow? It's just that his bearing is so dazzling!"
Business at Huo Yuhao's stall was extraordinarily brisk today, with quite a few senior schoolmates gathering after hearing of Zhang Yang.
Of course, there were also some curious male seniors. Without exception, all of them marveled at his charm once they got a clear look at him.
How can someone be so handsome!
Does he intend to leave anyone else a chance?
It wasn't just ordinary passersby who thought this.
Even Bei Bei, a future member of Shrek's new generation who had always been praised for his good looks, and his buddy Xu Sanshi felt much the same at the moment.
The two stood not far from the grilled fish stall, with a young woman beside them. But Tang Ya's gaze wasn't on her boyfriend at the moment; she was studying Zhang Yang curiously.
[Bei Bei: Mu En's descendant, favorability: -50 (rejection and disgust) (sign-in unavailable)] [Xu Sanshi: heir to the Mysterious Underworld Sect, favorability: -50 (rejection and disgust) (sign-in unavailable)] [Tang Ya: current sect master of the Tang Sect, favorability: 40 (heart aflutter) (sign-in unavailable)]