The Show Begins

She was... Mu Jin, Zhou Yi's archenemy.

Excellent, my greatest ally has appeared.

The corners of Hui Ye's mouth curled up slightly.

"Ow, ow, awoo~"

"My qilin arm!!"

Hui Ye jumped straight up, flipped his body sideways through a full three hundred and sixty degrees in midair, and slammed himself hard onto the ground, screaming with heart-rending, utterly wretched agony.

Mu Jin joined in on the spot, charging up to Zhou Yi and aiming a punch straight at her nose, sending her flying.

"Zhou Yi!

How dare you!

How could you do something so cruel?

You've completely lost your mind!"

There was a fair bit of personal grudge behind Mu Jin's punch.

Zhou Yi didn't even have time to take issue with Mu Jin. She scrambled over to Hui Ye to examine his injuries.

At the sight of his severed arm, still spurting blood, Zhou Yi's vision went black, and she nearly fainted.

There was no telling how many healing-type Soul Masters there were in Shrek Academy, yet not a single one could regrow a severed arm.

Even Elder Zhuang, the strongest healing-type Soul Master, was powerless.

Hui Ye lay on the ground, his face growing paler and his cries weaker. Zhou Yi was frantic with worry.

This can't go on. Stop the bleeding first, then deal with the rest.

And... Fan Yu...

Right, find Fan Yu and ask him to plead for me.

Zhou Yi started to run out of the classroom, but Mu Jin stepped in front of her and blocked her path.

"Zhou Yi, at a time like this, are you actually trying to run away?"

Mu Jin pointed at a student and ordered, "You there, go to the infirmary and fetch a healing-type Soul Master."

She turned to another student. "You, go fetch Dean Yan!"

Zhou Yi flew into a rage. "Mu Jin! What do you mean by this? I'm going to find someone to help save him. Don't spew blood from your mouth!"

Mu Jin stared Zhou Yi down, a cold sneer spreading across her face. "Find someone to help? I think you're trying to run away, or else find Fan Yu to plead for you."

Zhou Yi's expression changed. "What do you mean, plead for me? I'm going to the infirmary..."

Mu Jin cut her off. "I don't want to hear your explanation right now. Everything can wait until Dean Yan gets here."

"You!" Zhou Yi was too furious to speak.

Huo Yuhao stood to the side, eyes lowered and mind focused inward, looking as though none of this had anything to do with him.

Hui Ye kept glancing at Huo Yuhao, but the latter acted as if he hadn't noticed, keeping his head down and saying nothing.

"I'm so miserable. It's my first day of school, and a teacher already blew one of my arms off. How am I supposed to live from now on...?"

Hui Ye's lips had turned pale and were peeling, and his voice was weak.

"This isn't fair. I want the dean to stand up for me..."

In a daze, Xiao Xiao opened her eyes, rubbed them, and tilted her head toward Hui Ye.

Hui Ye slowly wriggled across the floor on three limbs, like some kind of abomination, struggling toward Xiao Xiao and leaving a trail of blood behind him.

"Save me, sob, sob, sob..."

At the sight of his ghostly, blood-smeared face, Xiao Xiao's chin trembled twice. With a squawk, she fainted from fright again.

?? Is she really that easy to scare?

Hui Ye turned and wriggled toward Wang Dong instead.

"Don't come any closer!!"

Wang Dong clutched her head and screamed in terror, completely forgetting that she was a Soul Master and could fly straight away with Martial Soul Possession.

Huo Yuhao was utterly speechless, his toes curling hard enough to dig out a castle.

Damn it, it's not like both your legs are broken. Why are you crawling?

Even the drama king himself couldn't do better.

As Wang Dong's pupils quaked, a hand crept up her leg. Bloodstained fingers wandered over her skin, writing a big "miserable" character.

Wang Dong felt as though her brain had stopped obeying her. Everything went black, her head tipped to one side, and she fainted.

Hui Ye turned around and looked at Huo Yuhao.

The corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched. He silently moved farther away to keep the blood from splashing onto him.

Hui Ye: ...

Just as Hui Ye lay on the floor, his breath as faint as a thread, Yan Shaozhe finally arrived, with the healing-type Soul Master right behind him.

The healing-type Soul Master looked over the flesh and blood scattered around them and shook his head at Yan Shaozhe.

"Dean, his forearm was completely shattered. Only his hand remains. There's no way to reattach it; that arm is ruined for good."

Yan Shaozhe frowned deeply. "Stop the bleeding first."

The healing-type Soul Master acknowledged the order and used a Soul Skill to treat Hui Ye.

In less than a minute, the wound on Hui Ye's severed arm scabbed over and healed.

Hui Ye opened his eyes and looked pitifully at Yan Shaozhe.

"Dean~ You have to stand up for your student. Teacher Zhou, she... she hit me...

Now I've only got one arm left. How am I supposed to live from now on?

How am I supposed to earn money and support my family?

Boo-hoo, waah, waah, waah..."

Hui Ye's tearful complaint left the men silent and the women in tears.

Something felt wrong to Yan Shaozhe on a subconscious level, but the boy had indeed lost an arm. That was an indisputable fact.

Yes, he had wanted Zhou Yi to discipline the boy, but he hadn't wanted her to cripple him.

That idiot Zhou Yi!

Noticing that the eyes of all the teachers and students around him were fixed on him, Yan Shaozhe's heart sank.

For an instant, he felt as though he had returned to the previous morning.

He had faced everyone from midair, forced to expel students and dismiss teachers, making decisions he had no choice but to make.

Yan Shaozhe took a deep breath, pointed at Zhou Yi, and said sternly, "Zhou Yi! Look at what you've done. You've disappointed me terribly."

"Dean, I didn't use much Soul Power. I didn't expect anything like this to happen either," Zhou Yi said aggrievedly.

"You didn't use much Soul Power? Then how did his arm get severed? Tell me."

Zhou Yi stammered. Seeing Yan Shaozhe staring at her face, she had a sudden thought and hurriedly removed her disguise, revealing her true appearance.

A breathtakingly beautiful face appeared before everyone.

Yan Shaozhe had seen Zhou Yi's true face long ago, but he was still dazzled for a moment.

Zhou Yi's voice changed. It was no longer an elderly voice; a girl's clear, melodious voice issued from her cherry lips.

"Dean, I was wrong. Please forgive me!"

Mu Jin felt a fire of anger ignite in his chest. He clenched his fists, and his Martial Soul seemed ready to burst forth at any moment.

That's exactly how it was. Back then, when Zhou Yi fought me for Fan Yu, she did the same thing.

Whenever Zhou Yi couldn't win against him, she would put on a pitiful act to win Fan Yu's sympathy.

Even when she was angry, she could make people feel sorry for her.

"Zhou Yi, that's enough!"

Mu Jin could bear it no longer.

"I don't think you've realized your mistake at all!"

"Mu Jin!"

Zhou Yi glared at Mu Jin, her eyes full of resentment, yet to everyone else she looked as though she were acting coquettish.

Mu Jin wasn't falling for it. "The person you hit was a student, so why are you apologizing to the dean? Answer me. Why?"

For a moment, Zhou Yi didn't understand what he meant.

Mu Jin continued to roar, "You haven't realized your mistake at all. You don't deserve to be a teacher, or to serve as an example to others!"

"How am I not fit to be a teacher?" Zhou Yi was so furious that she laughed instead.

Yan Shaozhe couldn't stand watching any longer. He pointed at Hui Ye, who was sitting on the floor, and spoke up to remind her.

"Zhou Yi, the person you should apologize to isn't me. It's him."

Zhou Yi's body stiffened.

Standing at the podium, Yan Shaozhe announced to the teachers and students present, "Zhou Yi is suspended from this day forward, pending notice of further punishment from the academy."

Zhou Yi was shocked. "Dean!"

Hui Ye looked up, his face mournful. "Dean, how am I supposed to support myself from now on?"

Although Yan Shaozhe felt a visceral dislike for Hui Ye, the boy's aptitude was outstanding, and he couldn't help feeling some regret.

Such a promising seedling, ruined just like that. What a pity.

"Zhou Yi, you're the one who injured him. I don't need to teach you how to compensate him, do I?"