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"I have my own rhythm, don't worry. Someone like Zhou Yi, a cancer in the system, will eventually be brought to justice," Yan Shaozhe said with a face full of righteousness.
"Of course. I don't have that much free time either. But if she dares to provoke me first…" Su Wen grinned.
"Mhm." Yan Shaozhe nodded absentmindedly. As if any teacher in the outer court would dare provoke this little devil… Zhou Yi might not be the brightest, but she at least knows that much.
Right now, all his focus was on recruiting a disciple.
In the afternoon matches, the moment other teams realized their opponents were Su Wen's squad, their expressions turned darker than the bottom of a pot. Almost all of them gave up without a fight. Charging in when you knew you couldn't win would only demoralize your entire team—especially against a monster like Su Wen.
The next day was scheduled with five matches, and in just three days the round-robin stage was finished.
Nearly half the students were eliminated from the academy. The brutal, almost merciless exam made the survivors feel relieved yet unsatisfied—but not resentful. After all, with their level of talent, there were plenty of other academies to choose from. In fact, during this time of year, teachers from countless schools would wander around Shrek City, hoping to "pick up bargains" among the eliminated.
Reaching level fifteen before the age of twelve might only be considered average talent at Shrek Academy, a place swarming with monsters. But in the broader continent, across countless advanced academies, such talent could indeed be called "genius."
With steady progress, such students had a high chance of breaking through to Soul King, even Soul Emperor. For mid-sized sects or advanced academies, that level of achievement was already considered a cornerstone figure.
But those expelled directly by Zhou Yi were usually branded with a permanent "black mark."
And that was a very different matter entirely.
Elimination for poor performance was one thing. Expulsion for so-called "character problems" was something else altogether.
Unless you had a background as deep as Dai Huabin's—enough to transfer into another class and stay at Shrek regardless—most students without powerful backing would carry that black mark for life, suffering from it endlessly.
On top of that, Zhou Yi's temper was erratic, and she frequently punished students harshly.
This was why so many expelled by her carried such deep resentment.
With a large group of students leaving, the freshmen dormitories became noticeably emptier.
Meanwhile, the team with Xiao Xiao began revealing their true strength, winning eight matches in a row.
Chen Yanjin wasn't weak, and with a double–Soul Grandmaster team plus the gradually improving Huo Yuhao, they steadily rose in prominence. Zhou Yi was elated, though whenever she looked at Xiao Xiao her gaze turned cold, filled with the bitterness of "iron that refuses to turn into steel."
Of course, Huo Yuhao's luck as the "child of destiny" also showed its perks.
In a few matches, sheer luck allowed them to snatch victories against the odds.
This drew the attention of Wang Yan, who even reported it to the academy. Even Yan Shaozhe personally came to ask Su Wen about his thoughts on Huo Yuhao. Su Wen simply replied with a few words: "So-so." After that, Yan Shaozhe never asked again.
Instead, his attention stayed fixed on Xiao Xiao. But for some reason, he held back and didn't act. When asked, he only said he was waiting for the right moment.
Three more days passed.
The round-robin tournament concluded, and the results were announced.
Su Wen's team naturally took first place. Dai Huabin's team placed second, and Xie Huanyue's came third. Since none of them had faced each other, all three teams maintained perfect 10–0 records.
Of New Class Two's ninety-nine students, seventy-eight remained. This was partly due to the strong student base and partly thanks to Mu Jin's teaching.
By contrast, Zhou Yi's class fared far worse.
Out of fifty-four students, only thirty-eight were left after eliminations.
Da-da-da—
In New Class One, Zhou Yi entered with a dark expression.
She slapped a grade sheet down on the desk.
"Shameful! In this round-robin, only four of our eighteen teams made it into the top sixty-four! And the highest placement we got was from Chen Yanjin's team—eleventh place! And that was only because they faced the strongest squads and still managed to win seven matches. The rest of you? Barely scraping the passing line. A bunch of pigs!"
The classroom fell silent. Every student hung their head.
Every student, that is, except Huo Yuhao, whose face was lit with joy.
Eleventh place! He had done it!
As class monitor, he had been questioned and doubted all along, but today he finally had an answer for them all.
His back straightened proudly.
"Hmph!"
After announcing the results, Zhou Yi swept the room with her gaze. She cast an approving glance at Huo Yuhao, then turned her eyes on the trembling Xiao Xiao. Adjusting her glasses, her voice turned sharp:
"Xiao Xiao, follow me to the office."
A few minutes later.
Zhou Yi leaned back, legs crossed, staring coldly at Xiao Xiao, who sat stubborn and unyielding before her.
"If you hadn't run into Su Wen's team, your squad could've had eight wins. That would've put you in the top seven! With a seeded position in the finals, you could've claimed a soul bone as a reward. Wouldn't that have been nice?" she coaxed, pretending patience.
"You should know better than anyone how important core disciple status is, right? Hmph? If you had attached both your soul rings already, your chances of breaking into the top three would be much greater."
"But… but I heard even the top ten, if they perform well in matches, can still earn core disciple status," Xiao Xiao replied weakly.
"What?" Zhou Yi raised a brow, eyes narrowing.
She dared question her?
A faint unease crept into Zhou Yi's chest. This timid girl seemed to be slipping out of her control.
"I didn't expect you to be so selfish, Xiao Xiao. I really misjudged you." Zhou Yi's voice grew louder, loud enough for passing students and teachers in the hall to overhear. The weight of the moment pressed heavily on Xiao Xiao's chest, making it hard to breathe.
"As a team member, you only care about your own gain, unwilling to sacrifice for others. You hear a few baseless rumors and suddenly start doubting your teacher. Sigh…"
Zhou Yi massaged her temples, face full of feigned exhaustion.
"And another thing—your performance this term has been mediocre. If not for your obedient, well-behaved nature, I would've already dealt with you more strictly. But now…"
"Well, that's all for now. Go back and think it over carefully."
New Class Two.
Su Wen sat by the window in the back row, leisurely eating a peeled orange Ning Tian handed him.
But a commotion rose outside.
Wang Dong stormed in, dragging Xiao Xiao along, his face furious. He stopped right in front of Su Wen.
"That witch is forcing Xiao Xiao to add soul rings again! All for the sake of grades—she's completely shameless! She even wants her to add two at once!"
Hearing this, Xie Huanyue and Xue Ling came over too, equally indignant.
"…."
Su Wen frowned. Dean Yan still hasn't acted?
Fine then. I won't bother being polite.
"Xiao Xiao?" He lifted his eyes toward the porcelain-doll–like girl.
"Ah, senior… no, Su Wen-brother… no, Great Demon King…" Xiao Xiao's face flushed red, tripping over her words.
"Forget it, just call me Su Wen," he said, twitching his mouth and waving it off.
"I'll go talk to Director Du Weilun later. Starting today, you'll transfer to New Class Two. A twin martial soul should never be wasted like this."
Su Wen stood, expression calm.
But then he hesitated. "Actually, never mind. Xie Huanyue, go call Director Du here. I'm too lazy to walk over."
Xie Huanyue: ???
Do I really have that much pull?
"Just use my name," Su Wen said, sitting back down. "If anything, blame Dean Yan for dragging his feet. Let Du Weilun take it up with him. After all, this whole situation is already a direct challenge to Shrek's rules. If it blows up, the Martial Soul Department's director will have to clean up the mess anyway."
"Got it!"
Xie Huanyue grinned and shot off like the wind.
(End of Chapter)