"Don't, Wang Dong. Leave this to me."
The girl pulled Wang Dong back, gratitude flashing in her beautiful eyes. To have companions like this—she felt lucky.
Then she turned slowly, facing the provocatively smirking Dai Huabin, and said coldly:
"Were it not for Brother Dai Yueheng's protection, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion would've allowed your mother to bully my mother and me to death years ago."
"You dare speak of favors? How laughable. I don't know where you find the face to say such things."
"Shut up!"
Dai Huabin's pupils widened, rage twisting his expression.
For someone who had always craved his elder brother's attention but never received it, those words struck directly at his weakest point. But Huo Yutong had no idea and pressed on.
"Compared to Brother Dai Yueheng, you're nothing but trash—your family's shame and disgrace."
"You're not even worth one of his fingers. You're nothing but a reflection of your mother, the Duchess." (Later, this misunderstanding will be cleared up.)
"You dare insult my mother!"
Fury consumed Dai Huabin as the White Tiger Spirit possessed him. Under his feet, yellow, yellow, purple—three soul rings rose.
The aura of a three-ring Soul Elder burst forth, shocking the crowd of onlookers into retreating in fear of being caught in the clash.
"If it's a fight you want, then this young master will gladly oblige!"
Wang Dong's eyes flashed. Yellow and purple rings rose at his feet, and he stepped forward, blocking Yutong without yielding an inch.
Xiao Xiao also summoned her great cauldron overhead, her little face set in grim determination.
On the opposite side, Zhu Lu, seeing Dai Huabin release his spirit, summoned her Netherworld Spirit Cat. Two rings—yellow and yellow—glowed beneath her, a two-ring Grandmaster.
Cui Yajie naturally took her place at their side.
The atmosphere grew taut, a hair's breadth from violence.
This confrontation drew even more attention because both sides were considered rising stars in the first years. Dai Huabin, one of the rare Soul Elders in their grade, was powerful and the legitimate son of the White Tiger Duke.
And across from him stood Wang Dong, who had stunned the entire academy earlier with his thousand-year second ring.
The clash between them was a spectacle no one wanted to miss.
"Silence."
A calm voice cut through the tension.
The noisy crowd froze, all eyes turning toward the figure in azure robes approaching slowly from beyond.
"Teacher Neuvillette!"
At once, the three children dismissed their spirits, lowering their heads like guilty kids, sneaking glances at their teacher's unreadable expression.
Fighting among students was strictly forbidden at Shrek Academy. Severe violations could even result in expulsion.
Neuvillette ignored the three and instead fixed his gaze on Dai Huabin, who obediently dismissed his spirit, though his teeth were clenched in fury.
"Wang Dong," Neuvillette said mildly, hands clasped behind his back. "Explain."
"They started it! Dai Huabin blocked us and said Yutong and her mother were—were…"
Wang Dong, encouraged by his teacher's presence, grew bolder, pointing furiously at Dai Huabin.
"That's enough. I understand." Neuvillette nodded slightly.
"So, Dai Huabin—what Wang Dong said. Is it true?"
"I… I… It is true. So what?" Dai Huabin roared back, resentment burning in his eyes. He knew Neuvillette was their teacher and, therefore, biased toward them. His anger spilled over even at Neuvillette himself.
"Aren't they just—"
Pfft!
Before he could finish, a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips as his body was hurled backwards, crashing into the crowd.
"You—you, what are you doing?!"
Zhu Lu's face paled as she rushed to his side to check his condition.
"Insulting classmates, provoking conflict… Dai Huabin, this is not the White Tiger Duke's Mansion."
Neuvillette's voice was calm and cool.
Normally, he wouldn't have bothered with such petty squabbles. But since his three students were involved, and since the provocation was clear— especially when those forbidden words were about to be spoken—he couldn't let it pass.
If he didn't enforce the rules, what good was Shrek Academy's order?
"Teacher Neuvillette, please, it's a misunderstanding!"
Mu Jin rushed over in alarm. After confirming Dai Huabin's injuries were superficial, she secretly sighed in relief and then forced a smile.
"Huabin's temper is too impulsive. This matter is indeed his fault. I'll discipline him properly afterward."
But inside, she was cursing her luck.
Of all people, they had to offend him.
This was the man who spoke casually with Yan Shaozhe, who had personally expelled Zhou Yi, and whose arrival had already shaken the academy.
If her strongest student ended up expelled now, she'd have nowhere to cry.
"As long as that's clear."
Neuvillette smiled faintly, glancing at Mu Jin's forced expression.
Then, leading the three little ones—heads lowered, though joy lit their faces—he began to walk away.
But behind them, a furious voice rang out:
"I won't let you off! Just wait! I'll spread word back to the Mansion that you changed your name and insulted my mother. You may be safe here in Shrek, but your mother will pay the price!"
Dai Huabin's face twisted with venom.
When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
At Shrek, Mu Jin always catered to him. He was strong, admired as one of the grade's elites. Zhu Lu fawned over him without question. At home, the Duchess doted on him endlessly.
Naturally, he had grown arrogant.
Otherwise, in the original story, would he have gone so far as to send people to hunt down Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong?
The girl's expression froze, her heart plummeting.
She had never thought Dai Huabin's pettiness ran this deep. She hadn't even cursed—she had been careful, trying to avoid implicating her mother.
But he still—
It was like thunder out of a clear sky.
She was here at Shrek. She couldn't rush back. And even if she did, what could she do?
The Duke's Mansion had no shortage of strong soul masters—even Soul Saints.
She was only a Grandmaster. What power did she have?
A helpless despair washed over her.
Then, one thought flashed through her mind.
But guilt quickly followed.
If not for His Highness the Holy Son's protection these past years, she and her mother would never have survived in the Duke's Mansion.
She hadn't even repaid that kindness. And now, once again, would she trouble His Highness?
She lowered her head, despair written across her delicate face.
And then—an icy chill swept across the courtyard.
She raised her eyes—and her pupils constricted.
That deep-blue figure had stopped. His ornate staff struck the ground with a soft tap.
Under the clear sky and blazing sun, the air's warmth plummeted.
The hush before a storm.
Mu Jin swallowed nervously, terror plain in her eyes.
"Teacher Neuvillette, please, calm yourself—he's just a child…"
But Neuvillette turned, his gaze colder than winter, fixed on Dai Huabin—whose body had frozen stiff as every vein in him iced over, terror flooding his face.
"Repeat what you just said."