Chapter 127: Xiao Yan, You Know How to Play Along
Once Teacher Li confirmed that everyone was unharmed, Yan Shaozhe's gaze settled upon Furina. His tone was more deliberate than before, even carrying a faint, barely discernible note of negotiation: "Since the several of you are now unharmed, let this matter rest here for the time being. Once your three companions regain consciousness, I must trouble you to relay that what transpired by the lakeside today shall be regarded as an unforeseen incident. There is no need to pursue it further, nor any necessity to speak of it beyond this circle. As for the academy... it will naturally offer you compensation."
His thoughts raced. The negative example of Zhou Yi was still fresh before his eyes. As the Dean, if he handled this poorly before this sharp-tongued, mysteriously-backed young woman, there was every chance he might suffer the same fate. Furthermore, Elder Mu had specifically instructed him to pay special attention to this girl.
Judging by her talent, her strength, and even her identities as the "Pope of the Church of the Water God" and the "Water God" herself, along with that equally gifted Huo Yuhao by her side—these two were monsters among monsters. Even scouring the entire outer courtyard, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could compare. Talents such as these had to be retained by the academy at all costs. The lofty, condescending attitude of old had to be set aside now.
Especially after one ill-considered question from himself had immediately drawn such a merciless retort—it was more than proof that this girl was strong-willed, razor-sharp of mind, and by no means someone easily handled. If he failed to properly placate her, bad blood would undoubtedly fester.
With this in mind, Yan Shaozhe cast aside his hesitation and directly named his price: "As compensation for this unfortunate incident, and as an expression of the academy's apologies, I shall grant you two Soul Ascension Pills, one soul bone with a cultivation age exceeding fifty thousand years, and an additional ten-thousand-year soul bone. Furthermore, each of you shall receive one million gold soul coins."
He paused, his tone growing increasingly earnest. "Human life is, after all, a matter of paramount importance. Wealth, in the end, can scarcely measure the value of a life—let alone the safety of students of your prodigious talent. As for the soul bones, I shall also strive to select ones with attributes that resonate well with each of you, as a gesture of sincerity."
He spoke these words almost with the mindset of "paying a fortune to ward off calamity" while simultaneously "investing in the future." He had no desire to follow in Zhou Yi's footsteps, and even less to earn Furina's enmity. Thus, he raised the stakes as high as he could, aiming to settle the incident in one fell swoop, leave a favorable impression, and pave the way for potential future recruitment.
Furina had originally been calculating that if Yan Shaozhe let slip even a hint of loophole or a trace of arrogance in his speech, she would seize upon it relentlessly and give him a thorough "working over" to extract even more benefits.
But seeing his attitude so thoroughly lowered, his offered compensation so startlingly "sincere"—especially that soul bone exceeding fifty thousand years, which throughout the long span from Douluo Dalu 1 to 4 remained an invaluable treasure that could be sought but rarely found—the calculating edge in her heart dulled. She even felt a faint urge to quip: Xiao Yan, you really do know how to play along.
Aloud, she merely displayed a precisely measured hint of "grudgingly accepting" reserve and nodded. "Since the Dean has shown such sincerity, it would be discourteous of us to refuse. We thank the Dean for his consideration."
Seeing her agree, Yan Shaozhe felt a measure of relief. He maintained the solemn expression befitting a Dean and nodded. "No thanks are necessary. It was, in truth, the academy's failing in supervision. Rendering an explanation and compensation to the affected students is only right." He set his posture very squarely, placing the blame entirely upon the academy.
Then, shifting his tone, he voiced the greatest puzzle in his heart: "However, there is one matter that greatly perplexes this Dean. How exactly did you manage to subdue Xiaotao... that is, this red-haired Inner Courtyard student? She is a Soul Emperor, and her flames are domineering in the extreme. Yet the highest soul power among you—yourself—is merely at the four-ring Soul Ancestor level, and judging by the characteristics of your martial soul, it seems inclined toward support. Student Huo Yuhao is even only at three rings, his primary martial soul being Spirit Eyes, his first soul skill likewise demonstrating supportive capabilities. Could it be... that one of you possesses a second martial soul of an ultimate attribute? Or was there external aid?"
This was the only plausible explanation he could conceive.
No other teachers had been on the scene, and an ordinary outer courtyard teacher at the Soul Emperor level would likely have been unable to swiftly subdue the rampaging Ma Xiaotao, and might even have been harmed in the attempt.
Upon hearing this, Furina raised a single finger to her lips in a playful yet resolute gesture of secrecy. A glint of mischief flashed through her eyes. "My apologies, Dean. On this question, I must beg your leave to refrain from answering for the time being. Perhaps at some suitable moment in the future, we shall reveal our cards. But for now... please permit us to keep a few small secrets."
Her tone was light, but the refusal was crisp and decisive, leaving no room for argument.
Yan Shaozhe fell silent for a moment. As expected—this girl was far more difficult to handle than he had anticipated. Impervious to both soft and hard approaches, meticulous and canny of thought. Naturally, he could not—and would not—force an answer out of her here.
Yet Furina did not let the matter drop. She steered the conversation in a new direction, her tone turning pointed and meaningful. "That said, esteemed Dean..."
"Yes? Is there something else?" Yan Shaozhe's heart tightened. He had a foreboding premonition.
"But of course there is." Furina met his gaze directly, her eyes clear and bright. "I should like to discuss the root cause of the fault in this incident."
"Judging by the way you all came rushing over in such frantic haste just now, and the fact that this senior... ah, senior sister, was it? That her cultivation deviation and rampage are likely... not happening for the first time, are they?" Her tone was even, but each word struck like an awl.
Yan Shaozhe's breath caught almost imperceptibly. He had assumed that once the compensation was settled, this matter could be laid to rest. He had not imagined this girl would be so relentless, driving straight to the heart of the issue. Silence could not resolve the problem. In the end, his expression complicated, he could only nod in acknowledgment of the fact.
Seeing this, Furina let out a soft sigh, but her tone grew only sharper. "Just as I suspected. As the ancients said, 'Lax teaching is the negligence of the master.' A student goes astray in her training, teetering on the brink of losing control—and as her teacher, you failed to perceive it in time or to effectively restrain her. That is a dereliction of duty. It is fortuitous that she encountered us today, and that we possess some capacity for self-defense. Had it been other, weaker freshmen, caught beneath those berserk flames—would they not have lost their lives in vain? And in that event, of what use would even the most lavish compensation be? Could it bring back the dead?"
She paused briefly, allowing the weight of her words to settle, then continued: "Furthermore, when a student errs and harms others, the one who instructed her can hardly evade responsibility. A very large portion of that responsibility ought to fall upon you, as her teacher. I find it exceedingly difficult to understand how a Titled Douluo, leading a considerable number of instructors who are at least Soul Sages, could fail to stop a single Soul Emperor student under his own tutelage, allowing her to charge unchecked into the outer courtyard area..."
At this point, even Furina couldn't help but grumble inwardly. The original plot's logic here was truly somewhat absurd. First, a Titled Douluo leading a team fails to stop a mere Soul Emperor student. Later, a rank 98 Xuanzi fails to catch a Soul King-level evil soul master, apparently forgetting even basic soul power suppression, and even allows the enemy to abduct students.
On closer thought, during the tenure of these two "talents" overseeing Shrek, they had indeed stirred up no shortage of absurdities, and the geniuses they indirectly caused the deaths of were far from few. She shook her head inwardly and suppressed these complaints.
Yan Shaozhe, having listened to this lucid, incisive interrogation that hit every vital point, felt his expression shift subtly. She was not wrong. This was indeed not the first time. What unsettled him more was Furina's attitude.
An ordinary person—even a scion of nobility or a major sect—confronted with compensation of soul bones, Soul Ascension Pills, and a colossal sum of gold, would have been beside themselves with joy. Who would still be so composedly pursuing responsibility and dissecting fault? This girl's temperament, the breadth of her vision, and the backing she relied upon... were truly unnerving.
He could not help but raise his estimation of that "Church of the Water God" by several more notches. For a newly risen power, that its core member could remain so "unmoved" by treasures like soul bones... the depth of its foundation and the scale of its ambitions were likely far beyond his imagination.
Furina did not stop. Like a detached observer, she continued her "diagnosis" for Shrek: "In my opinion, the internal management issues of Shrek Academy have likely festered into deep-rooted ills. When even a Dean of your high station can commit such a fundamental oversight in supervision, if this persists, I fear that the gilded signboard of 'The Continent's Number One Academy' is truly in jeopardy."
She shifted tack, as if offering a careless pointer: "Ah, right. If one truly had the students' welfare at heart, solving this evil fire problem might not be without other avenues of thought. For instance, bringing her to the Far North to cultivate—what do you think? It is sparsely populated, a world of ice and snow where the environment inherently suppresses flame. It might effectively curb the risk of her cultivation deviations. Or, one could seek out certain rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures with counteracting attributes to harmonize her condition."
Of course, Furina was perfectly aware of another, more "traditional" solution—finding a partner of the opposite sex to channel the carnal desires spawned by the evil fire. But with Ma Xiaotao's temperament, she would absolutely never accept such a method.
She merely found it tragically ironic that Shrek, with its ten-thousand-year accumulation, had been so utterly helpless before the mere problem of a "Evil Fire Phoenix" for so many years. The pitiable efficiency of their research was thus plain to see. This, she supposed, was a "traditional specialty" of the Douluo Continent—progress in so many areas always seemed to depend on external stimulus or the impetus of a protagonist.
After listening, a flicker of dawning comprehension and contemplation did indeed pass through Yan Shaozhe's eyes. Bring Ma Xiaotao to the Far North? That was a direction he had never contemplated in detail. But concerns immediately followed: "What you say is not without merit. However, the Far North is perilous in the extreme. Its danger might even exceed that of the Great Star Dou Forest's core region. To send Xiaotao there alone would, I fear, be inappropriate."
Furina nearly burst out laughing at his "unique" train of thought and hurriedly suppressed it. Exasperated, she retorted, "Who said anything about sending her alone? Aren't you her teacher? Escort her personally, as a Titled Douluo, or invite one or two Pavilion Elders to accompany you—wouldn't that suffice? Simply search for a suitable cultivation site in the outer reaches of the Far North. Do not venture deep into the core territories of those Savage Beasts. Do not proactively provoke or hunt soul beasts. Those Savage Beasts may not necessarily attack without cause. Of course—"
She deliberately drew out her tone. "If you yourselves are senseless enough to insist on charging in and going on a slaughter spree, then if you are subsequently hunted down, don't go blaming me for the suggestion."
She was beginning to find communicating with this Dean genuinely taxing. She waved her hand and directly issued an order of dismissal: "Alright, alright, Dean. Please take your student—who is in dire need of rest and recuperation—and depart. And do remember: the compensation you agreed to, please ensure it is delivered in a timely fashion." The impatience in her voice was now unmistakable.
In her view, among Shrek's upper echelons, aside from Wang Yan and that deeply secluded Elder Mu, everyone else more or less had a few "screws loose." The decision-makers, especially, were each more unreliable than the last. No wonder, in later ages, the Sun Moon Federation viewed Shrek as a threat akin to an independent kingdom and was determined to eradicate it before it was too late. In the even more distant future, Shrek would partition Douluo Star into a tripartite balance with the Federation and Spirit Pagoda, the situation growing ever more complex.
Yan Shaozhe watched Furina's manner of command that was practically "the guest usurping the host's role," and a dull frustration clogged his chest. This was Shrek Academy. He was the dignified Dean. Yet here he was, being lectured and directed by a freshman. Where was his dignity? And yet, he was in the wrong, and every word she said struck true. He found himself utterly speechless, forced to swallow this suffocating grievance whole.
The teachers who had accompanied him were also exchanging glances, their expressions exceedingly strange. The Dean, rendered completely speechless by a student... if word of this scene got out, no one would believe it. It could practically become the Academy's joke of the year.
Yan Shaozhe drew a deep breath. He said no more. He bent down and gathered the unconscious Ma Xiaotao into his arms. Addressing the other teachers in a low voice, he commanded: "We're leaving."
Then, tilting his head toward Furina, he added one final remark to preserve some vestige of decorum: "Regarding the compensation—I shall have Teacher Wang Yan liaise with you subsequently."
The other teachers remained silent. Following Yan Shaozhe, they rose into the air one after another, transforming into streaks of light, and swiftly swept across the shimmering surface of Sea God's Lake toward the direction of the island at its heart.
Only when she had confirmed that the figures of Yan Shaozhe and his retinue had completely vanished in the direction of the lake's heart island did Furina turn around. Facing the three "dutiful" casualties on the ground, she clapped her hands and declared with a sprightly tone:
"Alright, alright. The show's over. All you award-winning actors and actresses, you can get up now—the ground is cold."