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In the heart of Spirit Hall, inside the Pope's private bedchamber, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Hu Liena had just finished looking at the photos in the group chat, and her expression was unreadable. She quietly left the room to fetch a pot of hot water.
After carefully adjusting the temperature in the foot-washing basin, she walked back in with a soft smile on her face. She looked at Bibi Dong and called out gently, "Teacher, I've prepared the water for you. Getting the temperature just right is always the first step to relaxing!"
Bibi Dong was fuming, her face turning a shade of red from pure anger. "You..." she started, but the words seemed to catch in her throat. She couldn't believe what was happening. "Damn it! This is just too much! That little scoundrel, Su Yan, is clearly plotting against me. And Hu Liena, what do you think you're doing? Did I ever tell you that I wanted you to wash my feet?"
Ignoring her teacher's outburst, Hu Liena reached out and firmly but gently grabbed Bibi Dong's jade-like foot. She tossed the high heels aside without a second thought and looked up with a very serious expression. "Teacher, please just relax and wash your feet. It will help you feel better."
Bibi Dong felt like she was about to die of anger. She was the Pope of Spirit Hall, a powerful Titled Douluo, yet here she was being forced into a foot bath by her own disciple. Before she could find her voice to protest again, Hu Liena let out a small gasp of surprise. "Teacher, your feet are so white and smooth. They're actually very beautiful. I never expected you to be so perfect in every single way. Honestly, how can that old woman Bo Saixi even compare to a perfect teacher like you?"
Bibi Dong was stunned for a moment. The sudden compliment caught her off guard, and her anger cooled just a tiny bit. She replied coldly, "Don't talk nonsense. Bo Saixi is a defeated opponent. She doesn't have the strength or the right to be compared to me." Deep down, Bibi Dong thought to herself that there were even more perfect things about her that Hu Liena hadn't even seen yet. However, she quickly snapped back to reality. "Wait a minute! Who allowed you to grab my feet? Who said you could put them in the water? You ungrateful wretch, let go!"
Meanwhile, over at the hotel, the scene was much louder. Su Yan was standing with his friends, trying to manage the chaotic energy of the group. He reached out and gently patted Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu on their shoulders. "That's enough for now, you two. Why don't you go and get to know Little Wild Goose and Lingling? I need to go over and say hello to Tang San and the others."
"Oh, alright," Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu said in unison. They both looked a bit disappointed but reluctantly released their hold on Su Yan.
Dugu Yan, ever the cheerful one, stepped forward and gave Ning Rongrong a warm hug. "Hehe! Little Princess, we finally meet face to face!"
Ning Rongrong looked at Dugu Yan's happy face and pouted slightly. She leaned in and whispered into Dugu Yan's ear, "Just remember, don't try to cut in line!"
Ye Lingling couldn't help it and burst out laughing at the comment. She turned to the others and introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Ye Lingling. Since Little Wild Goose is my best friend, I'm sure you already know who I am, right?"
Zhu Zhuqing offered a small, polite smile. "I'm Zhu Zhuqing. It's nice to meet you."
Xiao Wu nodded her head thoughtfully. "Hello! My name is Xiao Wu. It's the Wu that means dancing."
Ye Lingling blinked, looking curious. "Oh? Does that mean you are very good at dancing?" Xiao Wu didn't know how to respond to that and just stared back, looking confused.
Nearby, Ma Hongjun was watching the whole exchange with wide eyes. He felt completely bewildered by how many beautiful girls were surrounding Su Yan. He leaned over and whispered to Dai Mubai, "Man, this guy Su Yan seems to be quite amazing, doesn't he?"
Dai Mubai looked troubled. He knew Su Yan was powerful and impressive, but this was on a different level. He remembered when Ning Rongrong just wanted to compete with Zhu Zhuqing, but now there were so many women involved. What shocked him the most was that they hadn't even started fighting with each other yet. "What do you mean 'amazing'?" Dai Mubai muttered. "This is beyond crazy."
Su Yan ignored the chatter and walked straight up to Tang San. Without warning, he reached out and pinched Tang San's face with both hands. He pulled and squeezed until Tang San's face was completely deformed. "Tang San! I really missed you so much, buddy!" Su Yan shouted excitedly.
Tang San was frozen. Just a moment ago, he was thinking about how Xiao Wu had hugged Su Yan. He thought that if Su Yan hugged him too, it would be like he was sharing a hug with Xiao Wu. But he never expected this. He was horrified that Su Yan would greet him by pulling on his face like a child. "You... you scoundrel!" Tang San thought, his eyes burning with annoyance. "You've really crossed the line this time. Do you even understand that you're courting death?"
After he finished messing with Tang San, Su Yan turned his attention to the others. "Dai Mubai, Oscar," he said with a bright smile.
The two of them immediately took a half-step back. They looked at Tang San's red cheeks and feared that Su Yan was going to greet them the same way. Su Yan just laughed at their reaction. He was in a great mood. He then turned his head to look at the group of students from Canghui Academy who were sitting at a nearby table. He looked back at Dai Mubai and asked, "So, were you guys showing off and causing trouble again while I was away?"
Dai Mubai crossed his arms and replied coldly, "It's just a small group from Canghui Academy. They're nothing to worry about."
The students from Canghui Academy had heard enough. They couldn't hold back their anger any longer. Two of them slammed their hands down on the wooden table, making the plates rattle. "What did you just say?" one of them shouted. "Why do you keep humiliating our academy? You've provoked us over and over. Do you think we don't have a temper?"
Su Yan sighed and shook his head helplessly. He looked at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun. "You two should go over there and apologize to them. Let's just settle this matter and move on with our day."
Dai Mubai nodded slightly at first. "Sure, letting them apologize is fine. I'll consider it a favor to you... Wait a minute!" He stopped and stared at Su Yan. "You want us to apologize to them?"
Oscar and Tang San were also stunned. They looked at Su Yan as if he had grown a second head. Ma Hongjun stepped forward, looking very arrogant. "Hey! Who do you think you are, kid? Just because you know Tang San doesn't mean we have to listen to you. You actually expect us to apologize?"
Oscar quickly grabbed Ma Hongjun's arm and whispered a warning. "Fatty, be quiet! That's Su Yan. He's the student who entered the academy at the same time as Tang San. His strength is even higher than Boss Dai's."
Ma Hongjun's confident posture deflated a little when he heard that, but he still looked stubborn. "Even if he's strong, we can't just apologize to those guys!"
Su Yan looked at the group and spoke calmly. "Look, even though I just got here, I can see what happened. Those students didn't do anything to you. You two were the ones who actively went out of your way to provoke them. If it were just the two of you here today, I wouldn't care what you did. But Zhu Zhuqing and the others are with us now. We are all on the same side. If you start a fight and we help you, it would look like we are just bullies looking for trouble. I don't want my friends to be seen as those kinds of people."
He continued, "On the other hand, if we don't help you, we look heartless and like we don't care about our teammates. That's a lose-lose situation. So, the best way to fix this is for you two to apologize right now and end the conflict."
Ye Lingling and her group nodded. They thought Su Yan's logic made a lot of sense. Even the Little Monkey on Su Yan's shoulder seemed to agree, as it stared at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun with a judgmental look.
"You..." Dai Mubai was furious, but as soon as he locked eyes with the Little Monkey, he felt a chill run down his spine. He swallowed his angry words and stayed silent.
Ma Hongjun, however, didn't know how dangerous Su Yan really was. He snapped, "I don't care what kind of person you want to be. That's your business! Why are you trying to tell us what to do?"
Tang San frowned, clearly thinking hard about the situation. Oscar felt the tension rising and tried to play peacemaker. "Su Yan, why don't we just let it go? To be honest, this is just the style of our academy."
Su Yan couldn't help but laugh when he heard that. "Oscar, you really need to rethink how you see the world. Don't let yourself be led astray by Yu Xiaogang or Flender's nonsense about how 'not daring to cause trouble makes you a bad Spirit Master.' Today, you feel brave because Zhao Wuji is here to protect you.
You might be the boss today, but you won't be the boss forever. Arrogance is a personality trait. Your teachers can't protect you for your entire life. Once you let yourself become an arrogant person, you'll be stuck with that attitude forever. Do you understand how dangerous that is?"
Oscar lowered his head in shame. He hadn't seen a problem with their behavior before, but hearing Su Yan explain it so clearly made him realize how risky it was.
Su Yan then turned to Tang San. "Tang San, do you cultivate and work so hard to become stronger just so you can bully people who are weaker than you?"
Tang San, who always tried to stay true to his morals, immediately argued back. "No! I would never do something like that! It's not possible."
Su Yan nodded, looking satisfied. "Good. So tell me, is there actually a problem with making Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun apologize for being bullies?"
Tang San sighed. "No, there's no problem with that." He couldn't find a way to argue against Su Yan's logic without sounding like a hypocrite.
Oscar looked over at Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, waiting for them to move. Dai Mubai was still very unhappy about the situation, but he was too intimidated by Su Yan to keep arguing. He finally gave in and prepared to apologize.
Ma Hongjun, however, was as stubborn as a mule. He crossed his arms and yelled, "I don't care! I'm not apologizing to anyone!"
Su Yan smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. "That's fine. If talking to you doesn't work, I also know how to use my fists. Little Monkey, take him outside and teach him some manners. Subdue him with virtue."
Bang!
Before anyone could even blink or see what happened, Ma Hongjun was hit with a powerful force and sent flying out of the room. The Little Monkey chirped and flew after him instantly. Everyone else in the room just stood there with their mouths open, completely shocked by what had just happened.