"Mubai, clean yourself up."
"Yeah," Dai Mubai replied, his face so dark it looked like it could drip ink.
He could handle losing, but not losing so pathetically.
To make matters worse, his opponent's soul power was eight ranks lower than his, and likely someone who had only recently become a Soul Grandmaster...
He had never imagined that he wouldn't even last a single move before being put down. Being mocked by the onlookers on top of that meant he had completely lost face.
"Boss Dai..." Ma Hongjun had lost too quickly, and his heart was stifled with indignation; he felt as though he hadn't even been able to demonstrate his true strength.
However, he also knew that this whole affair had started because of him, and Dai Mubai had been beaten into this state while trying to stand up for him.
Dai Mubai wiped the blood and filth from his face and tossed the towel casually onto the ground, his voice icy: "It's nothing."
How could it be nothing?
Ma Hongjun was not blind to others' moods; his heart was in turmoil, and he kept muttering to himself. After a moment of hesitation, he leaned in and whispered into Dai Mubai's ear:
"Boss, if you feel like you didn't give it your all... do you want to... fight him again in a moment?"
While the two were whispering, Flender ignored the questions regarding the student "Wei Xiu."
Meng Yuan didn't truly intend to delve deeper into that matter either. If someone wouldn't listen to advice and insisted on going to a "pheasant" academy, whatever happened was their own fate. This was just an investment; the Ye family had no obligation to pay for an outsider's choices, and they certainly wouldn't hold a Soul Saint responsible for it.
"Since Senior Flender has apologized, let the matter end here." Meng Yuan held her daughter. "Liuyun, let's go."
"Please wait a moment," Flender called out to stop her.
"Does Senior have something else?" Meng Yuan turned back in confusion. "The sequence of events is already clear. I respect Senior's cultivation, but the Ye family is not afraid."
Flender's eyes shone as he gazed at Zhao Liuyun, his words earnest:
"I see this young brother is quite skilled and is also at the Soul Grandmaster realm. I wonder how old he is this year, and if he has a preferred Advanced Soul Master Academy in mind?"
"If you haven't decided yet, why not consider our Shrek Academy?"
"We only accept the geniuses among geniuses—monsters. We do not take ordinary soul masters."
Meng Yuan's expression fell. It was enough that you've already snared one person, and now you're coming for another?
Zhao Liuyun looked at that shrewd, calculation-filled, shoe-horn-shaped face and spoke calmly: "Someone once recommended your name to me, and I did once look forward to the so-called 'Monster Academy'."
A lie; he had never looked forward to it.
The words "did once" implied a turning point, and Flender waited for the rest.
"But seeing you today, my impression of you is very poor!" Zhao Liuyun shook his head in rejection.
"'Only the mediocre don't cause trouble' sounds domineering, but it does not align with my heart for steady cultivation."
This also fit his persona. How would a person dedicated to quiet cultivation provoke trouble for no reason unless pushed to their limit?
"Furthermore..." Zhao Liuyun paused. "After hearing such arrogant words, I thought the Soul Master world had somehow gained a Rank 99 invincible expert..."
"Hahaha! What a perfect mockery!"
A vigorous, powerful voice echoed in everyone's ears.
Flender focused his gaze as an old man of about sixty years old jumped down from a window.
"Well said! To utter such arrogant words as 'only the mediocre don't cause trouble,' I also wondered what kind of great expert was speaking?" The newcomer looked on with disdain, his gaze scraping over Flender's face like a blade.
"So it's just the four-eyed Owl, Flender, who hasn't even surpassed the Soul Saint realm."
"Shi Nian..." Flender frowned slightly. A difficult fellow had arrived.
Zhao Liuyun was startled. He naturally knew of Shi Nian, an extremely rare pure Spirit-type Soul Master. But when did he get here?
Shi Nian gazed at Zhao Liuyun, the pleasant surprise in his eyes exceptionally thick. He turned his head, completely disregarding Flender.
"Flender, I see you're regressing as you age. Having carved a piece of unpolished jade into such a mess, do you still have the face to continue recruiting students?"
"If I were you, I would commit suicide on the spot to apologize to the heroes of the world."
"What students I choose to recruit is none of your business," Flender said, his face ashen, though he only let his anger show for a moment. He knew how troublesome Shi Nian's Vicious Dream martial soul was, and he knew even better that this old freak was a petty man who sought revenge for the slightest grievance. He was not easy to deal with.
Shi Nian let out a disdainful snort and extended a fervent invitation to Zhao Liuyun:
"Shrek is trash. Liuyun, why don't you join our Blue Sunshine Advanced Soul Master Academy instead?"
"I will teach you personally!"
Zhao Liuyun felt a slight spark of interest. Considering the formation used in the Grand Competition and his attainments in the spiritual domain, Shi Nian was indeed extraordinary. He looked toward Meng Yuan.
Meng Yuan was undecided.
Shi Nian said, "Soul Emperor of the Ye family, you should understand that in the entire Soul Master world, his best teacher is me!"
Blue Sunshine was different from Shrek; it was one of the several famous Advanced Soul Master Academies in the neighboring provinces. Shi Nian was indeed one of the world's rare high-level Spirit-type Soul Masters. And Zhao Liuyun would certainly need to join an academy eventually.
However, since his past reputation was quite poor, Meng Yuan tried to find an excuse to refuse:
"Education Committee Member Meng Shenji of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, his martial soul Black Demon, is also a..."
"Eclectic but not pure!" Shi Nian said with an arrogant face. "I am a pure Spirit-type Soul Master. My insights into spiritual power are countless and my applications are manifold. I am the one walking the same path as Liuyun."
Awed by this aura, Meng Yuan could only say: "This is not for me to decide... please step aside with me to discuss this in detail."
"Wait!"
Dai Mubai suddenly spoke up to stop the group as they were about to leave. Out of respect for the White Tiger martial soul, the group paused briefly.
"Zhao Liuyun, was it? Just now, I merely underestimated my opponent. Do you dare to fight another round!" He stared at Zhao Liuyun, his anger burning like fire.
After a brief discussion with the fat little boy, Dai Mubai had resolved to fight again, swearing to reclaim the face he had just lost. To anyone else, it simply looked like he couldn't accept defeat. Dai Mubai could only play dumb and act as if he didn't know.
"Heh~" Shi Nian chuckled meaningfully.
Flender remained silent. He had witnessed the entire process and also felt that it was caused by Mubai underestimating his foe. Even if this kid Zhao Liuyun was a Spirit-type Soul Master like Shi Nian, an eight-rank gap in soul power shouldn't result in a one-shot kill before a soul skill could even be unleashed.
Zhao Liuyun said nothing. This was indeed Shrek's usual style—completely shameless.
"Hiding behind a senior, are you afraid?" Dai Mubai's gaze was contemptuous as he used a clumsy provocation. He had intended to say "woman," but fearing he might get hit, he changed it to "senior."
Meng Yuan frowned slightly, her face showing conflict. A support-type family valued peace above all; it was best not to provoke members of the Star Luo Dai family if possible. However, Zhao Liuyun was someone she valued, and his proactive protection of her daughter had already shown his worth. Now that the opponent was making an unreasonable provocation, if she didn't defend him, wouldn't the past two months of effort be wasted?
Meng Yuan asked softly, "Are you confident?"
"Yes," Zhao Liuyun nodded.
"Then fight!"
Soul power fluctuations suddenly rippled out as both sides released their martial souls.
"This time, I won't underestimate you," Dai Mubai's lips curled into a ferocious grin.
"Provoking trouble for no reason, you are very annoying, do you know that?" Zhao Liuyun's expression was indifferent as he sneered, "Furthermore, for a loser to dare speak so boldly—you have no shame at all."
"White Tiger Barrier!"
Stimulated by the word "loser," Dai Mubai's impression of Zhao Liuyun soured even further as he used the Dai family's signature first soul skill. A shield condensed from soul power circulated around his body, capable of blocking both energy and physical attacks.
He said he wouldn't underestimate his foe, and he didn't. The problem was, it couldn't block a spiritual attack!
Even in the era of Soul Guidance Devices ten thousand years later, one would need specialized spiritual defense tools to guard against spiritual attacks. How could he manage it now?
Dai Mubai didn't rashly approach again, intending instead to use White Tiger Intense Light Wave to wear him down. But Zhao Liuyun would not give him the chance to open up the distance!
[Rapid Reflex] activated. As he moved forward, he nimbly evaded the milky-white light spheres spat from Dai Mubai's mouth.
"Stopping Hostilities!"
Centering on his martial soul, a purple light wave rippled out before violently contracting toward the target. A cluster of dense purple light treated that white barrier as if it were non-existent, sinking directly into Dai Mubai's body.
Thump!
Dai Mubai's vision went dark as he lost consciousness, his body falling backward uncontrollably.
Zhao Liuyun calmly retracted his martial soul. "It's over. There's no difference."
With the battle finished, they left the area. Only Flender remained, his expression sour, as he repeatedly analyzed what had happened. Such a powerful spiritual skill... is there truly no room to resist?
Sleep...
Ma Hongjun slapped Dai Mubai's face, waking him from his slumber.
"Damn it!" Dai Mubai panted as he scrambled to his feet.