"They've already left?"
Zhou Yi, who moments ago had been dismissive of Mu Jin's outburst, suddenly widened her eyes. Her composure shattered instantly, her face a mask of disbelief.
They had actually left. All of them.
How was that possible?
Did they not know that Shrek Academy was the number one institution on the continent? Countless people broke their backs just trying to get in. How could they possibly leave? How did they dare to leave?
And if they were gone, what would happen to her?
In that instant, a flurry of thoughts raced through Zhou Yi's mind. She feigned calm and said, "Mu Jin, quit trying to deceive me. Wu Feng is standing right here, isn't she? I know you're only saying this because you resent me for taking your position as the Class One homeroom teacher..."
"So you admit you stole the position that rightfully belonged to me?" Mu Jin countered.
Seeing Mu Jin respond this way, Zhou Yi's tone grew defiant again. "As I thought, you're just here to exact your petty revenge."
"Enough!" Du Weilun, who had been suppressing a mountain of rage, could no longer listen to another word.
He looked toward Wu Feng and said, "Wu Feng, you tell us."
Wu Feng nodded and immediately recounted the process of Feng Piaoling and the others leaving, "honestly and accurately."
She detailed how Zhou Yi had stripped Feng Piaoling of his eligibility to run for class monitor on the pretext of being "late," how she had forcibly established a "class rule" that questioning a teacher resulted in expulsion, and how she had unilaterally appointed Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin as monitors.
Wu Feng explained how she had questioned these actions and was expelled by Zhou Yi, followed by Feng Piaoling's arrival and Zhou Yi's subsequent expulsion of a whole group of core disciples, including him. She even mentioned how Zhou Yi had thrown Teacher Wang Yan out of the classroom.
Finally, she explained that Feng Piaoling and the other core disciples, unable to bear the humiliation of being expelled, had left Shrek Academy to seek their fortunes elsewhere. As for herself, because she was a disciple of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had a mission to protect her young master, Ning Tian, she had not left with them. Instead, she had sought out Teacher Mu Jin.
The more Du Weilun heard, the more his fury mounted, the veins on his forehead bulging. In the past, he had tolerated Zhou Yi's arbitrary behavior because she usually only expelled mediocre students who were inconsequential to the academy.
But this time, she had been arrogant enough to expel more than half of the core disciples, leaving behind only a handful of "stray cats and dogs."
And then there was Feng Piaoling. He was a twin martial soul user—the same rare talent as the Sea God, Tang San. At only eleven years old, his soul power had already reached Rank 36. His future potential was beyond measure. At the very least, he would have become an Elder of the Sea God Pavilion; it was even possible he could have become its Master.
Yet, this fool Zhou Yi had driven him away.
Still oblivious to the gravity of the situation, Zhou Yi heard Wu Feng describe her act of kicking them out of Class One as "expelling them from Shrek Academy" and barked, "Presumptuous!"
"You're the one who's presumptuous!" Du Weilun glared at Zhou Yi, his eyes bloodshot and filled with rage.
"Zhou Yi, do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? Feng Piaoling was someone the Dean personally valued! The Elders of the Sea God Pavilion had already begun discussing how to cultivate him for the future!"
"I don't care what method you use. Now, immediately, this instant—go and bring Feng Piaoling and the others back!"
"If you don't, prepare to be expelled yourself. Even Fan Yu will be dragged down by your actions!"
He then turned to Wang Yan and Mu Jin. "Teacher Wang Yan, Teacher Mu Jin, you go as well. Try your best to persuade them. At the same time, keep an eye on Zhou Yi—don't let this stupid woman do anything else idiotic. I am going to report this matter to Dean Yan Shaozhe."
"Understood," the two of them nodded.
After Du Weilun left, Mu Jin looked at Zhou Yi with a face full of mockery. "Let's go, our great Class One homeroom teacher."
Wang Yan, who had been thrown out by Zhou Yi earlier, also had no kind words for her. "Teacher Zhou, I advise you to pray that we can bring them back. Otherwise, you know the consequences."
"You... all of you..." Zhou Yi's expression was uglier than if she had swallowed filth.
Her first instinct was to refuse, but when she realized she truly might be expelled and that Fan Yu would be implicated, she restrained herself. With great reluctance, she followed Mu Jin and Wang Yan to pursue Feng Piaoling.
Watching Zhou Yi's retreating figure, Wu Feng felt a surge of satisfaction. To think Old Lady Zhou would see this day. This time, Feng Piaoling and the others were dead set on leaving; let's see how you handle the fallout.
On the other side, Feng Piaoling had already led the members of the Soul Hall into a dense forest far from Shrek Academy.
As soon as they entered the depths of the woods, Feng Piaoling stopped. "Hold on. Someone is following us."
"Following us? Is it someone from Shrek Academy?" Jiang Nannan frowned.
"I don't know, but one thing is certain: these people have a heavy killing intent. At the very least, they aren't here to persuade us to return."
Feng Piaoling naturally knew they weren't from Shrek, but if there was a scapegoat available, why not let Shrek take the fall?
Hearing this, the expressions of the Soul Hall members darkened. Xiao Xiao immediately thought of the time she and Wang Dong were hunted by Inner Yard students. Her face went pale as she whispered, "Could it be people from the Inner Yard? Because we're quitting the academy, they want to silence us?"
"Regardless of who they are, stay together and protect yourselves. Do not separate, or you'll be picked off one by one. As for the enemies, I'll handle them."
As Feng Piaoling spoke, three soul rings—one yellow and two purple—rose from beneath his feet. His third soul ring glowed continuously, and eight Dark Gold talismans appeared in his right hand.
They merged into the bodies of Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Nanmen Yun'er, Zhu Lu, Lan Susu, Lan Lolo, Huang Chutian, and Cui Yajie respectively, forming a layer of dark-gold energy coating over them.
Feeling the boost from the Dark Gold talismans, the eight of them understood the signal and released their martial souls. At the same time, a cyan light surged in Feng Piaoling's left hand as he summoned his Green Lotus Sword.
The six ambushers had originally intended to wait until the group was further from Shrek Academy before striking. Seeing Feng Piaoling and the others release their martial souls and prepare for battle, they realized they had been exposed.
After a brief moment of hesitation, they charged out from the woods behind them. They had been trailing the group to ensure they didn't try to turn back toward Shrek.
Soul rings lit up on all six attackers. Five of them possessed five rings, while one possessed six. Three of them immediately took to the skies, utilizing flight-type soul skills. The six of them formed a coordinated ground-and-air assault, charging toward Feng Piaoling's group.
Seeing this, the four who had just joined the Soul Hall—Huang Chutian, Cui Yajie, Lan Susu, and Lan Lolo—gasped in horror. Five Soul Kings and one Soul Emperor? Could Feng Piaoling really handle such a lineup?
Facing the six rapidly approaching attackers, Feng Piaoling showed no fear and charged straight toward them.
Among the ambushers, the leading six-ring Soul Emperor felt a surge of joy. All six were masked in black; they were death soldiers raised by the Duke of White Tiger's estate, sent specifically on Dai Huabin's orders to lie in wait and assassinate Feng Piaoling.
Seeing the target rushing toward them, the leader growled, "Quickly! Kill him! And don't let a single one of the others escape!"
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