"The most I can do is apologize to their families!"
As Zhou Yi spoke, she actually tore off the elderly woman mask from her face, weeping so piteously that she looked like a rain-struck pear blossom. It had to be said that while Zhou Yi's character was subpar, her actual appearance was extremely beautiful.
However, at this moment, facing the fury of Dean Yan Shaozhe, not a single person dared to step forward and plead for her. Of course, even if they had the courage, her poor reputation ensured that no one would have bothered to help her anyway.
Yan Shaozhe was so angry he almost laughed. "Apologize? What a fine apology. It seems the Academy has been far too lenient with you, allowing you to become so lawless. Du Weilun!"
"Dean," Du Weilun stepped forward.
Yan Shaozhe commanded, "Effective immediately, strip Zhou Yi of all her positions within the Academy and expel her from Shrek Academy."
"Yes, Dean." Du Weilun had wanted to do this for a long time.
"I don't accept this!" At this moment, Zhou Yi bore no resemblance to her former "strict teacher" persona; she was no different from the entitled women Feng Piaoling had seen on the internet in his previous life.
"You don't accept it? When you expelled those students who ended up dead, did you ever wonder if they accepted it?"
Yan Shaozhe let out a cold snort and continued to Du Weilun, "Effective immediately, the class teacher for Class 1, First Year, will be Mu Jin. This is the position that should have belonged to her in the first place."
"And another thing—who pulled the strings for Zhou Yi to snatch Mu Jin's position? Does this person have no respect for school regulations?"
Du Weilun desperately wanted to say it was Yan Shaozhe himself, but upon seeing the dean's unquestionable gaze, he immediately swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
He quickly changed his tune: "Dean, it was Fan Yu, a core teacher from the Soul Tool Department. He is Zhou Yi's husband."
"What marvelous nepotism. Good, very good! Go find Vice Dean Qian Duoduo and tell him to strip Fan Yu of his status as a core teacher of the Soul Tool Department; demote him to a regular teacher. Publicize this matter to everyone. Furthermore, conduct a thorough investigation into who dared to intercept and kill core disciples of my Shrek Academy right under our noses. Once discovered, they are to be dealt with severely, without exception."
Yan Shaozhe was determined to make an example of Zhou Yi this time.
He looked at Zhou Yi with a chilling gaze and said, "You had better pray that Feng Piaoling can return to Shrek Academy safely. Otherwise, you should never show your face here again."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yi suffered a total breakdown.
She collapsed like a pile of mud, her face deathly pale as she slumped on the ground in a "duck sit" position, her eyes filled with helplessness and despair.
She knew her teaching career was over. Regardless of whether Feng Piaoling was still alive, based on her understanding of the boy, it was impossible for him to return to Shrek Academy.
Moreover, she had dragged her husband, Fan Yu, down with her. Fan Yu becoming the Vice Dean of the Soul Tool Department had been almost a certainty—a mere matter of time. Now, with this scandal, forget becoming Vice Dean; it was hard to say if he would ever regain his core teacher status in this lifetime.
"We're leaving." Yan Shaozhe ignored her, turning to lead Du Weilun and the Inner Courtyard students away.
"Heh, Zhou Yi, you finally got what was coming to you." Seeing Zhou Yi placed on what was essentially an indefinite suspension, Mu Jin couldn't have been happier. After a gloating jeer, she departed.
Wang Yan looked at Zhou Yi's piteous state and felt his heart soften for a moment, but then he recalled the scene where she had thrown him out of the room in front of the entire class. His heart instantly hardened again. With a cold huff, he walked away without a word.
On the other side, after following Yan Shaozhe back to the Dean's office, Du Weilun finally voiced the doubt in his heart:
"Dean, since those students are mostly dead, and even if an individual managed to escape with their life, they likely won't return to Shrek Academy. Why did you punish Zhou Yi so severely and even involve Teacher Fan Yu?"
The culture of Shrek Academy was such that they looked after genius soul masters, allowing them to enjoy various privileges to foster a sense of reliance on the Academy. But the prerequisite for all of this was that you were alive and still part of Shrek Academy. Once you dropped out or died, in the eyes of the Shrek high-ranking officials, you were worth less than an ordinary freshman.
Yan Shaozhe sighed. "Do you think I wanted to? If they were all dead, there would naturally be no need for such a massive stir; a symbolic punishment would have sufficed."
"But you've seen Feng Piaoling's talent. He's a monster, and a twin martial soul user at that. I'm afraid he wouldn't even lose out to the Sea God Tang San of back then."
"If he holds a grudge against Shrek because of this—or worse, if he believes Shrek Academy was behind the assassination attempt—the moment he matures and turns against us, it would be a catastrophe."
Hearing Yan Shaozhe's explanation, Du Weilun reached an epiphany. Then again, there had been precedents in the past of geniuses leaving because they couldn't stand Shrek Academy's rules, but those cases usually ended quietly, or the individuals simply vanished from the face of the earth. No one really knew what happened to them.
"Then Dean, what about Vice Dean Qian Duoduo?" Du Weilun asked hesitantly.
Yan Shaozhe replied, "Just relay my words to him exactly as I said them. He will understand my meaning."
Du Weilun nodded.
At noon that day, while the Shrek students were dining in the cafeteria, a campus broadcast announced the news regarding the ambush of the nine core disciples (and those enjoying core disciple treatment) outside the academy, as well as the punishments for Zhou Yi and Fan Yu.
Upon learning that the fate of Feng Piaoling and the others was unknown, the hearts of Wang Dong'er and Wu Feng suddenly tightened.
"No, it can't be... The Class Monitor is so strong, how could he die? How could he possibly die?"
The tray in Wu Feng's hand crashed to the floor with a loud clang. Soup and soul beast meat scattered everywhere. Memories of her time with Feng Piaoling flooded her mind—from the first day of class when he beat her until she spit up bile without even using his martial soul, to the moment he caught her in a princess carry like a god descending from heaven when Zhou Yi tried to throw her out the window.
Tears gradually blurred her vision.
Wang Dong'er's heart also twisted with anxiety, but she still comforted Wu Feng, saying, "Don't worry, heaven helps the worthy. The person who can kill him in this world hasn't been born yet. And don't forget, his second soul skill is Earth Escape Talisman; it's a supreme survival skill. He will definitely be fine."
"Yeah... you're right. He will definitely be fine." Neither of them mentioned the others, because in their view, surviving an assassination of that caliber—especially when twelve charred corpses were left behind—was a statistical impossibility.
Inexplicably, Wang Dong'er thought once more of that Outer Courtyard teacher who had died mysteriously, and of the evil soul master who had chased her and Xiao Xiao. During the tournament finals, she had seen that individual standing beside the Shrek high-ranking officials as if nothing had happened.
This Academy really is suspicious. I'll have to be more careful from now on. And you, Feng Piaoling... you promised you would see me again. If you dare to die, I will never forgive you.
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