Credits: thedistraction
"It seems you're still holding onto your cunning ambitions, aren't you But that's fine; I'll be waiting for you anytime. If... you have the guts, that is."
Su Yu spoke meaningfully.
"Of course, I'd advise you to act within your limits. This time, you won't have the same luck as last time."
"Oh, by the way," Su Yu turned to Dai Huabin.
"And you, I'm waiting for you too. Didn't you say you wanted to restore your honor? Then let's see how much you're worth. Don't think that just because you're from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, you're something special. To me, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion is nothing. If you want to regain your reputation, it depends on whether your strength is up to the task. But looking at someone like you, I doubt you'll achieve much. White Tiger? At best, you're just a sick cat."
"You—you, what did you say?"
Dai Huabin was furious. Su Yu dared to call the White Tiger a sick cat? This undoubtedly touched Dai Huabin's reverse scale—a taboo. The White Tiger Martial Soul was his pride, and he couldn't tolerate Su Yu's remark.
"I'm just stating the truth," Su Yu shrugged, his tone easygoing. That dismissive and cocky demeanor added fuel to the fire in Dai Huabin's eyes.
"You're asking for it!"
Dai Huabin, already unstable due to his injuries and growing increasingly irritable, lunged at Su Yu from the crowd.
"Dai Huabin!"
"Huabin!"
Before anyone could react, a dull thud was heard, and Dai Huabin's body flew back faster than before. Xu Sanshi rushed to catch him, but the impact was so strong that it knocked Xu Sanshi backward as well. Dai Huabin spat out blood and landed heavily on the ground. His old wounds hadn't even healed yet, and now he had new ones.
"Dai Huabin!"
Bei Bei's expression darkened as he stepped forward to check on Dai Huabin. His face turned grim.
"Friend, you've gone too far."
Bei Bei helped Dai Huabin up, his expression filled with anger. As the captain of the reserve team, Su Yu's public humiliation and injury of Dai Huabin were a direct affront to him.
"Brother Bei, don't play the victim here. It was this guy who attacked first. Is this how people from Shrek Academy twist the truth?"
Su Yu chuckled lightly.
"Enough. Dai Huabin just lost his temper for a moment. He didn't even hurt you. And yet, you've been unreasonable from start to finish and even injured Dai Huabin. I'd say it's your Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy that's out of line."
From the Shrek crowd, a young woman stepped forward. She was graceful and elegant, with fair and delicate skin. Her presence radiated a noble aura, and every move she made exuded the poise of high society. Just from her demeanor, it was clear that her background was anything but ordinary.
"Arguing baselessly seems to be something Shrek Academy is quite skilled at," Su Yu said indifferently.
"Miss, may I ask your name?"
"Hmph, I'm Ning Tian, just an ordinary student," Ning Tian replied with a snort.
"Ordinary? If even the young mistress of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is considered ordinary, then most of the people here wouldn't even qualify as average."
Su Yu chuckled and shook his head. With a casual tone, he dropped a bombshell. Bei Bei's pupils contracted, and Ning Tian herself was startled.
"How do you know that?"
But the moment the words left her mouth, Ning Tian realized she had made a mistake. By saying that, she had essentially confirmed Su Yu's claim. Annoyed, she glared at Su Yu with her almond-shaped eyes.
Still unfazed, Su Yu remained calm and said, "The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is indeed remarkable, but that's all it is—remarkable. You'd best not meddle in things that don't concern you, lest you bring trouble to your sect. In this world, not everyone will show deference to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"You… what do you mean?"
Ning Tian frowned and asked."
Nothing much. Just a word of advice. Of course, you're free to ignore it."
Su Yu shrugged indifferently.
Ning Tian frowned deeply, glaring at Su Yu. Looking at the Shrek team, now almost entirely on guard, Su Yu smirked and suddenly found the situation a bit dull. He signaled to Xiao Hongchen and the others before stepping forward. Just then, someone emerged from a nearby conference room. The person wore glasses and had the demeanor of a scholar. It was Wang Yan. When he saw the injured Dai Huabin and the tense standoff between the Shrek Academy group and Su Yu's team, his brows furrowed, and he turned to Bei Bei.
Bei Bei stepped forward and explained briefly in a low voice. Wang Yan's expression shifted as he hesitated briefly, then seemed to make up his mind and approached Su Yu's group.
"I'm Wang Yan, the supervising teacher from Shrek Academy. Regarding this matter, I—"
Before Wang Yan could finish, Su Yu extended a hand and gently pushed him aside.
"Don't block the way."
Su Yu walked past Wang Yan without hesitation. Behind him, Meng Hongchen and Wang Dong'er followed silently. Xiao Hongchen, walking at the rear, suddenly gave Wang Yan a hard shove as he passed.
"Good dogs stay out of the way. Didn't you hear?"
Casting a disdainful glance at the seven Shrek students, Xiao Hongchen gave a mocking thumbs-up before flipping it down and pressing it toward the ground.
"Shrek Academy? What a disgrace."
Xiao Hongchen's face bore a mocking smile as he swaggered away.
Once Su Yu and his group left, the Shrek Academy contingent erupted in fury.
"This is intolerable!"
Even Bei Bei, usually the calmest among them, was red-faced with anger, his veins bulging.
"This Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team is far too arrogant," he fumed.
"I swear, they'll pay for this!"
Xu Sanshi's expression twisted with rage, his eyes burning with hatred.
"So, Su Yu is with the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team. Fine. I'll make sure they're utterly humiliated in battle."
Dai Huabin, meanwhile, clenched his fists tightly, his veins throbbing as his bloodshot eyes betrayed the fire of hatred within him. Past grudges were unresolved, and now new humiliations had been added to the pile.
"I'll destroy you. No matter what, I'll make you pay."
His voice was filled with cold, murderous resolve.
...
In the meeting room of the Sun and Moon team, laughter rang out. "Ha! That was hilarious!"
Xiao Hongchen couldn't stop laughing, his glee lighting up his face. "That Shrek Academy bunch is useless! Getting beaten and not daring to say a word? Truly pathetic."
He laughed so hard he was nearly out of breath.
"Xiao, enough already. Do you need to gloat this much?"
Su Yu, sitting calmly, shook his head as he peeled an orange.
Xiao Hongchen grinned, leaning closer to Su Yu.
"Of course, I'm happy! Shrek Academy is supposed to be so amazing, but they were nothing special. You completely crushed them! And to think, I used to think you were low-key. But today proved me wrong. First, you went after Shrek Academy, then the White Tiger Duke's family, and finally, you warned the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Incredible!... You're fearless!"
Xiao Hongchen gave Su Yu a big thumbs-up, his admiration overflowing. Su Yu simply shrugged.
"They were never going to be my allies, so why worry about offending them? Besides, I'm not as bold as you make me out to be. I just defend myself when necessary."
"Defend yourself?"
Xiao Hongchen snorted.
"You? Afraid? That's the biggest lie I've ever heard. You're the most fearless person I've met!"
"Come on, tell us more about your history with those people. What's the story?"
Xiao Hongchen urged eagerly.
Su Yu sighed, rolling his eyes.
"You're nosy."
"It's not just me! Even Meng and Wang Dong are curious!"
Xiao Hongchen gestured to their teammates. Meng Hongchen blinked, confused but trusting Su Yu completely. She didn't care about the details as long as Su Yu wasn't at fault. Wang Dong'er, however, seemed genuinely intrigued, her interest piqued by Su Yu's rare show of aggression.
"Fine," Su Yu said, exhaling lightly.
"It's simple. I crossed paths with them while traveling across the continent. Shrek Academy's motto, 'To avoid conflict is to admit weakness,' says a lot about their worldview, doesn't it? When I encountered Xu Sanshi, he was being as obnoxious as you'd expect, and I put him in his place."
Su Yu recounted his conflicts with Xu Sanshi, including the infamous incident that left Xu Sanshi humiliated.
Xiao Hongchen clicked his tongue.
"Well, he brought it on himself. Picking a fight with you? He was asking for trouble."
As laughter filled the room again, Xiao Hongchen suddenly asked, "And what about Dai Huabin? He seems to hate you even more than Xu Sanshi."
Su Yu smirked.
"That guy? He's worse. He's the kind who beats servants to death for fun and struts around with an entourage, throwing his weight around. One day, while I was strolling through Star Luo City, he decided I was blocking his path and sent his lackeys to attack me. Naturally, I handled them, and then I gave him a taste of his own medicine."
Su Yu's tone was light, but his words carried weight.
"I forced him to kneel, made him kowtow nine times, and then let him go. I guess that's why he remembers me so well."
Xiao Hongchen's jaw dropped.
"You think? If I were him, I'd be plotting your death!"
With a shrug, Su Yu replied, "He started it. He deserved everything he got."
Xiao Hongchen couldn't help but laugh.
"Well, Dai Huabin sounds like a piece of work, but you? You're one tough opponent to mess with."
Su Yu's expression didn't change.
"He's not worth my time. Neither he nor Xu Sanshi will ever be anything more than footnotes in my life."