Night fell. In the center of the Rekdo Academy playground, Dean Frank stood there, his eyes fixed like lasers on the students in front of him. To be precise, his gaze was zeroed in on Ava. Just by looking at his twitching temple, you could tell how ticked off he was at the moment.
Ava came from a bigshot clan like the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect. She'd been spoiled rotten since childhood and did whatever the heck she felt like. Frank told her to run twenty laps around the academy, but she thought it was way too tiring and bailed halfway through. Then she went off to Soto City on her own, ready to pig out on some delicious grub and go on a shopping spree.
This kind of behavior? Not just Frank, but even Leo, who was also a dean, would go ballistic if his own student pulled a stunt like that. If Helena dared to act so out of line in front of him, he'd give her a good spanking for sure.
Meanwhile, in a fancy dorm room at the Spirit Hall Academy, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, who was a real knockout with a hint of charm, was sitting by the window, chin in hand, staring out and daydreaming. If any student got close, they'd hear her muttering under her breath, "Where are you, teacher? Where are you, teacher..." over and over again.
As if she had some sixth sense, Helena, who'd been muttering away, suddenly felt something. She jumped up from her chair like a jack-in-the-box. But when she looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary, she was super disappointed. She flopped onto the bed, buried her face in the pillow, and mumbled, "Teacher, Xiao Na misses you so much..."
"Ava, do you even know that in a battlefield, you'd be as good as dead with this kind of behavior?" Frank said in a cold voice, seething with anger.
"This ain't no battlefield. It's just a lousy academy," Ava said, totally nonchalant and full of defiance.
"Sure, it's not a battlefield, but this is my turf. Now, you've got two choices. Either pack your bags and scram, or prove to me that you're worth keeping around and that you'll follow the rules from now on," Frank said, pushing up his glasses and looking all icy.
When Ava heard this, she burst into a wild and creepy laugh that gave everyone the heebie-jeebies. "Frank, who do you think you are? Just a puny Soul Saint! In my Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, there are tons of Soul Saints like you. You can't scare me!"
As soon as she said that, all the students except Leo were shocked out of their socks. They couldn't believe that this sweet - looking and gentle girl could say such arrogant stuff.
Leo shook his head slightly. "Just as I thought, she's a spoiled rich girl who's never had a taste of hardship and has no discipline. Thank goodness she's not my student," he thought to himself.
Ava was already fuming, and when she saw Leo shaking his head, she totally lost it. "Leo, what the heck are you shaking your head for? You look down on my Seven Treasures Glazed Sect? What gives you the right?" she shouted, her voice trembling with anger.
"..." Leo was totally bewildered. He thought, "I just shook my head a little. Why is she singling me out? Look at Blake, Ryan, and Max. Their actions were way less noticeable. Why is she picking on me?"
Ava's outburst made everyone turn their eyes to Leo. Frank was also caught off guard. He'd been thinking about how to teach Ava a lesson, but she'd thrown him a curveball by turning on Leo.
"If that's how you see it, I can't do anything about it," Leo said, shrugging his shoulders helplessly.
"You!" Ava was so mad that she was shaking all over. She pointed at Leo and yelled, "Leo, you just wait! You're gonna regret this big time!"
"Squeak!" The little fox napping on Leo's shoulder woke up in a flash. It stood up on its front legs, baring its teeth at Ava. If Leo hadn't held it back, it would've zapped Ava with a Deceptive Orb.
"Stupid fox! You're just as annoying as your master!" Ava showed her true witchy colors and started lashing out at everyone.
Leo had planned to let it slide, but when he heard her dissing the little fox, he was both angry and amused. "Is the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect really all that great? I couldn't care less. What are you gonna do about it?" he said.
These words were like a bombshell that went off in everyone's heads. Even Frank's jaw dropped a little. He thought, "This kid is really ballsy. He's got the nerve to say that? I'm one of the Golden Iron Triangle, and I'm always careful when I'm giving lectures. Does he even know how powerful the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect is?"
"You're just a spoiled little princess who's been living the high life thanks to your family. Without your family, you're nothing. Even if you've got great talent, without their protection, you're a nobody. You don't even have the basic survival skills to be a good soul master," Leo said, his voice getting more and more stern.
"Dean Frank is right. If you go to the battlefield, you'll be the first one to bite the dust. Your disobedient and stubborn personality will only be a burden to your teammates and an easy target for the enemy," Leo continued.
Leo's words hit Ava like a ton of bricks. Especially the lines "Without your family, you're nothing" and "Without your family, you're a useless person" kept echoing in her head. Her face turned as white as a sheet, and she started to sway on her feet.
"You... wuwu..." Ava couldn't take it anymore and ran back to the dormitory crying.
Only then did everyone come to their senses. They stared at Leo like he was an alien. They had to get to know this junior all over again.
Frank also stood there, his mouth hanging open, not knowing what to say for a moment. He'd thought he was tough enough, but this kid had outdone him and made the little princess of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect cry.
"Man, Leo, no, Brother Wu, you're my idol from now on! That's the precious daughter of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, and you had the guts to talk back to her like that! I, Max, will recognize you as my big brother from now on," Max said, full of admiration.
Blake was equally shocked. He never expected that the seemingly laid - back Leo could have such a powerful presence, even more so than Dean Frank.
"Brother," Xiao Wu said, looking at Ryan, clearly spooked. Leo's words had really blown her away.
"Uh," Ryan held Xiao Wu's hand and tried to comfort her. "Don't worry. Leo did the right thing. With Ava's personality, if we don't teach her a lesson, she could really mess things up for the team. I believe Leo can handle whatever comes next," he said.
Aria looked at Leo, not sure what she was thinking, but she had a better understanding of him.
"Hey, can I ask what this Seven Treasures Glazed Sect is? Is it really that famous?" Leo suddenly asked just when everyone was in awe of him.
"Whoa!" Everyone lost their balance and fell to the ground, including Frank. They couldn't believe that Leo had dared to say all those things without even knowing how big a deal the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect was. This Leo was really something else!