Chapter 14

Inside a room on the third floor of Sea God Pavilion, Mu Lao's stooped body leaned back in a recliner, Martial Soul Seat Dean Yan Shaozhe stood respectfully beside him, a hint of worry showing in his expression.

In front of them was a large bed carved from offcuts of the Golden Sacred Tree, on which lay a girl in red robes.

This girl was Ma Xiaotao, who had previously failed to suppress her evil fire, losing control and nearly causing a disaster.

Six hours later, Chen Qiye had also woken up, but Ma Xiaotao remained unconscious.

"Yan Shaozhe, if something happens to this child Xiao Tao, you will bear full responsibility; if it weren't for Xiao Ye happening to be there, just imagine how severe the consequences would be!"

Mu Lao's voice was unusually heavy, and he directly addressed Yan Shaozhe by name.

If anyone familiar with him saw this, they would know he was actually angry, but not yet at the point of thunderous fury.

Otherwise, Yan Shaozhe wouldn't be standing here properly.

It's no wonder he's angry; if Chen Qiye hadn't stopped Ma Xiaotao, the weaker students in the Outer Court, once encountering her, could suffer lifelong irreversible harm.

"It's not that I didn't take good care of her, but mainly this time the evil fire erupted suddenly, and we were completely unprepared beforehand." Yan Shaozhe said this, looking somewhat timid.

If someone saw this scene, they probably wouldn't find it surprising.

After all, the person Yan Shaozhe was facing was none other than the Dragon God Soul Master Mu En, one of the three strongest people in the world today, and also his teacher.

"When something goes wrong, you don't reflect on it but keep making excuses here—don't you find that shameful?" Mu Lao asked lightly, indeed somewhat angry.

What's most important isn't the mistake itself, but that when a mistake occurs, one doesn't reflect on oneself and merely looks for excuses to exonerate oneself.

"How is that kid Xiao Ye? If something happens to him, you'd better prepare to resign and withdraw!"

Chen Qiye can already be considered the future of the academy, and there is no room for the slightest error.

After all, the talent Chen Qiye displayed far exceeds what this Super Douluo had imagined; even if Zhang Le Xuan could absorb a 100,000-year spirit ring at the eighth ring, it still couldn't compare to having a thousand-year first spirit ring and a ten-thousand-year third spirit ring, even possessing attributes beyond the extreme.

One can only say that Mu Lao harbors great fantasies about Chen Qiye's future achievements.

Not to mention that Chen Qiye and Zhang Le Xuan possess a perfectly matched martial soul fusion skill, God's Descent: Moon Heavenly Splendor.

"Xiao Ye is fine; it's just that his soul power consumption is somewhat high."

"What puzzles me is what that student named Gu Yue said: at that time Chen Qiye should have been fully struck by Xiao Tao, and even with a third soul skill, his injuries shouldn't have been so light; he's probably awake by now."

Yan Shaozhe said respectfully, given his cultivation and experience, the situation on site was clear at a glance—what had happened—but Chen Qiye's condition genuinely made him doubtful.

"Are you suggesting that someone else is helping Chen Qiye behind the scenes?" Mu Lao's voice carried a hint of anger.

"No, I'm just suspicious..."

"Suspect... have you forgotten who it was? When Xiao Tao was being burned by the evil fire, you used that paltry soul power to help suppress the evil fire for her!"

"Even though you yourself were suffering greatly, you never uttered a sound..."

"Sorry, teacher, I overthought it."

"Forget it, go check on Xiao Ye!"

"Yes."

………

In the outer courtyard, in the classroom of Class 1, Grade 1.

Zhou Yi was on stage lecturing some basic knowledge, the students listened attentively, no different from usual.

Only the spot belonging to Chen Qiye and Gu Yue was empty, still waiting for its owner.

At the neighboring seat, Wang Dong stared blankly out the window, wondering what he was thinking about.

Looking at the vacant spot beside her, she felt inexplicably uneasy, her mind uncontrollably wondering why Chen Qiye hadn't come to class.

When Chen Qiye was around, she wanted to tear his skin off, but now that he's absent, she feels a hint of concern.

"Wang Dong! What's so interesting outside?"

"You answer my question from just now."

"Ah..."

…………

By the time Chen Qiye woke up, he was already lying in the infirmary, and he saw that Gu Yue had awakened earlier but was crying hysterically, her eyes red and swollen.

Gu Yue lunged forward, almost causing Chen Qiye internal injury, but seeing her cry like that, he couldn't say much and could only keep comforting her: "It's fine, it's fine, I'm fine, just over-exerted my soul power..."

"Cough cough!" At that moment, a middle-aged man in white entered the infirmary, saw the two embracing, and couldn't help coughing twice.

"………"

"Uncle Yan, how is Sister Xiao Tao?"

As Yan Shaozhe walked into the room and saw the two embracing, he first avoided them.

And Gu Yue immediately jumped out of Chen Qiye's arms, standing to the side, but her cheeks still had a faint flush, as if she were a bit embarrassed.

"Really, this hateful human has made me, the king, look so foolish; if Emperor Tian and the others found out, I wouldn't have the face to be a dragon..."

After Yan Shaozhe re-entered, the two first politely greeted him, and then Chen Qiye began inquiring about Xiao Tao's condition.

"Xiao Tao isn't seriously injured, but because the evil fire wasn't suppressed in time, it has affected his spiritual sea somewhat, causing him to fall into a coma for a period." Yan Shaozhe's tone grew slightly grave.

If Chen Qiye hadn't intervened, using some unknown method to temporarily suppress the evil fire within Xiao Tao's body, his prized disciple might not have been saved.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qiye grew somewhat worried about Xiao Tao.

After all, in the vast Shrek Academy, besides Bei Bei and Zhang Le Xuan, there was only Xiao Tao, who was like an older sister of his age and got along well with him.

Although suppressing the evil fire is no less than self-immolation, Chen Qiye never blamed this usual caretaker older sister, after all Xiao Tao likewise suffered from the evil fire's burning.

But Chen Qiye knows that in no more than two years, Xiao Tao will suffer a backlash from the evil fire, giving the Holy Spirit Church an opportunity.

That incident not only meant losing Xiao Tao, but also led to Shrek Academy losing Mu Lao, its pillar, not long afterward.

Thinking of this, Chen Qiye let out a soft sigh, thinking of Xiao Tao still unconscious at this moment, his worry deepening.

Gu Yue, watching the somewhat grieving Chen Qiye from the side, felt inexplicably displeased: "Really, I almost got you killed, yet you have the leisure to worry about her; earlier I was needlessly worried, hum..."

But when Gu Yue recalled how Chen Qiye had protected her at that time, for some reason her heart raced and she felt a warm sensation...

After leaving the Sea God's Pavilion, Yan Shaozhe brought the two back to the outer courtyard.

As he was leaving, Yan Shaoche threw a green box to Gu Yue to keep her silent.

Gu Yue instinctively raised her hand to catch it, while Yan Shaoche had already leapt up and walked out of the infirmary, saying, "Go to class! Remember, forget everything you just saw."

After Yan Shaoche disappeared, Gu Yue clicked her tongue twice and said, "Such a big accident, and they just give someone a box."

Well, the Soul Ascending Pill is already a rare medicinal pill for ordinary students.

"What is a Soul Ascending Pill?" Gu Yue asked.

Chen Qiye explained, "The main function of the Soul Ascending Pill is to increase soul power; it is refined using several heavenly materials and earthly treasures as medicinal guides."

"Each Soul Master can only take one in their lifetime; the increase in soul power is roughly equivalent to what a Soul Master needs to advance from level thirty to thirty‑one."

"Just one pill raises soul power by one level—this is a rare treasure! But if you take too many, it will affect your future cultivation potential. However, its medicinal property is also mild. Any Soul Master with cultivation above level ten can take it."

"I already have two rings—does this thing work for me?" Gu Yue asked doubtfully and a bit probing.

Although Gu Yue thought this pill had no effect on him, she couldn't help but want to say a few more words to Qiye.

Chen Qiye shook his head and said, "I don't know. I've never heard of anyone at the teens level who would be willing to take a Soul Ascending Pill. This thing is a good item at any level auction, and moreover, very few people would sell it,"

"If it's an ordinary two‑ring Soul Master, it would probably be somewhat useful, but for you, I'm not sure."

"What do you mean you're not sure? Do you look down on me?" Gu Yue said angrily.

"That's not it; you just need to think—your soul rings are one yellow and one purple, so you definitely can't be compared to an ordinary Soul Master."

Gu Yue snorted, "This explanation is satisfactory enough."

"All right, let's go."

Chen Qiye instinctively grabbed Gu Yue's hand and ran toward the academy.

Gu Yue glanced at him without speaking, merely letting Chen Qiye pull her hand, and the flush that had receded from her cheeks rose again.

Gu Yue whispered, "Okay......"

Thus Chen Qiye brought Gu Yue running toward the slowly rising morning sun.

(End of chapter)