Xuan Zi closed his eyes in agony, as if doing so would allow him to avoid facing the reality before him.
Seeing Xuan Zi's expression, the surviving Soul King felt his rage surge uncontrollably once more. He was about to speak, but in the next instant, Huo Yuhao delivered a resounding slap across Xuan Zi's face!
Slap!
The crisp sound of the strike left everyone in the vicinity frozen in shock.
"You—"
"Me? What about me?"
Huo Yuhao showed no courtesy whatsoever. Taking advantage of Xuan Zi's dazed state, he followed up with a direct kick, sending Xuan Zi tumbling to the ground.
"What is the third subsection of the fourth article of the Shrek Teacher's Code of Conduct?"
"I..."
"It seems Teacher Xuan Zi has a very short memory for such an important figure. Let me help you remember."
Huo Yuhao delivered another kick, this one landing squarely on Xuan Zi's chest.
"Shrek Teacher's Code of Conduct, Article 4, Subsection 3: Teachers shall prioritize their students; when a student is in danger, the teacher has the obligation to protect every single one of them.
"You should know this, shouldn't you?"
Huo Yuhao's voice was frighteningly calm. It had been a long time since he had lost his composure like this. He simply stared at the disheveled Xuan Zi slumped on the ground, waiting for an answer.
"I..." Put on the spot, Xuan Zi didn't know how to respond. He looked at Huo Yuhao, then at the student further away who was being held back by others, staring at him with eyes full of resentment. His heart twisted with even greater pain.
"I am sorry... The responsibility for this incident lies entirely with me. After this, I will resign from my duties in the Guardian Corps and withdraw from the Sea God Pavilion..."
"That's it?"
Huo Yuhao frowned instinctively.
He didn't know if Xuan Zi was feigning ignorance or was truly oblivious, but currently, Shrek Academy's high-end combat power—aside from the rank 99 Elder Mu—consisted of the rank 98 Xuan Zi, the rank 97 Elder Song, and the rank 95 Yan Shaozhe.
Beyond them, Ms. Xian Lin'er and the others were only rank 94. While there were a fair number of other Titled Douluos, most were only rank 91 or 92.
One could say that Shrek Academy's current generation of high-end power faced a massive gap in succession!
With Elder Mu heavily injured and nearing the end of his life, how could the academy possibly discard a top-tier combatant like Xuan Zi right now?
The "punishments" Xuan Zi proposed were mere trifles to him. In the end, the academy would likely downplay the matter; he'd receive a lecture, a period of suspension, and then eventually return to the Sea God Pavilion and the Guardian Corps as if nothing had happened.
He could hear the subtext in Xuan Zi's words: Even though they lost their lives, I have to be suspended for a while and can't go anywhere!
Huo Yuhao felt like he was going to laugh from sheer anger.
If the Death God Envoy incident in his previous life could be called an accident or a lapse in focus, it turned out that Xuan Zi had a goddamn prior record!
He had already caused student casualties once due to his negligence, yet he had shown no remorse or improvement by the time of the later Death God Envoy incident, continuing his dereliction of duty!
"Are you truly fit to be a teacher?" Huo Yuhao couldn't help but interrogate him.
"What did you say?!"
Huo Yuhao's undisguised contempt seemed to strike Xuan Zi's sore spot. The pressure of a rank 98 Super Douluo surged toward Huo Yuhao, but in the next heartbeat, a bone-chilling cold easily dispersed the pressure.
Huo Yuhao lowered his head slightly, a brilliant golden light gleaming within his disguised grey eyes as he glared at Xuan Zi.
"I said... are you truly fit to be a teacher? Do you really believe a flimsy 'I'm sorry' and a simple resignation can ever measure up to their lives?
"What do you take life for?!"
The barrage of questions left Xuan Zi speechless. He wanted to speak, to retort, but he found he couldn't utter a single word.
Watching Xuan Zi's shifting expressions, Huo Yuhao gradually calmed his emotions, though his gaze remained icy.
"If you truly know you were wrong, then kneel before each of them, one by one, and personally admit your fault. Otherwise, you might as well cripple your own cultivation and admit you are nothing but a failure who misleads his students! You are unworthy of being a teacher!"
As if he had done all he could, Huo Yuhao spared Xuan Zi one last look. He turned and handed a bottle of pills and a large-scale flying soul tool to Ms. Zhang Lexuan.
"Use this to take them back; it will be faster. If their injuries flare up on the way, feed them these pills. It will keep them alive."
With that, Huo Yuhao didn't stay a moment longer. He stepped into the dense forest and vanished.
Watching Huo Yuhao leave, Ms. Zhang Lexuan looked at the silent Xuan Zi on the ground, then at her heavily injured juniors. She didn't hesitate for long; her mind was made up.
"I'm taking you back first."
Following the instructions Huo Yuhao had provided, she activated the flying soul tool. It enveloped the survivors and the corpses, and they flew straight toward Shrek City.
Now, only the dazed Xuan Zi remained, surrounded by scattered bloodstains that told the silent tale of everything that had transpired...
...
"Why didn't you kill him?"
Gu Yuena naturally took Huo Yuhao's hand and asked softly.
When she felt Huo Yuhao touch the bite mark she'd left on him to reveal his aura, she had teleported there instantly. She had witnessed everything that followed from the sidelines.
She could feel that Huo Yuhao was truly angry. But precisely because he was so angry, she didn't understand why he didn't simply kill the human named Xuan Zi.
In a soul beast's worldview, if I am displeased with you and I am stronger than you, I have the right to kill you. Yet Huo Yuhao hadn't, which puzzled her.
"It isn't the right time... He can die, I can ruin his reputation, I can make him cripple his own cultivation, or make him kowtow and apologize to every single one of them—but I cannot kill him. Or rather, he cannot die by my hand right now," Huo Yuhao said calmly.
His Spirit Transmission Pagoda couldn't yet afford to detach from the great tree that was Shrek. Therefore, he could have conflicts with Xuan Zi, but it could never escalate to a matter of life and death. Furthermore, he hadn't forgotten his "Master Skydream" persona. The persona had to be maintained.
"I didn't expect you to come pick me up, Sister Nana. I'm actually quite happy."
Huo Yuhao smiled and changed the subject. Hearing this, Gu Yuena only nodded calmly, though her heart rate quickened slightly.
Huo Yuhao smiled, the unpleasantness caused by Xuan Zi fading as his heart found peace.
But suddenly, something occurred to him.
Going to the Core Zone this time... he would probably see Qiu'er, wouldn't he?
He glanced at Gu Yuena beside him, and his newly calmed heart began to churn once more.
Huo Yuhao fell into deep thought...