With Dai Mubai leaning heavily against him, Qian Jue finally made it back to Shrek Academy together with Oscar. The moment they stepped through the gate, Oscar shouted at the top of his lungs,
"Dean Zhao! Teacher Shao! Something happened, hurry and come out!!"
His voice split the night air. A door slammed open, and Zhao Wuji stormed out with heavy steps, looking irritable as he searched for the source of the noise. But the instant his eyes landed on the wounded Dai Mubai in Qian Jue's arms, all impatience vanished, replaced by grim seriousness.
"What happened? Who did this?" he demanded, quickly moving forward to check Dai Mubai's condition.
"Dean Zhao, we ran into an Evil Spirit Master. Dean Flender just saved us—he's fighting him right now. He told me to bring you over immediately!"
"An Evil Spirit Master?!"
Zhao Wuji blinked, stunned. He had lived in Soto City for years without hearing of Evil Spirit Masters showing up. Yet this boy had only been here a day and already encountered one? What kind of absurd luck was that?
"So Flender's locked in a standoff with an Evil Spirit Master, and you're saying he sent you to get me?" Zhao Wuji asked again, narrowing his eyes at Qian Jue and Oscar for confirmation.
"What's going on?"
Another voice joined in. A short, middle-aged man with unimpressive features—small eyes, broad nose—walked over.
Oscar immediately called out, "Teacher, Boss Dai's injured! Please heal him!"
"Right, Old Shao, check him. Don't let this brat end up with any lasting damage. I'm heading out." Zhao Wuji barked, already rising to his full imposing height. He glanced at Qian Jue. "You—lead the way!" With that, he grabbed Qian Jue and charged out.
"Alright, go on. I'll handle things here." Shao Xin waved his hand, then crouched down to examine Dai Mubai.
"Teacher Shao, how bad is it? Will I have lasting damage?" Dai Mubai asked nervously, watching Shao Xin frown deeper and deeper. For the first time, genuine worry stirred in him—if his injuries crippled his cultivation or fighting ability, the consequences would be dire.
"Pretty serious," Shao Xin said bluntly. "Your ribs are fractured, puncturing your lung. And who treated you earlier? They didn't even reset the bone before healing—completely reckless!"
As he scolded, his martial spirit flared to life.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black—seven spirit rings rose beneath him.
Settling into a steady posture, Shao Xin channeled his spirit power delicately, realigning Dai Mubai's broken ribs piece by piece.
The process was excruciating. Dai Mubai could feel every bone shifting inside his chest. Sweat drenched his forehead, but he clenched his jaw and bore it silently, refusing to utter a sound.
"Green Bean, Sweet Healing!"
After nearly an hour of meticulous treatment, Shao Xin's fourth spirit ring lit up. With the incantation, a handful of green jelly beans materialized in his palm—about a dozen in total.
Handing them to Oscar, Shao Xin instructed, "Feed him five now. After that, one every hour. Come back to me in twelve hours for another batch. And no strenuous activity for at least a week."
"Yes, Teacher." Oscar nodded, carefully feeding Dai Mubai five beans.
Meeting Dai Mubai's hopeful gaze, Shao Xin clapped his hands and stood.
"Don't worry. He'll recover quickly. No aftereffects."
"Hah…"
Hearing that, Dai Mubai finally let out the breath he had been holding, the tension and pain easing from his face.
---
Meanwhile, Zhao Wuji was carrying Qian Jue as he sprinted toward Soto City. Though slower than Flender's flight, his massive strides, empowered by spirit power, covered several meters at a time. At this pace, they would reach the city in minutes.
Taking advantage of the run, Zhao Wuji began speaking.
"Boy, do you know who I am?"
"Of course," Qian Jue replied. "You're the Vice Dean—'Immovable King' Zhao Wuji. Even though you keep a low profile, the stories about you are still out there."
"Ha! So they say. But those are old tales. Best forgotten." Zhao Wuji chuckled. "Now I just want to spend my days teaching you little monsters here at Shrek Academy.
"Tell me, how did you run into an Evil Spirit Master? Was he really that strong? Strong enough that Flender needed to call me?"
"Yes," Qian Jue nodded quickly. "Very strong. Like you and Dean Flender—he's a Spirit Saint. His martial spirit is a chain of Sacred Orbs."
He briefly recounted everything that had happened since the night before.
"Damn those cursed bastards!" Zhao Wuji snarled. "They dare target our Shrek Academy?!" His anger fueled his pace, and he charged even faster into the city.
The Evil Spirit Master's residence wasn't far from the southern gate where Zhao Wuji entered. Guided by Qian Jue, he arrived swiftly—only to find no battle at all. Instead, Spirit Hall personnel in uniform were combing through the residence. Civilians Qian Jue had seen imprisoned underground were being led out in orderly lines. Many wept tears of relief, overjoyed to escape alive.
Zhao Wuji exchanged a glance with Qian Jue, then released his martial spirit, the Vigorous Vajra Bear.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black—seven dazzling rings rose at his feet.
Striding forward, he grabbed a young Spirit Hall member—barely in his twenties. "You there! Where's the Spirit Saint Evil Spirit Master who was fighting here?"
The youth, startled, went pale. But when he saw Zhao Wuji's seven spirit rings, he bowed respectfully. "Reporting, Senior—there were two Spirit Saints fighting here earlier. One must have been the Evil Spirit Master. They fought all the way out through the East Gate."
He wasn't sure which was which, but since Zhao Wuji called one of them an Evil Spirit Master, it was obvious the other was the ally.
Without hesitation, Zhao Wuji charged toward the East Gate. It made sense—Evil Spirit Masters couldn't reveal themselves publicly. Once exposed, they would flee.
But when he finally reached the gate, all he saw was Flender, who had already landed, chatting with a middle-aged man.
"Old Flender! What happened?!" Zhao Wuji called, rushing forward with Qian Jue in tow.
Both he and Qian Jue looked to Flender, eager to hear if Gu Lan had been captured.
Flender met their eyes and shook his head. "He realized reinforcements were coming. He forced a secret technique and escaped. We couldn't keep him. But…" He sighed. "He's badly injured. Won't recover in less than a year or two."
"Oh right, Old Zhao—let me introduce someone. This is Lu Ji, Bishop of Soto City's Spirit Hall branch." Flender gestured toward the man. "And this is our academy's vice dean—just call him Old Zhao."
Zhao Wuji didn't bother with niceties. He simply retracted his spirit and gave a stiff cupped-fist salute. He had crossed paths with Spirit Hall ten years ago and carried no fondness for them, so he ignored Flender's polite introductions.
Fortunately, Lu Ji didn't seem offended. Smiling, he returned the gesture. "Your academy is truly remarkable. Even the vice dean is a Spirit Saint—most impressive."
Flender laughed. "Not at all, Lu-brother. In truth, it was your strength that scared that Evil Spirit Master off. The moment he saw you arrive, he fled without a trace."
…
The two traded compliments for a while, but in the end, Lu Ji couldn't match Flender's thick skin. Admitting defeat, he clasped his hands and said, "Then I'll excuse myself. There's still aftermath to handle. This time, we owe much to your academy. When you have the time, do visit Spirit Hall. I'll welcome you with honor."
"Of course, of course. I'll come when I can."
Flender replied with a smile, watching until Lu Ji disappeared down the street.
Then he spat on the ground. "Bah! Stingy bastard. We uncover a whole Evil Spirit Master cell for him, and he doesn't even give us a real reward. What an ungrateful dog."
Zhao Wuji and Qian Jue both rolled their eyes at him.
"Enough nonsense, Old Flender," Zhao Wuji said seriously. "You let the Evil Spirit Master slip away. What if they come back for revenge?"
At that, Flender's expression hardened.
"That is indeed a problem. Let's head back. We'll need to discuss this properly."
With that, Flender spread his wings, grabbed Zhao Wuji's arm, and took off into the sky, flying back toward Shrek Academy.
---