Dean's Office.
After listening to Zhang Lexuan's report, Yan Shaozhe's face froze, and his mouth twitched slightly.
"A challenge match? They've only been here for such a short ti, and they've already stirred up this much trouble?"
Yan Shaozhe was stunned.
They had barely left him for long, and now there was another major issue brewing.
What was Ma Xiaotao doing? How did she host their guest so poorly that it led to this kind of conflict?
Initially, Yan Shaozhe had hoped Ma Xiaotao could show Su Yu a good ti, foster so rapport, and deepen Su Yu's positive impression of Shrek Academy.
But now, it seed all those plans had gone up in smoke. They were already about to fight! All that previous effort was completely wasted.
"Ridiculous!"
Yan Shaozhe felt as though his plans had been completely derailed.
He looked at Zhang Lexuan, slightly accusing her. "Lexuan, why did you go along with their nonsense? Why didn't you try to stop them?"
Zhang Lexuan replied softly, "I did try to stop them, but it didn't work."
"Su Yu has a strong personality. After being provoked, he couldn't swallow his pride. He insisted on fighting. What could I do about it?"
"That's true." Yan Shaozhe nodded subtly. If Su Yu was insistent, there wasn't much Zhang Lexuan—or anyone else—could have done.
Su Yu wasn't a Shrek Academy student that they could simply discipline as they pleased. If he wasn't happy, he could explode and leave at any ti.
Yan Shaozhe also couldn't believe that Hai Bodong and Mu Wu wouldn't be secretly watching over Su Yu. With Ice Emperor Hai Bodong and the Grand Guardian Mu Wu as bodyguards, who in their right mind would dare provoke him?
Especially since Shrek Academy was currently not at its strongest, they couldn't afford to offend anyone like Su Yu.
Feeling a headache coming on, Yan Shaozhe sighed. "There's no other option now. Let them fight.
"It might not be a bad thing. They can exchange pointers and test their skills. Perhaps they'll even gain sothing from it.
"But make sure they don't go overboard. No injuries, especially not to Su Yu—understood?"
Zhang Lexuan's expression turned a bit strange as she reminded him, "Dean, they may not necessarily win against Su Yu."
"If it's a one-on-one, maybe not," Yan Shaozhe admitted. "Su Yu is undeniably strong. But this ti, Su Yu has challenged multiple opponents at once."
Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but tease, "What's wrong with that guy? Is he addicted to pulling off one-vs-seven scenarios, like in the Soul Battle Tournant?"
"But this is a completely different situation. During the tournant, Shrek had only two truly strong players, Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yuoheng.
"This ti, however, the inner court is full of hidden talents. There are many students with strength equal to or greater than Dai Yuoheng's back then.
"If Su Yu still insists on a one-vs-many challenge, he'll be in over his head."
"Still, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Letting him see the strength of the inner court will ensure he doesn't underestimate Shrek.
"Though he cannot get injured—make sure of that. The last thing we want is to truly offend him."
Yan Shaozhe was conflicted. On one hand, he wanted Su Yu to recognize Shrek's strength and perhaps suffer a small defeat to restore their dignity. On the other hand, he was cautious not to push Su Yu too far and risk severing ties.
Zhang Lexuan stayed silent, but she was already planning to remind Su Yu not to underestimate the inner court students.
After all, many of the inner court mbers were indeed quite strong.
Yan Shaozhe continued, "Since the challenge is happening, let's organize it properly.
"We won't call it a challenge match. Publicly, we'll fra it as an exchange of ideas between the Ice God Hall's young master and Shrek Academy's students.
"Emphasize learning from one another and stopping at the right point.
"Friendship first, competition second."
"And don't let Ma Xiaotao or Wu Ming go up first. Start with weaker students to let Su Yu gain so montum. That way, even if he loses later, it won't look too bad."
Yan Shaozhe's approach was calculated. He intended to package the event diplomatically and give everyone an exit strategy.
Zhang Lexuan couldn't help but feel speechless. How did this supposedly simple challenge match beco such a delicate political operation under Yan Shaozhe's handling?
Still, she had to admit that the dean's plans were thorough, considering all angles.
However, she privately wondered: what if Su Yu defeated all the inner court students?
Zhang Lexuan didn't voice her thoughts. After all, it was just a guess. Besides, Yan Shaozhe was so confident in the inner court's strength that he wouldn't believe her even if she warned him.
More importantly, she didn't want to see Su Yu lose. To Zhang Lexuan, this wasn't a hard choice to make.
Yan Shaozhe dismissed her with a wave. "Lexuan, you may leave. I'll head to the Sea God Pavilion to report this matter."
This wasn't a small issue. Since it involved Su Yu, Yan Shaozhe felt it necessary to inform Elder Mu.
...
Sea God Pavilion.
Elder Mu sat with his eyes half-closed, his expression calm and unshaken.
"A challenge match, is it? Let them fight. Young people exchanging blows might bring them closer together."
Unlike Yan Shaozhe, Elder Mu was entirely composed, as if this was just a minor matter.
For him, there were few things left that could truly catch his attention.
"Teacher, this is my plan..."
Yan Shaozhe explained his idea. Elder Mu, gently rocking in his recliner, responded with a calm and indifferent tone.
"Very well. If you have a plan, go ahead and execute it."
"Yes, Teacher!"
With Elder Mu's approval, Yan Shaozhe felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.
After staying a little longer, he promptly left to organize the details of the exchange.
Elder Mu continued reclining, his chair swaying gently as he murmured to himself, "The young master of the Ice God Palace... It seems I'll finally have the chance to see the depths of this child's abilities."
"Twin ultimate martial souls... interesting."
Elder Mu closed his eyes, and the room fell silent once more.
...
Shrek City, within a courtyard
Inside a small courtyard, Tang Ya anxiously watched a healing-type Soul Master examining Huo Yuhao's body. Her fists were clenched, and her delicate face was full of worry.
"Xiao Ya, don't worry. Yuhao will be fine," Bei Bei reassured her, gently holding her hand.
Tang Ya said nothing, her eyes fixed on the healer.
The Soul Master conducting the examination frowned slightly as he finished.
"Dr. Chen, how is Yuhao?" Tang Ya asked urgently as soon as the healer stopped.
Dr. Chen sighed and shook his head. "This young man is so young, yet his body has sustained extensive internal injuries.
"How on earth have you been caring for him? How could he accumulate so many hidden injuries?"
"His body is riddled with long-standing internal damage, which has beco chronic. His physical constitution is weak, and his ridians are blocked. Simply put, his condition is terrible.
"On top of that, he's been overtraining, which has caused severe harm to his foundation and planted major risks for his future."
"Fortunately, this was discovered early. If it had been left untreated until he was twenty, there would have been no way to save him."
Dr. Chen's words were like a hamr blow to Tang Ya, leaving her montarily stunned.
"Bei Bei, Su Yu was right! He was right! Yuhao's body truly has such serious internal injuries!"
Tang Ya clutched Bei Bei's hand, her voice trembling with distress.
Bei Bei quickly comforted her, "Xiao Ya, calm down, calm down. Since it's been discovered early, there's bound to be a way to heal him.
"We'll figure out a way to help Yuhao recover, and everything will be fine."
Tang Ya gradually cald down under Bei Bei's reassurance.
Bei Bei heaved a sigh of relief and then asked, "Dr. Chen, how long will it take for my junior brother to recover?"
"How long?"
Dr. Chen glanced at Bei Bei and replied solemnly, "If sufficient rare dicinal resources are provided for continuous nourishnt, his old injuries could be mostly healed in about a year or so.
"But if you rely solely on basic treatnt, I'm afraid his injuries will never fully recover."
These words rendered Bei Bei speechless.
Rare dicinal resources were not sothing you could just casually acquire, let alone use continuously.
And how much would it cost to sustain such treatnt over a year or more?
While Bei Bei had access to so resources, he wasn't exactly swimming in wealth. He could manage occasional treatnts, but continuous ones were another matter entirely.
But looking at Huo Yuhao's dire condition, it was clear that leaving him untreated would ruin him.
Clenching his teeth, Bei Bei asked, "Dr. Chen, what level of rare dicinal resources are we talking about?"
Dr. Chen explained, "Things like mountain ginseng and snow lotuses are a must. Other nourishing dicines would also need to be prepared.
"And at the very least, he would need such nourishnt once every two weeks.
"Roughly estimating, it would cost no less than several hundred thousand gold soul coins for his full recovery."
Bei Bei: !!!!!
Tang Ya: ????
Several hundred thousand gold soul coins?
At minimum?
Even though Su Yu spent money like water, the purchasing power of gold soul coins was still considerable.
At the cheapest dining stall in Shrek Academy, a al only costs two copper coins.
One gold soul coin was worth a hundred copper coins.
Several hundred thousand gold soul coins were an astronomical figure for Bei Bei.
His family wasn't exactly poor, but such a sum wasn't sothing they could just pull out on a whim.
For context, even Xu Sanshi's prized Xuan Water Pill only cost ten thousand gold soul coins.
And now, treating Huo Yuhao requires at least several hundred thousand.
This expense was enormous.
Bei Bei opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. Tang Ya's face also darkened with despair.
Several hundred thousand gold soul coins?
Even if she sold herself, she wouldn't be able to gather that much.
After the Tang Sect's downfall, even supporting herself was a struggle. Where would she find so much money to treat Huo Yuhao?
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