Teacher Shen's outstretched hand froze mid-air. The moment he saw Xu Sheng and Zhu Zhu, he had already guessed what had happened.
But he never expected this new student wearing provisional attire to be so audacious as to strangle his own student right before his eyes.
At this point, the situation was no longer a simple private skirmish. Not only did it involve a life, but it also concerned his own dignity as a mentor.
If word of today's events spread, he might never be able to hold his head high in Spider God Academy again.
Taking a deep breath, his aura surged relentlessly, his soul power pressure rising alongside it.
Beside him, Zhu Zhu was pressed down by the pressure, barely able to straighten her back. She stared in shock at her fellow soul beast, Fang Chang.
Her true form was also a spider-type soul beast. Though she had taken human shape, the inherent cold-bloodedness and bloodlust of her nature remained unchanged. Seeing Fang Chang kill Xu Sheng actually gave her a twisted sense of satisfaction.
But she was more rational. Now, she worried for Fang Chang—afraid he might suffer for helping her, and even more afraid that his identity as a soul beast would be exposed and implicate her.
Yet, faced with Xu Sheng's oppressive aura, Fang Chang stood unshaken, his posture straight and unwavering. He even responded with a mocking smirk.
A mere Soul Douluo? Ten thousand years ago, he wouldn't have spared such a weakling a glance. And now, this man thought he could intimidate him with pressure alone?
Seeing his intimidation fail, Teacher Shen frowned and took slow, deliberate steps toward Fang Chang.
With each step, the pressure emanating from him intensified. Even students on both shores of the lake felt their hair stand on end, their bodies trembling slightly.
"Save your energy. Someone of your level can't scare me," Fang Chang retorted, refusing to yield. Instead, he stepped over Xu Sheng's corpse and walked toward Teacher Shen.
One by one, soul rings lit up around him—yellow, purple, purple, black, black, and finally… red.
Six soul rings in total. He had been hiding one all along? The students on the shore, who had been puzzled by his earlier victory over Xu Sheng, now understood.
No wonder—he was a Soul Emperor!
But then their gazes froze as they noticed something else. That glaring red soul ring on Fang Chang's body stood out like a blazing sun.
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring!
This time, even Teacher Shen was stunned. As an academy instructor and a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse, he knew exactly what this meant.
A Soul Emperor with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring? Such a treasure was the dream of every soul master on the continent. Yet this youngster actually possessed one!
Moreover, if he had a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, it was highly likely he also had a matching hundred-thousand-year soul bone. With these two treasures combined, even though he was only a Soul Emperor, Teacher Shen wasn't confident he could easily defeat him.
Zhu Zhu's eyes flickered with uncertainty. Unlike the others, she wasn't as shocked.
Soul beasts who took human form could generate soul rings most suited to themselves. If their original strength was immense, surpassing certain limits wasn't unusual.
They could also hunt other soul beasts like humans did, though most hundred-thousand-year soul beasts who transformed avoided doing so.
Either of these reasons could explain Fang Chang's current situation.
She cursed inwardly. This idiot! Couldn't he at least hide some of his power? The more you reveal, the more suspicious you become!
The standoff between the two attracted even more students. Soon, two more teachers flew in from the inner academy—one of them being Teacher Han.
His gaze first fell on the corpse beneath Fang Chang's feet, then on the red soul ring around him. His expression was a mix of delight and worry.
This kid… causing such a huge mess on his very first day?
"What happened?" one of the teachers asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Ask him," Teacher Shen spat, knowing he couldn't act now that these two had arrived. "Old Han, look at the person you brought back."
As an inner academy instructor, he was well aware of Fang Chang's background, so he hadn't been surprised earlier.
The other teacher who had come with Teacher Han was also one of those who had interviewed Fang Chang. Right now, most of his attention was fixed on that red soul ring.
He was hiding this during the assessment?
"Explain yourself. What is this?" he demanded, pointing at Xu Sheng's corpse.
Deaths due to private duels weren't unheard of in soul master academies—every few years, one or two incidents occurred.
If the fights happened outside the academy discreetly, the institution usually turned a blind eye.
But this had happened within the academy, in full view of everyone. And the deceased was a member of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family. This put the academy in an extremely difficult position.
"Nothing much. Just slaughtered a filthy dog," Fang Chang replied nonchalantly, as if he owned the place.
"You—!" The teachers' eyes widened in unison. Even Teacher Han, who had been favorable toward him, now wore a dark expression. "Come with us to the academy's disciplinary hall."
With that, the three teachers escorted Fang Chang like a prisoner toward the academy's depths, leaving Zhu Zhu behind, gnashing her teeth in frustration.
---
The disciplinary hall was located in the academy's old grounds—a grand marble hall that stood as a relic of the past.
Over the past ten thousand years, Spider God Academy had expanded countless times. The old site had long become an insignificant corner of the institution.
Two teachers flanked Fang Chang, while the third followed behind, forming a tight formation as they led him inside.
At the center of the hall, an elderly man with white hair and beard turned around, his gaze settling on Fang Chang. "What has this student done?"
Those brought before him were never involved in minor offenses. Yet, he found this young man strangely likable—hardly the face of a villain.
"He publicly murdered my student within the academy," Teacher Shen declared, placing Xu Sheng's corpse on the ground. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "The deceased was a member of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family."
"Hmm…" The white-bearded elder's brows furrowed. His soul power was likely around Rank 95, making him one of the academy's top-tier experts.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked Fang Chang.
"I don't owe any of you an explanation. Spider God Academy has truly fallen far from its former glory," Fang Chang sneered.
"Any random royal can bully others within these walls. If it were a crown prince or the heir of a major power, would you all kneel and kowtow to them?"
"Fang Qi, watch your words. This is an academy elder," Teacher Han warned.
The white-bearded elder's frown deepened. In his century of life, he had never encountered such a defiant student.
"Then tell me—how should the academy deal with you?" His tone gave no hint of emotion.
"Simple. Make me the academy head," Fang Chang said lazily, stretching before striding to the center of the hall, his demeanor haughty.
"Preposterous!" This time, even the elder lost his composure. His soul power pressure erupted, several times stronger than Teacher Shen's earlier display.
Fortunately, he didn't direct it solely at Fang Chang, instead letting it permeate the hall—as if to make Fang Chang understand his place.
"You think I'm joking?" Fang Chang stomped his foot.
The old academy grounds trembled as beams of light shot up from the ground. An overwhelming killing intent spread through the air.
This was the protective formation he had personally established ten thousand years ago. Despite the passage of time, it still retained some of its power.