Cai Yue'er slowly turned around, her Super Douluo-level pressure bearing down like a mountain. "What did you say?"
"I said…" Gu La straightened his back under the oppressive force, his golden-red soul power flickering faintly across his body, "This conflict could have been avoided. Yue Zhengyu provoked first, and Yuanen Yehui was merely defending herself passively—why should the punishment be equal for everyone?"
"And besides," he continued, "I didn't participate in the fight at all. Why should I be punished as well?"
"How dare you!"
A streak of silver light shot out from Cai Yue'er's sleeve, but Gu La deftly dodged it. The light shattered a distant soul-conductor camera, and her eyes flashed with icy intent. "Questioning your superior's judgment? Add another thousand contribution points to your punishment! Now, all of you, go reflect on your actions immediately!"
The surrounding students watched with glee, eager to see how the drama would unfold.
"Now this is getting interesting…"
"Standing up to Dean Cai—such bravery! Too bad he's definitely going to get punished!"
"My camera… (_)" (sobbing)
…
Gu La stood firm under the oppressive force, and to everyone's shock, he suddenly smiled. He glanced at the crowd of onlookers who were enjoying the spectacle, then murmured softly, loud enough only for those nearby to hear, "What a farce… If that's the case, let's make it even more chaotic."
Yuanen Yehui's steps faltered imperceptibly, while Yue Zhengyu's burning anger suddenly mingled with confusion. Tang Wulin instinctively sensed something amiss—his instincts reacted faster than his mind.
"Be careful!"
Tang Wulin's warning had barely left his lips when Gu La switched to his Celebi martial soul. His second soul ring, never before displayed in public, flashed briefly at his waist—the eerie red glow passed so quickly it seemed like an illusion, yet it caused Cai Yue'er's pupils to contract sharply.
"…Impossible!"
Cai Yue'er's silver hair fluttered without wind, her nine-ring Soul Emperor-level fluctuations causing the chandeliers in the cafeteria to sway violently. "A hundred-thousand-year soul ring?"
The thought surfaced only to be forcibly suppressed. How could a four-ring Soul Master possibly allow a spirit to evolve to a hundred-thousand-year level?
The Spirit Pagoda would never permit a student with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring to remain at Shrek Academy.
Maintaining her stern demeanor as an elder, she barked, "What are you doing?!" Her voice now carried a spiritual vibration capable of interrupting ordinary Soul Masters' soul skills.
But Gu La simply shrugged casually. "Nothing much, just that the dean wants to punish someone who hasn't done anything wrong…"
As he spoke, a burst of azure light erupted from his eyes, flooding the entire cafeteria like a tidal wave. "I'll have to 'correct' that mistake for you."
At the peak of Spirit Abyss Realm spiritual power, his mental waves materialized into visible ripples. Over sixty onlookers didn't even have time to show fear.
Their pupils dilated simultaneously, their martial souls involuntarily activating, bathing the entire restaurant in a kaleidoscope of soul ring lights.
Myriad Manifestations, Illusory Bubbles.
One by one, the students fell into illusions, seeing their deepest obsessions, dreams, or hidden desires they dared not speak aloud.
As Gu La softly chanted the soul incantation, the first affected student—a tall, thin one—suddenly erupted. A three-ring Soul Master's cultivation unleashed soul power fluctuations comparable to a Soul Ancestor: "Ahh! Damn you, Li Mingrui! Xiaoxue belongs to me!"
His Wind Eagle martial soul fully materialized behind him, unleashing three wind blades that shredded the table in front of him into fragments.
The chain reaction spread like dominoes.
A female student summoned her Snow Fox martial soul, tears streaming down her face. "Can't the four of us live happily together?"
Meanwhile, the boy opposite her, his eyes bloodshot, equipped his right-arm battle armor. "Die! Li Mingrui is mine!"
Most chilling of all, every student trapped in the illusion turned their gaze toward Cai Yue'er.
Though their eyes reflected their individual inner demons, they collectively viewed the outer academy dean as their enemy. Three sixth-year students who had already reached the Soul King level even formed a triangular battle formation, their ten-thousand-year soul rings glowing brilliantly beneath them.
"Out of my way! That hundred-thousand-year soul bone is mine!"
The leading close-combat Soul King transformed his arms into massive stone fists, unleashing his fifth soul skill, "Earth Pulse Shockwave," directly at Cai Yue'er's face.
The two companions behind him simultaneously activated their fifth soul rings, causing chunks of plaster to rain down from the ceiling under the energy surge.
Gu La gracefully stepped aside from the center stage, his lips twitching as he watched the absurd scene unfold.
It was a pity he couldn't see inside the illusions—it would've made for quite the entertaining spectacle.
Cai Yue'er stood rigid, her face pale. The protective soul power of a nine-ring Soul Emperor effortlessly deflected the first dozen or so incoming soul skills.
But what truly alarmed her wasn't the intensity of the students' attacks—it was Gu La's terrifying level of control. To simultaneously trap over sixty soul masters of varying levels in an illusion required an extraordinary degree of precise mental manipulation!
"Could it really be true?"
In the split second Cai Yue'er's thoughts wandered, a dagger from an agility-focused Soul Ancestor slashed past her sleeve.
Her eyes blazed with cold fury. With a flick of her sleeve, she sent over twenty students tumbling backward, carefully controlling her strength so they only fell to the ground.
"Wake up!"
This time, Cai Yue'er unleashed a peak Spirit Abyss Realm spiritual vibration. The sound waves crashed against the walls, creating spiderweb-like cracks.
However, the students merely shook their heads and charged forward with even greater ferocity. Some even began equipping parts of their battle armor, their soul power surging dramatically.
By now, the battlefield had completely spiraled out of control. A wall of over thirty close-combat soul masters charged recklessly, while seven control-type soul masters wove intricate soul skill cages behind them. Even two auxiliary-type soul masters were amplifying their teammates' abilities—though they had no idea what they were doing.
Over sixty students, driven mad, unleashed their martial souls, treating Cai Yue'er as their enemy. They employed their strongest techniques with seamless coordination, resembling a small-scale military operation as they converged on her.
Cai Yue'er's face turned ashen. As a Super Douluo, she naturally wouldn't be injured by these youngsters, most of whom hadn't even reached the Soul King level. But Gu La's actions had backed her into a corner. Especially after this incident—would she still punish these students who had been controlled?
She still had the presence of mind to think ahead. If Gu La's spirit really had broken through to the hundred-thousand-year level, even if he were from the Spirit Pagoda, she'd have to report him to Hai Shen Pavilion and seize him.
"Impossible!"
Cai Yue'er shook her head in disbelief. "Even if it's a hundred-thousand-year soul skill, its power depends on the soul master's own capabilities!"
Something wasn't right. What level of spiritual power did Gu La possess to withstand a hundred-thousand-year spirit?!
Cai Yue'er's mind raced as she waved her hand, releasing soul power like a gentle breeze to push back over a dozen of the frontline students once more.
But the students trapped in the illusions were fearless, relentlessly charging forward again and again.
"Furious Lion Flame Roar!"
"Holy Light Slash!"
"Exterminate Evil!"
Wave after wave of soul skills surged toward her. Cai Yue'er's face darkened. "Enough!"
She unleashed the full weight of her Super Douluo-level pressure, intending to pin everyone to the ground.
But for such pressure to take effect, the targets needed to be mentally clear. Trapped within the labyrinth of illusions, unless Cai Yue'er broke Gu La's soul skill first, her pressure would remain ineffective.
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