Chapter 50: Ye Xinglan's Anger

After leaving the Spirit Pagoda, Xia Yi and Gu Yue originally planned to head straight back to the hotel.

However, as they passed by the seafood restaurant from earlier, they were surprised to see Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan already changed into waiter uniforms. Ye Xinglan squatted at the entrance washing dishes, while Xu Lizhi was inside cleaning the floors.

"That damn Tang Wulin! He actually ditched the bill! Just wait until the Skysea Alliance Tournament—I'll make him regret this. And Xia Yi and Gu Yue, you two are not off the hook either!" Ye Xinglan was furious. Earlier, she had learned Xia Yi's name from Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin had clearly agreed to pay the bill but only paid for his portion before sneaking away.

As for Xia Yi and Gu Yue, they had left without paying a single coin.

In Ye Xinglan's mind, all of this was their fault.

Now, forced to wash dishes by the restaurant owner, Ye Xinglan could only hope that Shen Yi would find them quickly. Otherwise, with the nearly 20,000 federal coins they owed the restaurant, even a month of washing dishes wouldn't be enough to pay it off.

Xia Yi pulled out his Soul Communicator and searched online for the contact information of a nearby media outlet. Not using his own communicator, he went to a nearby public Soul Communicator booth.

"Hello, Skysea Daily?"

"Would you be interested in covering the story of Shrek Academy students dining and dashing, forced to wash dishes by the owner?"

The moment Xia Yi finished speaking, an excited voice came from the other side. "Sir, could you tell us the location? We're willing to pay 5,000 federal coins for the tip."

"Forget the money," Xia Yi replied in a serious tone. "I only ask that you, as media, help bring justice to Shrek Academy students."

"Justice? Isn't it only right for people to wash dishes if they dine and dash? What justice is needed?" the person on the other end asked, confused.

"Hmph! What are you even saying? Shrek Academy students gracing the restaurant is already giving it face. They've already advertised for the place for free, so why should they pay?!" Xia Yi snorted coldly, then hung up. He sent the restaurant's address in a follow-up message.

Then, Xia Yi made over a dozen similar calls to other media outlets, repeating the same speech each time.

Gu Yue watched the whole thing, utterly stunned.

After finishing, Xia Yi finally returned to the hotel with Gu Yue.

Not bothering with anything else, Xia Yi began meditating as soon as they returned, completely oblivious to the uproar brewing in Skysea City—and beyond.

In less than an hour, the video of Shrek Academy students dining and dashing and being forced to wash dishes went viral online.

Many die-hard fans of Shrek Academy agreed with Xia Yi's "argument," insisting that Shrek students shouldn't have to pay. They believed that merely dining at the restaurant was already a favor, free advertising even. Not only should the owner not charge them, but demanding payment was seen as outrageous.

On the other hand, plenty of critics denounced Shrek Academy for abusing its status.

When the restaurant was vandalized later that night, public outrage against Shrek Academy surged even higher.

Ye Xinglan was completely dumbfounded. She had indeed failed to pay for the meal, but hadn't she already worked off the debt by washing dishes? And hadn't Shen Yi arrived to settle the bill right after seeing the video?

How had this snowballed into accusations of oppression and abuse of power?

Even Shen Yi was at a loss for words.

The incident spiraled further, becoming a public debate over the relationship between Soul Masters and ordinary people.

Before long, the Sea God Pavilion at Shrek Academy itself was alerted to the scandal.

The Pavilion's upper echelons bombarded Shen Yi with calls, demanding to know how a simple meal could escalate into a societal issue.

Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi could only endure in silence, deeply regretting their actions. Had they known the consequences, they wouldn't have eaten that meal no matter how hungry they were.

Meanwhile, Xia Yi, the mastermind behind it all, was completely unaware of the chaos he had caused. After a full night of meditation, he woke up refreshed and headed to the tournament venue.

The first event was the forging competition, which began with a simple task: performing a hundred refinements on a piece of Blue Coppertite. For Xia Yi, this posed no challenge whatsoever.

"Let the competition begin!"

At the sound of the announcement, young forgers began hammering their pieces of Blue Coppertite.

Xia Yi, knowing he needed to finish quickly in order to make it to the Soul Master individual competition, brought out his thousand-refined Green Source Copper Hammer. Without hesitation, he struck the metal.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Three crisp sounds rang out as Xia Yi lightly tapped the Blue Coppertite with his left hammer. Then, his right hammer came crashing down.

"Boom!" A loud echo reverberated through the venue.

At the same time, Tang Wulin's thousand-refined Heavy Silver Hammer struck his own piece of Blue Coppertite.

Unsurprisingly, Xia Yi and Tang Wulin were the first to begin forging.

Beside them, Mu Xi barely reacted, already accustomed to the prodigious talent of these two.

However, on the viewing platform, the seasoned forging experts furrowed their brows.

"Kids will be kids. Don't they know that proper observation is key for forging Blue Coppertite? I wonder which mentor taught them," a silver-haired elder remarked disapprovingly.

"Exactly! Their strength seems decent, but they're being reckless. Youth is no excuse for such carelessness," another elder chimed in.

Before they could continue, both Xia Yi and Tang Wulin had already raised their hands to signal completion.

A staff member hurried over, shocked to see the significantly reduced Blue Coppertite on their workstations.

"Have you finished?" the staff member asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.

"Yes. Can I leave now?" Xia Yi asked casually.

"If you've completed the refinement, you may leave. But are you sure it's done? If your refinement is incomplete, you'll be disqualified," the staff member cautioned.

"I'm sure," Xia Yi replied confidently. With his skill and the aid of his thousand-refined hammer, completing a hundred refinements was a trivial task.

Without waiting for further comment, Xia Yi walked off.

On the viewing platform, the silver-haired elder's expression darkened. "Bring me those kids' forged pieces. If they're not bluffing, we may be looking at two prodigies."

Soon, the refined pieces were brought to the elders, who examined them closely.

"Upper-grade hundred-refinement!" the silver-haired elder exclaimed. "Find out which association sent these two immediately!"

Upper-grade hundred-refinement was not unheard of, but for two ten-year-old children to achieve it—and at such speed—was extraordinary.

By this time, Xia Yi and Tang Wulin had already arrived at the Soul Master individual competition venue.

As soon as they entered, they were intercepted by a furious Ye Xinglan.

"Finally caught you two! Do you have anything to say for yourselves?" Ye Xinglan's brows were furrowed, and her fiery gaze was locked onto them.

Her fury was palpable. After everything that had happened the night before, she could no longer even bear to turn on her Soul Communicator, as it would immediately start buzzing with countless messages—all of them scolding her.

(End of Chapter)