Chapter 24 The Cunning Old Dean

Morning.

Fang Che walked into the Martial Academy.

He was greeted by countless gazes.

Whether upperclassmen or peers, in the Martial Academy now, there was no one who did not know who he was.

Especially that signature black dark-gold patterned cloak—it was a household name.

Seen from afar, the leisure and elegance of the floating hems, the sparkling starlight refracted by the sunlight instantly vanishing—all of it represented, well, the young master Fang had arrived!

As Fang Che walked, everyone followed along. Fang Che wore a gentle and polite expression as he walked together toward the arena.

As they walked, someone suddenly asked, "Fang Che, how do you feel inside after killing Ximen Xuri?"

The person asked with a smile, seeming to make a joke.

Fang Che stopped in his tracks, turned to look at this person, his gaze instantly turning cold and sharp.

The chilling gaze made the person instantly feel uneasy, and he forced a smile, saying, "I was just making a..."

Fang Che said icily, "If one day, I kill you, I will answer your question!"

The person grew awkward instantly, which immediately turned into anger: "It was just a joke, do you have to be like this?"

Fang Che raised his head, looking down from above at this fellow, his voice very calm yet carrying a strong sense of oppression: "Sorry, I am a person who never jokes. Please refrain from joking with me in the future! I am a person who cannot afford to take a joke."

The person's face turned pale and green in alternating flashes, and he suddenly snorted: "What's so great about you!"

He turned and left.

Fang Qingyun persuaded him, "Why must my cousin be like this? Making a joke is no big deal. Be a bit more gentle in life; being so sharp-edged will cause you to suffer losses."

As he walked, Fang Che said earnestly, "Cousin, this is precisely what I wanted to say to you. Being gentle in life is naturally good, but one must have a sharp edge and a temper."

"If you remain gentle all the time, others will act unscrupulously in front of you. They will even casually make jokes that cross all boundaries."

"But if you show your sharp edge, and everyone knows you have a bad temper, at most they will speak ill of you behind your back, but when they are in front of you, they won't dare to act presumptuously! Because they know you have a bad temper and won't pamper them!"

Fang Che said earnestly, "Cousin, you are too gentle, and your temper is too good. You will suffer losses!"

Fang Qingyun was stunned.

He recalled the education he had received since childhood: Do things well, be a good person, do not stir up trouble, do not commit wrongs, be benevolent to others, and good will be rewarded...

And indeed, this was how he had acted.

Consequently, he had acquired a large group of friends, but asking himself honestly, aside from taking things from him, did most of these people show him the slightest bit of respect?

After eating and drinking at his expense for years, who had ever reciprocated?

Instead, whenever they had local specialties, they gave them to the top-ranking geniuses in the class—people who didn't even deign to look at them.

And those geniuses accepted them calmly, as if it were only natural, or even... somewhat disdainful.

Yet he, who had given the most and walked the closest, received nothing in return.

After thinking for a moment, Fang Qingyun sighed, suddenly feeling a sense of enlightenment.

"Being too honest, too gentle, and having too good a temper will make you suffer losses."

Is that so?

Fang Qingyun felt somewhat bewildered.

As they continued their walk, sure enough, everyone's expressions changed somewhat.

They all felt that this Fang Che was quite a nice person, except... it turned out that his previously gentle exterior was entirely an illusion.

In fact, he had a huge temper.

That face of his was just a curtain.

He could pull it down whenever he pleased.

Successively, they attached labels to Fang Che such as "not to be trifled with" and "bad temper, flips his face without warning."

And all of this was naturally orchestrated by Fang Che on purpose.

Fang Che did not need a gentle persona.

These past few days, he had felt that he was a bit too approachable, that he had too many so-called friends. This would not do; it was detrimental to his status. He was just looking for an opportunity to flare up, and this fellow had jumped out so blindly.

And he had asked such a sensitive question.

Fang Che had immediately erupted!

Sure enough, the space around him instantly became much quieter.

By losing his temper over these malicious jokes, he had also frightened away some people who truly wanted to make friends with him.

Regarding this, Fang Che could only silently tell himself: My surroundings are too dangerous!

Being my friend comes at too high a price!

...

Beneath the arena, quite a few people had already left. At least a quarter of the spectators were gone.

These... ahem, were all heartbroken people.

Many of those who remained had placed bets on Qiu Yunsheng, Xie Gongping, and Huo Churong; as for those who bet on Jing Shuanggao and Yu Zhongge... there were truly very few.

On the contrary, the pink-clad army that bet on Fang Che gained even greater momentum.

Many of these women belonged to the category of "it doesn't matter if we lose," but they hadn't expected to win after all.

This unexpected joy was enough to make one happy.

Thus, they called upon their friends to come watch and share the joy along the way.

During this period alone, who knew how many meals had been promised among best friends...

Meanwhile, Baiyun Martial Academy was frantically searching through the data.

Who was it that had not participated in the betting from beginning to end?

Who was the type that not only refused to bet, but also never showed up from start to finish?

Among those who didn't show up, who was burying themselves in cultivation?

Who was neglecting their proper pursuits?

Who participated in the betting from start to finish, and who was an organizer or an analytical pundit?

Who won, and who lost the most thoroughly...

All of these had to be recorded.

"As martial artists, some spectacles can be watched, but some spectacles come at a price!"

This was the educational philosophy of Academy Chancellor Gao Qingyu.

"Some lessons cannot be remembered by mere verbal reminders."

"Therefore, we must let them feel the consequences!"

"As students of a martial academy, what business do they have with the freshman grand tournament? It's fine if they don't think about improving themselves and merely watch the spectacle, but they were actually blinded by greed!"

"If they don't learn a lesson, they will never know the methods of this old man for the rest of their lives!"

"Immediately after the freshman grand tournament, organize a fourth-year senior student assessment! Use the first day of freshman enrollment as the benchmark. Anyone who has not made progress will be docked two points! Those whose cultivation and ranking have instead regressed will have five points deducted!"

"I'll teach them to watch spectacles! I'll teach them to place bets!"

Gao Qingyu's lean face was filled with determination.

Huang Yifan hung his head listlessly on the side and said, "But this betting was organized by the school."

"Organized by the school, so what?"

Gao Qingyu said, "The school reserves the right of interpretation! The school only permitted it, but never forced them to participate! We only said betting was allowed, but who told them to lose everything down to their last cent?"

Huang Yifan let out a long sigh: "When an intellectual starts acting like a hooligan... it is simply outrageous."

"What about Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi?"

Huang Yifan asked.

Lü Jiaoshan stood up and said, "There is a reason for this matter; how can Gao Yunqi and the other two be blamed?"

On one side, Meng Chinzheng, the disciplinary supervisor who had remained silent all along, raised his head and said indifferently, "A student died a miserable death right before their eyes, yet the two of them stood there like wooden pillars completely unmoved. Supervisor Lü, do you think they bear zero responsibility in this matter?"

"There is responsibility, but there is no need for severe punishment."

"Such a grave error is enough to warrant expulsion. Do you expect us to just let it pass with a couple of painless reprimands? Wouldn't that be far too lenient?"

Lü Jiaoshan's face flushed with anger: "Supervisor Meng, what do you mean? Are you going to expel our two core instructors over this kind of non-error error?"

Meng Chinzheng remained unmoved, saying, "Supervisor Lü, if you do something wrong, you must pay the price. Otherwise, how can my Baiyun Martial Academy face the public opinion of the entire world?!"

Chancellor Gao Qingyu rubbed his temples in a headache and waved his hand: "This matter shall be discussed later!"

Both Lü Jiaoshan and Meng Chinzheng stood up to speak.

However, Gao Qingyu had already stood up: "Meeting dismissed!"

"Chancellor!"

Lü Jiaoshan and Meng Chinzheng spoke at the same time.

Gao Qingyu turned around and said with a grim expression, "Or would the two of you like to sit in this chancellor's seat?"

"We wouldn't dare!"

"Hmph, you wouldn't dare? I think the two of you dare quite a bit! I even thought you two were already the chancellor! Look at how arrogant and domineering you both are. This is a meeting! Do you think this is local thugs fighting over territory? Do you have any basic decorum left?! Any semblance of being a role model for others?!"

Gao Qingyu caught the two of them and scolded them until bumps rose on their scalps, finally cursing viciously: "No organization! No discipline! Disrespectful of superiors! Ranting in the hall! Arguing with superiors! Acting arbitrarily! The two of you have lived in vain for all these years!"

Everyone could clearly see that this famous old schemer of an academy chancellor was playing the hooligan again by making a fuss over nothing.

Those who knew better kept their mouths shut.

It had to be said that over the years at Baiyun Martial Academy, many intractable issues had simply been resolved by the chancellor playing the hooligan until they disappeared.

Since the chancellor had started playing the hooligan, after scolding them, he would fling his sleeves and leave in a fit of anger. That way, all matters would be left for the future...

Therefore, the moment everyone saw this look on the chancellor's face, they immediately felt relieved.

Sure enough.

After a thorough tirade, Gao Qingyu roared, "This old man will be angered to death by you lot sooner or later! None of you give me any peace of mind."

Clutching his chest: "My heart... cough, cough, cough..."

"Medicine! Medicine! Medicine!"

Gao Qingyu vanished with a swoosh.

Just as expected!

Huang Yifan muttered with some lingering grievance: "Damn it, being educated, shrewd, and knowing how to play the hooligan is really great... It's just a pity this old man can't learn it..."

...

Down in the arena, another fierce battle of dragons and tigers was underway.

Qiu Yunsheng and Jing Shuanggao traded blows, both covered in wounds, yet they continued to fight.

Fang Che narrowed his eyes to watch.

The cultivation levels of these two fellows should be around the peak of the second-grade Martial Master, slightly lower than Mo Gangyun's.

And their combat prowess was even slightly inferior to Mo Gangyun's.

The championship was secured!

However, another thought arose in his mind: Had Jing Shuanggao concealed his cultivation earlier? Why did he conceal it?

Since he concealed his cultivation, only to reveal it at this moment, wouldn't the previous concealment have been completely meaningless?

Unless... this kid had the same purpose as him.

Both wanted to exist as dark horses in this freshman grand tournament!

In that case, he had his own myriad reasons for doing so, but what could be Jing Shuanggao's reason?

Whose side was this fellow on?

Fang Che quickly shifted his mental direction: That Qiu Yunsheng probably wasn't a member of the Only I Cult.

Yet why was this Jing Shuanggao fighting Qiu Yunsheng to the death?

Was he determined to knock the other party down?

And what about that Yu Zhongge, who had met strong opponents all the way and advanced by a bye until now? Her strength was definitely no less than Qiu Yunsheng and the others.

What background did that fellow have?

A trace of coldness appeared in Fang Che's eyes.

The battle between the two ultimately ended in mutual destruction between Qiu Yunsheng and Jing Shuanggao.

When Jing Shuanggao collapsed to the ground, Qiu Yunsheng stood there swaying, refusing to fall even in death!

"Qiu Yunsheng wins, advancing to the final four!"

The referee's verdict brought this match to a close.

Next came Huo Churong and Xie Gongping.

According to the rules, the two of them needed to fight another match.

The other two groups had already won!

It was utterly impossible to make the others wait and fight another match just because the two of you ended in a draw!

Thus, the two of them, who had not yet fully recovered, stepped onto the arena once more.

Having fought to a standstill of complete exhaustion earlier, fighting again meant competing in perseverance, mental strength, and foundation!

The two fellows bitterly fought for more than another half-hour!

Huo Churong suddenly burst forth, defeating Xie Gongping with a set of bizarre martial arts techniques.

However, a cloud of gloom immediately gathered on the referee's face.

There was an inexplicable, eerie undertone to Huo Churong's palm techniques.

The various instructors, who had fought against the Only I Cult for years, all felt a vague sense of discomfort.

Although they hadn't seen it and had no proof, but... seeing it just felt wrong.

Their eyes revealed expressions of disgust—this was precisely why Fang Che strictly refrained from using the Seven Blood Spirit Forms during his battles.

That was the trump card technique of the Demon Cult's Supreme Leader, and the number of righteous individuals who had died beneath the Seven Blood Spirit Forms was already countless.

If Fang Che were to reveal it...