Chapter 30: The Hot Potato

*Click.*

Li Changkong closed his mouth.

Yet, he still stared up and down at Fang Che several times with lingering disbelief.

*I have just laid eyes upon someone who is practically guaranteed to reach the firmament's weapon rankings in the future!*

Even after finally snapping his mouth shut, a dreamlike glow still flickered in Li Changkong's eyes.

After testing Fang Che's cultivation base, he became even more dumbfounded. "Weren't you just at the fifth stage when you made that breakthrough on the arena stage the other day?"

"Indeed I was."

"Then why have you already reached the peak of the fifth stage now?"

Fang Che desperately wanted to reply that his master had provided him with countless heavenly treasures, all of which he had consumed.

"I have no idea myself..."

Once the registration was complete and Fang Che's original hunting token for demonic beasts was converted into a White Cloud Martial Academy merit token, Li Changkong let out a sigh.

He stopped, seemingly wanting to say more.

Fang Che activated his merit token and took a look. It displayed his name along with one hundred and ten merit points.

From this moment on, within White Cloud Martial Academy, any purchase—including food, drinks, clothing, lodging, medicinal pills, and secret manuals—could be paid for by swiping this card!

This card could satisfy any and all demands.

"There are traces of medicinal pills consumed within your body. From now on, until you break through to the Innate Grandmaster realm, you are forbidden from consuming any more medicinal pills or heavenly treasures designed to aggressively advance your cultivation."

"Understood."

"I will find a way to purge the medicinal traces from your body so that you become flawless and crystal-clear. When laying your foundation, you must never be rash! Fortunately, you consumed very little; if it had been any more, the accumulated medicinal toxicity could have ruined your future prospects."

"Understood." Fang Che naturally knew of this drawback, but prior to this, he had no other choice.

He had already intended to recuperate once he reached White Cloud Martial Academy. Since Li Changkong had noticed it himself, it was all the better.

Following that, Li Changkong fell silent for a moment before asking, "Fang Che, why did you usurp the Su family's property?"

"Usurp?"

Fang Che smiled and said, "Instructor Li, haven't you made quite a fortune over the years by preying on widows, desecrating ancestral tombs, and taking bribes from students?"

Li Changkong flew into a rage.

*I have never done any of those things!*

However, Li Changkong did not flare up.

He understood the intention behind Fang Che's words.

After a brief silence, Li Changkong rebuked, "Sharp-tongued."

Fang Che smiled. "My big brother Su is still alive, after all."

"Get out!"

"Right away!"

Fang Che walked out.

He could clearly sense that Li Changkong's attitude had undergone a significant shift.

Yet, the helpless look in the instructor's eyes had also grown much deeper.

The class-wide assessment and screening came to an end.

The four instructors gathered together.

"On my side, I have five Grade A-plus, six Grade A-mid, eleven Grade A, and three Grade B-plus."

"Six Grade A-plus, six Grade A-mid, nine Grade A, and four Grade B-plus."

"Eight Grade A-plus, one innate ice spirit physique, five Grade A-mid, ten Grade A, and one Grade B-plus."

The three of them finished speaking and looked at Li Changkong.

"This batch of students has far better aptitudes than the previous one."

Everyone nodded in agreement on this point.

Aptitude spoke for itself, making it the most convincing metric.

"What about your side, Boss?"

"On my side, five Grade A-plus, seven Grade A-mid, ten Grade A, one Grade B-plus..."

Li Changkong seemed somewhat distracted.

The other three looked at each other in dismay and calculated, "Wait, that's not right. Aren't two students missing?"

"Of those two missing, one is Mo Gangyun. Legend has it he possesses supreme-heaven-grade aptitude, unobstructed innate meridians, and peerless sharp edges in both hands and feet. His innate meridians are thick and resilient, and naturally gifted, meaning he can easily master any weapon he picks up. Once he cultivates to a certain level, he will be a match for ten thousand men—the kind who can sweep across a battlefield."

When saying this, Li Changkong ought to have been jubilant and beaming with pride. In reality, however, his mood was somewhat dejected and absent-minded.

"Damn it!"

The other three were instantly startled, followed by expressions of great joy.

In all their years of teaching students, they had only ever encountered five geniuses of this caliber. Moreover, those five could not hold a candle to Mo Gangyun in terms of value.

This was because Mo Gangyun had the entire Mo family backing him up!

He possessed endless high-grade or peerless cultivation resources.

Mo Gangyun was merely laying his foundation now—or rather, ever since the period when Mo Gangyun's mother was pregnant, the Mo family had been laying his foundation for him.

From every possible aspect, the absolute best provisions were guaranteed.

Ensuring that the child's spiritual sense, physical body, meridians, sinews, bones... and even the coordination of his four limbs were meticulously cultivated.

This foundation-building, which began during pregnancy, would not come to a temporary pause until he cultivated to the Innate Grandmaster realm.

This was the profound heritage of an aristocratic family.

It was fraught with absolute inequality—for example, the total value of all expenses and cultivation resources consumed by an ordinary child from the moment of birth until they cultivated to the grandmaster realm might not even equal the bowl of soup consumed by a child of such a great family while still in his mother's womb!

The reason Mo Gangyun appeared to be at a low cultivation stage right now was precisely intentional: steady progress! Solidifying his foundation!

Perfecting the construction of a foundation for a towering skyscraper of the future!

This was the difference between geniuses.

In the initial stages of cultivation, some children indeed progressed very quickly, even much faster than children from aristocratic families. Yet, too many such children would suddenly encounter a bottleneck upon reaching a certain high rank, coming to an abrupt halt.

There was only one reason: their heritage had been exhausted.

However, the geniuses of aristocratic families could still maintain a steady, unhurried pace, stepping into high ranks with an extremely composed posture.

To give an example everyone could understand: during their school days, countless children from ordinary families stood out brilliantly. But once their school days ended and they stepped into society, their future development was instantly worlds apart from the children of high-ranking officials and wealthy tycoons... Ah, this was heritage!

Was it unfair?

Was it fair?

Thus, the three instructors instantly realized Mo Gangyun's immense future potential!

"He is destined for the firmament's weapon rankings!"

Bao Feiyu uttered these words in a soft voice.

The others silently nodded.

Though specifics could not be guaranteed, as long as Mo Gangyun was not prematurely cut down, securing a spot in the top one hundred of the firmament's weapon rankings in the future should be a given.

The three of them were filled with shock.

When they looked at Li Changkong again, they found that the boss still wore a distracted expression, his mind seemingly wandering far away.

There was not the slightest trace of pleasant surprise or shock to be seen.

"What is the matter?"

Bing Shangxue asked with a frown. "...Right, what about the other one?"

The others immediately reacted as well.

That's right, what about the other one?

They had only discussed Mo Gangyun so far.

How did the other person fare?

"The other one..."

Li Changkong's eyes were filled with shock as he said, "Is Fang Che."

"Ah, the champion of this year's freshman grand tournament." Bing Shangxue nodded. "How is he?"

Li Changkong swallowed hard. "I do not know what grade his aptitude is."

"Oh?" The three of them frowned simultaneously, puzzled.

"Because his aptitude shattered the upper limit of the twelve-story Fish Dragon Pagoda, and exceeded it by a wide margin!"

Li Changkong's lips were somewhat dry. "You should all understand what this means!"

"..."

The three of them simultaneously hung their jaws in silence.

In the quiet space, the only sound was the thumping of their own hearts!

Violently beating!

Mo Gangyun alone was already a bit more than they could well handle.

Because this was a chance to leave their names in the annals of history.

As their disciple soared into the heavens, they, as his instructors, were bound to be forever recorded in history!

And now, he was telling them that there was an entity even more ferocious than Mo Gangyun.

Moreover, this person happened to be Fang Che!

"To put it simply, whether the four of us leave behind a clean reputation in history or stink of infamy for ten thousand years depends entirely on these two students!"

Li Changkong let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh. "But regardless of whether it's a pristine reputation or eternal revilement, we are destined to enter the history books now. My three friends!"

The three of them smiled wryly in unison.

Their expressions were extremely complex.

"No wonder the martial academy directly designated the four of us..."

Duan Zhongliu gave a bitter smile.

The four of them were Gold-ranked instructors. Over the years at White Cloud Martial Academy, their teaching proficiency was second to none. The students who graduated from under their tutelage and went on to future developments also looked down upon their peers from a position of superiority.

They could be said to firmly occupy the first tier, standing at the very peak of the pyramid among instructors.

Li Changkong slowly spoke, "You are all familiar with the past deeds of this student Fang Che; you have all read about them and should still have an impression. Therefore, you should understand what I mean."

"Yes."

Bing Shangxue was a woman, and a look of worry appeared on her pretty face.

"Everything Fang Che did in Bibo City, including how he quietly crippled his own estate martial arts master to the point of complete disability, engineered the usurpation of the Su family's property, wiped out the entire Su family, and still sought to claim the title of 'righteous Fang Gongzi'... Amidst all these events, the public opinion stirred up in Bibo City, and such ruthless arrangements to achieve his ends..."

"In all of these matters, there is a thick, unmistakable aura of the unorthodox path."

"We even harbor suspicions as to whether this Fang Che has already become a member of the unorthodox sects."

"Furthermore, the fact that the entire main force of the Su family mysteriously vanished makes me suspect it was related to Fang Che. After all, intelligence shows that during those days when the Su family disappeared, Fang Che once left the estate alone and stayed outside for three days."

"At the time, Fang Che was merely a transparent nobody; no one paid attention to where he went. When he returned, he was dragging a deer."

"And just a few days after that, news of the Su family's collective disappearance spread."

"Intelligence indicates that the very night the Su family's main force collectively left their home coincided with the time Fang Che went out."

Bing Shangxue knitted her delicate brows. "Boss, this is a thorny hot potato."

"If Fang Che has no issues, we can be confident in guiding him onto the righteous path, and his future achievements will undoubtedly be extraordinary. But if Fang Che does have issues, then it is equivalent to us using the resources of White Cloud Martial Academy to wholeheartedly cultivate a future arch-enemy! Furthermore, an enemy who hopes to reach the level of Old Duan's clan in the future. This is no longer a matter of a bad reputation; it is digging the grave of the entire continent with our own hands!"

Old Duan's clan.

Naturally referred to White Bones Shattering Dream Spear, Duan Xiyang.

The three of them furrowed their brows in unison.

Bing Shangxue was entirely correct in her assessment.

This was precisely the situation they now faced.

"What do you think, Boss?"

Duan Zhongliu asked.