Chapter 115: He's My Brother

"What's wrong, Brother Five? Why aren't you saying anything?" Xie Gongping asked in a perplexed manner.

"Piss off!" Ding Jieran sneered, then gave Xie Gongping a vicious slap across the face.

Xie Gongping was instantly rooted to the spot.

This was the first time Ding Jieran had ever slapped anyone in his life.

"And don't ever call me Brother Five again! You're not worthy!"

With that, he strode directly into the spirit qi gravity cultivation chambers without another word.

"WTF!"

Xie Gongping could only gawk after him with a hand clasped over his cheek and a dazed look on his face.

I can understand Yu Zhongge and the others targeting me, seeing as we were never on the same path to begin with, but what the hell's your problem? Do you also think you're better than me?! Weren't we all getting along really well after Huo Churan's expulsion? What did I do to deserve this? This is all just because I called him Fang Che instead of Boss? Why does that even matter?!

***

In the distance, Jun Hefang was sitting under a tree as he remarked, "Looks like it's over for him."

"Indeed," Hua Kaixie sighed.

Even though they were very far away, their lofty cultivation bases allowed them to clearly hear the conversation that had just unfolded.

Standing behind them was Wu Zhibing, and there was a look of mixed emotions on his face as he said, "He reminds me of Dong Yunyu."

Both Jun Hefang and Hua Kaixie fell silent upon hearing this.

Once upon a time, Dong Yunyu had also been a part of their group.

However, over time, the group had lost members one by one for one reason or another, and the initial group of close to ten had been cut down to only three.

"Even if this hadn't happened, he would've eventually fallen out of the group anyway," Hua Kaixie sighed. "We've been watching their sparring matches, and it's clear that he's no longer able to keep up. Right now, everyone else in their group is capable of beating him with ease.

“If he had a sincere and pleasant personality, he would've been able to stay in the group, and he would've undoubtedly been able to rise to the top on the shoulders of the others. Even his would've benefitted immensely by association. Unfortunately, he's ruined everything with this careless misstep."

"That's not the crux of the issue," Wu Zhibing disagreed. "Even if this didn't happen, his character flaws would've eventually shown through at some other point in time, and he would've inevitably been removed from the group anyway. His inferiority gives rise to indignation, and the frustration of being left behind by the others would've eventually boiled over anyway.

“There's no way he would've been able to rise to the top on the shoulders of the others as he would've never been able to stay in the group for that long!"

"That's right. It's Dong Yunyu all over again," Jun Hefang chuckled.

"I don't think he's a bad person," Hua Kaixie said.

"He's not, he just has some minor character flaws," Wu Zhibing said. "However, even good people aren't necessarily all going to get along. At the moment, the key to staying in this group of theirs lies in how much value you can offer. Only after confirming that everyone is a valuable, actively contributing member of the group can they begin to develop a brotherly bond. This group is still far from its final form.

”Right now, it's already been reduced from seven members to six, and that's only assuming Fang Che can come back. Otherwise, two members will have been cut at once. By the time they graduate, this group will be lucky to have three or four members left. That's enough about them, let me see how much progress the two of you have made of late."

With that, the three of them set off for the drill grounds.

***

Fang Che was taken to a small conference room, and even Li Changkong was given quite a fright by the formidable lineup inside.

Seated at the center was an authoritative figure that had a natural air of importance about him.

On his left was Meng Hejun, while on his right were Gao Qingyu and Huang Yifan.

The chair to Meng Hejun's left was vacant, and it was clearly meant for Xiang Xinghe.

Additionally, the other two assistant deans were also present, as were Lü Jiaoshan and Meng Chizheng.

Placed across from them was a single chair, clearly prepared for Fang Che.

Li Changkong immediately felt his skin begin to crawl, and Fang Che's heart also sank slightly upon seeing this.

What are the Protectionists planning? Are they going to make a move on my right now? That would ruin all my plans, and I'm probably dead as well!

His mind was racing as he rapidly assessed the situation.

Upon catching sight of Li Changkong, Gao Qingyu said, "You can get a chair for yourself, Instructor Li, but as you can see, this is a very important occasion, so we're going to need you to be tight-lipped about what you hear and see today."

"I understand, I'll make sure to keep everything confidential," Li Changkong said.

Xiang Xinghe waved a hand to dismiss the people that had escorted Fang Che into the room, and the door was closed, while Xiang Xinghe hurriedly sat down onto the vacant chair.

Li Changkong heaved a faint sigh, then fetched himself a chair before sitting down in a corner of the room behind Fang Che.

He didn't want to sit across from Fang Che to exert even more pressure on him, and he was feeling extremely pessimistic.

Is this going to be where the top prodigy of the new cohort is going to fall? He's only seventeen and a half years old, and in just a few months, he's gone from a Warrior Disciple to Great Grandmaster without using any pills to artificially elevate his cultivation base! This is an unbelievably bright prospect that's sure to make it onto the Cloud Weapon Archive someday!

Li Changkong's heart was aching for Fang Che, but he knew that Fang Che's fate was not in his hands.

In fact, even Gao Qingyu didn't get a say on the matter. Instead, the decision would be entirely down to the man seated in the center.

He was the main overseer of the entire southeastern region for the Guardian and also the top dog of the entire southeastern region of the Protectionists, as well as the most powerful warrior in the southeast, Zhao Shanhe!

"Have a seat, Fang Che," Zhao Shanhe said.

Fang Che put on a fearful expression as he sat down in a timid manner, then turned his gaze to Gao Qingyu as he asked in a trembling voice, "What's going on, Dean Gao?"

"We just have a few questions to ask you, all you need to do is answer truthfully."

"Alright."

"Make sure to answer carefully. What you say here will determine the trajectory that you future takes, so be completely honest and upfront, understood?" Meng Chizheng said in a stern manner.

"I understand."

Lü Jiaoshan heaved an internal sigh.

He recalled that Huang Yifan had also interrogated Fang Che back when the latter first arrived at the academy.

Could it be that he really did have ties to the enemy?

At the moment, he was the clear number prodigy of the entire academy's first-year cohort!

With everyone seated, Zhao Shanhe gave Xiang Xinghe a slight nod, gesturing for him to begin.

***

Xiang Xinghe cleared his throat, then said, "Fang Che, we've summoned you here today in order to ask you a few questions. You were reported by someone of a very lofty status, so this is a matter that we must take seriously, and we hope that you will do the same."

"I understand."

"Before we begin, I must warn you not to try your luck with us. Seated before you are some of the most powerful warriors in the entire prefecture, and your rate of blood flow, your heart rate, your spirit sense fluctuations, and even the most minute changes in your expressions will be more than enough to expose you in the case of any attempt at deception."

"I understand," Fang Che repeated.

Xiang Xinghe pulled out a stack of papers, and his expression was as stiff as a frozen coffin lid.

A tense atmosphere began to permeate through the room as he slowly and meticulously read through the contents of the papers in his hands.

"All of this is information on you, and it's very detailed. As you can see, it's a very thick stack, so we have a lot of information on hand."

Fang Che nodded in response.

Finally, Xiang Xinghe reached the final page, and he pulled out that page in particular before asking, "What was your relationship to Su Yue and the Su Clan?"

"Brother Su is my brother and my best friend! We are brothers through thick and thin, through life and death! He's been looking after me ever since we were little boys. Whenever I felt sad or unhappy, he would always be by my side to cheer me up. Whenever he had something good to eat, he would always share it with me, and whenever there was something fun to do, he was always sure to invite me."

A reminiscent look appeared on Fang Che's face as he began telling a touching story of brotherhood and friendship.

"Brother Su is... Words cannot describe how good he has been to me..."

Xiang Xinghe was barely able to suppress the urge to roll his eyes as he said, "It seems like you were very close with Su Yue back when you were in Green Wave City, but are you aware that he approached you in order to frame you and bring down your Fang Clan?"

"That's impossible! Brother Su would never do that!"

"According to our investigation, Su Yue became close with you in order to exert a negative influence on you and, by extension, your Fang Clan, as well as to obtain a treasure map in your grandfather's possession!"