Chapter 3: The Wrath of Old Man Shen

Fang Che extended a parting bow to Old Man Shen, then left the academy.

He knew that the wine wasn't what had made Old Man Shen so angry. Instead, it was the news of his official assignment.

Fang Che had anticipated such a reaction from Old Man Shen, but he had to tell him as leaving without a word would've only dealt an even heavier blow to Old Man Shen.

After leaving the academy, Fang Che set off for Green Wave City.

He heaved a faint sigh as he thought about his current situation.

He knew that this arrangement for him to enter the Hall of Protectionists had to have been made by Dongfang Sansan.

This was the path that he had to take in order to reach his ultimate objective.

Neither he nor Dongfang Sansan could afford to wait for him to spend five years at warrior academy.

However, once he began walking down this path, he would have to go all the way to the end, whether it be the end of his own life or the end of the Church of the Self-Righteous.

It was going to be a perilous path for both himself and everyone around him, but he had no choice but to steel himself and embark on this journey for the sake of the entire continent.

Dongfang Sansan's words resurfaced in his mind.

"You are the only successful undercover agent in history! You are our only hope!"

Fang Che bit down onto his lower lip as he trotted along on horseback, feeling more alone than ever.

A look of resolve appeared in his eyes as he struck his horse viciously with his whip, causing it to let loose a loud neigh as it charged into the forest up ahead like a speeding arrow, instantly vanishing out of sight.

***

The next morning, Old Man Shen got up bright and early.

There were some neatly folded items of clothing on his bed.

That was his warrior attire from before he lost his cultivation base, and he put it on in an impeccable fashion.

Finally, he put on the battle boots that hadn't been worn for centuries. He had toiled away an entire night, attempting to polish the boots, but centuries' worth of collected dust was too much to erase in a single night, and he gave up in the end.

He combed his hair until it was immaculate, and while facing the mirror, he opened up a bundle of red fabric to reveal a series of shimmering medals, all of which were badges of honor that he had won during his time as a warrior.

By the time he put on all of the medals, they had formed a row that spanned across virtually the entire width of his chest.

He stood up as straight as he could, then made his way to the academy's assembly hall, walking with a sense of purpose that had been absent from his step for centuries.

It just so happened to be the day of the academy's monthly meeting.

***

Inside the assembly hall, Gao Qingyu was hosting the monthly meeting, with all of the academy's top brass in attendance, with the exception of Meng Hejun, who had other work engagements to attend to with the Guardians.

Right at this moment, the sound of door-knocking suddenly rang out.

Gao Qingyu's brows furrowed slightly at this rude interruption.

He could hear the sound of an argument taking place at the entrance.

"What's going on?"

"Elder Shen is here, and he's..."

The door was kicked open with a loud thump before the academy staff had a chance to explain the situation to Gao Qingyu.

Everyone turned around with stunned expressions as Old Man Shen walked into the hall, fully decked out in his warrior attire and medals of honor.

A serious look instantly appeared on Gao Qingyu's face as he stood up straight and extended a salute to Old Man Shen, while everyone else quickly followed suit.

Old Man Shen strode directly to Gao Qingyu, then pointed at his own chest as he asked, "Do you recognize what this is?"

"I do."

"In that case, why was I stopped outside the assembly hall? Do the guards of the academy no longer recognize these medals of honor? Is this how you treat an honorable hero of the continent like myself?"

"What's the meaning of this?!" Gao Qingyu yelled in a furious voice.

The guard was speechless. He genuinely didn't recognize these medals!

He was too young, and he had only gotten this job through his clan's ties with the academy.

"You're fired!" Gao Qingyu snapped.

He paid no heed to the guard's pleas for a second chance as he amended, "You and all of the other guards are fired! Pack up your things and get out of my sight!"

All the while, Old Man Shen looked on with a cold sneer.

After the guard was dismissed, Gao Qingyu turned his attention back to Old Man Shen as he asked, "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you dressed up like this in... in centuries!"

"I have an injustice to report!" Old Man Shen loudly declared.

"Should we talk about this in private?" Gao Qingyu asked.

"No! I want to talk about it right here! This is why I came here in the first place! I want

everyone

to hear what I have to say!"

"What do you think you're doing?! We're in the middle of a meeting!" Gao Qingyu snapped in a stern manner.

At the same time, he was communicating his true feelings to Old Man Shen through voice transmission.

"You came at the perfect time! I know why you're here, and to be honest, I was hoping you'd get involved. Just make sure you don't speak about Sun Wutian's soul fragment. That's still a secret to just about everyone here."

A hint of tacit understanding flashed through Old Man Shen's eyes, and he yelled, "So you people are the only one worthy of sitting here, while a hero of the continent like myself isn't even entitled to speak?"

Gao Qingyu put on an exasperated expression as he pleaded, "Listen to me, Old Man Shen, you're causing a scene! Let's..."

"Get out of my way!"

"Come on now, everyone's watching..."

"I

said

get out of my way!"

In spite of Gao Qingyu's pleas, Old Man Shen shoved him off the lectern and took his place.

"Fine. What injustice do you have to report?" Gao Qingyu asked in a deflated manner.

"I have received unfair treatment, and I wish to request an audience with Master Nine!"

Everyone was astonished to hear this.

What's going on? He wants to get Master Nine involved?!

"Why don't you tell us what you have to say first, Elder Shen?" Lü Jiaoshan prompted. "Master Nine is far too busy to simply see anyone that requests an audience with him! Tell us what you have to say, and if it's truly something important, then we'll think of a solution together."

"Elder Shen, you're a highly respected figure, as you should be, but surely this kind of behavior is unbecoming of an honorable hero of the continent!" Meng Chizheng complained.

"How about you quiet down, and let's all hear what Elder Shen has to say?" Xiang Xinghe said as he took a glance at Meng Chizheng out of the corner of his eye.

"Fine! Let's hear it then!" Meng Chizheng harrumphed in a disgruntled manner.

"I'm here to talk about Fang Che," Old Man Shen declared. "As I'm sure you're all aware, he's been very good to me, and I'm very fond of him. I already wanted to make a report to Master Nine over the Path of Self-Inquisition incident, but I decided not to, seeing as he was able to thankfully make a full recovery, and I thought that would be a one-off incident, but an even more egregious move has been made this time!

“And you're playing it off like sending him into the Hall of Protectionists early is supposed to be some type of reward? Just how shameless can you be?"

Meng Chizheng immediately sprang to his feet with a mixture of bewilderment and fury on his face.

"Is this true?! When did this happen?"

Old Man Shen ignored him as he continued in an enraged voice, "Have you no conscience? You're conspiring to screw over a child who's done nothing wrong, and you demand that he be grateful to you?! Is this how you nurture the next generation?!

“He's made so many contributions and earned so many merit points, yet you're using that as an excuse to persecute him! I have even more merit points than he does! Way more, in fact! Where do you people want to send me?"

Spittle was flying out of Old Man Shen's mouth in all directions as he delivered his furious diatribe, while everyone looked on in a stunned silence.

None of them had any idea that such an arrangement had been made.

"Is this true, Dean Gao?" Lü Jiaoshan asked in a bewildered manner.

"How could this be?" Meng Chizheng yelled. "He's only been in the academy for half a year!"

"There must be a mistake!" Xiang Xinghe exclaimed.

"A mistake? Why don't you ask your great dean if there's been a mistake?" Old Man Shen sneered.

Everyone immediately turned to Gao Qingyu, who looked like a deflated ball, but internally, he was ecstatic.

He had told Li Changkong in order to hopefully stir up some trouble, but he had outdone himself, even getting Old Man Shen involved!

"Go back for now, Old Man Shen. I'll explain things to you in private," Gao Qingyu sighed.

"We want to hear an explanation too!" Meng Chizheng protested in an enraged manner.

"Shut your mouth! This has nothing to do with you!" Gao Qingyu snapped.

"Nothing to do with us?! If you don't give us an explanation right now, I quit!" Meng Chizheng yelled, refusing to back down.

"I also quit!"

"I quit as well!"

Xiang Xinghe and Lü Jiaoshan rose to their feet in unison to back up Meng Chizheng.

Gao Qingyu immediately erupted into a furious fit, but internally, he was praising the upstart trio for refusing to let this matter slide.

In particular, he was most impressed with Meng Chizheng for setting an example for everyone to follow.

For the first time, everyone refused to back down in the face of his furious fit, so he had no choice but to relent.

"Let's all sit down," he sighed, putting on a facade of reluctance. "If you want an explanation, then I'll give you one."

With that, he gave everyone an extremely detailed rundown of events, pinning the blame fully on Zhao Shanhe and the clan that initially reported Fang Che.