Chapter 16: Blame It on the Assistant Dean

Never had anyone imagined that such a severe wound would be inflicted at the new student tournament.

Ximen Xuri's eyes were filled with maddened despair.

Not only had his right arm been severed, it had been stomped to bits by Fang Che, making replantation impossible.

From this day forth, he was going to be disabled for life, and his journey as a warrior had been cut short after it had only just barely begun!

His heart was filled with burning resentment and killing intent, and the only thought in his mind was vengeance.

Right at this moment, Fang Che removed his saber from Ximen Xuri's throat, seemingly having been able to rein in his fury, and he turned to the referees with an apologetic expression, intentionally turning away from Ximen Xuri to give him a chance to strike.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to hold myself back..."

The two referees were very relieved to see this.

"It's f... Look out!"

A streak of crimson light had suddenly shot out of Ximen Xuri's left sleeve, and it was none other than his Crimson Blood Snake!

Everyone had thought that the battle was already over, yet it seemed that Ximen Xuri had lost all capacity for rational thought and was determined to kill Fang Che!

The two referees sprang onto the platform like lightning, but it was already too late.

In this dire situation, Fang Che swung around with a feral roar as he lashed out with all his might.

The Crimson Blood Snake was sliced into two, following which his saber split Ximen Xuri from head to groin.

The two halves of his body crumpled to the ground, and there was still a resentful expression etched on the two halves of his face.

Fang Che was clenching his saber in a white-knuckled grip, trembling violently with a deathly pale complexion, looking completely shellshoked.

The two referees finally arrived on the scene, but to no avail.

Ximen Xuri had already been split into two. Actually, three, counting that arm.

The referees and instructors could only massage their glabellas in frustration and dismay.

Even though Fang Che had killed his opponent, it was clear that he was not at fault.

Ximen Xuri had held a steady upper hand for the entire battle, but he was the first to use his weapons, and they were hidden weapons, at that.

Furthermore, he had only given a verbal warning after releasing the hidden weapons, clearly intending to kill Fang Che while also avoiding culpability.

He had already been defeated from the moment Fang Che's blade was pressed against his throat. Fang Che had shown immense self-restraint in sparing his life, yet he had repaid the favor with an assassination attempt!

It could only be said that his fate was very well deserved.

Looking at Fang Che's pale and horrified face, the referees deduced that this was most likely his first time taking a human life.

Even through all of the adrenaline, it was clear that he was horrified, and the hearts of countless female students were aching for him.

If Ximen Xuri had truly succeeded in killing Fang Che, then they would've been tempted to tear him to shreds themselves!

Fang Qingyun almost rushed onto the platform as he called out in an urgent voice, "Fang Che! Cousin! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine..." Fang Che replied in a feeble voice. "Did I just... kill someone?"

He was perfectly acting out the horror experienced by someone that had just taken their first life.

He turned to look at Ximen Xuri's body, then threw a hand over his own mouth as if he were about to throw up.

The two referees took a skeptical glance at Fang Che.

The circumstances leading up to Ximen Xuri's death had been rather suspicious, but this was no time for an investigation.

They had to clean up the platform for the next battle.

"Continue!"

Fang Che was promptly taken away, and in the wake of this incident, no one was paying much attention to the subsequent battles.

Everyone was of the opinion that Fang Che was not at fault, and that Ximen Xuri deserved to die.

***

"Fang Che, you weren't doing very well in the initial phase of the battle, so how were you able to suddenly turn the tables at the end?"

"I concealed my true power!" Fang Che replied in a candid manner. "My cultivation base is superior to his."

"What's your cultivation base?"

"I'm a fourth-rank Warrior Master!" Fang Che revealed. "I was only at the third rank when I first came to the academy, but Assistant Dean Huang Yifang helped me make a breakthrough."

"Assistant Dean Huang?"

The two instructors didn't know what to make of this.

How did Assistant Dean Huang get swept up in this mess?

Fang Che had decided that it was in his best interests to pin all of the blame on Huang Yifan.

"He told me that he wanted to teach all of the gamblers in the academy a lesson, so he instructed me not to reveal my full power so that people would bet against me."

"......"

The two instructors were flabbergasted to hear this.

You can do that?!

They didn't know how to continue the interrogation now.

Fang Che was only acting in accordance with the assistant dean's instructions, while Ximen Xuri's death was clearly nothing more than an accident.

"With your power, you should've been able to incapacitate him without killing him," one of the instructors sighed.

"I instinctively lashed out at full power because I felt like my life was under threat. Perhaps with more experience, I'll be able to hold back, but my mind went completely blank just now," Fang Che replied in a sullen manner.

The two instructors exchanged a glance with one another, and they saw no holes in his reasoning.

Even if they had been in Fang Che's shoes, their first instinct would've been to kill Ximen Xuri as well.

"I recall you were carrying a sword when you first came to the academy, so why are you using a saber today?" one of the instructors asked.

"My master is the Soaring Saber King, so why can't I use a saber?"

"Then what about that sword?"

"After Assistant Dean Huang told me to hold back, I bought a sword to carry around as a ruse," Fang Che replied. "I don't even know how to use a sword."

Assistant Dean Huang again!

The two instructors really didn't know how to continue their interrogation now.

They had never felt this speechless in their lives!

Right at this moment, the door was opened, and a man who appeared to have been around forty to fifty years of age entered the room.

There was an aura of justice and unmatched authority about him, and he asked, "Are we done here?"

"Supervisor Meng!"

The two instructors stood up at once.

"Why is the questioning taking so long when it's obvious what happened?" Supervisor Meng asked.

"We're already done."

"If you're done, then let him go!" Supervisor Meng snapped.

He then turned to Fang Che with a benevolent smile as he said, "Go back and have a good rest. That must've been a rather traumatizing experience for you. If you have some pills that are beneficial for the soul, then take some, and you'll feel better after a good sleep."

"Yes. Thank you, Supervisor Meng," Fang Che replied with a grateful bow.

Supervisor Meng was very pleased with his manners, and he pulled out a small vial as he said, "There are two pills in here that can help you calm your soul. You're still a new student, so you must be rather strapped for resources. Consider this my gift to you."

"Thank you, Supervisor Meng!"

"You can go now."

With that, Fang Che departed.

The two instructors were left unsure of what to do.

They were already at a loss after the mention of Assistant Dean Huang, and they were certainly not expecting Supervisor Meng to get involved as well, seeing as he hardly ever involved himself in these matters.

Could it be that this Fang Che has some really powerful background? But nothing on his file indicates that...

"I'm going back to watch the tournament," Supervisor Meng declared, then departed without further elaboration.

So you came here solely for Fang Che?

The two instructors were left exchanging blank stares with each other.

Supervisor Meng's name was Meng Chizheng. He generally kept a very low profile in the academy, and he was renowned for his fairness.

Never had the instructors imagined that he would stand up for Fang Che.

Admittedly, it was a very open and shut case, but surely it didn't warrant a personal visit from a supervisor!

***

Fang Che went straight home.

At the end of this round, the field would be whittled down to twenty-five.

Sun Yuan was already waiting in the courtyard, sipping tea while occasionally instructing Ye Meng in her training.

Ye Meng was sweating profusely.

Fang Che was young and easy to fool, but Sun Yuan was a veteran warrior of the One Heart Church, so she had to be extra meticulous to fool him.

Thankfully, Sun Yuan's mind was clearly elsewhere, thus sparing her of any close scrutiny.

Fang Che was still looking a little pale and trembling slightly even after he returned home.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Sun Yuan immediately asked in a concerned manner as he rose to his feet.

"I'm fine... I killed someone today..." Fang Che replied in a trembling voice.

"Who?" Sun Yuan asked.

"Ximen Xuri," Fang Che replied. "I want to throw up."

Sun Yuan was ecstatic to hear this. "That's great! Why do you look like you've seen a ghost? You still need more experience under your belt. How about I take you to massacre a village as practice? Just treat it like killing dogs, and you'll eventually get used to it."