Chapter 24: The Unscrupulous Dean

The next morning.

Fang Che immediately became the center of attention upon his arrival at the academy.

At this point, it was difficult to find anyone in the academy that didn't know of him, and his signature gold-embroidered black cloak was sure to draw eyes wherever he went.

That glimmer of gold flashing under the sunlight in the distance was a sure sign that Fang Che had arrived.

Fang Che made his way toward the platform, while Fang Qingyun and his friends gathered around him.

All of a sudden, someone asked, "You feel good about killing Ximen Xuri?"

The one who had spoken did so with a smile, as if they were joking around, but a cold look instantly appeared in Fang Che's eyes.

The student was rather unsettled by Fang Che's hostile gaze, and his smile was looking a bit more forced as he said, "I was just making a..."

"I'll answer that question if I kill you someday!" Fang Che cut him off in a cold voice.

The awkward look on the student's face instantly turned to fury as he protested, "It was just a joke! Don't take it so seriously!"

Fang Che raised his head to look down at him as he said, "I'm sorry, but I never joke around, so don't try to fool around with me!"

"What a stuck-up little brat!" the student harrumphed coldly before storming away.

"You didn't have to be like that, Fang Che, he was just making a joke. You should learn to be more warm and tolerant. Otherwise, it could come back to bite you," Fang Qingyun advised.

"Likewise, Cousin. Being easygoing is naturally a good trait, but you need to have a temper as well. If you're easygoing all the time, then no one will respect you, and you'll become the target of inappropriate jokes like that one.

“If you show people that you're not to be messed with, perhaps they'll badmouth you behind your back, but they wouldn't dare to act out of line in your presence. You're too nice and friendly to everyone, and that's also going to come back to bite you."

Fang Qingyun faltered slightly upon hearing this.

He had always been taught to be kind to others, do the right thing, and stay out of trouble. He was taught that good people would benefit from good karma, and he had always believed in this.

That was why he had a large group of friends, but thinking about it now, most of them only took from him, and very few truly respected him.

They often borrowed merit points from him without reciprocation, and all of their gifts were given to the prodigies that were ranked at the top of their cohort.

Those prodigies accepted the gifts like nothing, yet Fang Qingyun always ended up with nothing, even though he was always the first to help his friends.

With that in mind, he was struck by a sense of enlightenment.

Is it really true that being too nice is also a bad thing?

He was suddenly feeling a little lost.

Sure enough, everyone's attitude changed a little in the wake of that incident.

Fang Che was normally very warm and polite to everyone, but everyone had come to learn that he was not to be messed with, and that his friendly facade could disappear at the drop of a hat.

Fang Che had intentionally displayed this side of himself.

He didn't need everyone to think that he was a pushover.

He had been too approachable these past few days, and that was not a good thing, considering his identity. Hence, he had been aiming to make an example out of someone, and that student had offered himself up as tribute at the perfect time.

The group instantly became a lot quieter.

He had turned away those looking to make jokes at his expense, but also some who genuinely wanted to be his friend.

In any case, Fang Che didn't want to have many friends. Given his sensitive identity, being his friend was a very dangerous endeavor!

***

There were far fewer spectators gathered under the platform than on previous days. All those who were absent were lamenting their losses.

Many of the ones who stayed had bet on Qiu Yunshang, Xie Gongping, and Huo Churan, and there weren't many who had bet on Jing Shuanggao and Yu Zhongge.

In contrast, Fang Che's army of fans was only growing by the day.

Most of the girls had bet on him with no expectation of making any returns, but they were certainly not opposed to winning merit points. Hence, they had dragged their friends along to spectate and share in their joy.

All the while, the academy had been frantically combing through data.

Which students hadn't placed any bets.

Which students hadn't shown up to watch the tournament at all.

Among those absentees, which ones were working hard on their cultivation, and which ones were slacking off.

Which students had placed bets, which students were organizers rallying others to bet, who had won, who had lost...

All of these things had to be recorded.

As a warrior, some fun could be had, but some fun could only be had at an expense!

That was an idea that Dean Gao Qingyu had always championed.

"Some lessons can only be learned through experiencing pain! As students of the academy, what does the new student tournament have to do with them? Not only are they wasting precious time watching the tournament when they could be cultivating, they're even trying to profit from the event!

“They're never going to learn unless they suffer some painful losses! Arrange examinations for the other four year levels right after the new student tournament! All those who haven't improved since the cohort of new students arrived at the academy will be penalized two merit points, and anyone who regresses in cultivation base or ranking will be penalized five! That's what they get for watching and betting!"

"But our academy arranged all of the betting," Huang Yifan protested in a feeble manner.

"So what?" Gao Qingyu snapped. "Betting was offered, but it was never encouraged! For those who've lost everything, we need to give them another kick in the teeth right now to drive the lesson home!"

Huang Yifan heaved a forlorn sigh, then changed the subject as he asked, "What should we do about Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi?"

"Those two aren't to blame for what happened!" Lü Jiaoshan immediately said.

"A student died right in front of them, yet they did nothing but stand around like a pair of wooden stumps. You think they shouldn't be held accountable?" Meng Chizheng scoffed.

"Accountability definitely needs to be taken, but there's no need to punish them!"

"Such a severe transgression should get them fired! Are you suggesting we let them off the hook?"

Lü Jiaoshan was furious. "What do you want to see happen then? You want to fire two of our experienced teachers when they did nothing wrong?"

Meng Chizheng remained unmoved. "On the contrary, they did do something wrong, and they must pay the price. Otherwise, how will our academy be able to face the world?"

"We'll discuss this matter another time," Gao Qingyu sighed in a weary manner.

Both Lü Jiaoshan and Meng Chizheng stood up to speak, but Gao Qingyu didn't want to hear it.

"Meeting adjourned!"

"Dean Gao!" Lü Jiaoshan and Meng Chizheng called out in unison.

"How about one of you take my place as dean?" Gao Qingyu asked in a cold voice.

"We wouldn't dare!"

"You wouldn't dare? It certainly looks like you would! In fact, I feel like you two are the deans here! This is a meeting, not a bickering match between thugs! Show some class! You two are supposed to be teachers setting an example for the future generation! You're disorganized, ill-disciplined, have no respect for your superiors, and are constantly talking over each other! You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

It was clear to everyone that Gao Qingyu was looking for an excuse to throw a fit, and they knew what was coming next.

This was how he had addressed many of the difficult problems that the academy had faced in the past.

After his furious rant, he would storm away, seemingly too enraged to continue the meeting, and that way, he wouldn't have to make any difficult decisions.

Hence, as soon as his enraged fit commenced, everyone knew that the meeting was as good as over.

Sure enough, after laying into Lü Jiaoshan and Meng Chizheng with a furious diatribe, he yelled, "You're all going to be the death of me someday! Oh my poor heart... I need my medicine..."

With that, he vanished from the spot in a flash.

Huang Yifan was left completely speechless, but he also couldn’t help but admire the dean a little for his complete lack of shame.

I wish I could learn that skill from him...

***

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

On the platform, Qiu Yunshang and Jing Shuanggao were duking it out. Both of them were already riddled with wounds, yet they were still giving it their all.

Both of them appeared to be peak second-rank Warrior Masters, and they were slightly lacking compared with Mo Ganyun in both cultivation base and combat prowess.

It seemed that the championship title was well and truly in the bag.

However, at the same time, a question arose in his mind:

Why did Jing Shuanggao conceal his true cultivation base in the earlier rounds? He must have the same objective as me, to become a dark horse of the tournament!

Fang Che had many reasons for doing this, and he couldn't help but wonder what Jing Shuanggao's reasons were.

Whose side is this guy on?

In Fang Che's eyes, Qiu Yunshang most likely wasn't a member of the Church of the Self-Righteous, yet Jing Shuanggao seemed intent on beating him.

Then there was Yu Zhongge, who had benefitted from a couple of byes in the crucial rounds. What was he all about?

In the end, the battle between Qiu Yunshang and Jing Shuanggao concluded with both of them sustaining severe injuries.

Qiu Yunshang was just barely able to remain standing as Jing Shuanggao fell to the ground, thereby clinching the victory.

The next battle was between Huo Churan and Xie Gongping.

It had been deemed that a rematch between the two was necessary to decide the final four.

Hence, the two of them returned to the platform while still not fully recovered from their injuries.

This rematch was going to be a battle of willpower, and it proved to be another lengthy battle, lasting almost two hours!

In the end, Huo Churan was able to defeat Xie Gongping using a set of extremely strange palm techniques, but the referees were not happy to see this.

There was something very off-putting about Huo Churan's palm techniques.

All of the instructors had battled members of the Church of the Self-Righteous in the past, and those palm techniques were familiar to them in the worst way.

They had never seen these exact palm techniques before, so they had no evidence, but they were certain that something wasn't right.

This was why Fang Che had refrained from using the Seven Blood Spirit Swords during his battles.

Those were Yin Shengong's signature sword techniques, and they had to have already claimed the lives of countless figures of justice.

If Fang Che had revealed them during the tournament...