CHAPTER 31: TREATMENT

A peculiar look appeared on Li Changkong's face as he said, "I was unable to help myself earlier, and I asked him why he forcibly seized the Su Clan's estate."

"What did he say?"

"He accused me of taking bribes from my students over the years," Li Changkong replied.

The three instructors were speechless.

They could personally vouch for Li Changkong's innocence in this regard, but at the same time, they immediately understood what Fang Che was implying.

"Insteresting," Bao Feiyu mused as he fell into deep thought.

"What do you think we should do, Boss?" Bing Shangxue asked.

"What do I think? Right now, the Guardians appear to still hold an advantage on the surface, but we've already been surpassed by the Church of the Self-Righteous when it comes to top-end power."

This was a difficult pill to swallow for everyone, but it was an undeniable one, all the same.

"Master Xue's loss to Duan Xiyang has dealt a massive blow to all of the warriors across the entire continent. Out of all of the students we've taught, how many can we say would surely be able to get onto the Cloud Weapon Archive, barring any mishaps? In fact, has there ever even been one?"

The three instructors heaved a collective sigh.

"Mo Ganyun has hopes of getting onto the Cloud Weapon Archive, but that's it, whereas Fang Che is all but assured of a future spot on the archive, and he even has realistic chances of claiming the top spot! Do you understand what that entails?"

"We do," the three instructors replied in unison.

"We are only instructors, not masters," Li Changkong said.

He was being rather ambiguous, but his three colleagues immediately understood his intentions.

He wanted them to treat Fang Che fairly and objectively, to nurture him without being burdened by any preconceived biases.

"Regardless of how our names are to go down in history, are we supposed to intentionally ruin such a bright prospect? Even if he's aligned with evil forces, surely the four of us can show him the light over the course of five years. If he walks the path of justice to begin with, then we will be nurturing a future pillar for the continent. Even in the worst-case scenario, I'm confident we can plant a seed of justice in his heart!"

"Then let's do it!"

"I agree!"

***

Fang Che was naturally unaware of what the four instructors were thinking. At the moment, he was busy extorting Mo Ganyun.

"You’re gonna shout me lunch today, right?" Fang Che asked.

"Yeah sure.... Hold on, why do I have to treat you to lunch?" Mo Ganyun asked.

"Because I'm staying outside the academy, you get an entire dorm room to yourself. Isn't that reason enough?" Fang Che asked.

"I suppose you're right."

Mo Ganyun felt like there was something flawed about that logic, but he still acquiesced in the end.

First-year students were supposed to live in pairs, and given that both of them were among the brightest prospects of their cohort, they were naturally given the biggest and best dorm room.

With Fang Che living outside the academy, Mo Ganyun had the entire dorm room to himself.

Fang Che was internally very amused.

Just as he expected, Mo Ganyun had a very adorable and simple-minded personality.

The instructors were drafting up curricula.

Several different curricula had to be drafted up to cater to students of different levels of aptitude and cultivation base. Taking a one-size-fits-all approach would only benefit some students at the expense of everyone else.

This was a very complex and tedious task, so the few days at the beginning of the school year were always the most exhausting for the first-year instructors.

In contrast, these were the most blissful days for the first-year students as there was no one to supervise them.

Generally speaking, the process took three days, and these three days were known as the final days of happiness and relaxation among students of the academy.

Once the lessons commenced, a year of sustained high pressure awaited, and a break would only come with the next intake of new students.

After graduation, one would have to face immense pressure, whether it be from battle, cultivation, or just living in general, so those three days really were the final days of pressure-free happiness for many.

Meanwhile, the students of all of the other year levels were being put through the wringer in the form of examinations.

According to the rules stipulated by Dean Gao Qingyu, all those who hadn't improved since the cohort of new students arrived at the academy would be penalized two merit points, and anyone who regressed in cultivation base or ranking would be penalized five points.

In contrast to the general consensus of despair, Fang Qingyun was among a small handful of students who were very much looking forward to the examinations.

He could clearly sense the drastic improvements he had made of late, and everything seemed to trace back to that meal he had with Fang Che.

He had no evidence to prove this, but he was all but certain that he had Fang Che to thank.

He knew that revealing this to anyone would cause immense trouble for Fang Che, so he had kept it to himself.

He had recently approached Fang Che to discuss this matter.

"I feel like I've been in tip-top condition of late. Even my aptitude and learning ability seem to have improved significantly!"

At the time, Fang Che had sneered, "Congratulations! Looks like you'll be able to secure a higher rank than 7,476 this time!"

At the time, Fang Qingyun had put on a show of storming away in fury, but the complete lack of surprise displayed by Fang Che confirmed to him beyond a doubt that his suspicions were true.

***

While all of this was happening, the top brass of the academy was deciding the fate of Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi.

The academy couldn't just ignore the incident, which was already beginning to create a stir in the outside world.

Huang Yifan was in full support of the two instructors, stating that they had done nothing wrong, while Meng Chizheng insisted that the two had committed an unforgivable transgression and soiled the reputation of the academy.

Both camps had many supporters, but most people were on the fence, willing to accept any outcome.

Hence, the final decision fell upon Gao Qingyu, who had just received a report.

The report had come from a reliable source, and it proclaimed that Ximen Xuri was a seeded prodigy of the Divine Heavenly Church, while the Ximen Clan was also a subsidiary clan to the church.

Hence, the decision was made easy for him. He definitely wasn't going to punish his own staff over the death of a seeded prodigy from the Divine Heavenly Church!

In light of this news, Gao Qingyu remained silent throughout the entire meeting while everyone else bickered back and forth, only pretending to snap wide awake from his false nap right as Huang Yifan was about to start beating Meng Chizheng up over their conflicting opinions.

"What's going on here? Are you teachers having a meeting at White Cloud Academy, or a bunch of thugs fighting over money?"

Everyone instantly fell silent.

Gao Qingyu slammed the table as he raged, "Do any of you have any respect for me at all as the dean of this academy? Are you two trying to rebel?"

All of the staff at the meeting lowered their heads with exasperated looks on their faces.

Once again, Gao Qingyu was back to his old tricks.

Sure enough, he jumped on this opportunity to throw an enraged fit. "There's no order or discipline here to speak of! If this is how you act in my presence, I shudder to think how you handle yourselves when I'm not looking! Of course, Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi should be held culpable, but surely they don't deserve to be fired!

“They've been your colleagues for so many years, why are you all so eager to see them leave? Huang Yifan, what are your intentions? Do you want them dead so you can take their estates and their wives? I bet you intend to usurp my position as the dean as well, isn't that right!"

Huang Yifan was completely bewildered.

Are you serious, you old bastard?! I've been supporting those two this entire time! You always make an example out of me when you throw one of your fits! I've had just about enough of this bullshit!

Meng Chizheng didn't dare to say anything.

Huang Yifan was the most powerful warrior in the academy, yet even he had just been reprimanded, so no one else dared to say anything.

Also, what did he mean when he accused Huang Yifan of wanting to have the two instructors killed so he could claim their estates and their wives? Where did these ridiculous accusations come from?!

"It's decided then!" Gao Qingyu declared as he slammed the table one final time. "If anyone objects to the decision, then you can go and report me to the higher-ups!"

Everyone was speechless.

What do you mean it's decided? What's the decision?! How do we know if we object or not if we don't even know the decision?

If there were a Cloud Weapon Archive for deflection, then Gao Qingyu would most certainly be ranked at the very top!

Right at this moment, the sound of door-knocking rang out, and the door was opened to reveal Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi.

A hint of agitation flashed through Gao Qingyu's eyes at the sight of them.

Why are you two here now of all times? There are tons of people waiting to persecute you here!