CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: IT’S OVER, THE DEAN WAS CAUGHT BEFORE HE COULD GET PROMOTED_1

"Things seem to be unfolding a bit unexpectedly," Wang Linchi muttered softly.

He had thought the principal was preparing for a promotion, but at the end of the month, the Prefecture of Yingzhou sent someone directly to take the principal into custody for further investigation, and even stripped him of his position.

The matter was kept hush-hush, and even the Prefect Magistrate who had come to congratulate the principal on his promotion was puzzled. However, the grim expression on the Prefect Magistrate’s face suggested that the principal had been implicated in factional infighting within the Prefecture.

Wang Linchi’s initial suspicion pointed towards Yan Ming King.

After all, the principal was Yan Ming King’s father-in-law; who else would they target?

As for Wang Linchi? Who did he count for? They would arrest someone of weight, not a small fry like him.

There was no certainty when the new principal would arrive either.

This led to some chaos in Qinghe Academy, especially since the principal had been taken away.

Fortunately, this was good news for Wang Linchi.

Because of the chaos, being a fringe character made him practically invisible. Therefore, even if he caused a stir in the black market, no one would care. One of the most powerful individuals in Qinghe City had been taken away, and those who remained were naturally trying to seize resources.

As for the new principal, they would deal with that when he arrived.

After the principal was taken away, Wang Linchi didn’t stick around for too long. He left rather quickly.

He was also just a bit short of the Third Transformation Golden Elixir; otherwise, he wouldn’t have waited until reaching the Third Transformation to go to the black market.

On the way back, nobody approached him. He was insignificant, after all.

There were no ambushes or provocations, let alone encountering ruffians harassing beautiful women.

After returning home, he heard that Fang Cheng’s skeleton, which had been hung above the city gates, was stolen. This surprised Wang Linchi.

The information had come directly from a news report on TV.

"Could it be that there are still people or even a specific force behind Fang Cheng?" Wang Linchi’s expression grew more solemn.

Generally speaking, a body hung on the city wall as an intimidatory display wouldn’t be taken down unless the Prefect Magistrate personally ordered it. Threatening the authority of the Court was a grave offense; hence, those who dared to do so wouldn’t find peace even in death.

This incident was too abrupt. Coupled with the principal’s departure, many people didn’t notice it.

Wang Linchi felt that Fang Cheng was just lucky. Otherwise, he might not have had this opportunity.

He didn’t think it likely that Fang Cheng’s backers would target the principal for the sole purpose of obtaining Fang Cheng’s skeleton. The cost would far outweigh the benefits.

By the end of the news report, the Colonel appeared. His official ranking system was different from the principal’s, so the principal’s departure did not affect him.

Upon learning that Fang Cheng’s skeleton had been stolen, the Colonel immediately took his men to investigate who was behind it.

He had killed the man and taken the Soul Kinds, so the trouble naturally found him. If he didn’t resolve it, the price for being entangled in this trouble could very well be death.

If Fang Cheng dared to assassinate him, why wouldn’t the people who retrieved Fang Cheng’s remains do the same? They might not only want the Soul Kinds but also seek to avenge Fang Cheng by taking the Colonel’s life.

This was very likely. If so, his entire family would be in trouble.

Wang Linchi, on the other hand, was not afraid. At this moment, he felt somewhat grateful. It was thanks to the Colonel’s corruption—enriching himself at the public’s expense by taking the Soul Kinds—that this trouble hadn’t fallen on him. Otherwise, if he had been the one targeted, he would have at least lost a layer of skin, if not his life.

After all, if those five Soul Kinds hadn’t been taken from him, he would have sold them to live the life of a wealthy man. How would he have had any power to resist then?

Then his life and death would be at the mercy of the opposing forces.

It was unlikely that Fang Cheng’s backers would come after Wang Linchi. Anyone capable of retrieving Fang Cheng’s skeleton would surely have investigated and known that the Soul Kinds were not in Wang Linchi’s possession.

There was no point in them causing unnecessary complications by involving Wang Linchi. Targeting the Colonel’s son was the best option for them.

Wang Linchi also found out indirectly about the Colonel’s son. The young man had graduated from Qinghe Academy five years ago and was now in Qinghe City, working with his father to control the city’s entire military system.

The son was quite a prominent figure, so it was easy to gather information about his Soul Kind—it was a Rainbow Light Series Soul Kind.

So, it couldn’t be hidden.

Therefore, the people or forces behind Fang Cheng would not come after Wang Linchi.

Wang Linchi had no value to them. Why would they involve him?

They would only expose themselves for nothing. The best course of action for them would be to ignore Wang Linchi, a person of no value.

Wang Linchi did have a level-four subsidy, but his Soul Resemblance was not a Battle Class Soul, so his value was diminished.

Now that I think about it, I’m lucky my Soul Resemblance isn’t a Battle Class Soul. Otherwise, I’d really have been dragged into this whirlpool.

He couldn’t help but think of the phrase "blessings in disguise."

Although his Soul Resemblance was not currently a Battle Class Soul, that didn’t mean he lacked fighting ability.

On the contrary, with the power of his Soul Seed Page - Fanciful and Fickle, no one at the White Porcelain level was his match. At the Black Iron Level, he could even contend with those in the mid-stage, and those in the Early Black Iron Stage were simply no match for him.

When his current Fanciful and Fickle attack directly used 100 points of spiritual power, it could instantly crush Awakeners of the White Porcelain level. Even if they weren’t crushed, their Spirit, Soul, and Soul would be severely injured, and they would inevitably become irrecoverable fools.

Unless they had corresponding defensive measures, they couldn’t withstand it.

Of course, the White Porcelain level Wang Linchi referred to was the lower tier. If it were the talented White Porcelain level cultivators from Big Aristocratic Families or major factions, he likely couldn’t crush them because they would soon break through to the Black Iron Level. For them, the White Porcelain level was just a transition, posing no difficulty at all.

So, for Wang Linchi, wanting to encounter such prodigies who were still at the White Porcelain level was more difficult than actually killing a group of them.

Such talents were usually nurtured to a certain strength before being sent out for training. They weren’t like Yan Ming King-type talents, who were sent on adventures without any support as soon as they entered a sect, all under the noble pretext of gaining experience.

In their weaker stages, these talents were thoroughly protected, not sent out on suicidal missions.

The Dajing Court was in its prime, but there were many underground forces. The Baylong Religion dared to publicly execute geniuses from the various academies in Yingzhou’s joint examination, and other Dark Evil Forces were likely just as, if not more, rampant.

Order existed; as long as one didn’t touch the darkness, one could live a peaceful life. Under the Dajing Court, the majority of the populace were ordinary people, not Awakeners. These common folk didn’t live in dire straits; they could manage to eat their fill. Just a full meal, though—anything more was a luxury.

Wang Linchi was in such a state. There was much darkness, but the territory of Great View was vast. As long as he stayed in the city and wasn’t some genius or high-profile individual, it wasn’t so easy to encounter such dangers.

If one truly encountered them, it would be a desperate situation. Everything Wang Linchi was doing was aimed at preventing himself from falling into such a desperate situation.