At this moment, Fei Banqing was truly on the verge of a breakdown.
She had always thought she herself had been quite the troublemaker back in the day, but compared to this fellow, she had practically been a well-behaved little girl!
This guy was just too good at stirring up trouble!
“Mentor Fei!”
At that moment, Elder Qiu, who had just climbed to his feet, roared in fury. “This is your student?”
Fei Banqing glanced at him and said indifferently, “Yes.”
Elder Qiu was instantly enraged. He pointed angrily at Ye Guan. “He killed someone and assaulted a Tribunal elder. Tell me, how should we deal with this?”
Fei Banqing looked at Ye Guan. “Was it legitimate self-defence?”
Ye Guan nodded quickly. “It was self-defence. Everyone can testify. He struck me first!”
Fei Banqing turned to a female student nearby. “Did Mu Bai hit him first?”
The girl hesitated, then nodded. “Yes, but…”
Fei Banqing looked straight at Elder Qiu. “Elder Qiu, you heard it. Mu Bai struck first. My student acted in self-defence. Self-defence!”
Elder Qiu glared at Fei Banqing. “You’re trying to shield him!”
Fei Banqing’s brows knitted together. “Old man, when did I ever say I would shield him? Are your ears deaf? Mu Bai attacked first. My student defended himself. Legitimate self-defence!”
Elder Qiu’s face turned livid with rage. “Even if it was self-defence, it was excessive! According to the law, once Mu Bai no longer had the ability to fight back, he should not have continued attacking!”
Fei Banqing looked at Ye Guan.
Ye Guan hesitated, then said, “He threatened me, said he would make me wish I were dead. So I killed him. This counts as acting to avoid imminent danger!”
Avoiding imminent danger!
Fei Banqing’s brows furrowed slightly. She asked quietly, “Is there such a clause in the law?”
Ye Guan answered softly, “I just added it.”
Fei Banqing stared at Ye Guan, speechless.
A herd of ten thousand horses galloped through her mind.
“What the hell is ‘avoiding imminent danger’!”
Elder Qiu bellowed, “Boy, do you think I’ve never read the Guanxuan Laws? There is no such clause. You committed premeditated murder!”
Ye Guan said calmly, “It was legitimate self-defence.”
Seeing Ye Guan being so brazen, Elder Qiu nearly exploded with anger. “Boy, do you think this is some backwater village?”
Fei Banqing moved closer to Ye Guan and whispered, “Don’t be reckless.”
At that moment, an old man suddenly approached from the side.
When Elder Qiu saw him, he immediately said respectfully, “Vice Dean!”
Vice Dean!
The newcomer was none other than Lu Chen, Vice Dean of the Academy and also Vice Head of the Tribunal.
Fei Banqing’s expression darkened the moment she saw him.
This was going to be difficult to handle.
This one wasn’t so easy to fool.
Ye Guan glanced at Fei Banqing’s face, then at Lu Chen, deep in thought.
Lu Chen walked into the centre of the crowd. He glanced at Mu Bai’s corpse, then smiled at Fei Banqing. “Mentor Fei…”
Ye Guan suddenly stepped in front of Lu Chen, bowed slightly, and said, “Senior, may I have a word in private?”
Lu Chen looked at him. “Speak about what?”
Ye Guan made a gesture of invitation and walked to the side.
Lu Chen frowned slightly but followed without much thought.
Fei Banqing’s brows creased. What is this guy planning?
Elder Qiu was equally puzzled.
A short distance away, Ye Guan and Lu Chen stood with their backs to the crowd. From an angle no one could see, Ye Guan discreetly slipped a storage ring into Lu Chen’s hand.
Lu Chen froze.
A bribe?
His brows furrowed, his gaze turning cold. He was about to flare up, but the next moment, when he saw one thousand gold crystals inside the ring, he froze again.
One thousand gold crystals!
Lu Chen was stunned. The crystals were clearly top-grade, far superior to anything the Academy issued.
Ye Guan suddenly said, “Senior, it really was self-defence. He punched me so hard I nearly died, so…”
Lu Chen quietly put the ring away and smiled. “I understand. Completely understandable.”
Ye Guan fell silent.
If you have power, the rules serve you.
If you have money, the rules can be flexible.
If you have neither power nor money, the rules are tailor-made to crush you.
At that moment, Lu Chen turned and walked back to the crowd. “I’ve learned the full story. This young friend acted in legitimate self-defence. Everything was Mu Bai’s own fault.”
Elder Qiu was dumbfounded. “Vice Dean…”
Lu Chen gave him a cold look. “How many times have I told you? You must investigate thoroughly before reaching a conclusion. Old Qiu, you really need to curb that rash temper. Withdraw the team!”
With that, he turned and left.
The Tribunal enforcers followed him and departed.
Elder Qiu stood there, utterly bewildered.
Fei Banqing glanced at Ye Guan, then walked over and said, “Come with me.”
She grabbed Ye Guan and dragged him away.
The crowd was left stunned.
Elder Qiu stared hard at Ye Guan’s retreating back, his thoughts unreadable.
Ye Guan turned his head and glanced at Elder Qiu without a word.
…
Inside the palace.
Fei Banqing looked at Ye Guan. “You bribed him.”
Ye Guan nodded.
Fei Banqing asked, “How much?”
Ye Guan answered, “One thousand gold crystals.”
Fei Banqing narrowed her eyes. “You’re really rich.”
Ye Guan was silent.
After a moment, Fei Banqing said, “He didn’t deserve death.”
Ye Guan shook his head. “That’s only because he’s the one who died. In Mentor’s eyes, he is now the weak one. But if I had been the weaker party today, what would have happened to me? I did try to reason with him, but all I got was disregard and even greater mockery.”
He shook his head again. “At first, I truly had no intention of killing him, but he developed the intent to kill me. If I don’t kill him today, tomorrow or the day after, he will find ways to harm me. Since that is the case, why shouldn’t I eliminate the threat at the root?”
Fei Banqing stared at Ye Guan. At this moment, she suddenly found him a little terrifying.
His mind was frighteningly meticulous.
Her expression was complicated. “Do you know how many people are pursuing Little Jia? Are you going to kill them all?”
Ye Guan replied calmly, “By not killing him today, everyone in the Guanxuan Academy would think I’m easy to bully. That’s how the world works. The more reasonable you are, the more people think you’re weak and bully you even harder. Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is human nature. Strike once to prevent a hundred strikes. That is my stance.”
Fei Banqing looked at him. “What if more people come to confess to Little Jia?”
Ye Guan countered, “Confessing to a woman who already has a fiancé. Mentor, do you think that shows respect to others? Isn’t that behaviour itself worthy of condemnation? Imagine someone confessing to your wife right in front of you. Which man could remain calm and magnanimous? I said I would keep a low profile, but I never said I’d be a shrinking turtle!”
Fei Banqing fell silent.
Ye Guan continued, “If anyone else comes, I will keep killing.”
Fei Banqing looked at him. “You are a dangerous person.”
Ye Guan said calmly, “Mentor, why do you now feel that everything is my fault?”
Fei Banqing shook her head. “I’m not saying it’s your fault. It’s just… the way you do things is too extreme. Like a sword that is too rigid, it will break easily. Do you understand?”
After a moment of silence, Ye Guan asked, “Then Mentor, please teach me. When someone else comes to confess to Little Jia in front of me again, what should I do?”
Fei Banqing was quiet for a while, then let out a soft sigh and turned to leave.
Inside the hall, Ye Guan sat in silence.
Ye Guan asked, “Tower Grandpa, did I do wrong?”
Little Tower replied calmly, “What do you think?”
Ye Guan slowly closed his eyes. “I’ll say it again. I don’t start trouble, but whoever dares to provoke me, I will return it a hundredfold!”
Little Tower said, “Then follow your heart!”
Your heart!
Ye Guan suddenly declared, “Tower Grandpa, I want to become strong. Extremely strong!”
Little Tower was puzzled. “Why?”
Ye Guan said softly, “Only when I am extremely strong can I protect myself and stop others from bullying me.”
Little Tower fell silent.
Ye Guan said no more and began cultivating.
Inside Little Tower, that mysterious voice suddenly spoke. “This little guy has no sense of security…”
Little Tower said quietly, “He was raised free-range. How could he feel secure?”
The mysterious voice said, “His father was also raised free-range and knows how painful that is. Why would he treat his own son the same way…”
Little Tower let out a quiet sigh. “Alas… In order to break the divine obstacle in his heart, the young master refused help from Sister Tianming and the Master…”
