High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1136: Chapter 198: Eye of the Storm

The minor conflict between the Absolution Hunting Team and Sepulano had extensive repercussions.

Admittedly, most young wizards at the school could not see the deeper entanglements and dealings between various wizarding factions. However, just within the First University, between Alpha and Jiuyou, the public opinion caused by this sudden incident was already creating a huge uproar.

Earlier on April 12, the atmosphere on campus had been relatively restrained.

As the victors, Jiuyou Academy naturally didn’t have much to say. The incident merely added another layer of unearned fame to Zheng Qing and others, then students of Jiuyou, when encountering students from other academies, couldn’t help but speak in a condescending tone of pity for the injured Sepulano, or condemn Alpha for its lax campus discipline.

As the passive side, Alpha Academy wouldn’t just accept defeat.

Before noon, rumors started circulating around the campus.

Rumors claim that Sepulano had gone to Jiuyou Academy as a ’Goodwill Ambassador’ to meet with student leaders of sibling academies, but was dishonorably ambushed before the meeting; rumors also say that the Absolution Hunting Team used a Big Wizard’s talisman in their fight against Sepulano, which was a disgrace to the campus duel culture of the First University; rumors even say that Jiuyou Academy’s School Works Committee and professors watched as Alpha students were attacked and injured on campus, only appearing afterwards, which was truly despicable.

Such things were too numerous to count.

Because the rumors were so rife, by the afternoon, some Alpha Academy students had already shouted the slogan ’an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ calling for Alpha’s Hunting Teams to attack Jiuyou Academy’s student leaders or club officers, and they could use any means necessary.

The tension between the two academies was already on a knife edge.

At this time, the school issued a preliminary handling opinion regarding the two parties involved.

The campus immediately erupted.

The victorious students of Jiuyou Academy felt betrayed by their academy, clearly Sepulano had violated school rules first, and Zheng Qing had enforced the law properly, yet the handling opinions placed more responsibility on Zheng Qing.

Including many directors of the student council, the student leaders of Jiuyou Academy expressed their stance that if so-called ’justice’ was like this, then the next time similar infractions occurred, would the enforcers still have the confidence to open their Law Books?

Compared to this, the attitude of Alpha Academy had become even harsher— in their view, since even the school’s handling opinion sided with them, then those earlier campus rumors, including that Sepulano was ambushed and Jiuyou Academy professors ignored it, were naturally not without basis.

Tit for tat, the students of both academies stirred up under the influence of blood and rumors, war declarations were passed from hand to hand among the students, speech meetings were held in dormitories and classrooms, various Hunting Teams formed under various names, and applications for nighttime cross-academy training flew by the stacks to the School Works Committee and the student council offices.

By April 13, Monday, the anger that had brewed overnight became even more intense.

So much so that in many classrooms, the conflict between Jiuyou and Alpha students was completely publicized—any statement from one side in class could provoke strong attacks from the other, and even a slight friction outside of class could lead to a group incident.

In just half a day, the ratio of students from Alpha Academy and Jiuyou Academy received by the school infirmary had surpassed those from Starry Sky Academy, causing the professors from both academies to fly into a rage.

The School Works Committee of The First University and the Joint Meeting of Professors (The Student Union of The First University had nearly come to a standstill due to severe internal conflicts when dealing with matters involving both academies) were forced to issue multiple statements, sternly warning against all acts that incite campus conflict; strongly condemning any speech that incites hatred; and continuously reminding all students to focus on their studies and not be distracted by the strange rumors and hostile atmosphere on campus.

Meanwhile, the school further strengthened discipline inspections for students.

These included the management of offensive magic items like Law Books and Spells during school terms; pre-application procedures for Hunting Team activities and scope; reducing the instances where students from Alpha Fortress and Jiuyou Academy shared classes, with multiple minor adjustments made to the class schedules and teaching staff.

In contrast to the chaos on campus, Sepulano and the Absolution Hunting Team, as the main parties involved, kept a low profile, diligently working to reduce their own visibility.

Sepulano’s low profile was naturally because he was embarrassed to have been knocked unconscious by a group of freshmen. Although his image was salvaged by subsequent media recovery efforts, Sir Friedman did not miss this golden opportunity, continuously striking his reputation.

More than once, Sepulano heard Friedman comparing him to the foolish Arthur Ness — speaking of Arthur Ness, since Sepulano had also suffered a setback at the hands of Zheng Qing and others, his days had actually become much easier. At least no one used the fact that his magic level was so poor he couldn’t even beat a freshman as a topic to attack his intelligence anymore.

The Absolution Hunting Team’s discretion was purely for safety reasons.

As the saying goes, the more you fear something, the more likely it is to happen. Zheng Qing had emphasized more than once in internal Hunting Team meetings not to participate in disputes between the two academies or to make public comments on academy conflicts. But reality had given them a harsh slap, pulling them directly into the center of the struggle.

Of course, there were benefits to being in the center of the vortex — it was slightly quieter and more peaceful than other areas of the whirlpool.

”In all storms, the eye is the area of lowest pressure at sea level in the storm, and there the weather is calmest.” Before Monday afternoon’s Talisman class, Xin Fat Man analyzed the atmosphere in the school and said, ”Just like around you and Sepulano, probably the quietest two corners of the entire school.”

Indeed, that was the case.

Perhaps the students all felt that the school was too harsh on Zheng Qing when they saw him, they often gave him an encouraging smile, not bothering him further, allowing him some time to adjust his mindset.

In Sepulano’s case, since that Fat Man was always gloomy with a terrible temper, aside from Sir Friedman, who would say some odd words to him, there were not many daring to provoke him during this sensitive period at Alpha Fortress.

Zheng Qing did not agree with the Fat Man’s point of view:

”Although the eye is the calmest part of the storm, with no wind, at the center of the eye, at sea level, waves converge from all directions, forming a huge, unstable rogue wave.”

”This is probably the most dangerous area in the ocean.”