Battle Through the Heavens: Beauties Abound Starting with Yunlan and Her Disciples

136: Section 136However, under that pressure as vast as heavenly might, all his words, all his fury, and all his schemes appeared so pale and laughable.

Before he could finish his sentence, he could no longer support himself. A sweetness rose in his throat as a mouthful of blood nearly sprayed out, but he could only grit his teeth and force that blood...

...back down his throat. His face turned blue and white in turns, looking pathetic to the extreme.

”Uncle Hu! Don’t... don’t say anymore! Wait for the Patriarch! Wait for the Patriarch to arrive before... before making a decision!” A Dou Ling with a slightly higher cultivation nearby squeezed these words through his teeth with all his strength. ”This kid... is a hard nut to crack! We... we shouldn’t get angry with him!”

The Bai Family elder known as Uncle Hu heard this as if he had found a life-saving straw.

He knew that if he continued to hold on like this, he would likely make a fool of himself on the spot. He took a long, difficult breath, as if he were about to...

...burst his lungs, before finally managing to make his voice sound less shaky:

”Fine! Fine! You brat, you really are a bit sinister! Today, this old man won’t lower himself to the level of a yellow-mouthed child like you!” He roared with feigned bravado, trying to use volume to cover his lack of confidence.

”You wait here obediently! Our Patriarch has personally gone to find First Elder Su Qian of your Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy! No matter how glib or silver-tongued you are, in the face of absolute strength and rules, you will never escape the long arm of the law!”

After saying this, he immediately shut his mouth and didn’t dare say another word, merely putting all his effort into resisting that omnipresent and terrifying pressure.

Yun Xiancheng looked at their pathetic yet stubborn appearance and merely raised an eyebrow indifferently, neither confirming nor denying their threats.

With a thought, the terrifying pressure capable of crushing mountains vanished without a trace in an instant, as if it had never existed. This precise control of releasing and retracting was even more shocking to Hu Gan than the violent pressure itself. Yun Xiancheng sat back in his chair leisurely, refilling the long-cooled tea for himself, Ruo Lin, and Hu Jia.

His fluid movements and composed posture made it seem as if he wasn’t a student waiting for judgment, but rather the true master of this office.

Ruo Lin looked at her student, recalling his overbearing manner when he suppressed the entire room single-handedly just now, and then seeing his current calm and serene state. Her beautiful eyes were already filled with a strange light called ’appreciation’ and ’attraction’.

She couldn’t help but nod gently, and a very tender smile that she hadn’t even noticed herself unconsciously touched the corners of her mouth. This child... no, he was no longer a child.

She suddenly felt that the Yun Xiancheng before her was more like a man who could stand tall between heaven and earth, rather than a boy who needed her protection.

Especially in that situation just now, the moment he unhesitatingly shielded her and Hu Jia behind him—that back, which wasn’t particularly burly but seemed capable of holding up the entire sky, was truly... so responsible.

At that moment, Ruo Lin’s heart beat incredibly fast. It was a feeling she had never experienced before, called ’attraction’.

Even now, as she looked at Yun Xiancheng’s handsome and peaceful profile, the aftershocks of that intense heartbeat had not yet completely dissipated. Meanwhile, Hu Jia’s expression as she looked at Yun Xiancheng was even more interesting.

The young girl’s eyes, which were usually sharp and clear, now seemed to hold an entire brilliant starry sky. They sparkled as she stared unblinkingly at Yun...

That gaze was as if it could speak, exposing all the shock, admiration, curiosity, and a hint of ’adoration’ that she herself was unwilling to admit...

...all in plain sight.

When she saw Yun Xiancheng bringing her a freshly refilled cup of hot tea, Hu Jia’s heroic and pretty face actually turned red with a ’whoosh’. She somewhat...

...flusteredly lowered her head, reaching out both hands to carefully take the teacup, and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz:

The few messengers from the Bai Family were left hanging just like that.

Compared to their aggressive, ’ready to eat people’ manner when they first entered, they were now like a bunch of punctured balloons. Each of them sat on the sofa with their heads hanging, looking dejected and restless.

They couldn’t leave, yet they couldn’t stay; they were in a dilemma, awkward to the extreme.

Time passed minute by minute in such a strange and quiet atmosphere.

After waiting for a long while, until the atmosphere on Yun Xiancheng’s side had evolved from a serious confrontation into a leisurely tea party filled even with some laughter, the heavy door of the office was finally pushed open from the outside with a ’bang’.

A middle-aged man walked in with large strides. His face was seventy to eighty percent similar to Bai Shan’s, but his temperament was much gloomier and sharper, and he looked nearly twenty years older.

Beside him, an old man with a thin frame, white hair, and a white beard followed closely, wearing the simple instructor’s robes of Jia Nan Academy.

Although this old man’s aura was restrained, the occasional sliver of pressure he leaked was enough to make space ripple. He must be the pillar of Jia Nan Academy, the Inner Academy’s First Elder, a Dou Zong—Su Qian.

However, at this moment, First Elder Su Qian’s face was filled with annoyance and helplessness.

As one of the highest-ranking members of the academy, he was naturally well aware of the matter regarding Yun Xiancheng’s enrollment.

In fact, when he first saw the talent assessment report on Yun Xiancheng personally submitted by Hu Gan, he was so excited he nearly plucked out several strands of his own beard on the spot.

A Dou Wang under the age of twenty! What kind of concept was that?

It meant that as long as this boy didn’t die young, he was almost guaranteed to become a Dou Zun in the future! There was even a slight possibility of him reaching for that legendary, supreme Dou Sheng Realm!

Su Qian originally thought that Jia Nan Academy had truly struck luck this time, picking up a genuine immortal treasure! He had even begun to calculate how to tilt the academy’s best resources and best techniques toward this child to firmly bind him to Jia Nan Academy.

But what he never expected was that before this treasure’s seat was even warm, on the second day of enrollment, he had crippled another student’s cultivation in public!

Such behavior truly made him, the First Elder, feel a loss of face and extremely embarrassed.

280 Stance

But to be honest, even so, from a personal emotional standpoint, he still really wanted to protect this student named Yun Xiancheng.

For no other reason than that the future this child displayed was too dazzling, too brilliant! So brilliant that it was enough for Jia Nan Academy to gamble its reputation once!

Even the core disciples and peerless geniuses of those Dou Zun forces in the Central Plains would probably... be nothing more than this at his age, right? It was just...

...the trouble lay in the fact that when the people sent by the Bai Family complained to him, they described this person as a peerless scumbag who relied on his talent to be tyrannical and treated human life like grass.

Although Jia Nan Academy was thirsty for talent, it would never abandon its fundamental principles of education for a single genius.

A scumbag with corrupt character, no matter how high his talent, was someone the academy absolutely could not accept! Su Qian knew the strengths of Jia Nan Academy and was equally clear about its limits.

Because the quality of students varied, the limit of what the academy could cultivate was basically Dou Wang and Dou Huang. Dou Zong experts were already as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, once-in-a-century occurrences. As for Dou Zun...

Since the founding of the school, there had basically been none. Even if there were occasionally one or two exceptionally gifted and brilliant graduates...

...who happened to have their own fortuitous encounters while traveling after graduation and luckily broke through to Dou Zun, that had little to do with the academy itself. Therefore, a future Dou Zun was simply too great a temptation for Jia Nan Academy!

He entered this office with such a worried, expectant, yet fearful-of-being-hurt complex mood. Yet he didn’t expect that what he would see was such a jaw-dropping scene—

That supposedly ’tyrannical’ Yun Xiancheng was sitting together with the Vice Dean’s precious daughter Hu Jia and the highly-regarded female Instructor Ruo Lin, chatting and laughing at a tea party with a calm and composed face!

Meanwhile, Vice Dean Hu Gan, who was supposed to be presiding over the situation, was lying spread-eagled on a nearby chair like it was none of his business, resting with his eyes closed, and even had a faint, silly smile on his lips!

What is the situation here?!

Su Qian understood in just one second.

Where was this old fellow Hu Gan worrying about the academy’s reputation?

He had clearly seen that his precious daughter—who had sworn never to marry years ago and caused his hair to turn white with worry—now finally had a possibility of being married off.

He was hiding here, secretly watching and enjoying himself.

”Patriarch!”

”Patriarch, you’ve finally come!”

Those members of the Bai Family, who were originally like frost-bitten eggplants, immediately found their pillar of support the moment they saw the middle-aged man enter. They swarmed forward, adding oil and vinegar as they recounted how arrogant Yun Xiancheng had been, how he had looked down on their Bai Family, and how he had used clever words to deceive everyone.

That middle-aged man was the true leader of the Bai Family’s group, the current Patriarch Bai.

His cultivation had already reached the Realm of a Five-star Dou Huang. In the Northwest Continent and the Black-Corner Region, he was considered a top-tier powerhouse with a resounding reputation. They had come this time to stand up for Bai Shan, the most outstanding genius of the family’s current generation, so they naturally hadn’t come unprepared.

Before arriving, they had already used the family’s intelligence network to investigate Yun Xiancheng and the Xiao sisters’ backgrounds thoroughly. The Xiao Family was just a declining minor family from Wutan City, whose strongest member was only a Great Dou Master.

As for Yun Xiancheng, the Young Sect Master of the Cloud Mist Sect... Hah, it was just another declining, dilapidated sect that couldn’t even produce a single Dou Zong and had supposedly fallen apart recently due to internal strife.

Before their powerful Bai Family, such a background was like an ant—completely beneath mention!

“Oh? There are always people beyond people, and heavens beyond heavens? Kid, don’t you think it’s ridiculous for those words to come out of your mouth?”

After listening to his clansmen’s tearful complaints, Patriarch Bai, Bai Lie, locked his gloomy eyes onto Yun Xiancheng like a venomous snake. He looked at Yun Xiancheng with a face full of disdain and sneered in a tone filled with mockery and contempt:

“Just based on you? The Young Sect Master of a dilapidated sect? I’d like to ask, how many years has it been since your so-called Cloud Mist Sect produced a decent Dou Zong?”

Looking at his face, which was like that of a petty man who had achieved his aims, Yun Xiancheng’s expression didn’t change at all. He just tilted his head as if he were truly thinking seriously about the question, then answered in an uncertain tone.

“How many years? Let me think. About two years or so.” “Hmm?”

Patriarch Bai was stunned by this inexplicable answer, completely failing to understand what he meant. Seeing his confused expression, Yun Xiancheng very kindly explained it to him.

“What I mean is, if my subsequent cultivation continues step-by-step just like it is now, it will probably take another two years for me to break through to Dou Zong.”

He spoke as if he were stating a fact that couldn’t be simpler, or perhaps like he was evaluating a primary school math problem; his tone was so flat that it didn’t contain a single ripple.

Patriarch Bai was stunned for a full three seconds before he finally reacted. Immediately, as if he had heard the most fantastical and hilarious joke in the world, he suddenly erupted into a burst of piercing laughter filled with disdain and mockery!

“Hahahaha—! You’re killing me! This is truly hilarious! Two years? Just based on you?! A frog at the bottom of a well from the Cloud Mist Sect, crawled out of some remote corner of the Northwest Continent, and you think the threshold of a Dou Zong is some minor setback you can just cross whenever you please?!”

He laughed so hard he doubled over, and tears were almost coming out.

Right then, Hu Gan, who had been resting with his eyes closed to the side, finally slowly opened them.

He stood up soundlessly and walked over to Su Qian’s side. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he nudged him gently with his elbow and whispered quickly in a voice only the two of them could hear:

“Old Su, I have high hopes for this kid, Yun Xiancheng. Our Jia Nan Academy can afford to gamble, and we must! So, in my opinion, we should... try to remain neutral this time, helping neither side. We’ll sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, letting the two families resolve it themselves.”

Seeing Hu Gan’s solemn “everything for my daughter’s happiness” look, Su Qian gave him an annoyed yet amused white-eyed glare. He knew this old fellow was determined to be a hands-off manager today and kick the ball entirely into his court.

He didn’t bother wasting any more words on him but instead turned his gaze back to the young man who had remained calm and composed from start to finish. ’Truly a fine junior.’

Su Qian nodded inwardly.

‘Judging by his speech and behavior, he is logical and his eyes are clear; I don’t see even a hint of a tyrannical or perverse nature. It seems those people from the Bai Family have really been spreading rumors and distorting the truth behind his back just to be in the right.’

“Truly a fine junior; I don’t see any signs of tyranny. It seems the Bai Family has been spreading rumors behind his back,” Su Qian said to Hu Gan, effectively stating his stance.

281 The Dust Settles

First Elder Su Qian’s words, filled with affirmation and appreciation, were like a resounding slap that landed ruthlessly and mercilessly on Patriarch Bai Lie’s face.

The smugness and arrogance on Patriarch Bai’s face froze instantly, then turned ashen.

He couldn’t understand for the life of him why First Elder Su Qian, who was always known for being “fair and upright” in Jia Nan Academy, would side with that yellow-mouthed brat so clearly and without hesitation upon their first meeting, before even conducting a full inquiry!

This was completely illogical!

He forcibly suppressed the surging anger and suspicion in his heart, trying to make his voice sound less undignified as he spoke to Su Qian calmly, one word at a time:

“First Elder, you must not be deceived by this kid’s appearance! This person is silver-tongued and deep-scheming. His current calm and breezy appearance is all a facade! It’s to win your sympathy!”

Before he could finish, Su Qian flicked his sleeves impatiently and sat down directly on a nearby armchair in a domineering manner. He picked up the cup of tea that had long since gone cold and, without even looking at Bai Lie, spoke in a majestic tone:

“As for who is right and who is wrong in this matter, our Jia Nan Academy has its own public opinion and will naturally give all parties a proper resolution. We will never favor any side, nor will we let the true victim be disappointed.”

These words were spoken grandly and flawlessly. However, as for who exactly the “true victim” was, anyone present who wasn’t a fool could hear the underlying meaning.

Subsequently, Su Qian ignored the Bai family members, whose faces had turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and turned his gaze toward Yun Xiancheng.

The majesty belonging to a Dou Zong powerhouse on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by a nearly kind smile, like that of an elder looking at a junior.

He asked gently:

“Student Yun, tell me the truth. On that day, was it that student named Bai Shan who ambushed you on your way back, attempting to harbor ill intentions and launch a violent attack against you and Instructor Ruo Lin, and you only fought back in self-defense out of necessity, accidentally injuring him heavily in the process?”

As Su Qian spoke, he even gave Yun Xiancheng a subtle wink. The hint couldn’t have been more obvious.

How clever was Yun Xiancheng? Hearing these words, he immediately understood that this First Elder was determined to protect him and had even thought of the perfect excuse for him.

‘Interesting... It seems this First Elder values my “potential” even more than I imagined.’

He chuckled inwardly, but his face immediately showed a “just right” expression of lingering fear and grievance. Following the stage Su Qian had set, he responded naturally:

“Student Bai Shan suddenly lunged from the shadows and attacked me without a word. In my haste, to protect my teacher and myself, I could only strive to fight back. In the confusion, I accidentally injured Student Bai Shan.”

“Afterward, I have always felt deeply guilty and uneasy about this matter.”

“Then that’s it!” Su Qian slapped his thigh, an “as I thought” expression appearing on his face.

“I was saying, how could a student of my Jia Nan Academy strike so heavily for no reason? So it was legitimate self-defense!” He cleared his throat and announced loudly in a tone filled with “justice”:

“According to Article 37 of the Jia Nan Academy Regulations, all self-defense measures taken by a student when encountering a lethal attack are reasonable and justified! Student Yun, you are innocent! The school has no reason to punish you!”

“Pfft—!”

Patriarch Bai felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, nearly spitting it out on the spot! He clenched his fists, his nails sinking deep into his palms due to excessive force, bringing bursts of stinging pain.

He never would have dreamed that while his side had prepared a perfect plan and found all the “legal basis,”

this First Elder Su Qian would immediately and unreasonably side with the kid after the first glance! He even did it right in front of him! Openly and shamelessly making excuses for him!

How was this a fair resolution? This was clearly officials protecting each other and distorting black and white. “Impossible!”

Bai Lie could no longer remain calm. He pointed at Yun Xiancheng and roared hysterically,

“This is absolutely impossible! He’s lying! You’re all lying! Bai Shan would never do such a thing! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe your one-sided story! I—”