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

284: Section 284In fact, when he first saw the talent assessment report for Yun Xiancheng, which had been personally submitted by Hu Gan, he was so excited that he nearly pulled out a few strands of his own beard on the spot.

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

This meant that as long as this child did not perish prematurely, he was almost certain to become a Dou Zong in the future! There was even a slight possibility of him challenging that legendary, supreme Dou Saint Realm!

Su Qian had originally thought that their Jia Nan Academy had finally experienced a stroke of good luck this time, having picked up a true divine treasure! He had even begun to calculate how to channel the academy’s best resources and cultivation techniques toward this child, binding him firmly to Jia Nan Academy.

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

Such conduct made him, the Great Elder, feel somewhat embarrassed and extremely mortified.

280 Stance

But to tell the truth, even so, from a personal perspective, he still very much wanted to protect this student named Yun Xiancheng.

There was no other reason; it was simply because the future this child displayed was too dazzling, too brilliant! Brilliant enough to make Jia Nan Academy wager its own reputation!

Even the core disciples and peerless geniuses of those Dou Zong factions in the Central Plains were probably... no more than this at his age, right?

It was just that the trouble lay in the fact that when the people sent by the Bai family came to complain to him, they described this person as a peerless scumbag who relied on his talent, was tyrannical without restraint, and regarded human life as nothing but grass.

Although Jia Nan Academy was thirsty for talent, it would never abandon its fundamental principles of founding the school and educating people just for the sake of one genius.

An immoral scumbag, no matter how high his talent was, was someone the academy absolutely could not accept! Su Qian was well aware of the advantages of Jia Nan Academy, and he was equally clear about its limits.

Because the quality of the student intake was uneven, the limit of what the academy could cultivate was basically a Dou King Expert or a Dou Huang. A Dou Zong was already as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, encountered once in a hundred years. As for a Dou Zun...

Since the founding of the school, there had basically been none. Even if there were occasionally one or two exceptionally talented and brilliant graduates, they usually had their own lucky encounters while venturing outside after graduation, luckily breaking through to the Dou Zun level, which had little to do with the academy itself. Therefore, a future Dou Zun was simply too great a temptation for Jia Nan Academy!

Carrying such a complex mood of anxiety, anticipation, and fear of being hurt, he walked into this office. But he did not expect that what he saw was a scene that made his jaw drop—

That legendary ”tyrannical and unrestrained” Yun Xiancheng was sitting calmly and composedly with the Vice Dean’s precious daughter, Hu Jia, and the highly-regarded female instructor, Ruo Lin, the three of them sitting together, chatting and laughing while having a tea party!

And the Vice Dean Hu Gan, who should have been in charge of the overall situation, was lying on a chair to the side like he had no concerns, limbs sprawled out, eyes closed to rest, with a faint, foolish smile on the corner of his mouth!

What was going on?!

Su Qian understood in just one second.

This old thing Hu Gan, where was he worrying about the academy’s reputation?

It was obvious that he had seen his precious daughter, who had vowed never to marry and had caused him to worry until his hair turned white, now finally having the possibility of getting married, and was hiding here, secretly enjoying the sight.

”Patriarch!” ”Patriarch, you have finally come!”

Those Bai family members, who had originally been like frost-bitten eggplants, the moment they saw the middle-aged man enter, immediately felt as if they had found their backbone. They swarmed around him, adding fuel to the fire, and poured out everything about how arrogant and domineering Yun Xiancheng had been just now, how he had despised their Bai family, and how he had been glib-tongued.

That middle-aged man was the true leader of this trip for the Bai family, the current Patriarch of the Bai family, Bai Lie.

His cultivation had reached the five-star Dou Huang Realm, and in the Northwest Continent and the Black-Corner Region, he could be considered a renowned top expert. They had come this time to stand up for the most outstanding genius of their family’s generation, Bai Shan, so they naturally did not come unprepared.

Before coming, they had already used the family’s intelligence network to investigate the backgrounds of Yun Xiancheng and the Xiao Family sisters thoroughly. The Xiao Family, a declining small family in Wutan City, with the strongest person being only a Great Dou Master.

Yun Xiancheng, the young master of the Cloud Mist Sect... Heh, just a declining, broken sect that couldn’t even produce a single Dou Zong, and had recently heard to be falling apart due to internal strife.

Such a background, in front of their powerful Bai family, was simply like an ant, not worth mentioning!

”Oh? There are people beyond people, heavens beyond heavens? Kid, don’t you feel it’s ridiculous for these words to come out of your mouth?”

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

”Just you? A young master of a broken sect? I would like to ask, how many years has it been since your so-called Cloud Mist Sect produced a decent Dou Zong?”

Yun Xiancheng looked at his smug, villainous face, and the expression on his face did not change in the slightest. He just tilted his head, as if he were really thinking about this question seriously, and then replied in an uncertain tone:

”How many years? Let me think. About two years, I suppose.”

”Hmm?” Patriarch Bai was stunned by his nonsensical answer, completely failing to understand what he meant by that sentence. Yun Xiancheng looked at his confused expression and kindly explained it to him.

”I mean, if my subsequent cultivation continues as it is now, following the established steps, in about two years, I will be able to break through to the Dou Zong Realm.”

He was like stating a fact that couldn’t be simpler, or like evaluating a primary school-level math problem, his tone so flat that there wasn’t the slightest ripple.

After being stunned for a full three seconds, Patriarch Bai finally reacted. Immediately, as if he had heard the most fantastical and ridiculous joke in the world, he burst into a burst of shrill, mocking laughter filled with disdain!

”Hahahaha!!! You’re killing me! You’re really killing me! Two years? Just you?! A frog in a well from the Cloud Mist Sect, crawling out from the borderlands of the Northwest Continent, you actually think the threshold of a Dou Zong is some minor setback that you can just step over casually?!”

He laughed until he was rocking back and forth, tears almost streaming out.

Just at this moment, Hu Gan, who had been resting with his eyes closed to the side, finally opened his eyes slowly.

He stood up silently, walked to Su Qian’s side, and while everyone wasn’t paying attention, nudged him gently with his elbow, then whispered rapidly in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

”Old Su, I think highly of this kid named Yun Xiancheng. Our Jia Nan Academy can afford to gamble, and must gamble! So, in my opinion, this time... we should try to remain neutral, not help either side, watch the tigers fight from the mountain, and let the two families resolve it themselves.”

Su Qian looked at Hu Gan’s solemn appearance, which was all ”for his daughter’s happiness,” and rolled his eyes at him, both annoyed and amused. He knew that this old guy was determined today to be a hands-off manager and kick all the problems to him.

He couldn’t be bothered to waste more words with him, so he cast his gaze back to the young man who had been calm and composed from beginning to end. Truly a good junior.

Su Qian nodded inwardly.

”I see his speech and manners are clear and logical, his gaze is clear, and I can’t see the slightest sign of tyranny or perversity. It seems that those Bai family people, in order to gain the moral high ground, really haven’t spared any effort in spreading rumors behind his back and twisting the truth.”

”Truly a good junior, I don’t see how he is tyrannical. It seems it is the Bai family spreading rumors behind his back,” Su Qian said to Hu Gan, which was his way of stating his attitude.

281 Settled

Great Elder Su Qian’s words, filled with affirmation and appreciation, were like a loud slap in the face, struck fiercely and mercilessly against Patriarch Bai, Bai Lie.

The pride and arrogance on Patriarch Bai’s face froze instantly, then turned iron-blue.

He couldn’t understand why this Great Elder Su Qian, who had always been known for being ”fair and strict” in Jia Nan Academy, would, upon his first meeting with that wet-behind-the-ears kid, and even without conducting a complete inquiry, so clearly and unhesitatingly side with him!

This was completely contrary to reason!

He forcibly suppressed the surging anger and suspicion in his heart, tried hard to make his voice sound less flustered, and said to Su Qian calmly, word by word:

”Great Elder, you must not be deceived by this kid’s appearance! This person is glib-tongued and deeply scheming; his current calm and composed demeanor is all a disguise! It is to win your sympathy!”

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

”Regarding this matter, who is right and who is wrong, our Jia Nan Academy has its own public opinion, and will naturally give all parties a proper disposition. We will never favor any side, and we will never let the true victim feel disheartened.”

These words were spoken with a polished, unassailable veneer. But between the lines, anyone present who wasn’t a fool could hear the subtext regarding who the ”true victim” really was.

Afterward, 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 air of authority belonging to a Dou Zong instantly vanished from his face, replaced by a kind, almost benevolent smile—the look of an elder watching a junior.

He asked gently, ”Classmate Yun, tell me the truth. That day, was it that student named Bai Shan who ambushed you on your way back, attempting to commit impropriety and violently assault you and Instructor Ruo Lin? And you, only in a situation of last resort, rose up to defend yourselves, accidentally injuring him severely?”

As Su Qian spoke, he subtly winked at Yun Xiancheng; the implication could not have been more obvious.

Yun Xiancheng was incredibly sharp. Upon hearing this, he immediately understood that this Great Elder was determined to protect him, and had even concocted the perfect excuse on his behalf.

Interesting... It seems this Great Elder values my ”potential” even more than I imagined.

He chuckled inwardly, but his face immediately displayed a ”just right” expression of lingering fear and grievance. He followed the path Su Qian had laid out for him and responded naturally:

”Classmate Bai Shan suddenly sprang from the shadows and, without a word, tried to kill me. In my panic, to protect my teacher and myself, I had no choice but to fight back. In the chaos, I accidentally injured Classmate Bai Shan. I have felt deeply guilty and uneasy about this ever since.”

”That makes sense!” Su Qian slapped his thigh, his face showing an ”I see” expression.

”I knew it! How could a student of my Jia Nan Academy attack someone so brutally without cause? So it was self-defense!” He cleared his throat and, in a tone full of ”justice,” announced loudly:

”According to Article 37 of the Jia Nan Academy rules, any self-defense measures taken by a student when facing a lethal attack are considered reasonable and justified! Classmate Yun, you are innocent! The school has no reason to punish you!”

”Pfft!”

Patriarch Bai felt a mouthful of old blood stuck in his throat, and he almost spat it out on the spot! He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms, causing waves of sharp pain.

He never dreamed that even after he had prepared a foolproof plan and found all the ”legal basis,” this Great Elder Su Qian would, upon seeing that kid for the first time, immediately and unreasonably side with him! And right in front of him! Openly and shamelessly exonerating him!

How is this a fair judgment? This is clearly protecting one’s own, twisting black and white! ”Impossible!”

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

”This is absolutely impossible! He is lying! You are all lying! Bai Shan would never do that! I don’t believe it! I don’t believe your one-sided story! I will call Bai Shan over right now to confront him face-to-face!”

Patriarch Bai was truly furious. Having said this, he prepared to immediately send someone to bring his poor son over to expose the lies of this shameless teacher and student on the spot.

However, just at that moment! ”Bang!” The office door was rudely kicked open again. A young instructor responsible for managing the student dormitories stumbled in, his face full of terror and panic, shouting out of breath:

”No... it’s bad! Vice Dean! Great Elder! Something... something terrible has happened!” Everyone’s gaze was instantly drawn to him.

The young instructor took several deep, ragged breaths before shouting in a terrified voice, bordering on tears, ”Bai... Bai Shan... he... in his own dormitory... he castrated himself!”

”What?!”

”He did what to himself?!”

”He also said... while he was doing it, he kept muttering... something like... ’I hate that I am a man,’ ’If I weren’t a man, he wouldn’t have rejected me’... that kind of completely incoherent nonsense! I think... I think he must have... been traumatized and completely lost his mind!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire office fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was stunned by this horrifying, bizarre turn of events, unable to say a word for a long time.

Especially those from the Bai family; after a brief stupor, their faces turned from iron-blue to pitch-black. It was over. It was completely over now.

They didn’t need to think to know that the testimony of a madman had no credibility. Furthermore, one who had castrated himself because of ”unrequited love”?

”Ahem.”

Finally, Great Elder Su Qian was the first to react. He first looked with some sympathy at the Bai family members, who were now ashen-faced, then cleared his throat and, in a tone full of concerned gravity, stroked his beard, nodded, and said:

”Sigh... what a poor child. It seems Classmate Bai Shan has suffered severe mental trauma because of this incident. Under these circumstances, it is indeed not suitable for him to remain in the academy. I think it would be best for him to return home and recuperate for a while.”

He looked at Bai Lie and, with an expression that said, ”See, I have considered your child’s situation so thoughtfully,” asked gently, ”Patriarch Bai, what do you think of this suggestion?”

What else could Bai Lie say? He felt a tightness in his chest, unable to catch his breath, and almost fainted on the spot.

”Since... since that is the case.” Seeing that he did not object, Su Qian immediately made the final decision and concluded, ”Alright! I think this matter ends here! The rights and wrongs are already very clear. You may all leave.”

The Bai family members all looked grim, as if dark clouds were pressing down on them, their hearts filled with endless grievances and rage.

But the attitude of the two leaders of Jia Nan Academy was clear: they were determined to protect Yun Xiancheng at all costs. The Bai family was outnumbered and powerless; even if they wanted to do something, they had no way to act and could not openly tear off the mask of civility.

Finally, Patriarch Bai Lie took a deep, resentful look at Yun Xiancheng, as if he wanted to carve his appearance into his bones forever. He forcibly suppressed his surging blood and squeezed a sentence through his teeth:

”Good... very good! Great Elder Su Qian, Vice President Hu Qian, the ’justice’ of Jia Nan Academy today, my Bai family will remember it forever!” After saying this, he did not linger, violently flicked his sleeves, and turned to leave with his equally disheartened clansmen.

After the Bai family members, with their backs full of resentment and unwillingness, completely disappeared at the doorway, the atmosphere in the office finally eased.

Su Qian looked at Yun Xiancheng, and the expression on his face instantly switched from the fair and impartial ”Great Elder” to a ”grandfather” feeling sorry for his grandson who had caused trouble.

He sighed and walked over to Yun Xiancheng, extending his hand. Looking as if he wanted to hit him but couldn’t bear to, he finally just patted his shoulder heavily. ”My dear grandson! You really... you really know how to cause trouble for me!” His tone was filled with helplessness and a touch of lingering fear.

”You brat, this is a school! This is Jia Nan Academy! It’s not like those other places filled with fighting and killing! You child, why don’t you know how to restrain yourself and not be so flashy?!”

”Let me tell you, this time you are lucky. You happened to catch me in a good mood today, plus that old guy Hu Gan was speaking up for you, which is why I risked my old face to suppress this matter! Remember, next time, the school will absolutely not protect you like this again!”

Yun Xiancheng looked at his ”worried to death” appearance and couldn’t help but smile. He stood up, bowed respectfully to Su Qian again, then nodded seriously and said:

”The Great Elder’s lesson is well-taken. This student knows he was wrong. Actually, my personality is usually very gentle. Unless I am pushed to the limit, I would generally never hurt anyone voluntarily.”

”Enough, enough. Save that rhetoric to deceive those naive young girls; I can’t be bothered to listen!”

Su Qian waved his hand impatiently and said in a tone that was almost an order, ”In any case, I don’t care how gentle you usually are! Listen well: you are already a Dou King Expert now, so don’t get angry with those little brats in the Great Dou Master or Dou Spirit Realms. Doesn’t that lower your own status?”

”Therefore, I am giving you a strict order! From today on, in the academy, unless you encounter a life-threatening crisis, you are not allowed to attack any other students! Can you do that?!”

”Yes, this student understands.” Yun Xiancheng nodded obediently again, agreeing very readily.