The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer and the experts of the Temple Seminary stood around the stone platform, surrounding Luoluo in the center. Any one of them could easily subdue her, but the problem was that she was standing right in front of Tianhai Ya'er, only several feet away. Her fist was tightly clenched, a thunderstorm within.
Once this fist fell, Tianhai Ya'er would die or be crippled.
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer and the experts of the Temple Seminary all had very grim expressions. They did not dare to take one step forward nor did they retreat. They maintained the current state of affairs, hoping to intimidate her into staying her hand. They thought that with the passage of time, Luoluo would emerge from her fighting state and become much more cool-headed.
All was quiet. No one wanted to excite this girl, nor did anyone wish for an even more gruesome scene to occur.
Tianhai Ya'er himself had no awareness of this. He looked at Luoluo, coughing blood, his voice trembling and tears streaming as he spoke, "Don't kill me…I beg you…don't kill me, I'm really scared, so scared…hahahaha!"
This pathetic begging tinged with tears suddenly became a laugh of unbridled arrogance!
The boy with his face covered in blood had an abnormally ruthless expression and seemed particularly sinister. He fiercely stared at Luoluo and howled, "You believe I'd really be scared of you! I'm just playing with you! Because you're done! The Orthodox Academy is also done! Look around you at these shameless old fellows, their bellies filled with sewage. Whether I beat you into a cripple or it turns out like now, you're both done! Because no one can treat me this way!"
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer's complexion turned somewhat unsightly.
Luoluo slightly wrinkled her brow and raised her fist even higher. Bright specks of light circled around her fingers, very beautiful and also very frightening.
Tianhai Ya'er's expression suddenly changed. He shrilly screamed, his two legs kicking about and his expression growing crazed to the extreme. He looked just like a child who had just had its milk snatched away!
"What do you plan to do! Could it be that you actually dare to strike me! The Divine Empress is my grandaunt! In this continent, who would dare to strike me!"
There was a deathly stillness. Everyone knew that this little monster of the Temple Seminary spoke the truth. Let alone the fact that he was rumored to be the Pope's disciple, solely because he had a grandaunt like this meant that no one dared to make things difficult for him. Thinking about the frenzied reprisals that would occur after this incident, the crowd turned to Luoluo with gazes of pity and empathy.
Surrounded by senior experts and threatened by this repulsive boy, what would Luoluo do next?
She gazed beyond the stage at a certain corner, at that youth.
This was her subconscious, or perhaps habitual, action. She might not require Chen Changsheng's opinion, but she felt that she should comply with Chen Changsheng's view.
Everyone's gazes followed her gaze to the corner, to Chen Changsheng.
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...
Chen Changsheng at this moment felt rather complex.
He was not at all surprised, nor was he anything close to pleasantly surprised. After these days of instructing Luoluo in cultivation at the Orthodox Academy, he knew that, though strong, the little monster of the Temple Seminary was no match for Luoluo, or else he would have definitely stopped her from stepping onto the stone platform. However, he had not imagined that the Temple Seminary's little monster would be such a fool and actually dare to directly contest with Luoluo on strength of true essence and ultimately suffer such a miserable defeat, now requiring Luoluo to make such an important choice.
He knew what choice Luoluo would make because several days ago, a grain of sand had gotten into her eye. The girl had taken half a day, insisting on getting that grain of sand out, before she was finally willing to continue studying. Ultimately, she succeeded. With red eyes, she happily ran around the lake.
He knew why Luoluo was hesitating, why she had turned to him. She was concerned that she might stir some sort of trouble for the Orthodox Academy. In addition, she had grown used to asking for his opinion before doing anything, and no matter what he chose, she would always obey.
That little monster of the Temple Seminary had been defeated by Luoluo, and Luoluo was seeking his opinion. Upon confirming these two facts, Chen Changsheng knew what he should do: he decided to very straightforwardly give his opinion, in accord with the path Luoluo had originally wanted to choose.
This was very good. Chen Changsheng thought to himself, this responsibility should be mine to bear. He stood and gazed at the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer and the crowd waiting with bated breath. After a period of silence, he said, "A moment ago, he said that he wanted to cripple Tang Thirty-Six."
His voice was rather hoarse and halting, so he seemed very clumsy. It wasn't because he was afraid, but because he just wasn't used to speaking in front of so many people. Frankly speaking, today's Ivy Festival was absolutely the first time he had met so many people in his entire life.
And what he was doing was very unyielding, yet he was not skilled at speaking unyielding words.
He thought it over, deemed this reason sufficient, and then he spoke, "Tang Thirty-Six is my friend, so…"
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...
Luoluo understood his meaning and then suddenly realized that she had made a mistake. She should not have looked to her teacher. That look had been out of habit, out of respect, but it was also the equivalent of placing the power of choice and all the consequences that would follow on her teacher. This was an extremely wrong thing to do.
She turned away and placed her gaze once more on Tianhai Ya'er.
Now, Chen Changsheng had just said that Tang Thirty-Six was his friend.
Tianhai Ya'er saw the look in her eyes and understood her intentions. His face turned exceptionally pale and his eyes showed an expression of utter loss, not understanding why things were happening this way. Then, he shrieked in fear and unease, "Quickly save me!"
He shrieked very loudly, drowning out the words following Chen Changsheng's 'so'.
But it could not drown the terrifying gale stirred by the fist and the crackle of lightning.
Luoluo's noble and tyrannical bloodline made her utterly loathe cowardly beings.
At Tianhai Ya'er's fearful and urgent cry for help, her eyebrows leapt up and her eyes became abnormally bright.
An image flashed, a young tiger leaping over a stream!
Her fist fell upon Tianhai Ya'er's stomach!
With a smack, Tianhai Ya'er's shrieks suddenly came to a halt!
After a moment, the silence was finally broken by countless alarmed cries and yells.
Tianhai Ya'er lay unconscious in a pool of blood, his ribs completely shattered and his meridians completely ruptured, already a cripple.
Luoluo drew back her first, violent winds howling around her small body.
Whoosh!
Her black hair blew across her small and beautiful face like catkins in the wind.
Not catkins, but traces of grass.
She gazed at the surrounding crowd, her expression cold and calm.
It was like she was in the north, standing within a mighty gale amidst the bent grass, constantly waiting for the moment where she could deliver the killing blow.
An indescribable power and prestige naturally formed around her.
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...
There was absolute silence as the crowd stared with stupefied expressions at the platform.
That girl…had actually crippled Tianhai Ya'er! Did she know who Tianhai Ya'er was? Did she know what she was doing?
Chen Changsheng deeply wished to tell the entire world, I was the one that made her do it, but at this time, the gazes of the entire world were focused on Luoluo, none of them at him. For instance, Zhuang Huanyu's gaze only had space for Luoluo's petite figure as he was filled with boundless appreciation and admiration.
With a shaking of light, the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer and those experts of the Temple Seminary quickly rushed to Tianhai Ya'er's side to check on his pulse and breath. They confirmed that he was still alive, but…his meridians were all shattered, crippled until they could be crippled no more, making him incapable of cultivation for the rest of his life. The people from the Temple Seminary carried Tianhai Ya'er down from the platform as quickly as possible and to the Imperial Palace, hoping that the Guardians or imperial doctors would be able to preserve a final hope. If it really turned out to be no good, there was truly a chance for this incident to disturb the Divine Empress.
The bishop and teachers of the Temple Seminary departed with them. Before leaving, they shot a glance at the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer, their meaning crystal-clear: you carried out this matter behind the Temple Seminary's back, you were using Tianhai Ya'er, so you will be the one who must give an explanation.
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer gazed at Luoluo, his face like a sheet of frost, his voice as piercing as the edge of a blade. "To strike with such viciousness, you really are an incredibly cold-blooded little girl."
Luoluo thought, what did that Tianhai Ya'er say to this Heavenly Dao Academy overseer after injuring and crippling Xuanyuan Po? She remembered. At the time, the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer had said that Tianhai Ya'er's attack was too harsh, and Tianhai Ya'er had replied that he had only promised to not kill Xuanyuan Po but had never said anything about not crippling him.
"I never promised that I wouldn't kill him, let alone the fact that I only crippled him."
Luoluo felt her argument very reasonable, so she boldly and confidently turned around and walked off the platform.
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer froze. Recalling his conversation with Tianhai Ya'er and believing Luoluo to be intentionally ridiculing him, he couldn't help but grow angrier. His long beard danced rapidly in the night wind and his complexion turned extremely nasty as he sternly yelled, "You think you can just leave like this!"
Luoluo stopped.
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer stared at her back and emotionlessly said, "I don't care what your background is or who your real teacher is, but let me make it clear to you that this is the capital of the Great Zhou, this is the Heavenly Dao Academy. You've committed violent assault before the crowd. Do you think you can just run away?"
His statement was one thing, but everyone understood the true meaning of his words. No matter how mysterious Luoluo was, the Tianhai Ya'er that she had severely injured was the Pope's disciple, the Divine Empress's grandnephew, and so there was no one in the entire human world that could protect her.
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer gave her a forced smile, saying, "Little girl, you truly…have a lot of nerve."
Luoluo was somewhat displeased, asking, "What sort of thing are you to actually dare speak to me in this way?"
The entire scene was quiet. Nobody could have imagined that at this sort of moment, not only was this girl not afraid, she was actually so forceful.
Only very few people were able to sense that something was strange because the aura exuded by this girl was truly very powerful.
She confronted the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer like a lord confronting a subject.
What sort of family or teacher could produce such a female student?
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer was stunned. He began to smile out of his anger, an exceptionally cold smile.
He was now very sure that this girl's background was assuredly not ordinary, but just as he had said, her crippling Tianhai Ya'er…meant that there was no one in all of the human world that could change her fate.
With a harsh shout, his right hand casually waved.
No wind or rain, only a straight line of stalwart Qi, a stalwart Qi that not even meteoric iron could block!
This was a strike of a Star Condensation expert!
This Heavenly Dao Academy overseer was this sort of personage!
Luoluo could be even stronger, but she was still just a girl.
The crowd seemed to hear the sound of death, seemed to hear someone say that this girl's death was assured.
Who could change this situation?
A person turned towards the Orthodox Academy's corner, wanting to see that girl's companion.
Only a lonely table set with food and wine.
No person.
(TN: 虎虎生风 is a Chinese idiom. It basically means that heroes will appear as they are needed, and when they do appear, they will have a massive effect on society.)
When the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer struck, no one other than Xu Shiji or the Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education would be able to stop him. Xu Shiji was a grand general that the Divine Empress heavily relied on, so he naturally would not stop the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer, and the Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, who seemed to have the greatest reason to act, seemed to be asleep.
Although Zhuang Huanyu was tenth on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, there was still a massive gap between him and his teachers, and it was simply impossible for him to change anything. His junior sister was about to be a vanished fragrance, shattered jade, but he could do nothing but watch with an abnormally pale face.
Luoluo gazed at the intention descending from the sky and felt the shadow of death. She slightly raised her slender brows, but her expression was as serene as normal. She knew that as long as it was not such an extreme situation like the one on that night in the Orthodox Academy, no person in the capital could kill her.
She had this sort of confidence, but other people certainly could not, and the crowd was a mass of shocked cries.
Suddenly, a person stood in front of her.
This back was not tall, but it was taller than her, so it firmly obstructed her.
When Luoluo saw this back, she naturally began to think of the similar situation from that night.
She once more recalled her father's words: when the sky is falling, there will be someone tall to hold it up for you.
She felt very warm and suddenly felt that Heavenly Dao Academy overseer was no longer so repulsive.
When Luoluo's fist had struck Tianhai Ya'er's stomach, Chen Changsheng had left the Orthodox Academy's seating area. He knew that Luoluo's background was mysterious, but he had no means of knowing whether Luoluo's clansmen would be able to promptly appear. As Luoluo's teacher, it was required that he stand before her at this sort of moment.
He arrived very promptly.
As the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer's killing intent flew through the air, he had finally arrived in time to block for Luoluo.
His right hand held the dagger horizontally in front of him and he was somewhat nervous.
He did not know if the dagger was capable of blocking the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer's killing intent. He did not contemplate what he would do if it could not block it, because this was not a matter that needed contemplating.
Though actually, he had still contemplated this possibility.
His left hand reached behind him and gripped Luoluo's hand.
A big hand gripped a small hand, a button between their palms.
The killing intent seeping out of the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer's finger was condensed into a straight line, approaching swiftly and forcefully.
Chen Changsheng thought that in the next moment, he would be gone. Surprisingly, he was still standing at his original position.
He turned his head to glance at Luoluo, thinking, just what is going on here?
If you don't use the Thousand Li Button, we're really going to die here.
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...
Chen Changsheng naturally did not die, nor did Luoluo. She did not use the Thousand Li Button because she was sure that in the capital, especially in the Heavenly Dao Academy, no person could kill her. This was because someone knew her background here, and this person was the most powerful person in the Heavenly Dao Academy.
A fresh breeze blew by. That condensed straight line, that seemingly indestructible killing intent, was blown away just like the smoke rising from the stove of a kitchen belonging to a peasant family.
This refreshing breeze arose from two sleeves.
An old man with a head of white hair appeared on the platform, his two sleeves slightly drifting in the night wind.
The entire crowd was solemn and respectful, everyone abnormally silent as they all stood up. Not even Xu Shiji and the Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education were exceptions.
Zhuang Huanyu and the Heavenly Dao Academy students clasped their hands and bowed to the ground, an indescribable reverence and extreme shock about their persons.
"Greetings to the Principal!"
"Teacher!"
Yes, this old man was the Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy, Two Sleeves in the Breeze, Mao Qiuyu.
Soon after, Vice Principal Zhuang of the Heavenly Dao Academy also appeared.
When Zhuang Huanyu saw Vice Principal Zhuang, his expression subtly changed.
The crowd was in an uproar.
No person expected for the most powerful Principal and Vice Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy to appear at the same time, especially Principal Mao Qiuyu, who was at a power level rare in the entire continent. His status was extremely eminent, and logically, the first night of the Ivy Festival would not have disturbed such a powerful figure no matter what.
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer's expression slightly changed. Walking up to Mao Qiuyu, he reverentially bowed, and then gave a narrative of the situation, attempting to set the tone.
He was clearly aware that since Mao Qiuyu had moved to protect this girl of the Orthodox Academy, it was impossible for tonight's matter to proceed according to his plans. But he did not wish for the flames to blow back and burn himself, so he prepared to extinguish the fire.
Violently injuring someone? Cold-blooded and emotionless? The strong bullying the weak?
Upon hearing the overseer's report, the faces of the crowd became extremely interested.
Was he talking about Tianhai Ya'er or that girl from the Orthodox Academy?
Mao Qiuyu suddenly began to laugh.
The Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education also began to laugh.
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer suddenly felt somewhat cold.
The Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education laughed as he stood up. As he walked towards the exit, he feebly said, "Ah, Old Cao, have a little face."
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer actually had the surname Cao. He stood in a daze, feeling that these feebly spoken words were like a resounding slap on the face.
Vice Principal Zhuang expressionlessly indicated that tonight's Ivy Festival would end here.
The crowd gradually dispersed. As they left, every one of them could not help but turn their heads to the stone platform.
Mao Qiuyu gazed at Luoluo, wishing to say something. In the end, however, he said nothing, only smiled.
Chen Changsheng led Luoluo in bowing to him, and then the two descended the stone platform, returned to their corner, and tidied up the things that had previously been dropped.
Luoluo obediently following behind seemed exceptionally cute.
As she thought about her appearance on the platform, she thought, was I too barbaric, too tyrannical? Would Teacher not like me that way?
She tugged on his sleeve, raised her head, and gave a small giggle.
Chen Changsheng saw the girl's cute tiger teeth and also laughed, extending a hand to rub her head.
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...
The feast had ended and the hall was quiet and still. Mao Qiuyu and Education Overseer Cao stood across from each other on the stone platform, conducting a conversation.
"To suppress the Orthodox Academy, you allowed that little monster of the Temple Seminary to go crazy at the Ivy Festival. You went too overboard with this matter."
"Correct, I just can't stand the Orthodox Academy. Many people feel the same. Is it wrong?"
"Hatred? No, that's a matter from almost twenty years ago…everyone clearly understands what you want to do."
"What do I want to do?"
"His Holiness had you come to the Heavenly Dao Academy to become its education overseer, and now ten-some years have already passed. Anyone would feel weary, this is understandable."
"Principal, I have always deeply respected you."
"You are the Education Overseer of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Advancing one more step would make you the Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education—who could not be tempted?"
Mao Qiuyu looked at him and calmly said, "But you made a few mistakes. In the first place, you should not have dragged the Orthodox Academy in. Secondly, you should not have used people you did not have the right to use. Finally, you should have made clear just who exactly your opponent was."
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer had an extremely nasty expression because the principal had accurately described his thoughts.
His position had been arranged by the Pope, the education overseer being a position that the Li Palace used to control the people chosen from these powerful academies, but he had done it for so many years and had truly grown tired of it. He wished to become Archbishop of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education. He only needed to take one step and he would be able to see a completely different sky—who could resist such an allure?
But he naturally would not admit it, firmly insisting, "There are people within the Orthodoxy that want to use the Orthodox Academy to sound things out. I wished to solve these difficulties on the behalf of His Holiness and the Divine Empress. What wrong is there in that?"
Mao Qiuyu expressionlessly replied, "Do His Holiness and the Divine Empress know of this matter?"
After a moment of silence, the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer said, "Tianhai Ya'er has turned into a cripple. The Orthodox Academy…can it possibly continue to exist? If trouble occurs in the Orthodox Academy, Mei Lisha will naturally have to take responsibility. No matter how one looks at it, it's not a bad thing."
"No person is a fool—even Tianhai Ya'er clearly understood that you were using him."
Mao Qiuyu sighed, "It's a pity that you are the fool."
Extremely unwilling, the Heavenly Dao Academy overseer asked, "Just who was that female student from the Orthodox Academy?"
Mao Qiuyu turned and began walking out of the hall, saying, "That is not at all important. What's important is…His Eminence the Archbishop has controlled the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education for many decades now, even before His Holiness the Pope came into power. You thought that you could use plots and schemes to deal with this sort of person?"
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer looked at the elder's back, his face ashen. "I only know that the Divine Empress's grandnephew has been crippled…there must be a person to give an explanation for this. Even if His Holiness will not blame anyone, there must be someone to bear the Empress's anger?"
Without turning around, Mao Qiuyu asked, "Could it be that you still don't understand who will bear the responsibility for tonight?"
The Heavenly Dao Academy overseer seemed to be struck by lightning as he knew that tonight was probably the final night of his life.
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...
Luoluo did not want to be gawked at by others. Thus, after some discussion, she and Chen Changsheng used the darkness to sneak into the forest. Familiar with the way, she brought him to a small path, passed through two heavy doors, circled a small building, and emerged from a secret back door of the Heavenly Dao Academy into an alley.
Chen Changsheng had heard her talk about how she used to come to the Heavenly Dao Academy for classes and asked curiously, "Always through the back door?"
Luoluo replied, "If I didn't come through the back door, I wouldn't be able to come to the Heavenly Dao Academy for classes."
Chen Changsheng had some speculations, so he asked, "At the time, the person that taught you…was Principal Mao Qiuyu of the Heavenly Dao Academy?"
Luoluo affirmed.
Chen Changsheng sighed, "This is really coming in through the back door."
(TN: 'Getting in through the back door' also means to get advantages through influence.)
Luoluo noted, "Principal Mao is much more lacking in teaching when compared to Teacher."
He was actually being compared by Luoluo to the legendary Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy. This was far too absurd of a matter.
"Don't you dare speak such nonsense. If anyone hears it, you'll be mocked."
Chen Changsheng firmly warned, but his mood was extremely good.
But when he saw that carriage at the mouth of the alley, his good mood instantly vanished.
A lantern was hung on the carriage, a massive 'Xu' character written upon it.
It was the carriage of the Divine General of the East's estate.