Neither One Thing nor the Other

Despite his defeat Gaoyang Wuji was not particularly dejected. He simply remarked, "As expected, the tide has turned," then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect before leaving the arena amidst Si Ming's bewildered expression. After Gaoyang Wuji's defeat, no other expert of his caliber appeared.

The lower-level challengers, facing a more powerful Si Ming, saw the fourth day's arena battle end in a one-sided affair. The audience's expressions were quite complex, with many pointing and arguing as they looked up at the banner.

On the fifth day of the duel, Si Ming had gained even more supporters. Some even openly displayed banners in the audience to cheer Si Ming on. Among them were disciples of the Military School strategist, and some girls even boldly flirted with Si Ming.

According to the information secretly provided by Cheng Xin, the school might invite graduates and doctoral students to provide support, and there might even be experts at the Spirit Transformation level. However, no challengers appeared by the end of the day.

Si Ming couldn't help but admire Sun Wu University, which truly lived up to its reputation as the top university in Nation of Valor. It was able to take things in stride and not resort to any means to win. This magnanimity in accepting defeat earned him high regard.

Day six of the duel, in the principal's office.

You want me to apologize to the exchange students?

Fu Feng clenched his fists, his face flushed red, filled with resentment and bitterness at being humiliated.

The principal said expressionlessly, "We have investigated the whole story. In the end, this incident was instigated by you. The school cannot bear the blame for you for nothing. We demand that you apologize to Si Ming now, immediately, and sincerely ask for his forgiveness to give up the challenge."

"That's impossible! I will never apologize to him!" Fu Feng pounded his chest angrily. "I'm a student at Sun Wu University, how dare you force me to apologize to an outsider?"

The principal remained unmoved and said slowly, "The school isn't unreasonable, so there's another option: go to the martial arts hall now and challenge Si Ming, defeat him, and the school will not only not hold you accountable for starting this trouble, but will also celebrate your victory and bring you fame—as a student of Sun Wu University, bringing glory to the school is your duty!"

Fu Feng's face paled. Having witnessed Si Ming's entire battle, he knew very well that he had no chance of winning. Even if a hundred of him went up against him in a row, they still couldn't outlast that stamina maniac, that human monster. Moreover, once he went up to challenge him, he might be beaten half to death by his opponent, who would then gloss over it with a simple "swords can be ruthless on the battlefield." In the end, the school would send someone to negotiate with Si Ming, saying something like, "Since you've already vented your anger, why not end it here?" and sell him off for a good price.

"I... I won't go."

Upon hearing this, the principal's expression changed, and he threatened in a deep voice, "Fu Feng, you neither want to apologize nor are you willing to take on the challenge, which puts us in a very difficult position, do you understand?"

Chapter 646 Indecisive

"Giving the exchange students a lesson was an instruction given to me by my master."

Faced with the principal's aggressive questioning, Fu Feng had no choice but to bring up his mentor, Huyan Lie.

However, a seasoned shrew like the principal, who had been navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom, was not easily deterred by a single sentence. He feigned hesitation at first, and after a while, he spoke up, "Your master also graduated from our Sun Wu University, making him a year ahead of me in terms of seniority. We cannot disregard his face, but it is truly unbelievable that a dignified Spirit Transformation Grandmaster would try to trip up a junior."

Fu Feng hurriedly said, "After seeing Si Ming's performance these past few days, do you still treat him like an ordinary college student? In terms of martial arts, he has already reached the Spirit Transformation stage. If I had known this earlier, I would not have allowed the situation to deteriorate to this extent."

He was filled with remorse. Lack of intelligence was truly deadly; so many unlucky souls who were tricked by the seemingly weak but actually strong had fallen because of a lack of information.

The principal shook his head and said, "This is all your side of the story. We can't guarantee that you're not just using someone else's authority to shift the blame to your master. We don't believe a word you say now unless you produce your master's handwritten instructions or ask him to explain things to us in person. If he speaks up, we will support him to the end. The school cannot help an outsider and not its own people."

Fu Feng was also quick-witted and immediately figured out the key point. His master would never show up. Otherwise, if a dignified Nascent Spirit Transformation admitted to targeting a junior and failing, he would lose face completely and owe the school a huge favor.

He was even certain that even if the school approached his mentor to inquire, his mentor would claim ignorance and shift all blame onto his reckless behavior. As for the fact that he and Si Ming had no reason to clash and had no motive for conflict, it must be because their horoscopes were incompatible, and they regarded each other as lifelong enemies upon seeing each other's faces.

"My master... he won't show up," Fu Feng said with immense bitterness.

He discovered that he had long been destined to be the scapegoat. The Fayun, "Therefore, the skillful strategist establishes himself in an invincible position and does not miss the opportunity to defeat the enemy. Thus, the victorious army first wins and then seeks battle, while the defeated army first fights and then seeks victory." These Military School strategists were all farsighted, thinking about who to shift the blame to after a failure before they even took action, thus establishing themselves in an invincible position from the start.

He did all the hard and tiring work, and he had to take responsibility for any failures. As a disciple, he couldn't refuse, and even if he knew beforehand that it was a trap, he had to jump in—at most, he could just pull back a little so that he wouldn't fall too badly.

The principal nodded, and said in a tone that suggested he had known this would happen, "Since that's the case, then it was all your own doing. Please take responsibility."

"You can't do this..." Fu Feng pleaded weakly.

"We've given you a choice: apologize, challenge us, or ask your mentor to intervene. Choose one. The school has already done everything it could. Please don't push your luck. You might make the school unhappy for a while, but the school guarantees you'll be unhappy for the rest of your life."

"Master will not stand idly by."

The principal replied casually, "Your teacher is a master of chess."

Fu Feng remained silent. Of course, he understood what those words meant. The most famous idiom in chess is "sacrifice the rook to save the king," and he was just Huyan Lie's apprentice, not his biological son. The other party had no reason to stand up for him against the entire Sun Wu University. He might even blame him for not taking responsibility.

"It seems I have no choice."

"It's good that you understand. The victor is king, the loser is villain. That's the principle of Military School. Remember to resolve things today, don't drag it out until tomorrow."

After watching the dejected Fu Feng leave, the principal thought for a moment and muttered to himself, "Although I feel it's pointless, I'll still try."

"You've come to the wrong person. We fought side by side in the Allied Forces in the past, and you should know my character. I won't get involved in this matter."

Xing Daozhuang spoke coldly to the old comrades who had come to persuade him.

Several veterans exchanged glances, and one of them, forcing a smile, said, "We all know that General, you never let personal feelings interfere in your work, but we're doing this for the greater good. It was just a small conflict between juniors, but now it's become public knowledge, almost an international scandal. You're his elder, and you have the responsibility and the right to teach him how to conduct himself in society. Many irreconcilable hatreds originate from trivial frictions; there's really no need to escalate things so much. Making a big deal out of a small one and letting things settle peacefully is the right thing to do."

Xing Daozhuang remained unmoved and said, "I only judge things by right and wrong, and I never compromise. The overall situation varies from person to person, and what is your overall situation may not be mine. I have looked into this matter. Yan Jinghong's disciple was forced to retaliate and has done nothing wrong from beginning to end. It is you who need to settle things peacefully, not him. Or you can point out which laws he violated, and I can urge him to correct them."

If you really want to find something, you can find some public security regulations, but bringing up such trivial things to argue about will only annoy people. Thunder King Xing Daozhuang is not someone they can mess with.

"This isn't a matter for you to back down unilaterally. Sun Wu University is quite sincere. As long as Yan Jinghong's disciple is willing to withdraw from the match, the university is willing to offer generous compensation to make up for his losses."

"Then go and talk to him in person. As long as he agrees, I have no objections. I won't get involved in this matter. To be more precise, I've been an outsider from beginning to end."

The veteran pleaded, "You are his elder; he will definitely listen to what you say. Could you put in a good word for him? Sun Wu University also acknowledged that, regardless of whether it succeeds or not, there will be a generous reward afterwards."

"Throughout my life, Xing Daozhuang has acted with a clear conscience and has never shown favoritism," Xing Daozhuang said firmly. "If you've come to reminisce, then stay and have a drink. If you still wish to ask me to act as your intermediary, then you may leave now."

The sixth day of the arena battle ended uneventfully. On this day, there were even more supporters for Si Ming, and students from other schools came to cheer him on. The strength of the challengers also dropped significantly, returning to the level of the second day. Most of them were first-class and top-tier experts, and there was not a single one at the Spirit Transformation level.

An awkward waiting period ensued. Si Ming waited on stage for five minutes, but no one came forward to challenge him. This would have been absolutely impossible in the first three days, when those guys would have gone up on stage to try even knowing they were no match for him.

This situation arises because, on the one hand, all the truly capable martial artists from Sun Wu University have already challenged them.

Although Sun Wu University is the premier university in the Nation of Valor, and its students are all highly skilled—you could pick anyone off the street and they might all Internal Cultivation at level eight or above—it is a comprehensive Sun Wu University, neither a martial arts school nor a military academy. Not everyone wants to become a martial artist. Just like students who can get into Tsinghua or Peking University are bound to have good English skills, but English is just a stepping stone. Most people discard it after getting in, at most picking up a fragment or two when they need it occasionally.