A pair of deep-set eyes watched the Training Arena from afar.
The Academy Elder stood at a third-floor window, taking in everything that happened in the Training Arena.
His brows furrowed deeply.
The instant Fang Yuan had voluntarily stepped into the arena, surprise had risen in the Academy Elder's heart. He had not expected Fang Yuan to do such a thing.
"This kid is rather slippery. He knows the academy rules inside out and has never made a mistake in ordinary times. Though he often sleeps in class, whenever he is questioned, his answers are always watertight, leaving no fault to pick at. Trying to seize some weakness of his and crush his momentum is truly a little troublesome."
Without realizing it, the Academy Elder developed a faint disgust toward Fang Yuan.
As a teacher, one naturally liked obedient, well-behaved, and clever students, while disliking those unruly, mischievous bad children.
Yet the Academy Elder had overseen the academy for many years and possessed extremely rich experience, having seen countless students. Some had been obedient to the extreme, following every command without question. Others caused trouble from morning till night, always breaking discipline.
He had long since achieved a heart as still as water, treating everyone equally. At the same time, he had engraved the eight words "Set an example as a teacher; teach without discrimination" on the right corner of his desk as his motto.
He had never felt such disgust toward any student before.
Realizing the disgust within his heart, the Academy Elder was somewhat startled as well.
In previous classes, even toward the most mischievous students, he could be broad-minded and tolerant. Why had he lost that usual composure when facing Fang Yuan?
He savored the matter carefully and reflected for a moment before finally discovering the reason.
This brat Fang Yuan had a kind of arrogance buried in his bones!
It was as if, from the very root of his being, he did not place teachers in his eyes at all. He had not only ignored the Punch and Kick Instructor's words just now, but openly refuted him.
In truth, openly contradicting teachers had often happened in previous classes. But those children had always displayed intense emotions—either rebelliousness, anger, defiance, and so on.
The Academy Elder knew very well that the more emotional a youth was, the more it meant fear lay in his heart.
But Fang Yuan had none.
There was not the slightest trace of fear in his heart, as though he had already seen through the academy's tricks.
His face was cold and indifferent. Even after entering the arena, his expression had not changed in the slightest, as though he had merely done something insignificant.
Yes, he regarded defying a teacher as a trivial matter!
In short—
He was not afraid.
It was precisely this point that made even the Academy Elder feel displeased and develop disgust!
The Academy Elder could tolerate youths ten times more thorny and mischievous than Fang Yuan because those students all knew fear and were all driven by their heated emotions.
As long as they feared, as long as they acted impulsively, they were easy to manipulate and would not escape control.
But Fang Yuan was different.
He was calm, inscrutable, and did not place teachers in his eyes.
He had no reverence!
If someone did not revere the Lineage, then even if he was nurtured, how could he be put to use by the Lineage?
"Once such a person appears, he must be suppressed—absolutely suppressed! Otherwise, his existence will plant seeds of rebellion in the hearts of the other students. Given enough time, it will infect the others, until none of them revere their teachers. How will the academy manage its students then?"
The Academy Elder narrowed his eyes and made up his mind.
But very soon, a worried look appeared on his face again.
How was he to suppress Fang Yuan?
Fang Yuan had committed no mistake; there was not the slightest weakness to seize.
Fang Yuan's slipperiness left him with a helpless feeling of having nowhere to start. He had never encountered a student so familiar with and knowledgeable about every academy regulation.
As the Academy Elder, he had always presented himself as fair and impartial. He could hardly act like some street thug and deliberately pick faults with a youth like Fang Yuan.
He had originally placed his hopes on the Punch and Kick Instructor, but now he was deeply disappointed.
"It seems that to suppress Fang Yuan's limelight, we can only wait until other students are promoted to Rank 1 Mid Stage first."
For a Gu Master to advance, the greatest influencing factor was aptitude.
Relying on his abundant experience, the Academy Elder had long estimated that the only ones with any real hope of advancing first were Gu Yue Fang Zheng, Chi Cheng, and Mo Bei.
One was A-grade, while the other two were B-grade. With elders behind them providing support, they did not lack Primeval Stones. Any one of them could become the first Rank 1 Mid Stage Gu Master of this class.
"Gu Yue Fang Zheng, Chi Cheng, and Mo Bei are precisely the promising seeds of this class." The Academy Elder looked toward the Training Arena and sighed.
With his seasoned eyes, he had already noticed that while the students in the Training Arena appeared to be standing about casually, they had actually faintly formed three circles.
Within one circle, Gu Yue Chi Cheng clutched his shoulder while a group of peers clustered around him.
The center of the second circle was Gu Yue Fang Zheng. The descendants of the clan leader's branch had faintly gathered around this A-grade genius.
The third circle belonged to Gu Yue Mo Bei. His internal injuries had already been treated, and he stood in the arena with a pale face while his classmates gathered around him with solicitous concern.
"This is the meaning of indulging their conflicts." Seeing these three circles, the Academy Elder smiled with heartfelt satisfaction.
Allowing students to fight was not merely to cultivate their battle awareness. More importantly, it was to select leadership figures in advance.
In previous classes, it would take until the second half of the year before such small circles emerged. But in this class, because Fang Yuan had burst onto the scene and begun robbing and extorting others, the conflicts had been greatly brought forward.
When facing Fang Yuan, the only ones who had consistently dared to confront and challenge him head-on were Fang Zheng, Mo Bei, and Chi Cheng.
As days passed and their influence seeped in silently, the other youths had naturally begun to regard these three as leaders.
So long as nothing unexpected happened, these three circles would be a miniature reflection of the future Lineage high-level structure.
"However, these circles are not stable yet, and people are still moving between them. Once those three advance to the mid stage first and are appointed class monitor and deputy class monitor, distinguishing themselves and gaining authority, the circles will be initially consolidated." The Academy Elder thought to himself.
Of course, there were also people outside these three circles.
There was only one—Fang Yuan.
Relying on the strong was human nature. In fact, although Fang Yuan had extorted the students and stood opposed to everyone, it was not as though no youths had taken the initiative to seek his protection.
However, Fang Yuan had rejected them all. To him, only those of use were chess pieces; the value of using these peers was too low.
This was another reason why the Academy Elder disliked Fang Yuan. Fang Yuan was too solitary and did not integrate into this group. Toward someone like him, the Lineage's control was not as strong as it was over the other youths.
The Academy Elder's gaze fell upon Fang Yuan in the arena once more.
Fang Yuan stood alone in a corner, hands behind his back and eyelids half-lowered. No matter how fiercely the youths in the arena fought over the rewards, his expression did not ripple in the slightest.
The space around him was empty; no youth was willing to stand beside him.
Clearly, he did not want these people standing beside him either.
He stood alone, wrapped in solitude.
He drifted beyond the collective.
"Still, there is no need to worry too much. Fang Yuan is still young and can be slowly trained." A gleam flashed through the Academy Elder's eyes as he secretly mused.
"Next, class monitors and deputy class monitors will be established. A year later, they will be divided into groups, with group leaders and deputy group leaders appointed. Every school year also has all kinds of honors and rewards, such as the Little Red Flower Award, Blue Scarf Award, and Five Good Student Award. He needs resources to cultivate, so he must compete for these positions and rewards. As time passes and people spend time together, he will eventually gain the fetters of family affection, friendship, and love. There is no worry that he will escape the Lineage's control in the future."
Over these years, the Academy Elder had gradually come to understand this clearly.
From birth, new Lineage members were indoctrinated by the Lineage.
First, they were instilled with values placing the Lineage above all else. Then they were taught moral values, making them understand the beauty and importance of family affection, friendship, and love.
They were also imbued with a sense of honor. Throughout their growth, material rewards were constantly used to entice them. The positions of authority established by the Lineage were used to select and recruit the most loyal clansmen.
Do not dismiss positions such as class monitor and deputy class monitor as too insignificant. Once one became one, one had entered the Lineage's system.
Under such a system, they would be influenced by what they constantly saw and heard. On one side lay the benefits and sweetness of authority; on the other lay the drawbacks of leaving the system. A carrot in one hand and a stick in the other—who could break free?
No matter how wild and unruly a person was, no matter how solitary, he would be assimilated step by step into a member of the Lineage. If he had no loyalty, loyalty would be cultivated. If he had no family affection, friendship, or love, such bonds would be drawn out.
This was the might of the system.
This was the power of rules.
This was the Lineage's way of survival!
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