Old Coin Headmaster

Early in the morning, Fang Che walked into the Martial Academy.

He was met by countless gazes.

Whether they were upperclassmen or fellow students, by now, throughout the Martial Academy, everyone knew him.

Especially that signature Black Dark Gold Dark Pattern Cloak. By now, no one was unfamiliar with it.

From far away, one could see the leisurely, elegant flutter of his robes and the specks of starlight that vanished in an instant when they caught the sunlight. Every detail seemed to proclaim: Ah, Young Master Fang is here!

As Fang Che walked, everyone followed along. With a mild expression and impeccable manners, Fang Che led them toward the arena.

As they walked, someone suddenly asked, "Fang Che, you killed Ximen Xuri. Does that make you feel better?"

The person wore a smile and seemed to be joking.

Fang Che stopped and turned to look at him. His eyes instantly turned cold.

That icy gaze made the man feel uncomfortable at once. Forcing a smile, he said, "I was just joking..."

Fang Che said coldly, "If one day I kill you, I'll answer that question for you!"

The man immediately grew embarrassed, then turned furious. "It was just a joke. Do you have to take it so seriously?"

Fang Che raised his head and looked down at him. His voice was light, yet carried intense pressure. "Sorry, but I never joke around. Please don't joke with me in the future. I can't take a joke."

The man's face shifted between green and white. Suddenly, he snorted. "What's so great about you?"

He turned and walked away.

Fang Qingyun advised him, "Cousin, why bother? It was just a joke. There's no harm in being gentler. If you show your edge so openly, you'll suffer for it."

As he walked, Fang Che replied seriously, "Cousin, those are exactly the words I wanted to say to you. It's naturally good to be gentle in dealing with others. But you must have an edge and a temper."

"If you're always gentle, people will act recklessly in front of you. They'll even dare to make all sorts of bottomless jokes."

"But if you show your edge and everyone knows you have a bad temper, at most they'll say a few nasty things behind your back. When they're in front of you, though, they won't dare act insolently! Because they know your temper is bad and that you won't indulge them!"

Fang Che said earnestly, "Cousin, you're too gentle and your temper is too good. You'll suffer for it!"

Fang Qingyun froze.

He thought of the education he had received since childhood: Do your work well. Be a good person. Don't cause trouble. Don't do wrong. Treat others kindly, and good things will come...

And he had indeed lived that way.

As a result, he had gained a large group of friends. But when he searched his heart, aside from taking things from him, did most of them have even the slightest respect for him?

They had eaten and drunk at his expense for years. Had any of them ever repaid him? Instead, whenever they had local specialties, they gave them to the top-ranked prodigies in the class—the very ones who didn't even regard them as worthy of notice.

And those prodigies accepted everything calmly, as if it were only natural. Some even seemed to look down on the gifts.

Yet he, the one who had given the most and stayed closest to them, had received nothing in return.

After thinking for a while, Fang Qingyun sighed. Suddenly, he felt as if he had gained some insight.

"Being too honest, too gentle, and too good-natured really does make you suffer."

Was that true?

Fang Qingyun was a little lost.

As they continued onward, everyone's expressions indeed began to change.

They all felt that Fang Che was actually a pretty good person, but... it turned out that his formerly gentle exterior had all been an illusion.

His temper was actually quite fierce.

That face of his was merely a curtain.

It could be drawn down whenever he pleased.

Everyone began labeling Fang Che as "not someone to provoke" and "bad-tempered—he'll turn hostile at the drop of a hat."

Naturally, all of this had been done deliberately by Fang Che.

Fang Che did not need a gentle persona.

Over the past few days, he had already felt that he was too easy to approach. He had too many so-called friends, and that would not do. It was bad for his identity. He had been looking for an opportunity to lash out, and this fool had obligingly jumped out.

And he had asked such a sensitive question.

Fang Che immediately exploded!

Sure enough, the space around him instantly became much quieter.

His outburst over those malicious jokes had also driven away some people who had genuinely wanted to make friends with him.

There was nothing Fang Che could do about that except silently say to himself: It's too dangerous around me! Being my friend comes at too high a price!

There were already far fewer people beneath the arena. At least a quarter of the spectators had left.

These... ahem, were all wounded hearts.

Most of those remaining had bet on Qiu Yunshang, Xie Gongping, or Huo Churan. As for those who had bet on Jing Shuanggao or Rain Song... there really were hardly any.

Instead, the Red Powder Army, which had bet on Fang Che, had grown even more imposing.

Many of these women had thought, "It doesn't matter if we lose." But unexpectedly, they had actually won.

This unexpected delight was more than enough to make them happy.

So they called their friends over to watch and share in their joy.

During this short period, countless meals had already been promised between close friends...

Meanwhile, White Cloud Martial Academy was urgently combing through the data.

Who had never placed a bet from beginning to end?

Who had not only failed to place a bet, but had never even shown up?

Among those who had not shown up, who had been burying themselves in cultivation?

Who had been neglecting their proper duties?

Who had placed bets from beginning to end? Who had been an organizer, or an analysis expert?

Who had won, and who had lost most thoroughly...

All of this had to be recorded.

"As martial artists, there are some spectacles you can watch. But for some spectacles, watching them comes at a price!"

This was Headmaster Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu's philosophy of education.

"Some lessons can't possibly be remembered if they're only spoken aloud."

"So we have to let them know the consequences!"

"As students of a martial academy, what does the New Student Competition have to do with them? Instead of thinking about improving themselves, they simply watched the excitement. They even let greed cloud their minds!"

"If they don't learn a lesson, they'll never know how formidable I am!"

"After the New Student Competition, immediately organize the Fourth-Year Students' assessment! Use the first day the new students entered the academy as the baseline. Anyone who has failed to improve will be fined two points! Anyone whose cultivation or ranking has fallen will lose five points!"

"I'll show them what happens when they watch the excitement! I'll show them what happens when they place bets!"

Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu's thin, gaunt face was filled with resolve.

Huang Yifan drooped his head weakly at the side and said, "But the academy itself organized the betting."

"So what if the academy organized it?"

Gao Qingyu said, "The academy holds the right of interpretation! The academy merely permitted it; it never told them to participate! It only said they could place bets. Who told them to lose everything they owned?"

Huang Yifan let out a long sigh. "When cultured people start acting like hooligans... it's truly outrageous."

"What should we do about Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi?"

Huang Yifan asked.

Lu Jiaoshan stood up and said, "This happened for a reason. How can Gao Yunqi and Zhou Yi be blamed?"

Supervisor Meng, who had remained silent at the side, raised his head and said mildly, "A student died tragically right before their eyes, and the two of them remained unmoved like wooden stakes. Dean Lu, do you think they bear no responsibility at all?"

"They bear some responsibility, but there's no need to punish them severely."

"For such a serious mistake, expelling them would not be excessive. Are you suggesting we simply scold them a couple of times and let it go? Wouldn't that be far too lenient?"

Lu Jiaoshan's face flushed red with anger. "Supervisor Meng, what do you mean? Are you saying we should expel two of our academy's backbone instructors over a mistake that wasn't even a mistake?"

Meng Chizheng remained unmoved. "Dean Lu, when you do something wrong, you must pay the price. Otherwise, how can White Cloud Martial Academy face the murmuring condemnation of the people under heaven?!"

Headmaster Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu rubbed his aching head and waved his hand. "We'll discuss this later!"

Lu Jiaoshan and Meng Chizheng both moved to stand and speak.

But Gao Qingyu had already risen. "Meeting adjourned!"

"Headmaster!"

Lu Jiaoshan and Meng Chizheng spoke at the same time.

Gao Qingyu turned around, his expression grim. "How about the two of you take the headmaster's seat?"

"We wouldn't dare!"

"Hmph, you wouldn't dare? I think you're very daring! I even thought the two of you were already headmasters! Look at how arrogant and domineering you're acting. This is a meeting! Do you think you're hoodlums fighting over territory? Do you have no standards at all?! No semblance of a teacher?!"

Gao Qingyu seized the two of them and lectured them until their scalps prickled. Finally, he cursed furiously, "No organization! No discipline! Disregarding rank and respect! Shouting in court! Defying your superiors! Acting on your own authority! The two of you have wasted all these years of your lives!"

Everyone could clearly see that this famous old silver coin of a headmaster was once again using the matter as an excuse to act like a hooligan.

Those with any sense kept quiet.

It had to be said that over the years, many difficult problems at White Cloud Martial Academy had been "resolved" by the headmaster acting like a hooligan.

Once the headmaster began acting like a hooligan, after cursing everyone out, he would work himself into a rage and storm away. That way, everything could be left until later...

So whenever everyone saw this expression on the headmaster's face, they immediately relaxed.

Sure enough.

After unleashing a furious tirade, Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu roared, "You're all going to be the death of me sooner or later! Not one of you knows how to let people live in peace."

Clutching his chest, he said, "My heart... Cough, cough, cough..."

"Medicine! Medicine! Medicine!"

With a whoosh, Shan Zhang Gao Qingyu vanished.

Just as expected!

Huang Yifan muttered angrily, "Damn it, being cultured, scheming, and able to act like a hooligan is really something... Too bad this old man can't learn it..."

On the arena.

Another fierce battle was underway.

Qiu Yunshang and Jing Shuanggao exchanged blows back and forth. Both were covered in wounds, yet they continued fighting.

Fang Che watched intently.

The cultivation of these two was probably around the peak of Martial Master Rank Two, slightly lower than Mo Ganyun.

Their combat strength was also somewhat inferior to Mo Ganyun's.

The championship was secure! Yet another thought rose in his mind: Jing Shuanggao had concealed his cultivation earlier? Why had he concealed it?

Since he had concealed his cultivation, yet revealed it at this moment, hadn't his earlier concealment been pointless?

Unless... this fellow had the same objective as him.

They both wanted to exist as dark horses in this New Student Competition! Fang Che had countless reasons for doing this, but what was Jing Shuanggao's reason? Which side was this fellow on? Fang Che's thoughts rapidly shifted direction: Qiu Yunshang probably wasn't a member of the Sole True Sect.

Yet Jing Shuanggao was fighting Qiu Yunshang so fiercely. Was he determined to knock him down? And Rain Song had grown stronger whenever she faced a stronger opponent. Now that she had received a bye, her strength was certainly no weaker than Qiu Yunshang and the others.

What was that fellow's background? Threads of coldness appeared in Fang Che's eyes.

In the end, the battle between the two concluded with Qiu Yunshang and Jing Shuanggao both badly injured.

When Jing Shuanggao fell to the ground, Qiu Yunshang swayed unsteadily but remained standing, refusing to fall even in death!

"Qiu Yunshang wins and advances to the top four!"

With the referee's declaration, the battle came to an end.

Next were Huo Churan and Xie Gongping.

According to the rules, the two needed to fight again.

The other two groups had already produced their winners!

It was impossible to make the others fight another match just because the two of them had failed to determine a victor! Thus, the two, who had not yet fully recovered, stepped onto the arena once more.

After they had exhausted themselves and ended in a draw, their next battle would test their perseverance, mental strength, and reserves!

The two fellows fought bitterly for more than half an hour again! Huo Churan suddenly erupted, using an extremely bizarre palm technique to defeat Xie Gongping.

However, the referee's face immediately darkened.

There was an indescribably strange quality to Huo Churan's palm technique.

The instructors who had battled the Sole True Sect for years all felt faintly uncomfortable.

Although they had never seen it and had no proof, seeing it simply made them uncomfortable.

Disgust showed in all their eyes. This was precisely why Fang Che never used the Blood Spirit Seven Styles in battle.

That was the demonic sect master's trump-card technique. The number of orthodox cultivators who had died beneath the Blood Spirit Seven Styles was beyond counting.

If Fang Che revealed it...