This wasn't difficult to investigate.
The area around the experimental lab was the most heavily guarded place in the academy. There was a sentry every three paces and a post every five. Finding a few eyewitnesses was easy.
Several witnesses were quickly summoned into the room. They knelt on the floor as the Chief Grand Scholar questioned them.
They had never been this close to the Chief Grand Scholar before, and they were understandably nervous. They trembled as they desperately tried to figure out what they might have done wrong at work.
Had something gone wrong? Would they be blamed? Would they lose their lives over it?
"You have all served faithfully and diligently. The academy's leadership has seen your hard work. You've all been through a lot these past few days. Stand up and speak."
The Chief Grand Scholar tried to speak as gently as possible, hoping to seem approachable.
But this staged show of friendliness did little to reassure the guards. Even after standing, each of them trembled like a quail.
Asura barked, "Pull yourselves together. The Chief called you here only to ask about Grand Scholar, and nothing else."
Only when they heard it was just questioning did the men feel slightly relieved.
They could hardly be blamed. The Chief Grand Scholar's presence was overwhelming, and the Chief wasn't alone: the Third and Fifth Grand Scholars were also there.
With three Grand Scholars present, the pressure was immense.
After questioning them, the three Grand Scholars heard a fuller account of the details, but the story was almost exactly the same as what Asura had learned in his investigation.
There were only two key points.
First, Professor Xu had gone into seclusion in the experimental lab to work on the special-effect medicine, and had reached a critical stage.