Tacit Understanding Between Dean and Vice Dean

"After a long period of development, the Left Wei Guard's model is already very mature. As long as you all don't mess around, I generally won't adjust your positions."

"Furthermore, the 24 early-stage Spirit Transmutation Realm personal guards assigned to me by the Duke will not compete with you for military positions."

"Their main task is to protect me and guard the main camp."

The others heard Li Tieniu's announcement and breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Although they were all loyal to the Wei State Duke Mansion, no one wanted to easily give up the power they held.

Not to mention the increasingly harmonious atmosphere within the Left Wei Guard Barracks.

News of Mo Yunxuan swaggering away with the Elite Vanguard from the Wei State Duke Mansion reached all factions.

Most remained in a wait-and-see state, but a few paid close attention to this development.

For instance, the Great Dry Empress Ji Ruxue, who had just received news of Mo Yunxuan's departure, and his direction of travel was towards the Left Wei Guard Barracks.

This startled her greatly. She had thought Mo Yunxuan, in a fit of pique, was preparing to mobilize troops to encircle and suppress Taihua Academy!

However, what she didn't expect was that in less than fifteen minutes, scouts outside the Wei State Duke Mansion reported Mo Yunxuan's return.

Upon receiving this intelligence, Ji Ruxue's brow furrowed, a sense of unease lingering in her heart.

Meanwhile, within Taihua Academy, Dean Yun Congnan, Vice Dean Qiu Ziqin, and Lü Qingjian were gathered together.

All three were officials directly dispatched by the royal family. Previously, the Wei State Duke Mansion was a staunch supporter of the Imperial Faction, maintaining the highest loyalty to the Emperor.

Therefore, they paid no mind to the Imperial Court dispatching officials to interfere with Taihua Academy's management rights. With the tacit approval of the Wei State Duke Mansion, many administrative positions within the academy were filled by the Imperial Court's appointees, such as the former Dean of Academic Affairs, Zhang Feng.

However, the mood of the three was not good. Since yesterday, more than half of the instructors had directly announced their withdrawal from Taihua Academy, and over a quarter of the students had submitted withdrawal requests. Although Lü Qingjian had rejected all requests, this incident, affecting the entire academy, inevitably alarmed the other two deans and vice dean.

Even Yun Congnan, who was in seclusion, rushed out of his cultivation chamber overnight for a meeting.

If these people were truly allowed to leave the academy, Taihua Academy would instantly become an empty shell.

Consequently, the resources Taihua Academy could receive from the Imperial Court would be greatly reduced.

This, in turn, would significantly diminish the resources they could obtain from the academy, inevitably hindering their own cultivation progress.

For Lü Qingjian, the academy's resources were not only related to his personal cultivation but also closely tied to the cultivation of his beloved disciple, Lin Fan.

He absolutely could not accept any impact on Lin Fan's cultivation.

Unfortunately, his personal opinion had no bearing on the decisions of those instructors and students.

After he rejected all applications yesterday, these instructors and students left Taihua Academy one after another, citing various reasons.

They never returned. By this morning, when he realized what was happening, the entire academy was nearly half empty.

Not a single person from yesterday's application list was present. Even more outrageously, this group, as they left, had also enticed many outstanding students to leave with them.

This truly relegated Taihua Academy to the bottom of the Four Great Academies.

After some inquiries, they discovered that all these individuals had joined Sage Scholar Academy, one of the Four Great Academies of the Imperial City.

Upon receiving the news, Lü Qingjian immediately rushed to Sage Scholar Academy and sought out its Dean, Fang Wanqing, for a discussion.

But in the end, he only received a flat refusal. Fang Wanqing even generously stated:

"Thank you, Taihua Academy, for sending us outstanding students and instructors, allowing Sage Scholar Academy to leap to the forefront among the Four Great Academies."

This infuriated Lü Qingjian. Unfortunately, Fang Wanqing was also a Void Refinement Realm Expert, and he could do nothing to her. He could only return to Taihua Academy in a dejected state.

As soon as he entered his office, he saw Yun Congnan and Qiu Ziqin, who had been waiting for him.

Dean Yun Congnan, whose seclusion had been interrupted, was in a bad mood and was the first to speak, launching into a barrage of questions:

"Vice Dean Lü, what is going on? Such a major incident! Do you think you've lived up to the trust I and Vice Dean Qiu placed in you?"

Taihua Academy was located in the Imperial City, a position of absolute safety. Normally, there was no need for three Void Refinement Realm Experts to jointly maintain it.

Thus, Lü Qingjian, who had a stronger desire for power, was responsible for daily management, while the other two remained behind the scenes.

Unexpectedly, upon emerging this time, they encountered such a significant problem. If the situation continued to escalate, the Four Great Academies of the Imperial City might as well be reduced to three.

Hearing Yun Congnan's questioning, Lü Qingjian felt extremely wronged and quickly retorted:

"This is all the doing of the newly appointed Duke, that immature brat. He..."

Before he could finish, Yun Congnan slammed his palm on the table and roared:

"Enough! You still want to shift the blame at this point!"

"The entire Imperial City knows what happened! Who doesn't know the truth of the matter now? Do you take us all for fools?"

Lü Qingjian was momentarily speechless. He knew that no amount of explanation could cover up the dire consequences of this situation.

He lowered his head and remained silent, as if by not speaking, he could evade the severe repercussions.

Unbeknownst to him, seeing his demeanor, Yun Congnan's anger flared even more, and he intended to scold him further.

However, Qiu Ziqin, standing beside him, interrupted.

"Dean, the most important thing right now is how to resolve this matter. As for Vice Dean Lü's situation, we can discuss it later or leave it to His Majesty to decide."

Hearing her words, a hint of gratitude flashed in Lü Qingjian's eyes. Yun Congnan had just been overcome with anger, but now that he had calmed down, he knew the gravity of the situation. After a moment of thought, he looked up and said, "The initial cause of this incident was Duke Wei's statement severing ties with Taihua Academy, but there was no formal announcement."

"Perhaps we still have room to reconcile with Duke Wei and get them to retract that statement."

Qiu Ziqin, seemingly having anticipated Yun Congnan's words, responded cooperatively, "Then how should we get the Wei State Duke Mansion to agree?"

As soon as the words fell, Yun Congnan's voice rang out again, giving Lü Qingjian no chance to think or interject.

"The initial cause of this incident was Vice Dean Lü's disciple, Lin Fan, causing trouble at the Duke's residence, coveting the Duke of Wei's fiancée."

"For such a person, our academy must impose severe punishment. Furthermore, Vice Dean Lü, relying on his cultivation, must also be punished for oppressing the Wei State Duke Mansion."

"But this matter is no longer within our purview; it must be reported to His Majesty for judgment."