At that, Instructor Ruo Lin instinctively glanced toward the white-robed youth.
Then she shook her head. Although she had her suspicions about the white-robed youth and was curious about him, that clearly couldn't outweigh the guilt of publicly breaking an agreement and killing a student of Jia Nan Academy.
The people around them finally came to their senses and turned to look toward Jia Nan Academy.
They wanted to see how Instructor Ruo Lin would handle the matter. They might also get a sense of her attitude toward the younger generation of the Xiao Clan.
After all, Xiao Wu had been the first to break the rules, and then Xiao Ling had broken their agreement... This could be treated as either a serious matter or a minor one. It all came down to Instructor Ruo Lin's attitude.
Xiao Ling, however, paid no attention to the crowd's reaction. He watched Xiao Wu stagger back to him, then smiled and took out a Fourth-Rank Healing Pill, handing it to him with a gentle voice.
"Go rest and tend to your injuries. I'll give you your reward afterward."
"Thank you, Brother Xiao Ling."
Xiao Wu replied respectfully. With Xiao Ning helping him, he sat down behind Xiao Ling.
Then Xiao Ling looked calmly at Instructor Ruo Lin, whose expression had shifted from shock to displeasure.
He knew this wasn't over. After all, he had made Jia Nan Academy lose face... But he didn't believe she could have failed to see what was going on. Since she hadn't intervened, she must have had some reason.
"Phew..."
Instructor Ruo Lin took a deep breath and gracefully walked to the middle of the square. Looking toward the white-robed youth, she asked with restrained anger, "Young man, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
She didn't want things to come to this either, but she was in charge of recruiting students here. If they lost an ordinary student, Jia Nan Academy might not make much of it.
But Wu Ming was clearly a rare genius. Losing him just like that would hurt, even an academy as powerful as Jia Nan Academy.
"Here it comes. Looks like Instructor Ruo Lin isn't going to let Xiao Wu off the hook over this, is she?"
"Isn't it obvious? Wu Ming was a genius too. This is practically one for one. Of course Jia Nan Academy's going to feel the loss.
"Unless they can recruit another genius like Xiao Wu, I doubt this matter will end peacefully."
"Keep dreaming..."
Ignoring the crowd's chatter, Xiao Ling turned toward the water-like beauty and smiled warmly.
"Instructor Ruo Lin, I think this is perfectly normal, don't you? Accidents happen during sparring. Isn't that right?"
"You..."
Instructor Ruo Lin hadn't expected the young man to be so shameless. She was so exasperated that she couldn't help laughing. Her full chest rose and fell slightly, tracing an alluring curve.
Seeing the water-like beauty glaring at him with aggrieved eyes, Xiao Ling could only sigh helplessly.
He couldn't back down. It had nothing to do with pride as a man; he simply didn't want to become the person he had been in his previous life.
Xiao Yu and Xun'er, seated beside Xiao Ling, also watched Instructor Ruo Lin with solemn expressions.
Instructor Ruo Lin calmed herself and began considering how she could avoid offending the young man while still preserving Jia Nan Academy's dignity...
As she thought it over, her eyes lit up. She silently praised herself for her cleverness.
Then Instructor Ruo Lin looked at the white-robed youth again and smiled gently.
"Young man, since things have come to this, let Xiao Wu take twenty moves from me. If he can withstand them, he can still join Jia Nan Academy. If he can't, he'll be expelled and never admitted again.
"What do you think? Your big sister has already compromised, so don't make things difficult for me again, okay?"
What a woman. She really was a seductress—no wonder she was as bewitching as water.
If he were a man who thought with his lower half, he'd probably be just like the Xiao Clan youngsters behind him, already so bewitched by her that he'd have lost his bearings.
"Phew..."
Xiao Ling took a deep breath and stopped Xiao Wu, who had started to rise.
He had a good idea what the woman was thinking. Her target wasn't Xiao Wu; it was him. She wanted to use Xiao Wu to force him to act, giving her a chance to test his strength.
Most likely, her next move would be to find some way to recruit him into Jia Nan Academy as well.
After all, as far as he knew, Jia Nan Academy also evaluated its instructors.
Judging by her, she had only recently become a Huang-tier Instructor. Advancing further would be all but impossible in the short term, but there was a shortcut.
If she trained a genius who could break into the top three of the Inner Academy's Qiang Bang, she could secure promotion to Xuan-tier Instructor and earn the right to train in the Inner Academy.
When the people around them heard Instructor Ruo Lin's words, they all gasped. They hadn't expected the woman to be not only beautiful but so bold, too.
Honestly, if they were in her position, they might have let the matter drop.
After all, anyone with common sense would know which to choose: a dead genius or a living one.
"..."
On the other side of the square, in Jia Nan Academy's group, a young woman looked at Bai Zhi in confusion.
"Senior, why is Instructor Ruo Lin doing this? There's no way Junior Xiao Wu can withstand her attacks. Does Instructor Ruo Lin not plan to recruit him anymore?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Instructor Ruo Lin has her reasons. Let's just watch."
Bai Zhi replied casually, her adorable eyes fixed on the white-robed youth. No one knew what she was thinking.
In the middle of the square, Instructor Ruo Lin looked at the white-robed youth, who had suddenly fallen silent. For some reason, a trace of disappointment welled up inside her.
But just as she was about to speak, the white-robed youth looked up at her and smiled.
Then Xiao Ling looked away, took a pouch of gold coins from his Storage Ring, and set it on the table. He smiled gently at the nervous shopkeeper and his wife.
"This is for the meal. Keep the change. Please have a bowl of tofu pudding warmed up for me. I'll eat it when I get back."
After that, he looked at Xiao Yu, who was watching him with worry, and smiled faintly as he ruffled her hair.
"Don't worry. Instructor Ruo Lin and I are only sparring. Nothing's going to happen."
"Oh. Then I hope Brother Xiao Ling wins!"
Xiao Yu rose quickly, her face red with shyness, and gave him a kiss before sitting back down and murmuring softly.
Xiao Ling touched the damp spot on his face and smiled helplessly. This girl was getting bolder by the day. She'd dared to steal a kiss even with so many people watching...
With that thought, Xiao Ling composed himself, glanced at the eager Xun'er, and flicked her forehead before turning toward the middle of the square.
Xun'er was left behind, looking aggrieved. Watching this, Instructor Ruo Lin sighed inwardly.
"What a young man. He really is popular with the girls..."
Meanwhile, under the eyes of the crowd, Xiao Ling walked over to stand a short distance in front of Instructor Ruo Lin.
He looked at the water-like beauty before him and smiled. His gentle voice rang out.
"I'm Xiao Ling of the Xiao Clan. I'll take the twenty moves from Big Sister Ruo Lin in place of my good-for-nothing younger clansman.
"I wonder... what does Big Sister Ruo Lin think?"
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