Watching Elder Bai remain as composed as ever, the voice grew displeased instead, its tone turning urgent.
"Old Bai, you know better than I do what those maggots are like."
"They even dared to reach out their hands over something like the founding of the New Learning. In just a few years, they turned this place into a foul, smoky mess. Now that you've chopped off every claw they had stretched in here, you've not only cut off their source of wealth—you've also slapped them hard across the face."
"What does it mean for them to directly send over a notice from the Military Affairs Office?"
"War!"
"This is a fight to the death. They're declaring war on you."
"From what I know of them, I'm afraid sending a notice won't be the end of it. Either you completely bow your head and let them take over this place, or they'll wipe out the New Learning itself, leaving you not even a hundred years."
"They were deeply involved in the development of the New Learning from the start. They know its current situation perfectly well. They won't even need to deliberately do anything—so long as they make a big issue out of those students, that'll be enough."
"You know how many people the founding of the New Learning has offended, don't you?"
"Among them, the one most deeply offended is undoubtedly Langhuan Blessed Land. You directly took away a third of their students and resources. Once these people report the situation here, they likely won't even need anyone to fan the flames—Langhuan Blessed Land will probably come knocking on their own."
"Eight years isn't long, but it certainly isn't short either."
"With Langhuan Blessed Land's capabilities, Old Bai, I don't need to spell it out for you. Given the New