"It... it was your overwhelming presence. You scared me." Chang Wei cautiously rose from his chair, using the corner of his eye to study possible escape routes.
Chen Xu casually pulled over an office chair and straddled it with a commanding posture. As he activated Level Two Tiger Might, Chang Wei involuntarily shuddered, and the fear in his eyes toward Chen Xu deepened.
"We've met three times in barely a dozen hours. That's quite a coincidence."
"Yes, yes." Chang Wei smiled humbly, though he was already cursing inwardly. He did not want that kind of coincidence.
Chen Xu slowly leafed through the documents on the desk, his gaze seeming to casually sweep over Chang Wei. "Life hasn't been easy lately, has it?"
Isn't it all because of you? Naturally, Chang Wei could not say what was on his mind.
"Failure comes with punishment. That's the rule at Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy." A trace of resentment flashed through Chang Wei's eyes. Years of hard work had been wiped away because of one incident. No one could possibly accept that without bitterness.
"Take a look at what I have here." Chen Xu pulled out a ring of keys and dangled it before Chang Wei's eyes.
Chang Wei's pupils contracted slightly. As Director Xu's former right-hand man, how could he not recognize that key ring?
"Director Xu carried those keys with him everywhere. How did they end up in your hands?" Chang Wei could not help asking.
Thinking of Xu Lie, who had left in the evening and never returned, missing even his regular nightly instruction session, Chang Wei did not dare dwell on it.
"Why don't you guess where he went?" Chen Xu flashed his white teeth. That smile frightened Chang Wei into taking several steps back.
"The Martial Pavilion... if the Martial Pavilion finds out..." Chang Wei's teeth chattered as he wished he could flee immediately.
But reason told him that escape was impossible. Xu Lie could have killed him easily from such close range, let alone Chen Xu, who had killed Xu Lie. Killing him would not be much harder than crushing a bug.
"I'll ask you one more time. Do you want to become the director?" Chen Xu lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingers, and Chang Wei felt as though every tap struck his heart.
"Think about how he treated you. Then think about those petty people who kicked you while you were down."
Chen Xu had already seen through Chang Wei's mind. When he saw that Chang Wei was the one on duty, a few more ideas had naturally occurred to him.
One trip to Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy to loot its treasures isn't enough. Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could turn this place into Chen Xu's private garden?
Of course, all of that depended on Chang Wei's personality and Chen Xu's strength.
Under Chen Xu's pointed hints, Chang Wei recalled the changes that had occurred after he returned to Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy at noon.
If Xu Lie hadn't wanted that piece of land, I wouldn't have offended Chen Xu, and I wouldn't have ended up like this. The more Chang Wei thought about it, the angrier he became, his expression shifting unpredictably.
He had long forgotten that he himself had tried to curry favor with Xu Lie for the deputy director position, only for it to backfire.
"That's right, Xu Lie caused all of this. I'm only one of the victims. The moment something went wrong, he dumped all the blame on me and washed his hands of it completely.
"Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy only got this far because of my contributions, even if not my credit. Just because I privately leaked a Martial Arts technique that could be taught to every apprentice, he ignored all my years of hard work..."
It was as though Chang Wei had found an excuse for his actions. Before Chen Xu, he began wildly cursing the already dead Xu Lie.
That was his little bit of cleverness. It was not just to vent; he was also showing Chen Xu his loyalty.
If Xu Lie, who had originally intended to kill Chen Xu, seize Chen Martial Arts Academy, and incidentally avenge Chang Wei, learned of Chang Wei's thoughts in the afterlife, he would probably be furious enough to come back to life.
After cursing for several minutes, Chang Wei finally picked up the coffee beside the desk, which had long gone cold, and gulped it down.
"Sir Chen, are you truly willing to support me as the new director?" Chang Wei immediately changed how he addressed him, imitating officialdom and placing himself in the role of a subordinate.
"That depends on you." Chen Xu played with the keys. With the pressure of Tiger Might he had activated, plus a few verbal tricks, winning Chang Wei over would not be difficult.
Even someone levelheaded would find it difficult to think calmly under the subtle, constant pressure of such an aura, let alone Chang Wei, whose mind was already in turmoil.
Chen Xu's hints were so obvious that if Chang Wei, after living for decades, still could not understand them, then he had truly lived those years for nothing.
"Please follow me." Chang Wei spoke respectfully, then turned and walked out of the office.
Chen Xu followed Chang Wei through hidden doors and narrow passages until they arrived at an underground warehouse buried deep below, known to only a handful of people in all of Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy.
"Other than the real estate, ninety percent of Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy's resources and assets are here." Chang Wei introduced them to Chen Xu. They were his offering of allegiance to his new boss.
Ignoring the antiques, paintings, gold, silver, and jewels, Chen Xu forcibly suppressed his excitement and tried to appear calm and detached. "Where's the Refining Liquid?"
"It's all over there, Sir Chen." Chang Wei raised a hand and pointed toward the sizable refrigerated storage area.
"If Refining Liquid is to be preserved for longer, it has to be kept in a low-temperature area. But as time passes, its effects continuously decline. At most, it will completely lose its potency within a year."
Chen Xu grew anxious as soon as he heard that. This was all Psychic Energy. Every minute wasted meant less Psychic Energy. His heart had nearly been pierced through before; he could not withstand such a shock.
He patted Chang Wei on the shoulder and left behind a sentence: "Once I come out, the position of director of Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy will be yours." Then he hurried toward the refrigerated area.
Chen Xu was not worried at all that Chang Wei would run out and expose him after he entered the refrigerated area.
Because their interests were now aligned. More importantly, from the instant the two entered the underground warehouse, Chang Wei had been tied to the same rope as him.
At a glance, the rows of neatly arranged Refining Liquid nearly blinded Chen Xu.
He picked up bottles of Refining Liquid and poured them into his mouth. Like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit, he did not care what they tasted like. He worked with both hands, unwilling to let his mouth stop for even a moment.
He had imagined that one day he might drink Refining Liquid like a beverage, but he had never expected that day to come so soon.
+0.5, +0.4, +0.7...
The Psychic Energy stat rose rapidly.
Picking up the last two bottles, Chen Xu thought for a moment and did not keep them all for himself.
He understood the principle of the carrot and the stick. To ensure that Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy's Refining Liquid supply would not be cut off in the future, using two ordinary bottles to increase his subordinate's loyalty was still a worthwhile deal.
After drinking so much, he did not care about a few more points of Psychic Energy. Don't ask—he was rich, so he could do as he pleased.
He silently shed a few crocodile tears for Xu Lie, wherever he was, in heaven or hell. Thank you for the Refining Liquid, President Xu. Thank you for Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy, President Xu.
His own martial arts academy? Bad!
Someone else's martial arts academy? Good!
No wonder President Xu was always eyeing other people's martial arts academies. After this plundering spree, resources from other highly ranked martial arts academies involuntarily surfaced in Chen Xu's mind as well.
Unfortunately, the Martial Pavilion was keeping watch overhead, so he could not go too far. Chen Xu pursed his lips. If the Martial Pavilion did not exist, he would make every martial arts academy in Jinning Commandery bear the Chen name within a month.
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