"Shut up!"
Qin Qi turned and shot the gatekeeper a fierce glare, frightening him into silence!
"W-why is it this little terror?!"
"I'm done for, done for! Just my rotten luck!"
This was the very gatekeeper Qin Qi had taught a lesson before.
He felt terribly unlucky, but at the same time, a little relieved.
Relieved that he had admitted his mistake back then.
Otherwise, he might have been the one pinned to the ground and beaten senseless now!
"Save me! Save me!"
Yu Xiaogang looked at the gatekeeper as though he had spotted his savior. Excitement covered his face as he shouted.
"This fellow is beating a teacher! He's an innately evil brat! Hurry and arrest him!"
The sight of the gatekeeper made Yu Xiaogang feel that rescue was at hand. He completely forgot how he had been begging for mercy just moments earlier.
Instead, he turned around and sank his teeth into Qin Qi, calling him an innately evil brat with every breath.
"..."
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's cries for help, the gatekeeper silently lowered his head, unable to stop himself from cursing inwardly.
Me, save you? Aren't you giving me far too much credit?!
Besides, you brought this on yourself. Why should I help you?!
I saw nothing. I know nothing.
Don't hit me!
The gatekeeper wanted nothing to do with Yu Xiaogang. He was only there to watch the gate.
Saving people had nothing to do with him. It was beyond his authority.
"Still barking like a dog?!"
Qin Qi planted his foot on Yu Xiaogang's head, pressing it straight into the ground.
But just then, he suddenly felt a chill at his back, and goosebumps began rising all over his body!
Something's wrong! This feeling—it's my second Soul Skill's danger warning!
Qin Qi froze for a moment, then immediately realized that his Formless Hand's second Soul Skill had begun taking effect.
He took his foot off Yu Xiaogang, then turned to retreat.
Just then, a crowd of teachers rushed over, all alerted by the gatekeeper's earlier shout.
The first to arrive was the dean of Notting Academy, a four-ring Soul Ancestor!
Right behind him came the director of studies, a three-ring Soul Elder.
Several two-ring teachers also hurried over.
Upon arriving, they saw Yu Xiaogang beaten into a pig-headed mess, and Qin Qi with blood staining both hands.
"W-what happened here?"
Dean Notting looked utterly bewildered. He could not imagine what had happened here.
Surely a six-year-old child could not have pinned down the fifty-year-old, level-thirty Grandmaster and given him a vicious beating.
However useless Grandmaster might be, he was still an adult, and a level-twenty-nine Soul Master at that.
How could a child possibly have pinned him down and beaten him?
"Dean, this bastard threatened me!"
"He said he'd expel me if I didn't take him as my master!"
"When I refused, he tried to hit me."
"I had no choice but to fight back!"
Looking at the teachers gathering around him, Qin Qi made a quick assessment. His chances of escaping now were rather low.
Besides, if he ran now, he would look guilty even though he was in the right.
He would try reasoning with them first, and flee only if that failed!
"That's not what happened! That's not what happened!"
"This brat attacked me without a word!"
"He's an evil student who has no respect for his elders or teachers! Hurry and arrest him!"
Seeing the dean arrive, Yu Xiaogang breathed a sigh of relief. He felt he now had someone backing him up.
He lifted his head from the ground, then glared at Qin Qi with a savage expression and shouted.
"All right, we'll discuss what happened later. Infirmary teacher, treat Grandmaster first."
The dean frowned at Yu Xiaogang's wretched state and spoke.
"All right."
The infirmary teacher was a woman. She stepped forward and gave Yu Xiaogang a cursory treatment.
Once she finished, she walked away in disgust.
Yu Xiaogang truly was despised by every person and bitten by every dog at the academy. Nobody could stand him.
"You're Qin Qi, correct? Tell us what happened first."
Dean Notting turned to Qin Qi and spoke.
"Yes, Dean."
"I went out for a walk today, and when I came back, I ran into Yu Xiaogang."
"Without another word, he told me to become his disciple, but I didn't want to."
"Then he started insulting me, saying I was shortsighted and would be a good-for-nothing all my life."
"I couldn't hold back and started arguing with him. As we argued, Yu Xiaogang tried to get physical."
"I'm not someone who lets himself get bullied, so I punched him straightaway."
Qin Qi did not make anything up. He told them exactly what had happened.
"Grandmaster really is despicable!"
"He tried to force someone to become his disciple after they refused."
"He even tried to hit a child—and couldn't even beat that child."
"What a disgrace."
"Keeping a clown like this at Notting Academy only drags our name through the mud."
The teachers believed Qin Qi without the slightest doubt.
For one thing, Qin Qi's account matched their understanding of Yu Xiaogang. He had done things like this before.
Whenever he saw someone talented, he wanted to take them as a disciple. If they refused, he berated them for lacking discernment.
For another, Qin Qi was only six years old, and he had left a good impression on the academy's teachers.
They did not think Qin Qi was lying.
"No! He's lying! He's lying!"
"He was pressing down on my head and making me kneel to him!"
"He's an innately evil brat!"
Hearing the teachers' remarks, Yu Xiaogang could not help shouting.
But the teachers' eyes were cold. Not one of them wanted to speak up for Yu Xiaogang.
They even wanted to drop stones on a man already down in a well, seizing this chance to drive that good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang out of the academy for good!
"Although Qin Qi's innate soul power is a little low, his actual combat ability is excellent."
"He also performs very well in class."
"He gets along well with his classmates, too. Everyone thinks highly of him."
The teachers all moved to Qin Qi's side, comforting him as they spoke to the dean.
Huh?
Looks like the tables have turned?
Qin Qi stared at the teachers gathering around him, momentarily stunned. He had thought he would be assailed by a storm of condemnation.
Instead, everyone was actually speaking up for him.
Just how unpopular was Yu Xiaogang at the academy? Not a single person was helping him!
The chill at Qin Qi's back began to fade, and his raised hairs started settling down.
The danger seemed to have disappeared?!
"Director Su, what do you think?"
The dean looked at Yu Xiaogang, then at Qin Qi, hesitation showing in his eyes.
Yu Xiaogang was indeed his friend, but they were not particularly close.
He had only let Yu Xiaogang stay as a casual favor.
But now Yu Xiaogang had gotten into a fight with a student. If this matter was not handled properly...
Once word spread, the academy's reputation would be ruined. Who would dare come study here afterward?
Before you continue