Qian Xunji Was a Madman

It was lunchtime.

The food at Spirit Academy really was good.

It was almost as good as what Qian Renchuan ate at Riverside Courtyard.

He was quite pleased with that and sat down to tuck in.

He enjoyed every bite.

Before long, though, he noticed something odd about Zhao Mang and Li Yan, who were standing beside him.

Ever since they had returned with their food, the two had been exchanging strange looks.

They looked downright constipated.

They stood there, unsure what to do with their hands or feet, clearly wanting to say something.

"What's with you two?"

Qian Renchuan wiped his mouth and looked up at them.

"You both look constipated. If you've got something to say, spit it out. Stop hemming and hawing."

Li Yan and Zhao Mang exchanged a glance.

At last, Li Yan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.

"Eldest Young Master, maybe you should ask for leave tonight... and go back to Spirit Hall?"

Qian Renchuan was surprised.

"Why would I go back to Spirit Hall out of the blue?"

"Don't you know your Pope is the one who sent me here?"

If he could go back, he would have done so already. Why else would he sleep on a hard desk every day and put up with a bunch of brats?

Wasn't it better to lounge in a rocking chair and soak up the sun at Riverside Courtyard?

As things stood, Qian Xunji seemed determined to keep him at Spirit Academy.

If he ran back now, who knew how the man would torment him next?

Zhao Mang, however, looked helpless.

"Eldest Young Master, you don't understand."

"When class ended this morning, the class monitor..."

"That's Huyan Ye. He called the two of us over."

"He said they'd decided to bring people over after lights-out tonight and teach you a harsh lesson."

"And quite a few classmates are coming. More than a dozen of them, all saying they're going to make you pay."

Qian Renchuan was even more surprised.

He really hadn't expected Huyan Ye to be so bold.

Picking on him at the training ground or in the classroom was one thing. After all, he did spend his days sleeping and doing as little as possible. He could understand why that annoyed people.

They were all children around ten years old.

They were competitive, so it was normal for them to dislike him.

But bringing a group to ambush him in the middle of the night was another matter.

That was an organized, premeditated beating.

Wasn't Huyan Ye afraid Qian Xunji would hold him accountable?

At that thought, Qian Renchuan frowned and asked,

"Don't they know who I am?"

"I'm the Pope's own son. Aren't they afraid Spirit Hall will come after them for beating me up at night?"

Zhao Mang looked miserable.

"I told them!"

"I warned the class monitor right then that you're the Eldest Young Master and he couldn't do this."

"But he said the order came from above, and His Holiness the Pope had approved it!"

"He said His Holiness the Pope has been dissatisfied with you for ages and specifically told them to take good care of you. As long as they don't kill you, they can teach you whatever lesson they like."

At those words,

Qian Renchuan's mind went buzz.

His head nearly exploded.

For fuck's sake.

Qian Xunji!

You really are one hell of a father!

Only then did he finally understand why Qian Xunji had sent them to Spirit Academy.

So that's what this is about.

To force me to train?

You'd stoop to a trick this low?

You secretly told a bunch of students to gang up on your own son at night? Are you even my father?

Qian Renchuan cursed him furiously in his head.

Qian Xunji really was a madman.

He had pulled that stunt in the secret chamber to keep an apprentice.

Now, to force his own son's hand, he had incited others to gang up on him.

Qian Renchuan's face darkened. He took several deep breaths before he managed to calm down a little.

Then he looked at the two of them and asked curiously,

"If you know the Pope arranged this, how am I supposed to go back?"

"He's determined to make my life miserable. Even if I can get back to Spirit Hall, can I outrun his orders?"

"And you two. If you know this is what the Pope wants, you still dare come warn me?"

"Aren't you afraid he'll find out afterward and come after you?"

"He might expel both of you."

Li Yan and Zhao Mang sighed helplessly.

"Eldest Young Master, we don't want to do this either. We don't want to disobey the Pope."

"But you're only six!"

"Huyan Ye and his lot are all ten, and every one of them is a Soul Grandmaster above level twenty. They don't know when to hold back."

"We're afraid something will happen to you in the dorm. What if they beat you badly enough to cause an accident?"

Zhao Mang hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"Exactly, Eldest Young Master. The Pope might be saying they can beat you all they want right now."

"But if something really happens to you—if you lose an arm or a leg—he might turn on them in an instant!"

"And if he does, we're all finished!"

"Especially us. We share a dorm with you, so he'll definitely take it out on us and say we failed to protect you."

"We tried to talk Huyan Ye out of taking things too far during the day."

"But he wouldn't listen. He's completely caught up in it now and only wants to impress the Pope."

"We didn't know what else to do, so we came to warn you."

"Eldest Young Master, go back to Spirit Hall tonight. Or hide somewhere else for the night. You might get through this."

After hearing their explanation, Qian Renchuan almost laughed.

These two were sharp enough to know that when the powerful clashed, ordinary people suffered.

But things had come this far. Hiding wouldn't solve anything.

Even if he avoided them today,

what about tomorrow?

A thief could keep stealing day after day, but could anyone stay on guard against one forever?

Qian Renchuan spread his hands helplessly.

"Fine, I get it. Let them come."

Li Yan and Zhao Mang stared at him in shock.

"Let them come? Eldest Young Master, there are more than a dozen of them!"

"Yeah, well, what else can I do?"

"They watch me every day and follow me wherever I go. I'm sick of it."

"If they want a fight, I might as well beat them into submission all at once. Then they'll stop bothering me while I'm trying to sleep."

The two fell speechless.

They stood there, not knowing what to say.

They hadn't expected Qian Renchuan to be so overconfident.

Even if academy rules forbade them from using their Martial Souls in private fights, Huyan Ye's group still numbered more than a dozen.

They were ten-year-old Soul Grandmasters, each a good deal bigger than Qian Renchuan.

No matter how strong he was, he was only six. How could he possibly take on more than a dozen of them?

But they had made the danger perfectly clear. If Qian Renchuan remained this stubborn, there was nothing more they could do.

The two could only groan inwardly.

That afternoon,

the sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze blew.

But the atmosphere in the Second-Level Class was decidedly strange.

Word of Huyan Ye's plan for that night spread through the entire class in no time.

As a result, quite a few students began giving Qian Renchuan unfriendly looks.

They traded knowing glances,

waiting for the show that night.