"A new student?" Ye Du demanded in fury. "Qiong'er was already first on the Heaven Ranking at Azure Dragon Academy. How could a new student have killed him? Grand Elder, don't give me excuses!"
"It is indeed true. I did not believe it myself at first. After receiving the news, I did not rush back immediately, but investigated further.
"That beast Tang Yan is no weakling. He truly has the ability to kill Heaven Tier experts!
"As it happened, Xiao Cangshan took Tang Yan to the Imperial City to register for the Spirit Academy Competition between the Three Great Spirit Academies, so I laid a trap to assassinate them. Only then did I discover that the boy had actually reached the Heaven Tier.
"To avoid exposing our movements, and since Xiao Cangshan was no weakling either, I returned immediately after the assassination failed to discuss our response with you, Patriarch," the Grand Elder said with a sigh.
Ye Du finally calmed down, regaining the bearing of a patriarch. He paced back and forth in the great hall before finally saying, "Grand Elder, tell me what happened again, in detail."
The Grand Elder sighed and recounted everything, leaving nothing out.
After listening, Ye Du said, murderous intent radiating from him, "Since we have identified the killer, let us eliminate him as soon as possible! Where is Tang Yan now?"
"The Imperial City!"
"What is that boy's background?"
"Well... I do not know."
"Investigate!" Ye Du ordered.
The Grand Elder hesitated before saying, "Only Azure Dragon Academy's senior leadership knows Tang Yan's exact identity. As the academy's strongest student, he is highly valued by them. Moreover, he will be their mainstay in the Spirit Academy Competition two months from now. Azure Dragon Academy is counting on him to reverse their record of