The Vice Dean came to arrest someone, and another classroom breakthrough stirred up trouble

In the student cultivation room, after a night of cultivation, Yun Jin finally reached the bottleneck before the middle stage of the acquired realm. A smile tugged at his lips. I really am a born martial arts prodigy. Only nineteen, and already about to enter the middle stage of the acquired realm.

Although he could not compare to geniuses on Qin Keyi's level, he still ranked near the top among the upper-middle tier of talented martial artists.

"Now all I need to do is take the Meridian-Opening Pill. With my talent, a breakthrough is guaranteed."

His martial root was only average, but it was among the best of that grade. Even his instructor had praised his cultivation speed, which was considerably faster than that of other students with average martial roots.

"Little brother, the gap between us will only keep growing. In the end, I'll become someone you can never hope to catch up to."

As he spoke, Yun Jin reached into his pocket, where he kept a small cloth pouch close to his body. The precious second-grade Meridian-Opening Pill was inside it.

However, the moment his hand touched the pouch, his smile vanished. He quickly pulled it out and opened it.

Empty!

The Meridian-Opening Pill he had kept on him at all times was gone!

"Impossible! I never opened it after putting the pill inside, and I've kept it on me the whole time. Why isn't it here?"

Yun Jin's brow furrowed as he carefully retraced his memories, wondering whether he had forgotten it at home.

But no matter how hard he thought back, he still clearly remembered putting the Meridian-Opening Pill into the pouch.

Left with no choice, Yun Jin abandoned the idea of using the pill and began attempting a breakthrough with his own strength alone.

"No, I can't delay any longer. This opportunity is too rare. Even without the Meridian-Opening Pill, my talent should be enough to break through smoothly."

An hour later, Yun Jin opened his bloodshot eyes. His fists were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, though unfortunately, they failed to draw blood.

He had proven through experience that one should never be too confident, or reality would deliver a merciless slap in the face-and a loud one at that.

"Damn it! Why did the Meridian-Opening Pill disappear?"

"I clearly put the pill inside, and it never left my side for even a moment. What the hell happened?"

He could not figure it out. No matter how he looked at it, nothing made sense. His thoughts hit a dead end, leaving him with nowhere to begin.

At the headquarters of the Red Skull Bandit Group, Hong Mian and Zhao Cang had been stripped naked and strung up in midair.

Their bodies were covered in whip marks, blood dripping steadily from their wounds. Whoever had whipped them had clearly shown no mercy.

His hair disheveled and his upper body bare, Hong Futian took a mouthful of liquor, then spat it forcefully onto the bloodstained whip.

His eyes filled with viciousness, fury, agitation, confusion, and anguish, he stared fixedly at his own son and the skeletal Zhao Cang.

"Didn't I tell you that if we failed to get the treasure this time, I'd string both of you up and whip you?"

"Chief, spare us! This wasn't our fault! We never imagined there would be nothing inside. It makes no sense!" Zhao Cang wailed, begging for mercy.

"You dare talk back?" Hong Futian naturally knew they were not to blame, but who could understand how he felt? Nearly six thousand people, more than half of them elites of the Red Skull Bandit Group, had now died for nothing.

Had they obtained the treasure in the end, those sacrifices would have been worthwhile.

The problem was that they had gotten nothing.

Never mind treasure-they had not even seen so much as a copper coin.

Worst of all, Fatty Zhou, Xu Asi, and Lu Luxiu had found out about it.

Their gloating looks and their contempt for his attempt to keep everything for himself could not have been more obvious. He had been so furious that he spat out three mouthfuls of blood on the spot.

Hong Mian had not said a single word from beginning to end. The blows he had suffered one after another had already left him with severe depression.

"Enough. Even if you beat them to death, it won't change anything. You should focus on preparing for tonight's assault on the city!"

"As long as we take Falling Moon City, we can make up for all our losses."

The speaker was an alluring, one-eyed woman. She was Chai Shuyu, the second-in-command of the Red Skull Bandit Group, a terrifying woman whose hands were stained with the blood of countless women.

Hong Futian gave a heavy snort, tossed the whip aside, and sank weakly into his chair. "Well? Have you found any leads? Who exactly killed the Four-Armed Demon Maggot?"

Chai Shuyu frowned slightly. "I found a few things, but they seem rather absurd."

"Speak!" Hong Futian's expression darkened. Nothing had gone right lately. Whoever was connected to the Four-Armed Demon Maggot, he would wipe them out.

Chai Shuyu hesitated no longer. "According to what we found, a noncombat instructor from Falling Moon Academy named Yun Che eventually lured the Four-Armed Demon Maggot away, saving everyone. The strangest thing is that this man, who is supposedly just a noncombat instructor, not only survived but has now returned to the academy completely unharmed."

"You said a noncombat instructor?" Hong Futian's brow furrowed in disbelief. It really was absurd. Even if that instructor had the strength of the innate realm, he should not have escaped unharmed.

At that moment, Zhao Cang, still hanging in midair, spoke up. "Chief, I know this noncombat instructor. He really is just someone with very little fighting strength. I'm willing to make amends by bringing him before you so you can question him."

Hong Futian snorted coldly. After a brief moment of thought, he waved a hand, ordering someone to lower Zhao Cang.

"Fine. I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself."

"If you can't even handle this little task, don't bother coming back."

Zhao Cang caught the clothes a subordinate tossed over and hurriedly put them on to cover himself, then quickly replied.

"Rest assured, Chief. If I can't even deal with him, I won't have the face to see you again."

"I'll bring him to you by tonight at the latest."

After Zhao Cang left, Hong Futian seemed to remember something else. He asked Chai Shuyu, "Xu Asi's Spirit-Degenerating Powder is being delivered tonight as well, correct?"

Chai Shuyu nodded. "Xu Asi's son is handling it personally. Nothing will go wrong."

A cold smile curled Hong Futian's lips as he sneered, "King Qin, I bet you never dreamed that the adopted son you so carefully raised was actually one of ours! I hope you enjoy the feast of blood we've prepared for you tonight."

In the Class Nine classroom, Yun Che was only halfway through his lesson when three students who had been stuck at bottlenecks suddenly entered a state of enlightenment. One of them was a senior student at the peak of the acquired realm.

The students present were utterly shocked. They held their breath, staring at the student at the peak of the acquired realm.

"It's Yang Guo! He's only twenty-six this year. If he really breaks through to the innate realm today, there's no telling how much he'll achieve in the future!"

"Shh! Quiet! Don't disturb the three of them."