"Ah!"
Gu Tianri cried out in pain.
The rhythm of his wingbeats instantly broke. His body swayed, then began to fall.
Without the support Soul Skill Su Xiaoyu had given them before jumping off the arena, the three of them would probably have crashed by now!
But they were close enough!
After failing at Gu Refining last night, Hu Fangyuan desperately needed to vent.
His powerful Soul Power poured into the Heaven Refining Furnace, and even more streams of boiling water shot from its mouth.
Dozens of water whips lashed at the Gu Brothers from every direction.
Densely packed, they were like a great net of water descending over their heads and faces.
"Ah!"
Almost instantly, someone failed to dodge and was struck by Hu Fangyuan. The tremendous force and scalding water tore Gu Tianri's skin open! His Soul Power faltered, and he was about to fall.
Hu Fangyuan cast him a cold glance.
He waved his right hand.
A ball of water formed out of thin air and flew straight at Gu Tianri, precisely enveloping his entire body.
Bang!
Carrying its momentum, the water ball slammed hard toward the ground.
Gu Tianri and the water ball crashed heavily onto the arena together.
Although this spared him injuries from a direct fall, Hu Fangyuan had used boiling water!
It had not lasted long, but it was enough to cover Gu Tianri's body in scalds.
The water ball broke apart. Gu Tianri rolled twice across the ground, drenched from head to toe, his body covered in red and purple patches, all blistered burns. The pain made him suck in sharp breaths.
Long Hengxu frowned, but still waved his hand immediately.
The referee hurried forward, carried Gu Tianri off, and sent him to the Infirmary for treatment.
For a healing Soul Master, a few scalds were naturally no trouble at all.
Yet Hu Fangyuan's actions sent a chill through everyone present.
This boy truly showed no mercy whatsoever when he struck!
One of the three brothers was out.
Only Gu Tianyue and Gu Tianming remained.
Hu Fangyuan grew even more at ease.
His dozens of water whips only needed to target two people now.
He was in no hurry to knock them down, either.
The water whips lashed their bodies from time to time. Like a cat playing with mice, he kept driving the two into a frantic flight.
As though indulging Hu Fangyuan's cruel sense of fun, the water whips struck them from time to time while always keeping them airborne.
They clearly had no chance of winning, yet he kept making them fly around like flies.
It was like whipping spinning tops.
One lash came, and the two hastily dodged aside.
Another came from the side, forcing them to change direction again.
They flew back and forth, but simply could not escape the reach of Hu Fangyuan's water whips.
The wounds on their bodies kept multiplying.
Their wings, arms, and backs were covered in red scald marks.
The two were furious and frantic, yet there was nothing they could do.
Fight? They could not reach him.
Escape? They could not get away.
They could only take the beating.
Watching from below the arena, Ye Yingluo felt her heart clench.
The whip marks scalded into her students' bodies by boiling water filled her with anguish as their homeroom teacher. If this went on, they were bound to be beaten into lasting psychological scars.
"Enough! Our class concedes!"
Ye Yingluo shouted, her expression ugly.
Long Hengxu shouted as well, "First-Year Class Three concedes! Stop!"
Although Hu Fangyuan still wanted to keep whipping his airborne tops,
he had no choice but to stop.
He drew back both hands.
All the water whips instantly dissipated.
The steam beneath his feet slowly weakened.
Hu Fangyuan gradually reduced the jets of steam and landed steadily back on the arena.
His feet touched down without the slightest wobble.
"First-Year Class Five wins!"
Long Hengxu announced the result while looking coldly at Hu Fangyuan.
In the end, however, he said nothing to him.
After all, this was a competition. Holding back was a kindness; giving it one's all was one's duty.
Hu Fangyuan had not broken the rules, either.
Long Hengxu waved a hand.
Staff immediately came forward, lifted Gu Tianyue and Gu Tianming onto stretchers, and took them to the Infirmary.
The two brothers stared fixedly at Hu Fangyuan, their eyes brimming with venomous hatred, wishing they could devour his flesh and gnaw his bones!
Hu Fangyuan scoffed.
He ignored his two defeated opponents.
He walked off the arena by himself.
He had only won a match. What was there to say?
"You went a little too far."
Wu Changkong spoke coolly, looking at Hu Fangyuan as though weighing something. His tone was not harsh, but it carried a measure of seriousness.
"I'll be more careful next time, Teacher Wu."
Hu Fangyuan still looked every bit the obedient student, earnestly admitting his mistake, as though the person tormenting others on the arena just now had not been him at all.
A pure egoist.
That was Gu Yue's assessment of Hu Fangyuan. Now, the same assessment had appeared in Wu Changkong's mind.
But he said nothing, merely waving a hand to dismiss everyone and let them spend their time freely.
There were more matches tomorrow. They would head back and rest for today.
Xie Xie and Tang Wulin answered and ran off first.
Gu Yue stepped forward, taking a few steps to fall in beside Hu Fangyuan.
She seemed to want to leave the academy with him.
"What? Have you come to lecture me too?" Hu Fangyuan looked at Gu Yue beside him and raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I'm not that bored."
Gu Yue shook her head and said solemnly, "I just wanted to remind you: is the Moonlight Dew you owe me this month ready yet?"
Hu Fangyuan immediately gave a sheepish smile.
"Soon, soon. Give me another two days."
He could hardly say that, because his mental state had been poor after repeatedly refining Gu last night, he had helped himself to a bottle of the Moonlight Dew originally meant for delivery, leaving him unable to fill the order now!
Gu Yue clicked her tongue and teased, "Classmate Fangyuan, it seems I'll have to reassess our friendship."
At that, Hu Fangyuan immediately smiled sheepishly.
"Don't, don't, Miss Gu Yue. Aren't I still working hard to make it? Last night, I stayed up trying to make up your Moonlight Dew, but perhaps because of the recent matches, I actually failed a few times. That's why I couldn't deliver on time. Give me another two days, just two!"
He held up two fingers and waggled them.
Gu Yue gave him a sidelong glance, a measure of disbelief in her eyes.
"Failed a few times?"
"T-two times." Hu Fangyuan's gaze wandered.
It had actually been three times. Last night, he had failed twice while refining the Silver Tendon Gu. His Spiritual Power had been depleted too much, so he drank a bottle of Moonlight Dew to replenish it. Then he tried again, failed once more, and took another sip. All told, he owed Gu Yue quite a bit.
Watching him act like this, Gu Yue's lips curved into the faintest of smiles.
"Fine. I'll give you another two days." She paused, then added, "If it's still not ready in two days, next month's payment won't be this amount."
"Don't do that!" Hu Fangyuan hastily said. "I guarantee I'll give it to you in two days! Full quantity and quality guaranteed!"
Gu Yue nodded and said nothing more.
The two walked out through the academy gates side by side.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long.
Hu Fangyuan calculated inwardly. He had to put in more effort tonight and refine the Silver Tendon Gu. Then he would have the two Moonlight Pearl Gu work overtime and produce more Moonlight Dew. Otherwise, if he could not deliver when the time came, losing face would be a small matter, but losing his source of income would be trouble.
After all, Gu Yue was his biggest paying customer right now.
Hu Fangyuan rubbed his chin.
It seemed he needed to find another opportunity to bring in a few more customers. Relying on Gu Yue alone was no long-term solution.
As he thought, his steps unconsciously quickened.
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