Joint Declaration of Eighty-One Higher Education Institutions of the Immortal Palace Across the Nine Provinces

Over the next few days, Chen Fan went to the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall every day to coordinate the details of the case, organize the chain of evidence, and take statements from the student victims.

With Lin Chuan's cooperation, everything went smoothly.

Hu Zhongyuan freely confessed to accepting bribes and shielding foreign students, and Leon and his two companions also admitted to all their crimes.

The evidence was conclusive, the case as solid as a mountain.

Meanwhile, just as Jiang Qingyuan had expected, people from the diplomatic department came knocking.

A deputy director arrived, exhausting every pleasant word he could muster, talking about the bigger picture and the impact on diplomatic relations, hoping Jiang Qingyuan would show leniency, release them, and settle the matter privately.

Jiang Qingyuan refused to see him at all. She sent Lin Chuan out to handle him, passing along only one message:

"Everyone is equal before the laws of the Immortal Palace. Foreign nationals who break the law bear the same guilt as common citizens. If they want to plead for leniency, have their domain lord or pope come speak to me personally."

That single sentence sent the diplomatic department's people straight back.

The deputy director left with his tail between his legs and never dared return.

Everyone knew Jiang Qingyuan meant what she said. If they truly angered her, she would show no courtesy even to someone from the Immortal Academy, let alone the diplomatic department. After all, she had a whole bunch of senior alumni backing her!

Besides, the foreign students were in the wrong to begin with. If this blew up, the Freedom Divine Domain and the Holy See would be the ones disgraced. The Immortal Palace had the law on its side and had nothing to fear.

When Chen Fan heard about it, he had only one thought:

What backbone!

Only with real strength could you speak with confidence.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

That morning, Chen Fan had just gotten out of bed and gone downstairs when he saw Jiang Qingyuan sitting on the living room sofa, looking at a Spirit Messaging light screen with a faint smile on her lips.

"What's got you so happy?" Chen Fan walked over and asked curiously.

"Look." Jiang Qingyuan pointed at the light screen.

Chen Fan leaned over to look, and his pupils contracted slightly.

A bombshell headline sat prominently at the top of the Spirit Messaging homepage:

"Joint declaration of eighty-one higher education institutions of the Immortal Palace across the Nine Provinces: comprehensive regulation of foreign exchange students, abolition of privileges above those of Immortal Palace citizens!"

Below it was a long list of signatories: Jingfu University, Handong University, Beijing University of Technology, Immortal Palace University of Science and Technology... The densely packed list contained eighty-one leading institutions in total, encompassing almost the majority of the Nine Provinces' higher education resources.

The declaration was clear:

1. All special treatment for foreign exchange students would be abolished. Scholarships, accommodation, and assessment standards would be identical to those for local students of the Nine Provinces.

2. Foreign students who violated university rules and disciplinary codes would receive the same penalties as local students. Serious offenders would be immediately expelled and repatriated, and held legally accountable.

3. Universities were strictly forbidden from indulging foreign students without limits for the sake of international rankings. Violations would trigger investigations by the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall, and university leaders would be held accountable.

4. All universities would conduct comprehensive reviews of their foreign students, remove unqualified individuals, and rectify academic conduct.

Every provision rang out with weight and struck straight at the heart of the problem.

After reading it, Chen Fan felt refreshed from head to toe.

"Incredible! You really pulled it off!"

He had thought only a few universities would band together, but she had brought in eighty-one! Their influence now reached across the entire Nine Provinces!

"Mm." Jiang Qingyuan nodded, a measure of satisfaction in her voice. "President Gu moved quickly. He contacted over thirty universities in a week. Then a whole pack of sharks scented blood, each scrambling for a slice of the pie, so that took a little more time. We finally released it together early this morning and caught everyone off guard."

"What about Huaqing University?" Chen Fan immediately remembered what Jiang Qingyuan had said before and asked curiously, "They didn't take part?"

"Them?" Jiang Qingyuan scoffed and pulled up Huaqing University's official account. "Look."

Chen Fan looked over and saw that the comments beneath Huaqing University's official account had already descended into utter chaos.

The comment section was full of netizens asking:

"Where's Huaqing? Why didn't Huaqing take part in something this big?"

"A joint declaration by eighty-one universities, and Huaqing isn't among them? That makes no sense!"

"Did Jingfu beat them to the punch, leaving them too late to join?"

"LMAO, Jingfu spearheaded something this huge, and Huaqing couldn't even keep up. What a crushing loss!"

Huaqing University's official account remained silent. Clearly, they had only just reacted and were holding an emergency meeting.

They had been completely unaware of something this big from start to finish, and Jingfu had left them in the dust.

Whether they followed up afterward or not, they had already lost this round.

If they followed, they would be jumping on Jingfu's bandwagon; if they did not, they would be opposing the effort to rectify academic conduct and would be condemned by netizens.

They could neither advance nor retreat.

Watching the commotion in the comments, Chen Fan could not help laughing. "Professor Jiang, you're really wicked. Huaqing's probably so furious their lungs are about to burst."

"So what if they burst?" Jiang Qingyuan said lightly. "Who told them to move so slowly? This benefits both the Immortal Palace and its people. If they failed to seize the opportunity themselves, who else can they blame?"

Despite her words, she could not hide the amusement in her eyes.

Getting one over on Huaqing felt better than solving ten major cases.

Chen Fan shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Just then, Chen Fan's communication talisman rang.

It was Lin Feng calling.

"Brother Chen, I've got good news! Your permanent appointment has been approved! You're officially a Yellow Rank law enforcer. I've already sent someone to deliver your token. It should arrive soon!" Lin Feng sounded enthusiastic.

"Really? Thank you, Enforcement Officer Lin!" Joy stirred in Chen Fan's heart.

"What are you thanking me for? You earned the merit yourself," Lin Feng said with a laugh. "And Enforcement Officer Jiang put in a word too. Keep up the good work. Your future is boundless!"

They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Chen Fan ended the call.

"Your permanent appointment?" Jiang Qingyuan looked up and asked.

"Yes, it was just approved." Chen Fan nodded with a smile. "I'm officially a Yellow Rank law enforcer."

"Not bad." Jiang Qingyuan inclined her head slightly. "You earned it."

Before long, someone from the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall delivered his official token.

It was much more finely crafted than his provisional token and made of pure copper. The ancient seal of the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall was engraved on the front, while the back bore the words "Yellow Rank," along with Chen Fan's name and identification number.

It felt heavy in his hand, its Spiritual Qi contained within, and granted considerably more permissions than the provisional token.

Chen Fan turned the token over in his hands, feeling quite accomplished.

In the past, he would never even have dared imagine this.

"Don't celebrate too soon." Jiang Qingyuan poured cold water on him. "Yellow Rank is only the beginning. Danger lurks on all sides in the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall. Be careful when handling cases from now on, especially this one. You've cut into the Freedom Divine Domain's and the Holy See's cake. They won't let it go so easily."

Chen Fan put away his smile and nodded. "I know. Don't worry, I know my limits."

He never underestimated his enemies.

"What would you like for dinner?" Jiang Qingyuan stood up and asked casually. "We can count it as a celebration of your permanent appointment."

Chen Fan's eyes lit up. "We're even celebrating? Then I won't hold back. I want spirit fish slices with spirit peppers!"

"You certainly have plenty of demands." Jiang Qingyuan glanced at him, but turned toward the kitchen. "Just wait."

Watching her retreating figure, Chen Fan's lips curved upward.

Life seemed to be growing more and more interesting. He really liked his life as it was now.

Meanwhile, inside the Freedom Divine Domain's embassy in the Nine Provinces, several clergymen were smashing things in furious frustration.

"This is outrageous! The Immortal Palace has gone too far!"

"A joint declaration by eighty-one universities! They're openly suppressing our people!"

"And Jiang Qingyuan actually dared arrest our people! She has absolutely no regard for the Holy See!"

The cardinal at their head wore a dark expression as he said coldly, "Why panic? We certainly can't match the Immortal Palace in a direct confrontation, but are we short of dirty tricks?"

"That brat named Chen Fan belongs to Jiang Qingyuan, doesn't he? Start with him. A mere Yellow Rank law enforcer-killing him will be like crushing an ant."

"And over at the border, have the Netherworld stir up more trouble. Give the Immortal Palace something to choke on."

"Remember, keep your work clean. Don't leave anything they can use against us. The Immortal Palace only disregards reason when dealing with enemies. If they get hold of real evidence, they won't show mercy."

The people below him nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Your Eminence. Rest assured."