How many are clean?

Zhou Qing was truly panicking.

If Ye Tianming really died inside Guanxuan Hall, it would fucking shake the entire universe. When that happened, it wouldn't just be Qingzhou undergoing an internal investigation; the entire Guanxuan Realm and the Outer Pavilion would immediately undergo one as well.

And for Qingzhou's Guanxuan Guards, it wouldn't be as simple as losing their posts.

If this incident brought the Guanxuan Sword Master out into the open...

They would be completely finished!

The entire Guanxuan Universe would likely undergo a great purge. Ye Tianming dying here wouldn't just be a slap in the Guanxuan Guards' faces, but in the Guanxuan Sword Master's face as well.

The deputy academy master's face looked as grim as if he were visiting a grave. He hadn't expected the young man before him to be so resolute. Was this guy not afraid of death?

This would be difficult to handle.

The deputy academy master gave Ye Tianming a long look, then turned and left.

Zhou Qing wasn't the only one who was afraid. The deputy academy master was afraid too, because if Ye Tianming slit his own throat, he would be the first to bear the blame.

Damn it!

The Xiao Family's money wasn't easy to earn.

After the deputy academy master left, Zhou Qing looked at Ye Tianming. His throat bobbed, and he said cautiously, "Young Master Ye, you can rest assured. From now on, we won't let anyone in without your permission."

His guts had turned green with regret. For a little profit, he had let the deputy academy master in and nearly caused a disaster.

Next time anyone wanted his cooperation, they'd have to pay more.

Ye Tianming put away his sword and sat on the ground without a word.

Zhou Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He hesitated, then said, "Young Master Ye, you're still young, with a bright future ahead of you. You mustn't do anything foolish."

Ye Tianming shook his head. "The Xiao Family won't let me go. Even if I don't die now, I'll die later. In that case, I'd rather die now and drag the Xiao Family down with me."

Zhou Qing's heart pounded as he listened. Whether you die later has nothing to do with me, but if you die now, damn it, we'll all be buried with you.

He thought for a moment, then said, "Young Master Ye, the Xiao Family is indeed powerful, but for now, they're unlikely to target you openly again, so..."

Ye Tianming stared into the distance without speaking, but the death wish in his eyes grew stronger.

Afraid he would do something rash, Zhou Qing hurriedly said, "Young Master Ye, dying now would put an end to everything, but it really wouldn't be worth it. Besides, even if you died, the academy couldn't wipe out the entire Xiao Family over it. Before long, the Xiao Family might recover its strength, and when that happens, what will become of your Ye Family?"

Ye Tianming asked, "Then what do you think I should do, Senior?"

Zhou Qing fell silent.

From his perspective, Ye Tianming was indeed in a hopeless situation. There was no way he could stand against the Xiao Family, and they were already pulling strings everywhere. With their connections, they would most likely be able to settle this matter.

And once it had blown over, it would be all too easy for the Xiao Family to deal with Ye Tianming. After all, he was only a descendant of a low-tier lineage.

Of course, he couldn't tell Ye Tianming the truth. If he did, the young man might really slit his throat right there.

He had to keep this guy calm first.

Zhou Qing said gravely, "Young Master Ye, you're a smart man, so I won't feed you empty words. You and the Xiao Family are indeed locked in a feud to the death. What I want to say is that even after this matter blows over, you won't be without a chance to rise. With your talent, if you find an exceptionally powerful mentor, the Xiao Family certainly won't dare make a move against you lightly."

Ye Tianming said nothing.

Zhou Qing continued, "Your talent is so monstrous that, given time, you'll surely rise. If you die here now, you can indeed cause the Xiao Family enormous trouble, but the academy won't wipe out their entire family over it. That would be against the law. At most, they would be severely punished and kept away from the center of power. But as I just said, it won't take many years for them to recover, and when that happens, they'll certainly take revenge on your Ye Family."

Ye Tianming nodded. "I understand."

Zhou Qing glanced at him, then withdrew without another word.

Inside the hall.

Ye Tianming sat on the ground, blood still slowly seeping from his neck. He stared at the floor in silence, his gaze growing colder and colder.

The Qingzhou Inspection Institute.

The academy's upper echelon had gathered there. Seated at the head was Ji Shi, the current master of Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy.

On either side sat the heads of the Qingzhou Inspection Institute and the Supervision Institute, the deputy academy master, and the various elders.

They all looked grim, having learned that Ye Tianming had just tried to slit his own throat.

Damn it!

Was this guy's head really that hard?

Academy Master Ji Shi suddenly said, "What do you all think?"

Everyone was silent.

An elder suddenly said, "Since none of you will speak, I will. Now that things have come to this, we have only two paths. The first is to follow the rules and immediately punish the Xiao Family and everyone involved. But the Xiao Family certainly won't sit and wait for death. As far as I know, they've already mobilized all their connections to deal with this matter. So even if we choose to punish them severely, we won't be able to carry it through. Most importantly, if we follow the normal procedures, quite a few elders here won't be able to escape implication, will they?"

As he spoke, he glanced at some of the elders seated there.

Their expressions immediately soured. How many people in high positions had clean backsides?

For those in high positions, it could be said that every investigation would turn up someone deserving of death.

The elder continued, "If we don't follow procedure, we can't give the Guanxuan Realm an explanation. But as the academy master said, if we do follow procedure, first, we'll hurt our own brothers, and second, we'll clash head-on with the Xiao Family. Everyone knows how powerful and well connected they are, not to mention that their ancestor and the Guanxuan Sword Master were brothers..."

He paused, then said, "In truth, everyone understands that our academy can't punish the Xiao Family. To do that, we'd have to unite and take the case to the Guanxuan Realm. But clearly, none of us would do that for a low-tier lineage, much less when this matter would have an extremely damaging effect on the elders here. And that's not all. If it's thoroughly investigated, it could implicate several generations of elders before us..."

This time, the others weren't merely grim-faced; they were somewhat afraid. If the matter were thoroughly investigated, it would implicate those earlier generations of elders... After all, none of them were clean either! And now, those elders mostly held high positions in the Outer Pavilion or even the Inner Pavilion...

In short, they couldn't investigate. An investigation would implicate far too many people. It wasn't just the previous generations of elders; there were hardly any clean people in all of Wan Prefecture.

A hot-tempered elder stood up and sneered. "That Ye Tianming fellow just doesn't know what's good for him. He even wants to kill himself. Damn it, he's openly threatening us! I say let him do it. I'd like to see whether he really isn't afraid of death."

Since they couldn't solve the problem, they would get rid of the person who had created it.

The elders all remained silent, and silence meant consent.

Just then, another elder suddenly said, "Elder Ling, you can't think like that. His life is worthless, and if he dies, he dies. But you must understand, if he really dies here, even if the Guanxuan Realm spares our lives, we'll certainly be stripped of our posts, and we might even face imprisonment."

Elder Ling's face darkened. "Then are we just going to let him threaten us like this?"

The elder did not answer. Instead, he looked at Academy Master Ji Shi beside him. Ji Shi said calmly, "Old Yuan, say whatever you have to say."

Old Yuan's real name was Yuan Qi, and he was the academy's deputy master.

Yuan Qi said slowly, "Naturally, this matter cannot be investigated. If it is, the Xiao Family won't be the only ones in trouble; our Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy won't escape implication either. Far too many people are involved, and the consequences would be too severe. Therefore, the best solution is to have Ye Tianming voluntarily give up pursuing the matter."

Elder Ling said gravely, "He never intended to negotiate..."

Yuan Qi said, "It's not that he doesn't want to negotiate. He's simply too smart. He knows that once this matter blows over, it will be easy for either our academy or the Xiao Family to deal with him. So what he wants is a promise, as well as better terms."

Elder Ling asked, "What if he truly doesn't want to negotiate?"

Everyone turned to the academy master.

Academy Master Ji Shi slowly closed his eyes and said nothing.

But Deputy Academy Master Yuan Qi, sitting beside him, already understood his meaning. He said at once, "Then tell him that if he doesn't want to negotiate, at worst the fish will die and the net will tear. But before that happens, we have ten thousand ways to make his Ye Family members die miserable deaths one by one before his eyes. He values his loved ones and bonds with others, so his family is his weak spot. If we control them, we can control him!"

He paused, then added, "Of course, we can't commit such an evil act ourselves, and we don't need to. The Xiao Family is more anxious than we are right now. We can let them do the evil deed, while we simply offer a little cooperation from the sidelines."