"Did you guys hear? Fang Yuan killed someone!" A student whispered to his classmate beside him.
"I heard it too, he really killed somebody." The classmate clenched his chest with a pale face.
"There were many guards who saw him do it. Fang Yuan was chasing after that man. That guy tried to beg for mercy but Fang Yuan paid him no heed and decapitated him immediately!"
"That's not all. After killing him, Fang Yuan didn't even spare his headless corpse. He dragged it back to the hostel and chopped it into a meat paste."
"Are you for real?"
"I'm serious beyond belief. I came early this morning and I could still see the bloodstains left between the cracks of the green rock."
"Oh man, why would I lie to you? Earlier, the Academy Elder called Fang Yuan over for this matter."
The youths in the Academy did not pay attention to class as they held their little conversations.
To this group of 15 year olds, the concept of killing was too foreign and too scary.
They had been under the protection of the clan since a young age and had at most experienced organized sparring or simply killing chickens and dogs.
As for killing a person, it was still beyond them.
"Who did Fang Yuan kill?"
"I heard it was a family servant of the Mo branch family."
"Yup, I'm the clearest about this matter. Yesterday, I personally saw the Mo Family's Mo Yan bring a bunch of family servants to find trouble with Fang Yuan."
"The Mo family, that's not good. Mo Bei is in trouble now."
A number of the youths turned to look at Gu Yue Mo Bei.
Mo Bei sat on his seat with a pale face—he had only heard about the news of Fang Yuan killing someone this morning. Additionally, it was the Gao Wan that Mo Bei was familiar with. As one of the more energetic family servants, Gao Wan was good at boot licking and had also put effort into his fighting skills. He was an able lackey.
A long while ago, Gao Wan had even sparred with Mo Bei for a bit. To think that he was simply killed by Fang Yuan!
It was precisely because of this that Mo Bei felt astonished. He was full of disbelief and felt twice the shock compared to the others. However, compared to his shock, he felt a greater sense of worry and fear.
Facing a murderer like Fang Yuan, it would be a lie if Mo Bei said that he was not afraid. Actually, it was not just him—the other youngsters were afraid too. When Fang Yuan had robbed them twice previously, all of them had gotten physical with him.
"I actually fought with such a ruthless murderer? To think that I'm actually still alive." Many of them patted their chest, feeling a lingering fear.
Fang Yuan killing someone was still somewhat acceptable but the crux was that he even dissected the corpse and chopped the body into meat paste.
That was way too cruel!
The truth of such a horrifying crime had a strong impact on all of the youths' pure and innocent minds.
———————————-
Within the room, there was only the Academy Elder and Fang Yuan.
The Academy Elder sat while Fang Yuan stood. Neither of them spoke a word, causing the atmosphere to be extremely tense.
The Academy Elder silently looked at Fang Yuan and a hint of complication flashed in his eyes.
In the morning, the guards had reported to him about Fang Yuan's murder incident. This news had made him feel both shocked and suspicious.
He was a Rank three Gu Master and was in charge of the Academy. He obviously knew the fighting strength of a Rank one initial stage Gu Master.
Fang Yuan being able to kill Gao Wan was like the weak defeating the strong.
In truth, some guards had already reported to him that Mo Yan had trapped Fang Yuan within the Academy by barging in the previous night.
Back then, he had not paid attention to the matter and had not stopped them.
He was the Academy Elder—his objective was to nurture future Gu Masters, not to protect them. As long as there were no deaths among the students, he encouraged hidden conflicts.
Mo Yan coming to find trouble with Fang Yuan was something that he was happy to see. For one, he knew that regardless of whether the fight was won or lost, it would be beneficial to Fang Yuan's growth. Secondly, he wanted to suppress Fang Yuan's influence.
Fang Yuan had consecutively blocked the Academy's gates and robbed the other students. His influence was too great; it had to be suppressed.
However, he hadn't expected that Mo Yan would return fruitlessly and that the family servant that she had left behind would be unable to beat Fang Yuan. Gao Wan even got killed by him!
In this world, strength was above all else. Killing someone was not something peculiar. Especially to a Gu Master, it was something very common.
But it was not so simple when it was a 15 year old's first kill.
The Academy Elder vividly remembered his first killing scene. Back then, he was already a Rank two Gu Master. At the age of 19, he had killed a Gu Master from the Bai clan's village in a conflict.
After killing the person, he vomited profusely and panicked in his heart. For a few days, he had no mood to eat and had no appetite. He could not even find peace in his sleep. The moment he shut his eyes, he would see the dead person staring angrily at him.
But looking at Fang Yuan now, his face was calm as ice. Where was the fluster? Not to mention that he had no uneasy feelings. It was almost like he had slept perfectly well last night, as if the person who killed a man was not him at all!
Especially when the Academy Elder heard more about the matter. After Fang Yuan had killed the servant, he did not spare the corpse and had even dragged it back to the dormitory to chop it into meat paste in his rage. Such vicious methods, even hearing about it was a kind of terror!
Thus, at this point, the Academy Elder looked at Fang Yuan with complicated emotions.
On one hand, he was amazed at Fang Yuan's indifference towards life, his attitude was as steady and as cold as ice. On the other hand, he was appreciative of the fact that Fang Yuan was a born battle-freak. After familiarizing himself with the Moonlight Gu for a few days, he had managed to kill someone with it. An ordinary teenager—even those A grade talents—may not be able to achieve this.
This was a talent for battle! If he was well-nurtured and fought for the clan, it would be all of their enemies' nightmare.
Lastly, he felt worry and distressed.
Worry because after this incident, Fang Yuan's reputation was sure to rise and it would be impossible to suppress him. Fang Yuan was way too daring; not only did he disobey the clan rules by using his Gu in the Academy, he even killed someone with it. There was a need to suppress his influence. Otherwise, how would the Elder be able to manage this Academy anymore?
Distress was because he did not know how to perfectly resolve this issue. After all, it involved the Mo family's side.
"Fang Yuan, do you know why I called you here to meet me?" The Academy Elder used a solemn and deep voice to break the silence in the room.
"I know." Fang Yuan nodded and replied, "I used the Moonlight Gu in the Academy, breaking the clan rules. According to the rules, as it is my first offense, I should compensate thirty pieces of primeval stones as punishment."
He evaded the crucial point and did not mention Gao Wan's death.
The Academy Elder was stunned for a second, he had not expected that Fang Yuan would answer like this.
His expression darkened as he coldly snapped, "Don't try to blur things in front of me! I'll ask you, what was the matter with Gao Wan's death?"
Fang Yuan squinted his eyes and said, "Hmph, this Gao Wan went against his superiors, his intentions were vicious. Last night, not only did he block my room door, he even tried to kill me. In self-defense, I was forced to use the Moonlight Gu. Fortunately, I managed to kill this traitor.
I suspect that there is a high possibility of him being a spy of the other mountain villages, I implore the elders to investigate this thoroughly!"
Upon hearing this, the Academy Elder frowned and became at a lost for words.
Now that Gao Wan was dead, Fang Yuan could say whatever he wanted. After all, Gao Wan was just an outsider, not a member of the clan. Even if he was dead, it would not matter to the Academy Elder. However, he was worried about the Mo family's reaction. Gao Wan was their servant and he had died within the academy.
The Academy Elder was in charge of the academy and had to give the Mo family an explanation.
Thinking for a bit, the Academy Elder stared at Fang Yuan and questioned, "Then let me ask you. Gao Wan's corpse, how did you deal with it?"
Fang Yuan's lips curled, revealing a cruel smile. "I diced Gao Wan's corpse and put it inside a wooden box. When morning came, I put it at the Mo family's back door."
"What?!" The Academy Elder was stunned beyond words as he almost jumped from his seat.
Not only did Fang Yuan kill their family servant, he had even chopped up the corpse and placed it at the Mo family's back door. This was blatant provocation!
To the Academy Elder who was trying to resolve this peacefully, it was a true nightmare.
Fang Yuan was just a small Rank one Gu Master, how would the large Mo family react?
Thinking of this, the Academy Elder felt a headache as the matter had already developed out of his control. This Fang Yuan was a true troublemaker.
"Sigh, since it has already happened, there's no point in saying anymore. Leave first, the punishment will come within these few days, you should get mentally prepared." The Academy Elder was terribly upset. He waved his hand and signaled for Fang Yuan to leave; he needed to think through this calmly to come up with a solution.