Chapter 222: Everyone Has A Plan (2)
After Su Yu and Zheng Yunhui left the classroom, sounds of discussion broke out.
"Su Yu is in trouble. Zheng Yunhui is from a warrior family. He has a fiery temper. That's the characteristic of the Zheng Family. If Su Yu refuses to return his stuff, he would probably challenge Wu Jia. And if Wu Jia refuses the challenge, the reputation of the multiple character faction would be ruined."
"How is Wu Jia supposed to fight? She's still nursing her injuries. Zheng Yunhui is already as strong as some top 100 students. Meanwhile, Wu Jia has been greatly weakened. If she accepts the challenge, she will only make her injuries worse."
"Will Su Yu return it?"
"I don't know. But if it's me, I won't. That's something the black market lost. Who would return something like that? Also, Su Yu isn't even from a well-off family. That is something he wouldn't be able to afford even after years of hard work. Now that it is already in his possession, why would he return it?"
Everyone discussed spiritedly. Normally, they did not like to talk because there was nothing to talk about. Now that there was fresh gossip, they were more than happy to talk about it.
Wan Mingze had a thoughtful look as he said, "Su Yu might not be able to resist accepting the challenge. He has just defeated Chen Qi not long ago. Now that Zheng Yunhui has provoked him, he might really decide to fight."
Beside him, Zhao Shiji smiled, "I wonder if they would fight privately or openly. If it is an open fight, we will have the chance to see Zheng Yunhui's strength. With blood essence, Su Yu can release the strength of an Infinite Strength cultivator and force Zheng Yunhui to show some of his strength."
Wan Mingze said, "It is unlikely that the match would be public. After all, this is related to the black market. They would also be afraid of having the Skybreak Technique seized by the academy."
"True."
Their eyes flickered as they sank into thought. They had to pay more attention to Su Yu and Zheng Yunhui. Those two might really agree to a private match. Of course, they all believed that Su Yu would most probably lose. Sure, the combat prowess of an Infinite Strength cultivator was strong.
But Su Yu would only be able to unleash that strength momentarily. And he couldn't increase all aspects of him into that of an Infinite Strength cultivator. His speed, martial techniques, and experience would still be far behind a true Infinite Strength cultivator.
Thus, a warrior like Zheng Yunhui who came from a family of experts was not afraid of that momentary burst of strength. When Su Yu first demonstrated that trump card of his, Chen Qi had been caught by surprise. But now that the trump card had been revealed, its threat level had dropped significantly.
...
Inside an office.
Liu Hong was still busy worrying about the problems of the black market when someone knocked on his door. His worried look vanished, replaced by a friendly smile as he said, "Come in."
Lin Yao rushed inside and told Liu Hong everything that had happened earlier. He seemed to be taking joy in Su Yu's suffering.
After telling his story, he asked in excitement, "Su Yu, is that thing really with Su Yu?"
"I guess so." Liu Hong smiled, "I did guess that Su Yu might have obtained that text. When he defeated Chen Qi, his Skybreak Technique was already beyond the beginner level. In that case, a feud would definitely form between him and Zheng Yunhui."
Liu Hong wasn't too surprised, but he was slightly doubtful. Why hadn't Zheng Yunhui looked for Su Yu privately instead of making a ruckus in class? Was he not afraid that he would escalate the matter too much and catch the academy's attention? Then again, it was understandable for a young man to be hot-blooded and rash.
Liu Hong knew Su Yu quite well too. That kid would definitely not accept the challenge if he wasn't confident of winning. It was clear Su Yu wasn't intending to return the text. That was great. Everything was going according to plan.
And Zheng Yunhui...was actually quite smart as well. At the very least, he was smart enough to provoke Su Yu using Wu Jia. Even with her injuries, Wu Jia would most likely still accept the challenge by Zheng Yunhui. At that point, Su Yu would be put in a very difficult position.
"Interesting. What would Su Yu choose to do?"
Liu Hong was amused. He didn't care about the result of the match. Neither did he care about Wu Jia. He only wanted to see Su Yu's choice between the Skybreak Technique and Wu Jia.
Continuing to ignore Zheng Yunhui was a reasonable option. And Wu Jia could also reasonably reject the challenge since everyone knew she had been injured. Nobody could say anything if she rejected the challenge.
Naturally, if both Su Yu and Wu Jia refused to fight, then the multiple character faction would still suffer some loss in reputation. As a result, they might find themselves in an even worse position. After thinking about all that, Liu Hong waved his hand, sending Lin Yao away.
After Lin Yao left, Liu Hong rubbed his chin and called a number, "A conflict has formed between Zheng Yunhui and Su Yu. Looks like our plan is working well. But it's a pity that I have to sacrifice my Skybreak Technique to make it happen..."
A joyful voice rang out, "Got it. Su Yu and Wu Jia are the only successors of their faction. It's better to drag the Zheng Family and Hong Tan in as well. Let them go at each other. That way, we will have someone else deal with the multiple character faction on our behalf."
Liu Hong smiled, "I hope so. But for this plan, I lost a lot. To lose the Skybreak Technique reasonably, a lot of my products in the black market were seized as well. Senior Brother Zhou, can you talk to Elder Zheng about this? Money is getting tight for me."
"Nothing concrete has come out of your plan yet." Zhou Pingsheng said, "It's only some juniors feuding against each other right now. To be honest, it's not worth spending too much just to turn some juniors against each other."
Liu Hong said, "But Bai Feng is in seclusion while Chen Yong never leaves the books depository. There is nothing I can do apart from working on their juniors. If we couldn't handle this well, we might end up getting the Zheng Family as our enemies instead..."
"Principal Zheng and Hong Tan might not get into a feud just for a Skybreak Technique..."
Liu Hong hurriedly said, "That's why I need more support to do more."
"We'll see."
"..."
The call ended. A sinister look appeared in Liu Hong's eyes. Damn that bastard. He lightly rapped on his desk and thought for a bit before calling another number.
"What do you want?"
Bai Feng's impatient voice rang out.
"Your student is feuding with the kid from the Zheng Family."
"Oh..."
When Liu Hong heard that reply, he said, "You guys need to strike back at them! You guys have been acting like a turtle. Because of that, my worth is dropping as well. Bai Feng, why don't you let Chen Yong flip out one time and remind the academy of his existence. With all of you turtling up, I can clearly feel that those people are losing interest in my plans..."
Bai Feng was speechless. And what was Chen Yong supposed to do then?
"Let's wait and see."
"..."
Liu Hong was furious. "Wait? How long are you going to wait? Damn it! Why am I more worried about your faction than you people? Who's the actual multiple character faction member here? You guys are too weak. You look like you have completely given up. Nobody would care about you. And nobody will be willing to support me if they stop caring about you."
The condition of the multiple character faction concerned his own condition. If his opponent was too weak, his higher ups would not be bothered to invest too much on him.
Liu Hong could clearly sense the recent change of their attitude. Back when Bai Feng had just defeated Hu Wensheng, Liu Hong's treatment had improved considerably. Everyone was hoping that he could suppress Bai Feng.
Bai Feng rolled his eyes and said, "There is nothing I can do for now. Wait until I'm done with my research and Su Yu is down growing. At that time, I'll be sure to have some fun with you guys. What's the rush?"
"You..."
Liu Hong was tired of speaking with Bai Feng. He helplessly said, “It's a pity Su Yu is still too weak. If he can defeat Zheng Yunhui, he can prove that he has the potential to enter the top 100. That way, he can give those fellows some pressure. It would be even better if he can cripple a few fellows in the top 100. At that time, your faction will stand out more..."
"That won't happen anytime soon." Bai Feng said, "He's already growing fast enough. His foundation is still too weak compared to Zheng Yunhui. Give him more time. He can grow quickly. Liu Hong, I'm not in a rush. Why are you so impatient?"
"Bullshit!"
Liu Hong cursed. How could he be patient?
It hadn't been easy for him to get some support from his higher ups. But now, he was on the verge of losing that support. How could he stay patient? Ever since news of his teacher reaching the end of his lifespan spread, his treatment had been.
His teacher was now deep in seclusion to break through and gain more lifespan. Because of that, his line no longer has much power in their faction. Most benefits would first be given to others, such as someone as useless as Hu Wensheng, before they would even think about Liu Hong. Otherwise, how would Hu Wensheng be able to surpass him in cultivation?
"Bai Feng, why are you taking this so lightly? So be it. Your faction deserves to end. Damn you all. Even an outsider like me is more worried about your faction than you guys."
Liu Hong was furious.
Bai Feng was feeling very aggrieved. He cared a great deal, but they were not strong enough so what could they do?
"How about...I leave seclusion and defeat you? What do you think about that plan?"
"..."
Liu Hong was completely speechless. Bai Feng was actually right. If he left seclusion, it was only logical that his first target would be Liu Hong. There was indeed no good way to solve their current predicament.
"Sigh. I wonder if sending the Zheng Family against you guys is the right move. Maybe you should get Su Yu to return the Skybreak Technique?"
After returning that text, Zheng Yunhui would probably not waste any more time on Su Yu. The Zheng Family had always been that straightforward.
Bai Feng gave it some thought and said, "We'll see. I need to ask Su Yu about it first. It's good to give that kid a little pressure. I don't want him to get too cocky."
Bai Feng believed that it was a good thing for Su Yu to suffer some setbacks. Everything had been going smoothly for that kid since he joined the academy. Perhaps after this setback, that kid would be able to grow even faster.
The call ended.
At the same time.
Su Yu had just returned to the research center. The gloomy look on his face was replaced by excitement. He wondered if his acting was on point. Did anyone suspect him?
Zheng Yunhui might look like a barbarian, but he was actually quite good at acting as well.
"Liu Hong has definitely heard of this by now. I wonder if he will fall for it. But putting the research center's data as the wager out of nowhere is too suspicious. I need to make it logical. It would also be too suspicious for Zheng Yunhui to offer the blood essence straight away. It's better if we first talk about merit points. He can take his blood essence out since he lacks merit points. And since I lack enough money to bet against his blood essence, I wagered the research center's data out of greed."
Su Yu started perfecting his plan. He had to make it as believable as possible. Every time he thought about scamming Liu Hong, he got excited. These days, the shameless Liu Hong had been making things difficult for a new student like him. He was running out of patience.
"It would be even better if Teacher could work with me. Yeah, this should work."
Suddenly, Su Yu had a feeling that he had forgotten something. But he couldn't recall what it was.
Prison zone.
The golden lion roared weakly. He said, "Is that kid dead somewhere? Are those bastards trying to starve us to death and research our corpses instead?"
The shadow said, "Talk less and save more of your energy. Otherwise, you would die even faster."
The lion shut his mouth. He looked somewhat pitiful. Before he could even start to instigate Su Yu to help him, he was going to starve to death. Damn it! Just what was that kid doing?