Chapter 335: Words Can Also Kill (1)
Challenge ring. Silence enveloped the area.
All the students waited with looks of expectation, as though they were waiting for a lucky draw. Was the single character faction paying? Even if they weren't giving out Mountainsea willpower texts, these students would be happy with just Skysoar willpower texts.
Zhou Mingren looked at the students and slowly said, "Tomorrow, I will publicly write a War God Art willpower text. All students are allowed to attend the writing session..."
Wu Yuehua said, "When a Mountainsea cultivator writes a willpower text, only about a dozen people who are in the front row can gain something. Well, I suppose it is still a good thing that Faculty Head Zhou is personally teaching the students for free. How about the others?"
Even the willpower text written by a Mountainsea cultivator had its limits. It would probably be ruined after being read by a few dozen people. Of course, if he actually wrote a Mountainsea cultivation method instead of some Great Strength or Infinite Strength cultivation method, these students wouldn't even be able to read it.
Zhou Mingren looked at Wu Yuehua. A free lesson was the solution he could think of. The students might not be happy, but at the very least, it was a free lesson and it should somewhat placate these students. If nobody said anything, he might really be able to solve this issue with one lesson.
"Wu Yuehua, if you have any issues, you can talk to me privately. Why must you create a mess in the academy?" Zhou Mingren questioned through voice transmission. He sounded angry, "It does not benefit either of us to hurt the prestige of a Mountainsea cultivator in front of so many students. I can offer you five spots when we activate the grotto."
Zhou Mingren could only make an offer to Wu Yuehua. He wanted to solve this issue, but she had been creating trouble for him. If this continued, things would only get more and more troublesome.
Wu Yuehua looked at Zhou Mingren coldly and replied through voice transmission, "Where is your sense of shame when you thought of digging Zhang Ruoling's grave?"
"..."
Zhou Mingren looked at her, his eyes flickering repeatedly. He then looked at the old woman, Elder Sun, and the other elders before finally looking at the Heart Cultivating Pavilion. Was Wan Tiansheng the one who had told her?
He had mentioned the matter to Wan Tiansheng before. It wasn't surprising that the principal could guess his target. After all, Zhang Ruoling's character was the most fitting replacement for what Zheng Yuming lost.
Zhou Mingren's expression changed repeatedly. Just what was Wan Tiansheng planning? Hadn't he said that he wouldn't get involved? Damn it! So this was why Wu Yuehua had been repeatedly making trouble for him today?
The students were initially slightly excited upon hearing the offer of a free lesson. But upon hearing Wu Yuehua's reminder that only about a dozen people could actually benefit from it, they started worrying again.
That was not enough. There were thousands of them here. How about the rest of them if only about a dozen could benefit?
Previously, Su Yu had been remaining silent. But he suddenly said, "If Faculty Head Zhou is willing to open one free class per day, he will only need around a year to finish repaying everyone."
"..."
Zhou Mingren glanced at Su Yu and decided to ignore that remark. A year? One class per day? Did the kid think that writing willpower text is an easy task? Also, was he so free that he could spend an entire year writing willpower text every single day?
Zhou Mingren ignored Su Yu and sank into thought. He was looking around randomly when he noticed someone among the crowd. His eyes lit up as he focused on that person.
Within the crowd, Liu Hong was still busy eating his snacks. Suddenly, his heart thumped as Zhou Mingren's voice resounded in his ears, "Liu Hong, you have been spending more time with these students so you know them better. Think of a way to solve this."
Liu Hong cursed inwardly. Damn it! Why was he being dragged in? He was only here to enjoy the show! If he had known this would happen, he should have stayed home today. What a blunder!
"If you can solve this issue, you will be granted entry into the Willpower Grotto as well."
Zhou Mingren made his offer. They had already decided to let Liu Hong enter, but Liu Hong was still unaware of that. Thus, he could use this to make Liu Hong work for him instead.
Mountainsea elders spent far too little time with these students. Zhou Mingren really couldn't think of a way to solve this issue.
"Willpower Grotto..."
Liu Hong was tempted. That was a good place. And that grotto was closed most of the time. Solving this issue was the same as saving the entire single character faction. If he could complete this task, his status in the faction might rise as well.
At that thought, Liu Hong transmitted his voice, "Faculty Head, I can give it a try. But I'm afraid that we can't get away with paying nothing."
"It's fine. I'm willing to offer something to them."
"I understand."
...
The students were still waiting for an answer.
Right that moment, someone cleared his throat and stepped forth with a smile. When Su Yu saw who that person was, he frowned. Liu Hong! What was this bastard doing?
"Students!" Liu Hong sighed, "Nobody has expected that things would develop in such a direction. If we allow this issue to persist, it won't benefit the students, the elders, and the academy. This involves over 8,000 willpower texts. Honestly, all of you are aware that not everyone will be able to get a willpower text."
Liu Hong earnestly said, "You guys were already aware of this when you challenged Su Yu. Yes, I admit that we have allowed a loophole to exist in our offer. But gaining a willpower text by defeating Su Yu is not something written in the academy rules..."
Su Yu interrupted, "Teacher Liu, in short, you are reneging on the debt?"
Liu Hong smiled, "Of course not. But if everyone continues to be stubborn, nobody will benefit. I have a suggestion. Maybe you guys will find it acceptable?
"Four elders, forty Cloudbreach cultivators, and sixty Skysoar cultivators from the single character faction will write a willpower text every three days at the Dao Preaching District for free. Additionally, they will also be answering any questions you have during those classes.
"This will continue for a year. With around 100 researchers and teaching assistants on standby to guide you for a year, you will gain far more than what you can get from a single willpower text. This is a very rare opportunity. You may use the number of victories you have today as the entry ticket for the open classes. Each victory will grant you a single entry."
"Since you have bought each victory with one merit point, I believe one merit point is totally worth a class from a researcher or a teaching assistant, right? This is the best solution. Of course, if you insist on receiving your willpower texts, we can provide you with your willpower texts..."
The faces of many single character faction members dropped when they heard that.
But Liu Hong smiled, "But we never gave a time limit when offering the reward, right? Faculty Head Zhou will need some time to write those willpower texts. Even at a normal speed of one text every three days...well, you guys will have to get in line. Some of you can probably get your willpower texts after ten years or so.
"It's not that we are going back on our words. We will never do something like reneging on a debt. The single character faction would never do something like this. You are all free to choose what you want. Do you want to attend free classes or do you want to wait for the willpower texts to be written? Don't worry. Faculty Head Zhou is definitely willing to write those texts. But he will need some time to do it."
The students looked at each other. In truth, that was actually a decent offer. They wouldn't mind attending some free classes. Wait? Nonsense! If Zhou Mingren decided to spend a year on each text, they were going to die from old age before getting anything.
They had not reneged on the debt. They were merely taking some time to produce the promised reward. What else could they say? They had only obtained this reward through exploiting a loophole. Thus, they were happy to even get a tiny reward from this. They found Liu Hong's offer acceptable.
One of the students noticed Liu Hong's gaze on him and hurriedly said, "I have no issue with that, Teacher. But if I want to attend the class of a Mountainsea teacher, what should I do if there are too many people?"
Liu Hong smiled, "Weigh your options before making your choice. The classes of Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators will have less students. And these teachers are closer to your cultivation level. It might be more practical to attend their classes. You might not be able to understand what an elder is talking about even if you manage to get a spot in their class. In that case, you would have wasted this valuable opportunity for nothing.
"You are free to make your own choice. If you insist on attending the classes of Mountainsea cultivators, you can't blame me for not reminding you if you end up not learning much from it."
This fellow had easily switched the topic from willpower texts to which classes would be better for these students to attend. With the time limit of one year, each researcher of the single character faction probably only needed to open a single class. This was basically nothing for them.
As for the materials they might require during those willpower text classes, they would simply use ordinary paper and ink for the writing. It wasn't like they intended to preserve these willpower texts for a long time. There was no need to ensure the quality of these willpower texts.
Su Yu's expression changed. Liu Hong! That bastard! The elders were too rigid in their thinking. As they didn't know the students well enough, this issue was too hard for them to solve. They kept thinking about obeying the rules.
But for someone like Liu Hong, the rules were filled with loopholes. The students could be satisfied with something other than willpower texts. They would be happy so long as there was something to gain. Why would they care about anything else?
It wasn't like they were from the multiple character faction. They had only participated because there was strength in numbers so they could obtain some benefits without sacrificing anything.
Su Yu inhaled deeply and said, "That's a decent idea. Guys, what did I say so earlier? If you sign up for a match with me, you can at least get a free class from this. So I have been proven right. But I believe there is still a need to give some hope to everyone when it comes to willpower texts. For example, use blood essence and high-quality hides for the writing in these free classes. The student with the best performance during the class can get the finished willpower text as the reward. This will only encourage all students to work harder!
"This way, some of them will still get some willpower texts so not everyone will return empty-handed. The students with the willpower texts will most definitely be grateful for this kindness after making something out of themselves in the future..."
Liu Hong glanced at Su Yu. Even now, this kid was still digging a hole for them to ensure that they would bleed more. With that proposal, they would still need to give out over 100 willpower texts.
And if they had to write all these texts with blood essence and hides, the cost alone would reach five digits. And that was the cost before taking into consideration the value of the time and effort of all these researchers.
Su Yu looked at Liu Hong and smiled, "According to Teacher Liu, if some of you prefer to receive some willpower texts instead of attending some classes, they are willing to provide these willpower texts. That is good to hear. I believe there are some who would really prefer willpower texts here. And with a lesser number of students requiring willpower texts, the elders will be able to write all these texts in a shorter time frame."
Su Yu earnestly said to the crowd, "I advise everyone to just attend the classes unless you have a Mountainsea cultivator in your family or you are confident you have a way to actually get the willpower texts you are owed. If you are finding this hard to accept, you can also consider selling your debt to those capable of actually collecting the debt."
Liu Hong said, "Su Yu, are you instigating the students to get involved in black market transactions? Buying and selling willpower texts privately is a violation of the academy rules."
Su Yu smiled, "You misunderstand, Teacher Liu. I wasn't specific enough. The War God Art is a public cultivation method in the academy. Everyone can learn it. Thus, moving this cultivation method is not considered a black market transaction. Everyone, you should borrow a willpower text of this cultivation method from your wealthier friends. And if you are unlucky enough to lose it, well, this would be the best opportunity for you to return what you lost to your friend. Remember, everyone. You are repaying your friend. Do not buy or sell cultivation methods privately."
"..."
The students had odd expressions. At this point, if they still didn't understand what he was getting at, then they would be true fools. Borrow? What nonsense.
That was merely an excuse. Nobody knew if they were telling the truth. They could simply claim that they had borrowed one and lost it. Then, they could simply transfer this debt to their friend as a repayment. That would allow them to complete their transaction without any issues.
As for how much they could get from selling this debt or if it would be more valuable than a single free class, well, either way, they would still gain something. They could always opt to attend the free class if the offered price was too low. Some of the students were clear that there was no way they could get any single willpower text from the single character faction.