Chapter 421: Martial Uncle (1)
Books depository.
Top floor.
After a momentary silence, Chen Yong sighed and said, "Stay indoors for now. Enter seclusion and focus on cultivation until the opening of the Willpower Grotto. You will then resume your cultivation in there."
"Teacher!"
Wu Jia furiously said, "They are spreading the rumor all over the academy!"
She was very furious. Those bastards were too excessive.
"They are trying to ruin you. Do you understand?"
Chen Yong sighed.
Wu Jia said, "I know. I want to fight Huang Qifeng in a match to the death."
"Huang Qifeng might have been crippled by your junior brother, but he still has his physical cultivation. You might not be his match..."
"I will just fight him with all I have and end this matter with the death of one of us."
"..."
This was so troublesome. Chen Yong looked at his stubborn student. She was too inflexible with her thinking.
Wu Jia said, "Teacher, since they are also slandering you, can't you do something as a researcher? Previously, Xia Yuwen was able to give Junior Brother a fine for being rude."
Chen Yong softly said, "They did not mention me by name..."
"But they are saying that in front of my face!"
She disagreed. They were already being very obvious about it.
Chen Yong rubbed his head and said, "I can do something, but I won't be able to do much apart from slapping some fine on them. Do you understand?"
Wu Jia looked at him in confusion. She only cared about revenge. Even a fine was better than nothing.
When Chen Yong saw his student's confused expression, he sighed and said, "It is very tiring to talk with you about these things."
Wu Jia suddenly felt sullen. This time, she could clearly understand the meaning behind her teacher's words. He was looking down on her!
Chen Yong exhaled and waved his hand. "Go back and take a rest. Stay indoors for now."
"Teacher..."
"Are you not listening to me anymore?"
Helpless, Wu Jia could only stomp off. Too bad her junior brother wasn't around. If he was around, he would definitely beat those bastards to death. What a pity that she was too weak. This was so infuriating!
After Wu Jia left, Chen Yong shook his head. He was also lamenting the fact that Su Yu wasn't around. Su Yu would be a lot easier to talk to if he were here. After a short silence, Chen Yong took out a jade talisman and played with it for a bit before putting it away.
This student of his really needed more patience.
...
Somewhere in the academy.
"Have you heard?"
"What?"
"This is big! Do you know this? In the academy, male researchers will only accept female students for perverse reasons. I heard that this is applicable to even female researchers with male students. I can't believe this. The reputation of our academy is ruined!"
"For real?"
"Yeah! This rumor came from the single character faction. For example, that person from the books depository! There's also Elder Yu-cough, a certain female elder with male students...and a lot other examples! Dang! I finally understand why I still don't have a teacher!"
"Is that really the case? No wonder all those students with teachers are either handsome or beautiful."
"I guess the reputation of our academy is ruined. No, not only our academy. I heard that this is the common practice in all academies."
...
15th of October.
Early in the morning, a series of rumors exploded throughout the academy.
Not only that, the rumors were also spreading all over the capital.
The rumors claimed that as long as the teacher and the student were of the opposite genders, there was definitely an improper relationship between them.
These rumors weren't spread by a random nobody. Rather, they originated from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy's single character faction. The rumors were very convincing, and there were even witnesses to back up these rumors. A certain person in the books depository was quoted as an example.
And the more the rumors spread, the more exaggerated they became. Apart from that person from the books depository, a lot of people were also engaging in such improper relationships, such as Elder Wu Yuehua and Elder Qi. There were also some unsavory rumors involving Principal Wan.
Wan Tiansheng did not have a female student. It had been years since he had last accepted a student. As for Wan Mingze, nobody viewed that person as Principal Wan's student.
According to the rumors, Principal Wan had improper relationships with several female elders and female teachers of the academy.
So long as one had a student or a teacher of the opposite gender, one would not be able to escape this slander. That included Ji Xiaomeng of the Ji Family.
The rumors rocked the entire capital.
Even some random non-cultivators had heard of these rumors. This was the biggest scandal that had ever happened in Great Xia. The moment these rumors were verified, all the academies in Great Xia would be reduced into a joke of the Human Realm.
...
"Bastard!"
"What nonsense!"
Heart Cultivating Pavilion.
Several elders were raging. They had visited the principal's office early in the morning.
The one with the worst temper among them had even turned an entire table into dust with a single slap. He furiously said, "What is this nonsense? I won't accept this! Their conflict is their business. Over the years, we have not meddled in these affairs. Apart from teaching some students, we have not gotten involved in anything. Are they going to get rid of us alongside the multiple character faction as well?"
"What is the single character faction trying to do? Erase all factions? Don't tell me they don't have any students of the opposite gender?"
"..."
The elders were furious.
Wan Tiansheng remained calm. He softly said, "Old Zhou isn't this stupid. Everyone, how would this even benefit him?"
Elder Qi scolded, "Benefit? Why else? Those idiots are trying to use this rumor to drag Chen Yong down. But their dumb lackeys messed it up and lost control of the rumors."
They naturally wouldn't believe that this was Zhou Mingren's original intention. But it wouldn't surprise them if this was done by the dumb lackeys under Zhou Mingren. Originally, they had probably only spread rumors about the multiple character faction. But how could such rumors not twist and change the moment they started spreading?
Since Chen Yong and Wu Jia were in an improper relationship, how about the others? How would the imagination of the masses not run wild?
Elder Qi said, "And now, the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy has turned into a joke. Wan Tiansheng, do you know what the people outside the academy are saying? They are saying that the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy should change its name to Great Xia Loving Teacher Academy. Do you think this is good?"
A different elder said, "Damn those people. How can they be saying these things lightly? Old Wan, if you don't do something today, you won't even be able to survive the scrutiny of the Talent Fostering Bureau. You need to find the main offender and execute that person. The punishment must be strict."
They were infuriated.
These rumors had evolved into something much more complicated. They are being spread all over the capital. If this continued, the reputation of their academy will be ruined. Would anyone still dare to join their academy in the future?
As for the elders like them, they would probably be treated as clowns during their visits to the other prefectures and the Knowledge Seeking Realm in the future. A rumor had a way of being taken as the truth as long as enough people believed in it.
A different elder said, "Why hadn't those bastards from the single character faction included Zhou Mingren in these rumors? That Xia Chan from the Xia Family is his student. Why are there no rumors about them? So we are the only ones suffering while everything is still fine for Zhou Mingren?"
Wan Tiansheng was having a headache.
He softly said, "Stop shouting. In a span of one night, these rumors have been spread all over the capital. This can only be done intentionally. There is a possibility that this is done by the Myriad Race Cult to create chaos..."
"Are you going to blame the Myriad Race Cult for everything?" Elder Qi said, "I refuse to believe that you won't be able to find the culprit. Dispatch the academy guards and the Discipline Hall. Get them to investigate this. I want to know the name of the culprit. Wan Tiansheng, don't even dream of smoothing things over. If I find out that it was really done by someone from Old Zhou's side, I won't spare them."
The other elders voiced their support. "The truth will ultimately be uncovered. Investigate this thoroughly. If they can't even do this much as cultural researchers, they should just retire."
"Find the culprit and cut their head off. Using the academy's reputation as a weapon against their opponents? Someone willing to destroy the reputation that has been built over a period of hundreds of years should not be kept around."
The elders were basically mad with rage. They weren't going to let this slide. As long as they put their minds into it, they would definitely be able to uncover the truth. If it wasn't the single character faction, the single character faction would be fine. But if it was really them, these elders would definitely not let this slide.
Wan Tiansheng shut his eyes and sank into thought. After a moment, he said, "Since you want to investigate this, let's do it. You are right. We can't allow the academy's reputation to be ruined by a few parasites. The Discipline Hall and the academy guards will start an investigation. After we find the culprit, we will hold a meeting of elders to decide on the punishment."
"Hmph!"
The elders were unhappy. What was the point of a meeting? Just kill the culprit and be done with it.
Elder Qi coldly said, "Finding the person who had spread the rumors is not enough. We also need the name of the one who had ordered this to happen. Old Wan, they are slandering the researchers and genius students of the academy. If we let this slide, don't be surprised if the teachers and students start losing their respect and reverence for the academy. You should stop smoothing things over all the time."
Wan Tiansheng was speechless. Had he smoothed anything over this time? Hadn't he agreed to investigate this matter? He only felt that the single character faction wasn't dumb enough to drag the entire academy and Great Xia along while attacking Chen Yong. Wasn't that the same as courting death?
These elders were too impatient. They didn't even give him a chance to speak his mind. It wasn't like he was trying to speak for the single character faction. It was better to investigate things properly before assigning blame, right? This was so troublesome.
He had nothing else to say to these old fellows so he waved his hand, "Start the investigation. Old Qi, you guys will take the lead. We will talk more after concluding the investigation."
The elders wasted no time and left immediately. They were definitely not going to put up with this.