Chapter 425: You Need A Cold Heart (2)
Old Huang scanned the crowd and coldly said, "I hope that all of you can still remain as elders after the year end review. Don't get yourself exiled to the Vanguard Regiment after the review or even removed as an elder. That would be embarrassing."
The expressions of several elders changed upon hearing that. Even some of the Discipline Hall elders paled slightly. Huang Chen was never so strict before!
Old Huang said, "Everyone, remember my words. We also need to hold the meeting of elders and come to a conclusion for this incident as soon as possible. I will be making a public announcement and the students will be whipped in public. We will let the world see that order still exist in the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy. It is fine to compete among ourselves. But those who cross the line will be punished severely."
Nobody said anything.
Public announcement and public whipping.
An intensive year end review.
This would change even the existing power structure in the academy.
...
The Discipline Hall was efficient. The Great Xia Cultural Research Academy was also efficient.
By the evening of the 15th, a concensus was reached.
And the decision was announced to the entire Great Xia.
As a pseudo Sunmoon and vice principal of the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy, Zhou Mingren was actually involved in this scandal. Thus, he became the center of attention.
It was announced that he would forfeit his salary for three years and be removed from his position as a vice principal. Zhou Pingsheng and the other researchers involved would forfeit their salary for one year, blocked from all promotions for three years, and have a demerit left in their profiles.
Di Feng, Huang Qifeng, and the other students would be subjected to 100 whippings, a fine of 1,000 merit points, and the removal of all their academy benefits.
Even people like Huang Hao were punished.
The various students who had been involved in the spreading of rumors were also punished. Some were only fined a few merit points while some were fined hundreds of merit points. Some of the students who were more heavily involved were even banned from all grottos.
...
This shocked various parties.
Nobody was shocked that the students were punished.
More importantly, a pseudo Sunmoon had actually been removed from the position of vice principal. This was no small matter. A pseudo Sunmoon was already one of the strongest existences in Great Xia.
A single scandal had nearly ruined the future of a top expert like this.
The Great Xia Cultural Research Academy had handled this scandal with great efficiency. In half a day, everything had concluded. The masses of Great Xia had greatly enjoyed this show.
Zhou Mingren had suffered a huge loss of reputation.
As a pseudo Sunmoon, he had actually lowered himself to do something like this.
Compared to his loss of reputation, all his other losses seemed negligible.
...
Afternoon.
Dao Preaching District.
A multitude of people had arrived there. Today, the public whipping was going to be held.
The massive square was surrounded by countless students and teachers.
Chen Yong had arrived as well. Beside him was Wu Jia. He merely stared at the students in the middle of the square indifferently. Not far away, Zhou Pingsheng was watching with a pale expression. All his students were there, waiting to be whipped.
His teacher had been punished. He had been punished. And his students were going to be fined and whipped in public. This was a great humiliation for Zhou Pingsheng.
That was not the extent of his losses. In the eyes of the elders, he had been reduced into a piece of trash. His teacher and the elders were naturally aware that he was the real mastermind.
Looking at his kneeling students, he had both fear and fury in his eyes. He had only told these bastards to deal with Wu Jia. How had things escalate into this? They had attracted the attention of all the experts in the academy and even the capital.
A stricter year end review.
What did that mean?
Basically, they would have to plug all the holes in their books. And that wasn't a small sum of money. That was a much bigger loss than a fine of several thousand merit points.
Just for the books depository alone, he would need to spend around 30,000 merit points to plug the hole. And that was not the only hole they had to deal with. There were also the treasury, the research center, the Missions Department, the currency exchange center...
The entire single character faction would need to spend at least 200,000 merit points to plug the various holes they had created.
But prior to this, they had already lost a lot of merit points. After today, the single character faction would truly be in a terrible financial situation. They had to maintain some of their research centers. And some of their research projects couldn't be stopped.
And that was not all. Some of their researchers might even be exiled to the Vanguard Regiment. The lucky ones would be able to return alive. The unlucky ones...would be buried in the Allheaven Battlefield.
He had turned into the public enemy of the single character faction. Even the researchers of the other factions were viewing him with hostility. Because of him, all the researchers had to start living in fear.
Just why was all this happening?
Before today, Zhou Pingsheng was still dreaming about becoming the faction master, head manager, and an elder this year. But none of that was happening anymore. At this time, Old Huang had finally arrived. This was his first public appearance as the master of the Discipline Hall.
He coldly ordered, "Start the punishment."
Pa!
The guards held nothing back as their whips lashed out toward the students.
"Ahhh!"
Miserable wails resounded throughout the square. Their backs split apart as wound after wound appeared.
Old Huang scanned the crowd and coldly remarked, "There are rules in the academy. The military has their own rules. Great Xia has its own rules. And the same apply to the academy.
"Student or researcher, nobody can ignore the rules. These rules are why the human race has been able to become a top 10 race. Without rules, our soldiers will be doing whatever they want. Will we still be able to enjoy our current place?
"If we are unfair in punishing transgressions and rewarding contributions, who would still be willing to strive hard for the human race? Put more strength into it!"
With his cold order, the guards applied even more strength in their whipping.
The Discipline Hall had the authority to supervise the academy. If they deliberately held back when carrying out a public whipping, they would be punished as well.
Blood spilled everywhere.
The students were not allowed to resist the whipping with their source qi and willpower. Since cultural researchers were already weak physically, they were suffering greatly. Huang Qifeng, who had yet to recover from his previous injuries, had fainted after a few whips.
He was not the only one who had fainted. The weaker students such as Huang Hao had fainted as well. The whips continued landing on their unconscious bodies.
...
Further away.
After a while, Chen Yong shot the nearby Zhou Pingsheng a glance before leaving with Wu Jia.
She softly asked, "Teacher, are we leaving so early?"
"Yeah. They have been taught a lesson for running their mouths. They won't dare to do this anymore. What a pity that someone has still escaped the punishment he deserves."
Zhou Mingren?
Chen Yong glanced toward a distant tall building. There, a standing figure could be seen.
Chen Yong smiled. He couldn't deny that Zhou Mingren was a good teacher. For his student, he had shouldered such an offense.
Inside the building.
Zhou Mingren was also looking at Chen Yong with a deep gaze. He realized that he had underestimated Chen Yong all these years.
This time, the single character faction had suffered a great loss. And they had also lost a lot of reputation. An expert like him would rarely be subjected to public punishment. And he had created history as the first in Great Xia.
He withdrew his gaze from Chen Yong and looked at the person seated beside him. He softly asked, "Yuming, has the single character faction been ruined? There are so many of us yet we can't even do anything to a few indivduals..."
The older ones weren't Hong Tan's match. The generation below them wasn't Chen Yong's match. Their Skysoars weren't Bai Feng's match and their students weren't Su Yu's match.
Numbers?
What was the point?
With only a few people, the multiple character faction had given the single character faction numerous setbacks. A Mountainsea had been crippled, a vice principal had been removed from the position, several researchers had been blocked from all promotions, and several students were being whipped in public.
And there was also the enormous amount of money they needed to pay before the year end review.
After plugging all the holes, they would probably find it hard to even open the Willpower Grotto. But they had no choice but to proceed with it since a promise had already been made. The elders who had been given the grotto slots would not allow them to cancel the plan.
But even after opening the grotto, their elite students like Di Feng would not be allowed to enter. The issue was the price of opening this grotto. It would practically exhaust all their savings.
Zheng Yuming sighed and replied with a helpless tone, "Teacher, we underestimated them. As a result, we have been turned into a joke by them. We have even offended all the other factions. And there's also the year end review..."
Zhou Mingren nodded. They had harmed everyone's benefits. The others wouldn't put their blame on the Discipline Hall. The blame would only fall on them. Why would the Discipline Hall decide to intensify their year end review for no reason?
"Teacher, the loss of merit points and resources can be easily solved. We can get reimbursements from Great Zhou."
Chen Yuming clenched his teeth and said, "Great Zhou needs to compensate us for our losses."
Zhou Mingren sank into a momentary silence before nodding his head.
"Also, time to call Elder Fang and Elder Zhao back..."
"Old Ma has been exiled to the Vanguard Regiment. That's good, I suppose. He can watch over you there. I'll think of a way to transfer Old Fang back."
"Elder Ma has been punished?"
Zheng Yuming had no idea. Zhou Mingren nodded, "He received the punishment on the same day Hong Tan returned. I suppose that's not a big loss as I've been intending to have one of them watch over you. I haven't been able to find an excuse to send him to the Vanguard Regiment, but I don't have to worry about that anymore."
"I have troubled you, Teacher."
Zheng Yuming sighed again.
Zhou Mingren said, "It's not that big of a trouble. By the way, are you sure Chen Yong was the one who had schemed against you?"
"Yes." Zheng Yuming sighed, "I was observing the fight. But what I saw wasn't an injured Qifeng. Instead, I saw a dead Qifeng. Out of anger, I moved out to get an explanation. As a result..."
"So he was able to interfere with your willpower?"
"Yeah." Zheng Yuming nodded, "He was the strongest individual present. Nobody apart from him could have done so. He must have produced an illusion. Instead of affecting my willpower direction, he could have overlapped an illusion over the ring."
Zhou Mingren nodded and stopped asking. Since they had no proof, it was pointless to say more.
Just like how it was clear that Huang Hao's memories had been tampered with, but nothing could be done without proof. They would only be able to discover something if an Invincible personally performed an investigation.
Without proof, they couldn't do anything to a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. Not to mention that Hong Tan was also around.
"Teacher, the multiple character faction has been laying low for so many years. But this year, they have been hitting back repeatedly. Is it possible that Great Zhou has reached the limits of their suppression?"
Zhou Mingren said, "It has been 50 years. It isn't that they can't maintain the suppression anymore. But they have already done all they could. Liu Wenyan and the others are returning one after another. Hong Tan is on the verge of advancement. And there are also some people pulling strings in the background, allowing the multiple character faction to keep hitting back against us."
"In that case..." Zheng Yuming thought for a bit and said, "Do we continue doing this?"
"Yes."
Zhou Mingren said, "Risk and reward go hand in hand. This is an opportunity for us. Without the multiple character faction, we wouldn't have been able to reach our current height. We will lose a lot if we can no longer suppress the multiple character faction..."
Zheng Yuming nodded and said, "We'll continue, then. At the very least, we have to prevent them from registering their faction once again. Teacher, we need to get more support from Great Zhou. Otherwise, it would be hard for us to continue doing this."
"I know. Zhou Polong won't let Shan Tianhao's death go unanswered. But since Great Xia is not his territory, he can only rely on us. Since the academy is preventing our people from using the grottos, we will get our own grottos. I'll get Great Zhou to send us a few Eternal characters."
Zheng Yuming's eyes fickered. His teacher had quite a big appetite.
"Willpower texts, pills, cultivation methods, cultural weapons...we want all of them." Zhou Mingren said, "We have suffered too much this time. They have to compensate for our losses."
Zheng Yuming nodded.
Zhou Mingren said, "Who do you think is more suited to be the new faction master?"
Zheng Yuming looked at the distant Zhou Pingsheng and sighed. This junior brother of his was too useless to take on that role.
"Let's leave the position vacant for now. We can have a few people to act as the acting masters instead."
"What do you think of Liu Hong?" Zhou Mingren asked.
Zheng Yuming frowned, "Teacher, he's only a Skysoar. Also...he's too crafty."
"That's the kind of people we need." Zhou Mingren said, "The other candidates represent the other elders. But Liu Hong’s teacher, Old Zhao, is in a sealed seclusion. Liu Hong has no backer. We can have the elders manage the Cloudbreach cultivators while Liu Hong will be allowed to manage those at the Skysoar Realm and below. What do you think?"
Zheng Yuming thought about it and said, "He is actually quite suitable for that. But I have a feeling that he doesn't really care about who we suppress. He only cares about his own growth. He is a perfect example of a selfish person. He will only put effort into things that can benefit him."
"We can simply align his personal benefits with the benefits of the faction. That way, he would work hard for us." Zhou Mingren wasn't too worried. "Let strength and research results decide everything. Without actual ability, nothing matters."
Zheng Yuming nodded and asked, "Teacher, how about the books depository? Are we still trying to get the position of the head manager?"
"Chen Yong..." Zhou Mingren looked in the direction Chen Yong had left and said, "It's time for our people to stop making moves against them. Or perhaps they will only be allowed to move within the bounds of the rules. I'll look for Xia Yuwen after this. If he no longer wants that position, we will let go of it."
Xia Yuwen was going to recover from his injuries soon. His biggest issue right now wasn't his physical injuries. Rather, it was the damage to his mind. That sword of Bai Feng had destroyed his confidence. That was the scariest damage a cultivator could suffer.
An eighth-stage Skysoar had defeated him. That was the biggest blow to Xia Yuwen. If Bai Feng was a third-stage Cloudbreach instead, Xia Yuwen wouldn't have been so badly affected.
Zheng Yuming nodded.
He would need to leave the academy next month. Even now, he had yet to fully recover. His main Divine Character remained destroyed. He didn't even know if he could leave the Allheaven Battlefield alive.
After a while, Zhou Mingren said, "So the rumors have spread all over the capital in one night? Just how many people are there in the multiple character faction? Huang Hao is the culprit in the academy due to the modification performed on his memories. How about the rumors outside the academy? Some people are helping Chen Yong outside!"
Zheng Yuming nodded, "Definitely."
"As the saying goes, old institutions die hard."
It would seem like the multiple character faction still had some people outside the academy. Some of them had appeared to help Chen Yong. They only needed to follow this line of investigation to dig out more of their hidden members.
Out of nowhere, Zheng Yuming said, "Teacher, keep a close watch over Junior Brother Zhou."
"Hmm?"
"You know the story behind how Wu Jia came to be Chen Yong's student. Even before joining the academy, Chen Yong had been sponsoring her studies. She is akin to a daughter for him. Junior Brother has touched something that is sacred to Chen Yong. I'm afraid that something bad might happen to him soon."
Zhou Mingren frowned and continued staring in the direction Chen Yong had left without saying anything.
After a long while, he said, "Will Principal Wan let it slide if Pingsheng ends up dead?"
Zheng Yuming's heart trembled. He didn't dare to say anything. There were a lot of implications behind that remark. Was it possible that...his teacher...intended to...
Zhou Mingren started to leave. While walking away, he said, "Not only is he incapable of getting things done, he also constantly brings us trouble. Of course, I am not heartless enough to watch him die. Unfortunately, I will be entering seclusion soon. If he's fine, good. If he continues doing stupid things, not even I can save him."
Sacrificing Zhou Pingsheng to remove Chen Yong. Zheng Yuming's expression changed. Was this worth it?
Probably.