Chapter 480: Heavy Burden (1)
Inside the hall.
The single character faction was being held accountable.
All the students from the other factions were unhappy. Firstly, the grotto had not lasted three days. Secondly, there were many interruptions when they were cultivating.
Sure, these Mental Tempering Stage students did not need a lot of willpower since without apertures, they could only passively absorb willpower. But a lot of them were here to nurture their characters. That required a lot of willpower. And they had not been able to achieve their targets.
At this point, Zhou Mingren and the other elders had finally stabilized the grotto. The collapse earlier did not have much effect on the character that had formed the grotto itself. As a Sunmoon character, it wouldn't be so easily damaged. Unfortunately, they would not be able to reopen the grotto unless they used a large amount of materials once again.
In truth, even if the collapse hadn't happened, the grotto still wouldn't be able to last much longer. After all, there wasn't much willpower left in the grotto. Their initial estimate was to keep the grotto open for three days, but it hadn't even been two full days yet. This wasn't what these people had expected when they bought the slots to enter the grotto.
At this time, Hong Tan muttered, "They insisted on getting a few Cloudbreach cultivators inside. Look what happened. If there were only Skysoars and students inside, the willpower expenditure wouldn't have been so high."
He was actually right. The absorption speed of the Cloudbreach cultivators had played a large role in expediting the collapse of the grotto. Of course, the main culprit was a certain someone who had absorbed even more willpower than all the Cloudbreach cultivators.
In fact, they had reduced the number of people entering the grotto to allow the Cloudbreach cultivators they were sending in for this reason. They were worried that the willpower would be emptied too fast.
Zhou Mingren looked at Hong Tan and coldly said, "Previously, the grotto was already almost empty of willpower. Why hadn't you shut the grotto from further operation?"
Hong Tan had an innocent expression as he said, "When I left, the grotto was still filled with willpower. If those Skysoar and Cloudbreach cultivators had not absorbed so much willpower, how would the grotto have collapsed so early?
"With your strength, you can keep the grotto running even after the grotto runs out of willpower. Since you guys have promised to keep the grotto open for three days, just use more materials and open it up again."
He made it sound so easy. But that was only because he wasn't the one paying. Even the single character faction didn't have that much of those unique materials in stock. Otherwise, they would have opened the grotto long ago.
Zhou Mingren gave Hong Tan a deep look and said, "We all know what you're thinking. What's the point of acting all clueless? What is your goal here?"
None of them was an idiot. Everyone could see the truth.
Hong Tan smiled, "I have no goal. Since the grotto is out of willpower, it is naturally your responsibility to add more materials and reopen the grotto. This has nothing to do with me. Are you trying to say that I've intentionally exhausted the grotto's willpower to cause the collapse? It's clear that the Cloudbreach cultivators you sent in there were the reason for the collapse."
Zhou Mingren calmly asked, "How are you sure that it's the Cloudbreach cultivators? Maybe it's your people. Su Yu is an exceptionally talented young man. Is it not possible that he was the one who had been absorbing willpower all over the grotto, eventually causing the collapse?"
Hong Tan shrugged, "Sure. Whatever you say. Su Yu is such an incredible kid. He alone could absorb as much willpower as those late-stage Cloudbreach cultivators. He must have opened at least 100 apertures or this wouldn't have been possible. After all, he's still at the Mental Tempering Stage."
Hong Tan snickered and said, "In truth, Su Yu is actually a Cloudbreach in disguise. Are you happy with this explanation? Oh, and there's also Wu Jia. She's actually a Mountainsea in disguise. How's this for an answer?"
Zhou Mingren said nothing. There was really nothing he could say. If Su Yu was a Skysoar, it would be easier to lay the blame on him. But it was unreasonable to make a Mental Tempering Stage student the scapegoat.
In fact, the single character faction would turn into an even bigger joke if a mere Mental Tempering Stage student was actually the one who had caused the grotto to collapse. And everyone saw that Su Yu himself had been injured by the collapse. The kid was in such a bad condition that he had been brought away in advance.
Hong Tan said, "Old Zhou, this is not the time for you to pick petty fights with us. You should focus on dealing with your own trouble. Most of the people here are innocent. If you want to blame someone, blame that bastard who had been running around emptying random areas of willpower in the grotto. Why did you send someone with such a fast absorption speed into the grotto in the first place?"
That was the crux of the issue. The premature closure of the grotto was mainly the handiwork of that one asshole.
Zhou Mingren inhaled deeply and looked at Zhan Hai, Zhang Hao, and Xia Huyou before saying, "The grotto has indeed lasted shorter than our expectations. But I believe everyone here also understands that your slots had not been purchased with a proper price in the first place. At the price we had set, the slots might as well be free."
They were unhappy, but they couldn't help but nod in agreement. That was true. The single character faction had been using the slots to earn the favors of the various factions. Thus, the slots had been sold for relatively cheap prices.
"I will refund all of you at a later date." Zhou Mingren calmly said, "We won't take a single cent from all of you. The grotto might have ended earlier, but all of you must have still gained something from it. The interruptions shouldn't have been too serious. Consider this our gift for everyone as an apology for the bad experience."
Since he was offering full refunds, the others naturally had nothing to say. Even though the grotto had closed early, they had still benefited from it. At the very least, their willpower cultivation had all grown.
In fact, they were quite pleased to hear that they would receive their money back. Even those Mountainsea elders were nodding approvingly. One of them smiled and said, "Old Zhou, you misunderstood us. That wasn't what we were trying to see. We should thank the single character faction for opening the grotto and benefiting everyone. We were only feeling regretful at how the whole thing had ended. Do not misunderstand us, Old Zhou."
Zhou Mingren snorted inwardly. Misunderstanding? If he hadn't offered a full refund, these people would definitely not let the matter slide. This was still acceptable for him. The loss wasn't too big. Very few of the slots had been actually sold for money, anyway. And those slots hadn't been sold for much. In total, only about 10,000 merit points needed to be refunded.
The materials they had used to open the grotto were worth much more. Since they had lost the materials, adding 10,000 merit points on top of their loss was really not that big of a deal.
Hong Tan beamed and asked, "How about the 10,000 merit points provided by the academy? Since those merit points were meant to sponsor the tournament, maybe you should reward the top five students with the money instead?"
Zhou Mingren looked at Hong Tan and indifferently said, "The slots we gave out during the tournament were never meant to be given out. The chance to cultivate in the grotto for two days is enough for these students. They shouldn't get too greedy. Also, have we guaranteed that the grotto would stay open for three days? No! Hong Tan, I only agreed to refund them as compensation for the damage due to the collapse of the grotto. The time the grotto had stayed open has nothing to do with the compensation."
Hong Tan shrugged, "Sure. Most of the top five students are from your faction anyway. Su Yu is the only person from my side in the top five. Since you're not willing to compensate, forget it."
Zhou Mingren didn't even deign to give that a reply.
He looked at the crowd and said, "The grotto is now closed. I admit that this is a result of our carelessness. The collapse has affected everyone's willpower so all of you should return early and get a good rest."
He was basically indirectly telling these people to leave.
The others looked at each other. Before long, one of the elders said, "Sure. We'll be taking our leave, Old Zhou. However...it's time you clean your house. You have been the one to act as the scapegoat every single time. This is not right."
They all knew that this wasn't actually his fault, so they didn't say much. They were telling him to stop taking the blame for the few rats in his faction. He was a pseudo Sunmoon. But he had been reduced into a professional scapegoat by these idiots. These juniors were too unreliable. If they were in his shoes, they would have lost their temper long ago.
Zhou Mingren smiled and said nothing. He watched on as everyone left.
But when he noticed that Hong Tan was not leaving, he coldly asked, "Hong Tan, are you staying for dinner?"
Hong Tan indifferently said, "Sure. I'll be leaving as well. Old Zhou, take care of your health. Don't get too angry. Sigh. Some juniors are truly unreliable. That student of mine is the same. This is too worrisome. He's going to the Allheaven Battlefield soon..."
Hong Tan finally swaggered off. Right after he left, Elder Sun and the others snorted. There was something about that bastard's tone that they couldn't stand. But there really wasn't anything they could say.
At this moment, someone softly said, "Grandpa Zhou, I didn't pay for the slot, but I used all my savings and bought Grandpa Qi a gift for the slot. But it's too embarrassing to ask for the gift back..."
Only then did Zhou Mingren notice that there was still someone there. He looked at Ji Xiaomeng speechlessly.
Hiding behind Zhou Pingsheng, Ji Xiaomeng poked his head out and bashfully said, "Grandpa Zhou, don't misunderstand me. I wasn't asking for anything. But...wuwuwu...I really have no money left..."
She started sobbing. She had obtained the slot after giving Grandpa Qi a gift! But they had not offered to refund her anything! But the gift had already been given out. How was she supposed to ask for her money?
Zhou Mingren didn't know what to say. After a while, he forced himself to smile and said, "Xiaomeng, how much money did you spend on the gift?"
"30 merit points." Ji Xiaomeng answered, "I'm not lying! I even have the receipt! Do you want to check the receipt?"
"It's fine."
Zhou Mingren smiled, "You're a good child. Return and take a rest. I'll get someone to send you 30 merit points later."
"Thank you, Grandpa Zhou!" Ji Xiaomeng was overjoyed, "Grandpa Zhou is such a good person! Uhm...don't tell Grandpa Qi about this, ok? I don't want him to think that I'm a stingy person!"
"I won't."
Ji Xiaoment then bounced off happily.
30 merit points...
Zhou Mingren didn't know what to say. Was this daughter of Ji Hong really so innocent or was she faking it? He had thought that she would take this chance to demand a large amount of money from him, but she had only asked for 30 merit points.
She had waited until only the single character faction members were left before asking for only 30 merit points. She had helped them save face and asked for only a paltry sum of money. What else could he say?
In fact, Zhou Mingren even felt grateful that she had allowed him to solve this issue for only 30 merit points. Otherwise, this daughter of Ji Hong would not be so easy to deal with.
Finally, all the outsiders were gone. No, to be precise, Xia Yuwen was still there.
Looking at Xia Yuwen, Zhou Mingren smiled, "Yuwen, that was an embarrassing display. I hope the collapse hasn't affected you much."
Xia Yuwen nodded, "I'm fine. Faculty Head Zhou, this matter is unrelated to me, but I still need to say something. Don't turn yourself into a clown."
Zhou Mingren smiled, "Of course."
"I'll be taking my leave, then."
Xia Yuwen strode off with a calm expression with Zhou Hao behind him.
Finally, only the single character faction members were left in the room.
With a calm expression, Zhou Mingren scanned the crowd. He focused on Zhou Pingsheng for a while before asking, "Who was the one who had been absorbing willpower all over the grotto?"
Nobody said anything.
Zhou Mingren waited for a while before asking, "Wensheng, was that you?"
Hu Wensheng shook his head, "Teacher, I did nothing except cultivate in the grotto. I had only changed my location once after Hong Tan took over the grotto. He had created an area with a high level of willpower density."
Zhou Mingren looked at Zhou Pingsheng and asked, "Was that you, Pingsheng?"
Zhou Pingsheng lowered his head and said, "Teacher, I didn't cultivate on the first day, but I spent all my time cultivating with Junior Brother Liu and the others during the second day."
Zhou Mingren frowned. Liu Hong hurriedly said, "That's true. I was with Zhou Pingsheng during the second day. Senior Brother Wang, Senior Sister Chen, and the others were all with us as well."
Zhou Mingren looked at the people Liu Hong mentioned. Those were all Skysoars.
They nodded. One of them said, "Around the end of the first day, we all gathered up."
In other words, they were all cultivating together during the second day. Of course, the grotto had also been relatively calm during the second day with no instances of random areas constantly emptied of willpower.
These incidents had mostly happened during the first day. And Zhou Pingsheng had moved all over the grotto during the first day. On the other hand, Hu Wensheng had been cultivating at a single spot during that time. Naturally, Zhou Pingsheng was the most likely culprit.