Chapter 149: End of the Tournament (2)
Chapter 149: End of the Tournament (2)
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Everyone knew that a storm could have fallen upon them, and while the academy was more than strong enough to withstand it, that didn’t mean they would have done so without any trouble.
But with Li Duoji still alive, some of that worry lifted, and everyone present let out a sigh of relief.
Chen Ao, who also felt this, finally loosened up a little, but just as he did,
"Although he’s still alive, his condition is critical. The damage he suffered isn’t only external, but internal as well.
A good portion of his organs are damaged, with some destroyed. It’s a miracle that he’s still breathing, and luckily he’s unconscious,
if he were awake, he might very well go mad from the wave of pain that would strike him.
We need to start treatment immediately to minimize as much permanent damage as possible.
Needless to say, he won’t be able to take part in the expedition.
It’ll take a long time for him to recover, and even then it’ll still be some time before he’s fully healed."
So said the instructor to his colleagues, informing them in detail of the situation as he made a green cocoon of energy appear, which wrapped around Li Duoji’s charred body and carried him away.
The instructor’s words were reassuring, but also like a blade stabbing into many. One in particular, now that Li Duoji had been taken away, turned once more toward Zhu Rong with killing intent in his eyes. Opening his mouth, he spoke in a cold voice,
"Boy, I hope you have a good explanation for all this, or don’t blame me for what will happen to you," Chen Ao said, his eyes flashing with murderous light as he warned Zhu Rong to choose his next words carefully.
But despite that, Zhu Rong, who stood at the very center of it all, remained calm, his steady gaze meeting Chen Ao’s as he said,
"An explanation? And what exactly am I supposed to explain? I’d say you all saw how the battle went. I don’t see what else there is to add."
He had barely finished speaking when a gust of wind exploded, and in an instant Chen Ao, who had been in the center of the arena, appeared right in front of Zhu Rong with his hand reaching out to grab him.
But that hand never reached its target. It stopped midway, not by his will, but because another hand had tightly seized his wrist.
"Instructor Chen, what do you think you’re doing?"
A female voice rang out as Liang Yuexing, who had been in the instructors’ area just moments ago, suddenly appeared beside Zhu Rong, holding Chen Ao’s hand in place.
Seeing her appear, he was surprised, and for a moment a doubt flickered through his mind, why hadn’t he sensed her presence?
But he immediately pushed the thought away and snapped,
"You’re asking me what I’m doing? Your student has left his opponent on the brink of death, and you’re still asking me what I’m doing?
Not to mention the fact that he came out completely unscathed from that earlier clash.
All of you felt the power unleashed in that collision of attacks, you know even we would have trouble coming out unharmed. And you’re telling me that a student at the third stage managed to take it without a single injury?
If this student can’t give an explanation for all this today, he won’t be walking out of here unscathed."
His voice was threatening as he began releasing his aura at the peak of the fifth stage.
It erupted, and soon all those present felt a suffocating pressure fall upon them. Even if it wasn’t directed at them, the weight was still heavy, centered mainly on the arena. The other instructors, frowning, immediately realized the situation was about to take a dangerous turn and began preparing themselves.
Liang Yuexing, the one most directly targeted by Chen Ao’s oppressive aura, didn’t even blink. A strange violet gleam flickered in her eyes.
"Strange or not, that’s not for you to decide. And even if there was some trick behind it, what makes you think you can just attack a student as if it were nothing? Do the academy’s rules mean nothing in your eyes?" she said, as a subtle but dangerous aura of her own began leaking out from her body.
The tension rose, and the pressure on the arena grew heavier, the students feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen.
Even the other instructors, seeing how things were escalating, were preparing to step in and stop the two.
The atmosphere was already tense because of how the battle had ended. The last thing anyone wanted to see was another clash, this time between instructors.
Just as everyone was about to move to calm the situation, a calm yet strong voice rang across the grounds.
"Enough."
It was the voice of the Headmaster. One single word, but more than enough to burst the bubble of tension.
No one, no matter how reckless, would dare disobey him, not even Chen Ao. Even though he had no intention of reasoning with anyone, he had to take a step back, though his eyes were still locked on Zhu Rong, who met his gaze with a serene smile, as if nothing had happened.
’This bastard...’
Even if Chen Ao hadn’t done anything for now, he had no intention of letting this go. Today’s matter was far from over.
The end of the tournament went far beyond anyone’s expectations, and while it had been thrilling, and even terrifying for some, in the end, it finally concluded.
Normally, the results would have been announced right away, as soon as the matches ended, but because of the complications from the last fight, the announcement was postponed until tomorrow.
Still, the crowd of students who had witnessed everything couldn’t stop buzzing with discussion about how it would all turn out.
Most of the participants chosen for the group heading into the secret realm had already been decided, but Zhu Rong and Li Duoji remained uncertain.
one because of suspicions that he had used dirty methods to win, the other because he was critically injured. As the instructor had said, it would take a long time for him to recover, and even then, there was no certainty that he would fully heal.
This caused quite an uproar in the academy. Supporters of Li Duoji fumed and condemned Zhu Rong, while others wondered how a simple battle between two students had ended in such a drastic way.
But the person at the center of it all didn’t seem to care.
Zhu Rong, just out of the Headmaster’s office, walked at a relaxed pace toward the exit, his expression calm, far from what one would expect from someone who had just been summoned by the Headmaster.
’Tch, looks like I went a little too far,’ he thought, recalling the conversation he’d just had.
He had assumed the Headmaster had called him about the final battle and how he had come out unscathed, but apparently that wasn’t the case.
It seemed the Headmaster had already formed an idea of how everything had played out. Just seeing it with his own eyes wasn’t enough, understanding the attack Zhu Rong had used required more than that.
He told him there were no problems regarding his victory, and that the other instructors wouldn’t make trouble over it. But he also warned him that while the academy could guarantee his safety within its walls, outside would be a different story,
especially since the family he had provoked today was one infamous for crushing its enemies ruthlessly.
Zhu Rong wasn’t afraid of them. He knew very well the family’s most important and powerful members. Almost none of them were a threat in his eyes, none except one,
their patriarch.
’That old bastard should be on the verge of breaking through,’ Zhu Rong thought, remembering a certain event that had caused quite a stir in Qiyan City.
If he remembered correctly, it would happen two years from now.
Back then, he had already been cast out of both his family and the academy and was wandering outside the city.
He had found himself a small job in a nearby province, where eventually he managed to secure work at a small branch of the Masters Pavilion.
By then he had already earned his apprentice blacksmith badge, so he could use their workshops. Given his situation, that was his only source of income.
He remembered hearing news back then that someone had broken through to the Spirit Realm, and, as it turned out, that person was none other than the Li family patriarch.
A little known figure, rarely seen in recent years, said to have gone into seclusion to cultivate behind closed doors.
Zhu Rong was certain that he was close to his breakthrough, and if nothing had changed, then he would reach it within these two years, meaning Zhu Rong would eventually have to face a Spirit Realm expert.
’Oh well, that’s a problem for the future. With my current progress, by then I should definitely be more than capable of dealing with a Spirit Realm expert,’ he told himself as he left the academy and headed toward the Masters Pavilion.
These last few days he hadn’t been there, except for the first days of the tournament when he had cultivated to form two more elemental cores.
He had left everything in Ye Ning’s hands, and she had already proven herself more than capable of handling everything for him.
Still, he planned to stop by and check a few things before heading toward his company’s building.