Chapter 72: Stop Touching Me
Lu Chaowen and his group were extremely respectful. They felt slightly nervous as well because this was the first time the Main Guanxuan Academy sent such an important figure to the Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy.
Ye Guanzhi looked at Lu Chaowen and said, “Academy Chief Lu, we should talk inside.”
She walked through the academy gates, and Lu Chaowen hurriedly chased after her.
…
Ye Guanzhi sat near the lake. She was looking at the fish swimming freely in the water.
Lu Chaowen stood next to her with his head slightly bowed.
“Academy Chief Lu, the True Dragon Clan has been annihilated,” said Yu Guanzhi. “What do you know about it?”
“I’ve investigated and found that it has something to do with Ye Guan!” Lu Chaowen replied.
Ye Guanzhi nodded and said, “Go on.”
Lu Chaowen hesitated before asking, “Should we arrest Ye Guan?”
Ye Guanzhi turned to look at Lu Chaowen and calmly said, “Let’s put aside the grievances between Ye Guan and the True Dragon Clan for now. Let’s talk about Ye Guan and the Academy.
”I’ve heard that Ye Guan was a student of the Guanxuan Academy. He won the martial contest of the Upper Realm, but the True Dragon Clan unjustly intervened. Have you heard about it?”
Lu Chaowen’s face turned pale.
Ye Guanzhi continued. “The world of martial arts isn’t just all about fighting, and I understand that relationships are important as well, Academy Chief Lu.
”I guess it makes more sense to stand on the side of the True Dragon Clan and the An Clan rather than on the side of a poor little bastard.”
Lu Chaowen knelt and lowered his head.
“How do you think the Academy governs the universe? It is naturally using the Guanxuan Law. The Sword Master founded the Academy in hopes of making the world a lawful and fair place to live.
”The martial contest is the only way out for people without solid backgrounds. If even the integrity of the martial contest is compromised, how can those without backers and strong backgrounds rise up to the ranks?” Ye Guanzhi said.
Yu Guanzhi shook her head and continued. “Regardless of the era, those suffering the most are always those who belong at the bottom of society. People like them might never manage to make a name for themselves no matter how hard they try; the Academy is aware of that, which is why the Academy created the martial contest.
“The Academy wants the people to know that their destiny can change as long as they are willing to put in the effort, but…” Yu Guanzhi trailed off. Her gaze turned cold as she continued. “The True Dragon Clan was really bold; they actually dared to intervene in the Guanxuan Academy’s martial contest, and what’s even worse is that none of you stood up against them!”
Lu Chaowen went beyond pallid.
Ye Guanzhi’s eyes were full of disdain as she said, “Academy Chief Lu, you cannot be blamed for the incident, but why did you intercept Academy Chief Zhao’s letter of complaint? Who gave you the guts to do that?”
Lu Chaowen trembled, and he didn’t dare to speak even a word.
“The integrity of the martial contest was compromised, but rather than reprimanding the True Dragon Clan, you actually allowed them to bully a student of our Academy? Academy Chief Lu, are you a dog of the True Dragon Clan?” asked Ye Guanzhi.
Lu Chaowen collapsed. His voice was trembling as he said, “Representative Ye, the An Clan is—”
“Impudent!” Ye Guanzhi roared, “Are you trying to use the An Clan against me?”
Lu Chaowen hurriedly said, “No!”
“Come!” Ye Guanzhi exclaimed.
An individual clad in white armor appeared next to her.
Lu Chaowen despaired upon seeing the armored individual. A Guanxuan Guard!
Ye Guanzhi’s expression remained unchanging as she said, “An Fei chose to conspire with the True Dragon Clan against the Academy. I want you to drag her out of the An Clan and beat her to death in front of the An Clan’s gates.
”It seems that the Clan Leader of the An Clan does not know how to discipline their members as well, so I want you to tell the An Clan to replace their current clan leader. From now on, the An Clan’s special perks are removed!”
The Guanxuan Guard wordlessly turned around to leave.
Lu Chaowen was horrified. I’m doomed! She must be powerful enough to go against the An Clan… the An Clan is doomed!
Ye Guanzhi made a sidelong glance at Lu Chaowen.
“You took advantage of the power and authority that the Academy has bestowed upon you and used it for your personal gains. I’m sure you are familiar with the Guanxuan Law. What do you think is the punishment for your crimes?”
Lu Chaowen chuckled bitterly, but he didn’t say anything.
“Take him away!” Ye Guanzhi ordered.
A Guanxuan Guard took Lu Chaowen away.
Ye Guanzhi closed her eyes and said, “These great clans are becoming increasingly bolder over time, and they have been challenging the Guanxuan Academy’s bottom line. Many of them have already become tumors, and—”
“Watch what you say!” An old woman suddenly appeared next to Ye Guanzhi, and she lowered her voice as she said, “Please watch your words, Representative Ye!”
The great clans of the Zhongtu Divine Continent weren’t that strong, but the families affiliated with the Main Guanxuan Academy were on a different level. They were extremely powerful and influential.
Ye Guanzhi was powerful and influential, but she would be like an egg trying to shatter a boulder if she were to go against those powerful clans. In other words, Ye Guanzhi had to be wary of them.
Ye Guanzhi said blandly, “They have infiltrated every corner of the Academy’s Committee. They have become strong enough to influence the Academy, and it seems that they have already distorted our values and beliefs.”
Yu Guanzhi shook her head as helplessness flashed past her eyes.
She didn’t speak anymore because she knew that she had to protect herself first before she could protect the Academy. It would be tantamount to seeking her own death if she were to challenge those great clans without enough strength.
In other words, she had to be strong enough if she wanted to change the status quo.
The old woman sighed upon seeing Ye Guanzhi’s silence.
“The Sword Master must have known that the great clans would eventually become problematic, so why is it that he didn’t nip them in the bud? What was he thinking?” Ye Guanzhi muttered.
The old woman chuckled bitterly.
“Brat, you shouldn’t criticize the Sword Master,” she said.
Ye Guanzhi calmly retorted, “Compliments are meaningless if criticism is not allowed.”
The old woman went silent.
Moments later, Ye Guanzhi said, “We should go and meet Young Lord Ye!”
“The Ancient Heavenly Dragon Clan will not let this slide!” said the old woman.
Ye Guanzhi’s eyes turned cold.
The old woman hesitated for a little while before asking, “Brat, Ye Guan had annihilated the True Dragon Clan. What are you going to do about him?”
Ye Guanzhi shook her head and said, “What can we do?”
“Clan annihilation violates the Guanxuan Law.” the old woman pointed out.
Ye Guanzhi shook her head once more and retorted. “True, but the True Dragon Clan took the Ye Clan hostage against Ye Guan. Ye Guan’s retaliation can be considered reasonable self-defense under the Guanxuan Law.”
“Is that so?” asked the old woman, seemingly doubtful. “Isn’t it too excessive?”
“If someone strong enough to annihilate your clan threatens to wipe your clan off the face of the earth, whatever you do in response cannot be considered excessive. I would have done the same if I were in his shoes,” said Ye Guanzhi.
There was a momentary pause before she continued. “The Guanxuan Law advocates fairness and justice. If the True Dragon Clan can harm others without giving others a chance to retaliate, wouldn’t the Guanxuan Law be unfair and evil?
”Ye Guan’s retaliation is reasonable self-defense. There’s no need to pursue the matter any further.”
The old woman nodded and asked, “So… why are you going to meet him?”
“The root cause is the academy’s inaction. We wronged him, so it is only natural for us to apologize to him. It would be great if he chooses to join the Academy again, but we should try to compensate him at the bare minimum,” Ye Guanzhi explained.
Ye Guanzhi started walking away, and the old woman followed her.
The old woman asked once more, “What are we going to do with Academy Chief Zhao?”
Ye Guanzhi pondered silently for a while before saying, “She will lose her job, but she can be forgiven. She was just the Academy Chief in the tiny Upper Realm, so it wasn’t strange that she was afraid to offend the An Clan and the True Dragon Clan.
“She even repented after what happened and wrote a letter to us to speak up for Ye Guan. I think we should forgive her.”
The old woman made a sidelong glance at Ye Guanzhi and said, “The Guanxuan Law states that she must be crippled for her transgression.”
Ye Guanzhi shook her head and explained, “Zhao Su would have died where he stood if she had opposed the An Clan and the True Dragon Clan at the time. What do you think she could have done as the Academy Chief in the tiny Upper Realm?”
“Her letter also proved that her heart is righteous. Punishments are to reform those who have transgressed so that they’ll turn over a new leaf. We must not mete out punishment for the sake of punishing.”
The old woman nodded and went silent.
“Anyway, our Academy made a mistake. The Zhongtu Divine Continent’s Guanxuan Academy and the An Clan conspired and fueled the arrogance of the True Dragon Clan until they were daring enough to break the integrity of the martial contest.
”We must severely punish Lu Chaowen and the An Clan to warn the others, especially the great clans…” Ye Guanzhi’s eyes turned cold as she continued. “I can still remember those great clans being as restrained as mice in front of a cat while Senior Qingqiu was still around as Academy Chief, but when she—no, those great clans have become bolder in their pursuit of more power.”
The old woman sighed.
She didn’t dare to comment on matters related to the Academy.
Ye Guanzhi went silent as well. Soon, she disappeared into the horizon.
…
Meanwhile, a naked Ye Guan was on a bed. Nanling Yiyi loomed over his scorched body. Ninety percent of Ye Guan’s body had suffered burns after he took the brunt of the Ancient Heavenly Dragon’s dragon flame.
He very much wanted to apply medicine on his wounds by himself, but he was too exhausted to move, not to mention apply medicine on his wounds.
Nanling Yiyi stared at Ye Guan’s naked body and blinked.
“Junior Disciple Ye, don’t be nervous. I’m not going to do anything else, I’m just going to apply medicine on your wounds.”
Ye Guan heard that and hesitated. His voice was trembling as he said, “Senior Disciple Yiyi, can you please stop touching me? Just apply the medicine, please…”
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