Chapter 374: Chapter 357: Five Elements Desert Space
Mingren smiled faintly. "It would be too boring if you just died."
Mingren’s clothes were still pure white, as if he hadn’t been in a fight, but no fewer than ten members of the Dragon King Faction had died by his hand.
Lv Yuantian descended from the sky, his murderous gaze fixed on the two of them. "The Academy is under lockdown. All students are to return to their residences. Anyone found wandering outside will be severely punished according to Star Alliance regulations. All soul mentors, begin enforcement now!"
Lv Yuantian’s voice, though not a shout, was steady and carried a deadly chill that spread throughout the entire Academy.
Instantly, all commotion, gossip, and curiosity were suppressed.
’The Dean is furious!’
Though the members of the Dragon King Faction were seething with rage, they could only stand down for now, their glares promising to swallow Wang Meng and Mingren whole.
After the bout of slaughter, Wang Meng, contrary to expectation, had calmed down.
「The Dean’s Office.」
Lv Yuantian’s face was incredibly grim. Wang Meng and Mingren stood waiting for the storm to break.
Although Wang Meng was a little apprehensive, he had a pretty good idea of the situation. ’If the Old Demon Dean truly intended to punish us, he would have dealt with us right then and there outside. The fact that he brought us here means there’s a chance.’
Mingren still wore a faint smile. It was his first time meeting such a major figure at the Cultivation Academy, but his composure remained unchanged.
Sanmao hid behind Wang Meng, cautiously staring at this terrifying old monster. ’So powerful.’
"Speak." Lv Yuantian tapped his fingers on the desk. This little brat. When he wasn’t causing trouble, things were fine, but when he did, he could cause a disaster big enough to tear a hole in the heavens.
"The Dragon King Faction destroyed my Little Holy Hall and killed my senior brother. A debt of blood must be paid in blood. And I haven’t even collected the interest yet!"
Wang Meng declared.
Lv Yuantian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "So, you brat, you really thought you—oh, the two of you—could wipe out the Dragon King Faction?"
"Whether we can or not, we must try!" Wang Meng said.
Lv Yuantian shook his head and looked at Mingren. "What’s your name?"
"Disciple Mingren, of the Holy Hall’s Lingyin Hall," Mingren said, his voice exceptionally calm.
"How do you think this matter should be handled?"
"According to the rules of the Cultivation Academy, our counterattack is fully protected. However, I must still thank the Dean for his kind intentions."
Mingren said with a bow.
Lv Yuantian couldn’t help but chuckle. ’The Holy Hall is too interesting.’ "Kind intentions? What kind intentions do I have?"
"We were outnumbered, and the true experts of the Dragon King Faction had yet to make a move. If it had dragged on, I imagine Wang Meng and I would have been in trouble. For the Dean to intervene at that exact moment, wouldn’t you call that a kind intention?"
Mingren said.
Lv Yuantian glanced at Wang Meng. "You brat, do you also think this was a kind intention?"
Wang Meng nodded. "Dean, this disciple acted impulsively."
It wasn’t that Wang Meng was unaware. He just hadn’t used his full strength yet. If Dragon King Hua Jianyu had appeared and he was forced to reveal his trump card, they would all have died. But despite the huge commotion, Hua Jianyu was nowhere to be seen, which clearly meant he wasn’t here. In that case, the Old Demon Dean’s appearance was indeed timely.
"The Academy encourages competition, but it also protects the factions of new students. The Dragon King Faction’s actions have already violated the Academy’s rules. It is only reasonable that you retaliated. As for the damages, I will seek compensation from Hua Jianyu. But this matter will not end here. I cannot be too obvious in my protection of you. Now that things have reached this point, it’s impossible for it to be resolved peacefully."
Lv Yuantian said slowly and deliberately.
"Please enlighten us, Dean."
"You will go on a mission and leave the Cultivation Academy for a while. You can come back when you feel you are a match for Hua Jianyu."
Lv Yuantian smiled faintly.
On the way back, both Wang Meng and Mingren were a bit bewildered. This was blatant favoritism from Lv Yuantian!
While Wang Meng had done a few things for Lv Yuantian, their relationship didn’t seem strong enough to warrant this level of support.
To be honest, Wang Meng was truly surprised.
Returning to the Little Holy Hall, Li Tianyi and the others rushed forward. Seeing Wang Meng and Mingren return safely, Hex Zui finally breathed a sigh of relief. The stress had nearly killed him.
When Mingren explained the Dean’s decision, everyone was stunned. But after analyzing it for ages, they couldn’t figure out the reason behind it.
What benefit was there for the Dean in helping them so openly?
Still, this time was truly cathartic. Wang Meng had killed over twenty people, and Mingren had killed more than ten. But relative to the entire Dragon King Faction, it only served to infuriate them; it hadn’t touched their core strength. With the Dragon King and his core members absent, they would certainly not let this go upon their return.
"I think we should listen to the Dean and leave this place for now!"
"When we get back, we’ll fight the Dragon King Faction to the death!"
"Yeah, don’t you two act alone next time! We’re all in this together!"
"Damn it, let’s go all out against them! I refuse to believe we can’t win!" Fan Hong roared as well.
Everyone felt as though they had survived a disaster. Wang Meng and Mingren were strong, but their success was mainly due to acting under the cover of night. The attack was so sudden that the Dragon King Faction never imagined someone would dare to assault them like that. In the end, the Old Demon Dean’s intervention was also quite timely.
If Wang Meng had been forced to use his Godhood Power, even if he could have wreaked havoc, he wouldn’t have been so lucky as to escape the Celestial Tribulation this time. The final result would have been mutual destruction.
"Since the Dean has put it this way, he has probably already made arrangements. Let’s wait. If there’s no other way, then we’ll fight the Dragon King Faction to the death!"
Although Lv Buwei and Li Lishang had, in their hearts, thought Wang Meng and Mingren were a bit foolish, they now felt a certain warmth. If one day they were to be killed, at least they knew the others would avenge them.
But in reality, were Wang Meng and Mingren foolish?
There were no fools among those who could enter the Cultivation Academy.
This was the Cultivation World. Sometimes, you had to fight even when you knew you were outmatched, to seek life in the jaws of death!
And the result was, Wang Meng did not die, and the Holy Hall Faction’s reputation soared.
Lv Yuantian paced back and forth in his room. Why did he help Wang Meng so much?
’Damn it, that little bastard. If it were a small matter, I could just suppress it, but he’s a real fucking troublemaker.’ The area of the Dragon King Faction’s base was severely damaged, and someone had to compensate for it.
Who would pay?
The Little Holy Hall? Even if you sold them all, they couldn’t afford a fraction of the cost!
These resources were not his; they belonged to the Star Alliance. This was one of the reasons for the Cultivation Academy’s existence.
The Star Alliance needed an astronomical amount of resources to accomplish a certain task!
Since the Little Holy Hall couldn’t bear the cost, the burden could only fall on Hua Jianyu. Coming from the twelfth-ranked major Sect in the Star Alliance, and with many powerful Sects within the Dragon King Faction, it would be a painful loss, but they would definitely pay up to save face.
Wang Meng and his group had to leave now. This was also part of the plan.
Lv Yuantian was also trying to think of a suitable place. He couldn’t let these kids get off too easily. They needed to be taught a lesson!
A place appeared in Lv Yuantian’s mind—the Five Elements Desert Space!
It was a hellish place, devoid of the Five Elements. But it would be perfect for punishing them and buying some time.
At Lv Yuantian’s level, he no longer fretted over minor issues. He viewed everything from multiple angles. Handled correctly, this could be turned into a good thing, but that didn’t mean punishment wasn’t necessary.
The next day, the Academy’s punishment was announced.
All members of the Holy Hall Faction were exiled to the Five Elements Desert Space for a period of one year!
The Five Elements Desert Space could be called a cursed land, with an incredibly harsh environment. Basically, anyone sent there wasn’t expected to come back.
Those who had been expecting a good show couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. The Holy Hall had become quite famous, and Wang Meng could no longer be considered a nobody. They had expected the Academy to let the two factions resolve it themselves, but no one anticipated this outcome.
At that moment, Hua Jianyu was in Lv Yuantian’s office.
"Dean, your handling of this is somewhat unfair!" Hua Jianyu stared directly at Lv Yuantian.
"Hua Jianyu, I am acting in accordance with the Academy’s laws. Your Cloud Dragon Sect is no exception. Luo Ba so brazenly broke the rules; if I don’t deal with this, how will I command respect in the future?"
Hua Jianyu still wore a dashing smile, but he was cursing inwardly. "That was Luo Ba’s personal action! It has nothing to do with my Dragon King Faction!"
"Really? Do you believe that, or do you think I believe that? If this hadn’t blown up, we could have let it slide. But since it became such a huge incident, how do you think I should handle it?"
Lv Yuantian said faintly.
Hua Jianyu knew what was going on. ’This damn guy is, in all likelihood, after compensation.’ The Holy Hall Faction couldn’t possibly afford it. If it were just a matter of killing a few people, it wouldn’t be this much trouble.
He had never expected that brat Wang Meng would dare to blow things up to this extent. It seemed he had no choice but to accept the loss.
"Dean, as for the compensation, you can put it on my tab. However, the Dragon King Faction and the Holy Hall Faction now have a feud. I must be allowed to settle the score with them. If you don’t agree to this condition, I won’t be able to answer to my people," Hua Jianyu said.
A smile touched the corner of Lv Yuantian’s lips. "That is a matter between you two. I have issued my punishment according to the rules. If they can make it out of the Five Elements Desert Space alive, you can do whatever you want."
Hua Jianyu nodded. "A deal!"
As Hua Jianyu walked out of the dean’s office, he gnashed his teeth. There was often friction between the three great factions, but they all followed a basic principle: you could go after people, but not property. Killing someone wouldn’t cause a major problem, but damaging Academy property would give the old monster a handle to extort them.
And that damned Wang Meng had actually razed his faction’s base to the ground. The prestige he had worked so hard to build was destroyed in an instant. The three great factions had become two and a half. How could this not infuriate Hua Jianyu to death’s door?
The faction’s base had to be rebuilt, and Lv Yuantian would undoubtedly extort him again. But this was a matter of a faction’s face. If they lost face, how could they compete with the Empress and the Celestial King?
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Hua Jianyu’s mind. ’Could this have something to do with those two?’
’Otherwise, where would he get such guts!’
’I hope they don’t die in the Five Elements Desert Space. That would be letting them off far too easily!’
At that moment, Wang Meng and the others were teleported to the Five Elements Desert Space, falling one by one from the sky.
Scorching heat. An endless expanse of Yellow Sand. It was a complete dead zone, scarcely touched by life.
Just thinking of that guy Luo Ba made Hua Jianyu’s anger flare up again. But it had been his order for Luo Ba to "teach the Holy Hall a lesson," and Luo Ba was one of his most capable subordinates. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
