In the academy, everyone's gaze was focused on Fang Yuan.
Among these gazes were shock, panic, mockery, and coldness.
Fang Yuan turned a blind eye to these gazes. Looking at the academy elder, he pointed a finger at the unconscious guard on the ground, his expression serious.
"Reporting to the elder, these two guards harbored evil intentions, their hearts deserve death! They forcibly broke through the door at the most crucial juncture of me charging towards the middle stage. As everyone knows, a Gu Master's cultivation cannot be disturbed. This is especially true when charging for a higher realm. With the slightest carelessness, not only will the breakthrough fail, but the aperture will also suffer damage. However, fortunately, this student's luck was not bad. In the very instant they barged in, I luckily stepped into the middle stage."
"But!" Before the others could react, Fang Yuan followed up closely, "These two still did not admit the mistake they had just committed. To actually shamelessly want to make a move against me, and even insult our clan's ancestors, falsely claiming that this action of interfering with a junior's cultivation was the intent of you, Lord Elder. This student did not believe it and fiercely resisted. These two were highly skilled in martial arts, and this student fought a bloody battle before finally defeating them."
"However, considering that these two held the identity of academy guards, this student did not land a lethal blow. Merely one had his arm cut off, and the other had his thigh slashed, that's all. Although they lost a bit too much blood, they aren't dead yet. This is how the matter went, I entreat the elder to uphold justice for this student!" After speaking, Fang Yuan cupped his fists towards the academy elder.
His tone was hurried, speaking a whole lot, leaving no room for anyone else to interrupt.
After he finished speaking, the surrounding people finally slowly reacted.
"What did Fang Yuan just say, I don't think I heard clearly."
"He seemed to say he advanced to the middle stage!"
"How is that possible? A C grade aptitude piece of trash like him actually being the first to advance to the middle stage."
"It must be a lie. He is afraid of receiving the academy's punishment, so he told a lie!"
The students all started discussing loudly.
Compared to the matter of Fang Yuan advancing to the middle stage, the life or death of the two guards was no longer important.
They did not have the surname Gu Yue, who cared whether they lived or died?
"You say you have already advanced to the Rank one middle stage?" The academy elder's voice was ice-cold, cold light flickering in his eyes, "Fang Yuan, words cannot be spoken carelessly. If you admit your mistake now, I can still consider this your first offense and deal with you leniently. But if you continue to make mistakes, attempting to use lies to cover up and conceal, then this old man will tell you right now, lies are the easiest to be punctured."
Fang Yuan made no defense, simply chuckling lightly, and said to the academy elder, "Please inspect, Elder."
Without him needing to say it, the academy elder had already walked over.
He pressed his hand against the position of Fang Yuan's lower abdomen, splitting a portion of his mind to send it inside. Instantly, he saw the scene of Fang Yuan's aperture.
Inside the aperture, it was completely empty of any Gu.
The Spring Autumn Cicada had already hidden itself. As a Rank six Gu worm, its level was far higher than the Rank three academy elder. With the intention to hide, it would not be easily discovered.
As for the Liquor worm, Fang Yuan had temporarily placed it in a wine jar in the dormitory, not carrying it on his person.
With his eyes closed, the academy elder saw a patch of bronze primeval sea, calm without ripples.
Every drop of the primeval water possessed the pale green color exclusive to middle stage primeval essence.
Looking further at the surrounding aperture walls, the white aperture walls overflowed with rippling light, seeming entirely composed of flowing water. Streams of water were flowing rapidly.
Water membrane!
"He really advanced to the middle stage, how is this possible!?" The academy elder cried out in his heart, a trace of shocked light flashing beneath his eyelids. But he did his utmost to conceal it, his expression sinking as still as water.
A moment later, having digested this fact, he slowly withdrew his hand, saying in a low voice, "It is indeed the middle stage."
The students had long held their breaths, quietly waiting for the result.
As soon as the academy elder spoke these words, the entire academy was like a boiling pot exploding.
The students were bewildered and uncertain, looks of disbelief revealing themselves on each of their faces.
Fang Yuan was only C grade, yet he was the first to break through to the middle stage. This was a matter that broke common sense!
In a Gu Master's cultivation, when charging for realms, aptitude should undoubtedly be the primary factor. Are you kidding me, a C grade can actually advance first? How could this let those with A grade and B grade aptitude bear it!
"This!" Gu Yue Fang Zheng's face abruptly turned pale. He was full of confidence last night, but the truth was now displayed right before his eyes. Unable to withstand such a shock, he plopped down on his buttocks.
Gu Yue Mo Bei clenched his fists tightly, and Gu Yue Chi Cheng gritted his teeth fiercely.
The academy elder could not possibly be deceived, so how exactly did he, Fang Yuan, do it?
For a time, all the youths stared fixedly at Fang Yuan, the same question surfacing in their hearts—relying on his C grade aptitude, how did Fang Yuan advance so quickly?
The academy elder's heart was similarly filled with doubts.
Under such massive doubt, he cast his previous thought of suppressing Fang Yuan to the back of his mind and directly asked, "Fang Yuan, I hope you can explain, just how exactly did you advance to the middle stage?"
Fang Yuan smiled soundlessly and said, "Heaven rewards the diligent. This student studied diligently and trained bitterly, accumulating day by day, thus when water flows, a channel is formed."
"Liar!"
"Tch, if heaven rewards the diligent, I would have been first long ago!"
"Still saying studying diligently and training bitterly? A little while ago, I even saw him leisurely strolling around the shops happily."
The students were clearly dissatisfied with such an answer.
"Is that so?" The academy elder remained noncommittal, his gaze cold and stern, pressing upon Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's expression was calm, meeting the elder's gaze without the slightest fear.
He was entirely bathed in blood, his linen clothes messy, seemingly having gone through a fierce struggle.
A pair of eyes, deep and secluded as a deep pool, revealed a kind of tranquility, a kind of indifference, and even seemed to harbor a trace of teasing.
Seeing such a pair of eyes, the academy elder's inner heart couldn't help but waver.
"This Fang Yuan is not scared, not afraid, not terrified, and not shocked, how could he possibly be forced by me to confess on the spot? With his C grade aptitude taking the lead to advance to the middle stage, there must be a secret. However, since he doesn't want to tell this secret, as the academy elder, I cannot forcefully interrogate him either. It seems I can only investigate secretly."
Thinking of this, the academy elder had no choice but to withdraw his gaze, his cold, stern, and serious expression also easing down.
Fang Yuan, however, did not let it go, "This student is terrified, Lord Elder, I wonder how you will handle these two guards? These two have lost too much blood. If they aren't treated soon, they will die."
"You, terrified?" The academy elder involuntarily let out a cold snort in his heart. His brows furrowed deeply.
With matters developing to this step, as the person in charge of the academy, he had to step forward and handle it.
"But how should it be handled?" The academy elder couldn't help but feel it was somewhat thorny.
He couldn't help but ponder.
Fang Yuan took in all the changes in the academy elder's expression into his eyes. He laughed secretly in his heart, the academy elder must be in a very difficult position right now.
These two guards were merely servants with foreign surnames, their lives as cheap as grass. In normal times, if they died, they died, no one would care.
But the current situation was different. These two people were personally dispatched by the academy elder. If they really died, it would be throwing away his, the elder's, face!
Therefore, these two guards could not die; the academy elder would carry out rescue and treatment.
What truly made the academy elder feel it was a difficult situation was how to deal with Fang Yuan.
Originally, in his plan, Fang Yuan skipping class came first, and beating and killing guards came second. It could be described as rebelling against teachers and arrogant conceit. According to clan rules, he was to be locked in the clan's dungeon to reflect and admit his misdeeds inside a cell.
But these faults, once attached with the major premise of Fang Yuan advancing to the middle stage, abruptly became different.
Fang Yuan had to skip class and end up beating and killing guards because of his cultivation. This made it excusable.
More crucially, he successfully advanced to the middle stage, becoming the number one person of this class. This occupied the moral high ground.
Exactly what Fang Yuan relied on to advance to the middle stage so quickly, that secret would be set aside for now.
Winners are crowned kings and losers are framed as bandits; people of the world all value results. No one would criticize such an outstanding junior.
The academy elder could even less inflict any punishment upon him.
What is your academy for? It is specifically to cultivate outstanding Gu Masters and inject fresh blood into the clan.
When such an outstanding youth appeared, if you, the academy elder, still wanted to suppress him, that would be your dereliction of duty!
It is just like a student getting a good grade on an exam; as a teacher, one should praise and encourage them, not punish and criticize. A teacher who criticizes and punishes a student because of their excellent grades will never be recognized.
Perhaps other elders, either because they apprehended Fang Yuan's development prospects, or due to past grievances and enmities, might suppress Fang Yuan secretly. But only you, the academy elder, cannot!
Because you are responsible for the academy, you must be fair and just, or at least maintain surface-level fairness and justice.
This is the rule!
"Could it be I just let him off like this? I painstakingly finally caught a hold on him." The academy elder felt very unwilling. He knew perfectly well in his heart that all these youths in the entire academy were outsiders.
Outsiders can only watch the fun, unable to see the tricks involved, and unable to experience this hidden brilliance!
In fact, this was an exchange of blows between him, the academy elder, and the student Fang Yuan!
He had first firmly grasped the rules, wanting to discipline Fang Yuan and shatter his strong image in the hearts of the other youths.
Then, Fang Yuan brazenly counterattacked! This move of his appeared reckless, yet it hit the nail on the head. Borrowing the name of advancing to the middle stage, he immediately regained his ground.
As for those two unlucky guards, they were nothing more than chess pieces who were innocently implicated and sacrificed in the struggle between the two of them.
"This Fang Yuan, his scheming is too deep! If he had truly killed these two guards, I could still use this reason to launch a counterattack. Although his aptitude isn't all that great, his methods are so experienced and thorough, it is truly hard to imagine this is the doing of a fifteen-year-old youth. Yet I precisely cannot counterattack. No wonder in the early years, his early wisdom and poetic talent were widely rumored in the clan!" The academy elder suddenly realized that he had already lost.
His defeat lay in his identity; he was the elder responsible for the academy.
This was his point of strength, and also his point of weakness.
The strongest point is precisely the weakest point.
Fang Yuan had long seen through this absolute truth!
The academy elder's heart was both helpless and furious.
He had previously asked Fang Yuan to explain, but Fang Yuan's words of explanation were actually riddled with loopholes, simply unable to withstand scrutiny.
These guards were all selected by the academy elder; their temperaments couldn't possibly be so reckless, and they wouldn't be brain-damaged enough to insult the Gu Yue ancestors.
Fang Yuan's words were spoken intentionally like this; it was naked slander, framing and planting evidence right in front of the person in the know!
The academy elder knew this very clearly, but he knew even more clearly that he could not pursue this matter.
This was a trap.
Once he pursued it and the truth came to light, how should he handle this matter?
If he did not punish Fang Yuan when the two guards were so unjustly wronged, how could he, this academy elder handling matters unfairly, convince the masses in the future?
If he punished Fang Yuan, he would be suppressing fine talent, out of envy for the good and capable! To suppress a junior of the clan for the sake of two foreign surname servants, once this matter spread out, it would trigger the dissatisfaction of the clansmen.
Therefore, the best method of handling it was to keep one eye open and one eye closed, treating these two guards as abandoned pieces. Just determining that these two committed a grave mistake. While simultaneously, commending Fang Yuan.
In this way, the clansmen would be satisfied, and the guards, under the circumstances of being kept in the dark, would also consider this action fair.
Dealing with it like this undoubtedly aligned with the academy elder's maximum interests.
Reason told the academy elder that it should be handled this way. But emotionally, the academy elder was somewhat unable to clear this hurdle.
This Fang Yuan was too detestable!
Not only did the academy elder fail to suppress Fang Yuan's limelight this time, but he himself instead became a stepping stone, getting stepped on by Fang Yuan and losing face in public once!
Fang Yuan did not revere him in the slightest, actually daring to target him like this right to his face. This made his grand and dignified self, the academy elder, feel a kind of humiliation and mortification.
More crucially, in the future, if these two guards felt wronged and wanted to expose the truth, he, the academy elder, in order to maintain his image and status, would have to be the first to jump out and suppress these two guards!
Yet all this was clearly caused single-handedly by Fang Yuan!
What kind of feeling was this?
To use a vivid metaphor, it was as if Fang Yuan had taken a shit on the academy elder's face, yet the academy elder still had to praise Fang Yuan, while simultaneously turning around and wiping his ass for him. If an outsider wanted to point it out and say that he, the academy elder, had a piece of shit on his face, he would have to shut this outsider's mouth at the very first moment.
This kind of stifled frustration and disgust made it almost unbearable for the academy elder.
There was an increasingly strong urge in his heart, wanting to make a direct move and slap Fang Yuan's face several times!
But ultimately, the academy elder merely reached out his hand and gently patted Fang Yuan on the shoulder.
"Good kid." The academy elder's expression was gloomy as water as he squeezed this sentence through his teeth.
"It all relies on the academy's cultivation." Fang Yuan's tone was indifferent.
The corner of the academy elder's eye instantly twitched.