Chapter 169: Chapter 91: I Suspect You’re an Accomplice Too

Showing off feels great in the moment!

But you’ll get chewed out for it later.

In the main hall of Mingcan Courtyard, three coaches, including Wang Zhanshan and Zeng Hongyi, stood with grim expressions as they faced two students standing silently with bowed heads.

“You’ve really outdone yourselves!”

“So, talk. What really happened? And don’t try to feed me some line about ’sparring.’ Gongye Lingchen, you first,” Wang Zhanshan said coldly.

“Coach, it was Zhao Rui. He asked me to come. He wanted to spar.”

Gongye Lingchen kept his head lowered, not daring to meet Wang Zhanshan’s gaze.

For one, he had a guilty conscience, since he was the one who’d attacked so viciously from the start.

For another, he’d lost the fight. And to a freshman, at that. What good would it do even if he were in the right?

“Zhao Rui!”

Wang Zhanshan turned to Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui also kept his head low. With a serious look, he said, “I’ve been researching how to use the Prajna Palm to counter a Mighty Palm Force, and thinking about Senior Brother Gongye’s Great Demon Subduing Palm…”

“I just… lost control for a moment and had a breakthrough mid-fight. Please, Coach, I’m ready for my punishment!”

Hearing this blatant excuse, Zeng Hongyi had to stifle a laugh as he glanced at Wang Zhanshan.

The latter was exasperated. ’Bullshit about losing control,’ he thought. ’Breaking through once, maybe you could call that a mid-fight breakthrough.’

’But twice?’

’What happened to all the Cultivation in between? Did a dog eat it?’

’This was obviously deliberate.’

’It was most likely some kind of Secret Technique, one that could either hide his Cultivation or let him temporarily break through his current level.’

’But the fight was over and done with. What concerned him more now was Zhao Rui’s condition—specifically, whether the Secret Technique had any hidden dangers.’

The moment Zhao Rui finished speaking, Wang Zhanshan strode forward and grasped his wrist.

’His pulse is steady, his Inner Strength is stable…’

Wang Zhanshan’s eyes flashed with light before narrowing once more. After a moment, he released Zhao Rui’s wrist. He looked coldly at the two of them and said:

“Oh, there will be punishments, that’s for sure. But we also need to get to the bottom of what caused this.”

“Gongye Lingchen, how many times is this? Tell me. This petty vindictiveness, this jealousy, bullying your teammates… Will you only be satisfied when I kick you off the team?”

“Does this have anything to do with Ye Jingqiu?”

Gongye Lingchen started at Wang Zhanshan’s question and hastily replied, “This has nothing to do with Ye Jingqiu! It was all me. I couldn’t stand him hogging the spotlight!”

“Is that how a senior is supposed to act? Don’t you have an ounce of tolerance? I usually turn a blind eye to your behavior, but you’ve just become more and more outrageous.”

“And you, Zhao Rui. Where’s your head at? What, are you trying to switch careers and become a performance artist?”

“If you’re serious about it, I can put you in touch with Dean Wang at the College of Arts.”

At that, Zhao Rui lowered his head even further, not daring to utter another half-syllable.

Wang Zhanshan continued to lecture them for the better part of an hour before finally letting them go.

After the two had left the hall, Zeng Hongyi smiled at Wang Zhanshan. “Congratulations, Senior Brother Wang!”

“That kid… he’s got too many clever ideas. He’ll need you to guide him more closely, Junior Brother.”

“I’ll keep him on a tight leash.”

Zeng Hongyi nodded.

…

Meanwhile, the moment he stepped out of the hall, Gongye Lingchen practically flew out the gates, as if the wind were at his heels. Within moments, he had vanished from sight outside Mingcan Courtyard.

’He probably won’t have the gall to show his face around the team for a while.’

Zhao Rui watched him go and shook his head. ’All bark and no bite. If you’d at least said a few tough words on your way out, I might have respected you a little.’

He was about to head out himself when his ears twitched. “Who’s there?” he snapped.

The words had barely left his mouth when Cai Zhengyang came running from around a corner, a sheepish grin plastered on his face.

“Senior Brother, I just got here and you heard me already. Your Power is truly incredible!”

“Oh, it’s you,” Zhao Rui said flatly. “I suppose I should thank you for the phone call, Junior Brother.”

“You’re too kind, Senior Brother! That Gongye Lingchen has always been insufferably arrogant. It’s a good thing you were here to knock him down a peg for all of us.”

“And you told Coach Wang, too.”

The corners of Zhao Rui’s mouth curved into a slight smile, but his eyes grew cold as he stared at him.

A muscle in Cai Zhengyang’s cheek twitched. He forced a stiff smile and stammered, “I… I didn’t say anything bad about you, Senior Brother.”

“It’s fine if you did. In a way, you were just helping explain the reason for the fight, right?”

Zhao Rui’s expression suddenly broke into a wide smile. He reached out, gave Cai Zhengyang a hard pat on the shoulder, and then strode off toward the exit.

’How did he know?’

Cai Zhengyang touched his forehead, thoroughly dejected.

He had snitched, but he’d only told the coach that Gongye Lingchen was secretly looking for trouble with Zhao Rui.

It served to explain the reason for their conflict.

But on the other hand, it also completely undermined Zhao Rui’s lame excuse about challenging Gongye Lingchen to improve his Martial Arts.

’From now on, I’d better stay as far away from him as possible!’

’You can’t apply common sense to a guy like that.’

Cai Zhengyang shook his head and walked off in the other direction.

「Back in the Martial Arts Arena.」

Qin Rui and the others gathered around Zhao Rui, their faces full of concern as they asked about his scolding.

“He didn’t say what the punishment is,” Zhao Rui said with a laugh, “but I’m guessing it won’t be light!”

“Oh, great,” Qin Rui sighed. “And your last punishment isn’t even over yet!”

Just as she said that, the three coaches walked in, their faces grim.

“Squad captains, assemble your teams!”

Zeng Hongyi clapped his hands. The students quickly fell into three rows before them.

“The Martial Arts Team has never forbidden duels in the arena to settle disputes.”

“However… actions like malicious provocation or deliberate retaliation, which go against the spirit of the Martial Dao, will be met with the strictest and most severe punishment!…”

“Given that Gongye Lingchen was jealous of a talented peer, acted with impure intentions, and deliberately harassed and humiliated a teammate, he will receive a formal demerit…” Wang Zhanshan announced in a solemn voice, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

“As for Zhao Rui, given his frivolousness and ostentatious display, he is sentenced to three days of closed-door seclusion to reflect on his actions. He is forbidden from leaving during this period.”

The moment he said this, everyone turned in astonishment to look at Zhao Rui, who was standing in the front row.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep