Chapter 147: The Shock of the Two Deans

At the center of the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts, Ye Zhong had long since perceived the arrival of the Northern Nether Demon King, yet he chose not to show himself. Just as the Demon King had surmised, as long as it did not attack anyone else from the Violet Firmament Academy, Ye Zhong would not intervene.

"Old Cheng, that aura doesn't belong to the Serpent King, does it?" Ye Zhong asked, sensing the energy of the Northern Nether Demon King.

Cheng Feng nodded. "Its strength should be that of a medium-tier Demon King. The Serpent King is already a high-tier Demon King, after all."

"Then which Demon King has overstepped its bounds and is acting beyond its territory?" Ye Zhong muttered.

While he was still wondering, Ye Zhong spotted two figures leaping out of the bushes, running rapidly toward them. Ye Zhong narrowed his eyes slightly. "Isn't that the sword-dao genius who was with Shen Qingyun?"

Back at the academy, Ye Zhong had witnessed Feng Chuxun unleash his sword intent with his own eyes, leaving a deep impression on him. However, through the recommendation letter, he only knew Shen Qingyun's name and not Feng Chuxun's.

Cheng Feng also recognized him and asked in confusion, "Why has he come to the center so early? Did he forfeit? And what is that creature following beside him?"

The trial had rules, and they were explicitly stated to everyone: the trial area encompassed everything except the center. Entering the center meant that one's trial was over.

Ye Zhong also sized up the large black wolf and shook his head. "I have no idea, but it looks somewhat like a wolf."

When Feng Chuxun saw Ye Zhong and Cheng Feng, a flash of joy crossed his eyes. Both deans were here; the boss was saved!

"What are you doing here at this time?" Ye Zhong asked with a slight frown of displeasure once Feng Chuxun reached them.

Both he and Cheng Feng assumed that Feng Chuxun had chosen to forfeit.

"Dean, it's bad! The boss is in danger!" Ignoring what Ye Zhong had said, Feng Chuxun blurted out.

"What did you say?"

Ye Zhong was momentarily stunned, and then he realized who Feng Chuxun meant by "the boss." "How could he be in danger?" Wasn't Shen Qingyun exceptionally powerful? Who in this forest could pose a threat to him except a Beast King?

Yet, Ye Zhong did not know that even a Beast King could not pose a threat to Shen Qingyun.

"I can testify that the boss is currently being hunted down by a Demon King!" the large black wolf also spoke up, drawing the deans' attention.

"And who are you?" Cheng Feng glanced at the large black wolf.

The wolf's beastly body stiffened. When caught in Cheng Feng's gaze, it felt as though its heart had missed a beat. Standing before them, it felt completely devoid of any privacy.

Noticing the wolf's strange reaction, Feng Chuxun took a stride forward to shield it with his body. "It's the boss's newly accepted underling..."

"A demonic beast as an underling?" Cheng Feng narrowed his eyes; this was certainly a rare sight. Ye Zhong, however, let out a cold snort. "Absolute nonsense! Those not of our race are bound to have different hearts! Who knows if its willingness to be your underling has ulterior motives? It's better to just kill it. Move aside!"

Feng Chuxun stood firm before the large black wolf, his gaze resolute.

The atmosphere grew somewhat heavy. It was hard to imagine that someone at the initial stage of the Spirit Phase Realm would dare to face two deans head-on without lowering his head.

Looking at Feng Chuxun's back, the large black wolf suddenly felt that Feng Chuxun appeared immensely towering, like a great mountain. A strange feeling sprouted within the wolf's heart, something it had never experienced since birth.

Deep inside, it felt very warm.

"Are you two old fogies annoying or what? You're arguing endlessly over whether or not to kill Wolf Lord over a trivial matter, while the boss is being hunted by a Demon King! Do you have to wait until he's dead to collect his corpse?" the large black wolf roared impatiently.

The atmosphere became frozen. Suddenly, an oppressive aura descended from the sky. A massive dark shadow enveloped the central area. Ye Zhong and Cheng Feng looked up, their brows furrowing slightly.

A figure burst out from the bushes as well, moving with extreme speed.

Feng Chuxun, Ye Zhong, and the others looked over. A trace of pleasant surprise rose in the depths of Feng Chuxun's eyes—Shen Qingyun was safe.

"Great, you're all alright." Reaching the group, Shen Qingyun first looked at Feng Chuxun and the large black wolf before turning his gaze to Ye Zhong and the other. "You're here too."

Ye Zhong and Cheng Feng wore rather peculiar expressions. What did he mean by "you're here too"? Was that any way to speak?

With his divine sense perceiving the Northern Nether Demon King diving downward, Shen Qingyun shifted his footing and instantly appeared behind Ye Zhong, smiling. "Dean, someone is hunting your student. You won't just stand by and do nothing, right?"

Veins throbbed on Ye Zhong's forehead. Now he remembered I'm the dean? What was he doing earlier?

Ye Zhong raised his head, gazing calmly at the rapidly enlarging Northern Nether Eagle. The eagle's massive body broke through the canopy of trees, appearing before Ye Zhong and the others. Pulling its wings inward, the Northern Nether Eagle revealed its true form, and the Northern Nether Demon King's body hovered suspended in the void.

"Dean of the Violet Firmament Academy," the Northern Nether Demon King said in a low voice.

"Northern Nether Eagle, which domain's Demon King are you?" Ye Zhong asked.

The Northern Nether Demon King cupped its fists from afar toward Ye Zhong. "Tianlan Demon King, Northern Nether."

"Tianlan?" Ye Zhong's eyebrows twitched. "The Tianlan Dynasty is quite far from here. For the Northern Nether Demon King to travel a thousand miles to this place is to overstep your boundaries. Or could it be that the Northern Nether Demon King has grown strong enough to disregard the rules?"

"I wouldn't dare!" the Northern Nether Demon King replied.

"Then how dare you appear here!" Ye Zhong shouted coldly.

The Northern Nether Demon King's expression stiffened slightly, its body trembling somewhat—not out of fear, but out of sheer anger. These damn rules dictate that every Demon King and dynasty ruler must strictly guard their own patch of territory...

"My offspring was murdered by a scoundrel, and I have come to drag him back," the Northern Nether Demon King stated, its gaze purposefully glancing toward Shen Qingyun behind Ye Zhong.

The scoundrel it spoke of was naturally Shen Qingyun, and Ye Zhong understood this as well. Yet, he feigned ignorance and asked, "Who?"

The Northern Nether Demon King reached out a hand, pointing at Shen Qingyun behind Ye Zhong. "I request the Violet Firmament Dean to let me take him away." As it spoke, the Northern Nether Demon King's tone was extremely calm; it had completely accepted the fact that it had broken the rules. As long as it could take Shen Qingyun away!

"This is not the Tianlan Dynasty." Ye Zhong turned his head to glance at Shen Qingyun behind him, then turned back to calmly address the Northern Nether Demon King.

His implication was clear: he could choose not to pursue the matter of the Northern Nether Demon King breaking the rules, but this was not the Tianlan Dynasty, and it was not a place where it could act as it pleased. But how could the Northern Nether Demon King give up so easily? Having gone so far as to break the rules and cross boundaries, would it just abandon its pursuit because of a single sentence from Ye Zhong? It was unwilling.

"Why must the Violet Firmament Dean protect him?"

"Does a dean need a reason to protect his own student?" Ye Zhong chuckled lightly.

"Then is I wishing to avenge my child wrong?" the Northern Nether Demon King asked in a deep voice, turning the question back on him.

Ye Zhong shook his head lightly. "You are not wrong, and neither am I. If you can defeat me, you may take him away." Ye Zhong wore a deadpan expression of absolute seriousness, not looking like he was joking in the slightest.

"Heh..." The Northern Nether Demon King let out a mocking laugh. Fight the dean of the Violet Firmament Academy? It didn't have the guts for that. Its hands hidden within its sleeves clenched tightly. "My child died in vain."

"Hahaha, it is I who am an incompetent father, unable to avenge you!"

Watching the Northern Nether Demon King act as though it had fallen into madness, Shen Qingyun and the others felt not a shred of sympathy. This world operated thus: if you are strong, no one will question anything you do, and some will even flatter you, claiming you are right. But if you are weak, even the way you breathe will be resented by others, including Northern Nether Han—because he was weak, he was killed by Shen Qingyun. Conversely, had it been the other way around, the dead one would have been Shen Qingyun. In a world striving for survival, sympathy was entirely redundant.

A desolate aura emanated from the Northern Nether Demon King. The once seemingly invincible Northern Nether Demon King now appeared much older. The back it turned as it walked away looked profoundly lonely, and its spine was no longer as straight as before.

"Will it do anything to the others?" Feng Chuxun asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Hmph, it doesn't have the guts," Cheng Feng snorted.

Shen Qingyun watched the direction in which the Northern Nether Demon King departed, his expression calm. Right now, he must be the one it hates the most.

"Now, it's time to talk about the two of you." Ye Zhong turned around, staring with a beaming smile at Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun.

The business of borrowing momentum to repel the enemy was over; now it was time to settle accounts regarding their own matters.

Shen Qingyun blinked, putting on a look of bewilderment as he asked, "Us? What about us?"

"Abandoning the trial midway during the trial period—what kind of punishment should such students receive?" Ye Zhong smiled amiably. "Vice Dean, what punishment should they face?"

Cheng Feng said solemnly, "Confiscation of all spoils, and barred from participating in all trials for three years."

"Just like that."

Ye Zhong's tone revealed an unassailable firmness. "Now, hand over everything you've obtained."

Shen Qingyun took two steps back, standing shoulder to shoulder with Feng Chuxun. "You didn't ask us anything and just jump to conclusions that we voluntarily quit the trial. That's a bit too devoid of human warmth."

"That's none of my concern; I am the law here." Ye Zhong wore an expression that seemed to say, *What can you possibly do to me?*

"Sigh..." Shen Qingyun exhaled a breath of turbid air, looking straight at Ye Zhong with utmost seriousness. "Dean Ye, could it be that you think we still had any need to continue the trial?"

Upon hearing Shen Qingyun's words, Ye Zhong couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise. He actually harbored a slight fear that Shen Qingyun would ask this question; his cultivation was the weakest, yet his capability was the greatest—he occupied both extremes. Fortunately, however, Ye Zhong had already prepared an explanation. Pointing toward the spring behind him, he said, "Do you know why this place was chosen for the trial, and why the objective was for you to seize Beast Soul Pills?"

Shen Qingyun chuckled. How could he not know? He might truly not have known before meeting the large black wolf, but after hearing the wolf's explanation, he understood completely.

With a wave of his hand, thirty-two Spirit Phase Realm Beast Soul Pills appeared cupped in his palms. Shen Qingyun asked, "With results like these, what rank would we place?"

Ye Zhong scoffed dismissively. "With results like yours, breaking into the top fifty would be a struggle."

Ye Zhong had a rough estimate of how many demonic beasts resided in the Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts and how many Beast Soul Pills existed. To say the thirty-two pills in Shen Qingyun's hands could rank him in the top fifty was already overestimating him.

The very next second after his words fell, Ye Zhong's smile froze on his face. "This, this is..."

Shen Qingyun produced yet another pill. The radiance of this single pill, the moment it appeared, completely overshadowed the crystalline glow emitted by the previous thirty-two Beast Soul Pills. It was precisely because of this Beast Soul Pill that Ye Zhong was rendered so utterly uncomposed.

Holding the Beast Soul Pill—which was a circle larger than his own head—in both hands, Shen Qingyun looked at Ye Zhong with a hint of banter and asked, "Dean, add this one to the count. What will our ranking be?"

Ye Zhong rubbed his temples. This shock was a bit too overwhelming; he needed a moment to recover.

"The scare you just gave us almost stopped the hearts of two old men," Cheng Feng said with a bitter smile, then asked, "These Beast Soul Pills—did you obtain them relying entirely on your own strength?"

"Vice Dean Cheng, are you doubting our capabilities?" Shen Qingyun chuckled softly.

"No, no, no. I'm just feeling quite shocked," Cheng Feng waved his hand. Having lived for so many years, he hadn't expected to still feel shocked by something a student had done. Yet, given this astonishment, it was only right...