Chapter 121: Resolving the Incident

"Whew..." Fang Qi exhaled cleanly, a long-forgotten sense of relief washing over him. Having been mercilessly tormented for so long, a battle where he didn't have to suffer was a rare luxury indeed, dispersing most of the lingering gloom he had carried out from the Game Cultivation Room.

The sentiment that followed was simple: Delightful! Absolutely magnificent! Unbearably grand!

Even if his countenance betrayed very little of it.

Zhou Kaibi and Li Yang, fleeing in wild desperation, left only an unspoken trail of ellipsis.

Watching their figures vanish entirely from sight, Fang Qi finally sheathed his sword, turning around only to confront a sea of frozen, stupefied expressions.

"Owner! How on earth have you already mastered the Thousand Sword Technique?!"

"Owner, are you even human?!" Liang Shi and the others cried out, paralyzed by shock.

"We've only just grasped how to employ the Sword Control Technique in actual combat, yet the owner is already summoning the Thousand Sword Technique?!" Bai Lang and his companions inhaled sharply, gazing at Fang Qi as if looking upon a myth.

The Thousand Sword Technique!

What shook them to their core was the memory of those countless blades descending, each wrapped in a colossal wave of sword qi. They were absolutely certain that had Fang Qi not stayed his hand, and had he not wished to preserve the structural integrity of the street, those two would have been slain on the spot!

There was simply nowhere to hide, no sanctuary to be found in the heavens or upon the earth!

At that moment, Fang Qi surveyed the pitted ground before him and the sharp blade marks scoring the white walls of the street, a faint frown creasing his brow.

As expected of something so recently practiced; his control was still lacking.

He cast a brief glance at the boys and girls who were watching the spectacle with immense relish, deciding it was close enough to satisfactory.

Jiang Xiaoyue stepped forward with deep suspicion written across her face, leaning in close to inspect Fang Qi from left to right.

"What are you looking at?" Fang Qi reached out and pinched her cheek, halting her small head from prying any further.

"I must verify whether you are the real owner!" Jiang Xiaoyue barked, stamping her little boots.

"No, I believe he is indeed the owner!" Ye Xiaoye chimed in, her excitement suddenly spiking. "That senior must have given the owner some private tutoring!"

Ye Xiaoye grew thoroughly thrilled, rushing forward with eager anticipation. "I want to study under that senior's tutelage as well! Owner, does your shop happen to lack any shop assistants?"

Hearing this, several onlookers in the crowd experienced a sudden epiphany and hastily joined in, "Owner, do you need any more assistants?!"

Jiang Xiaoyue, seeing that someone was about to contest her livelihood, nearly leapt into the air with anxiety, resembling a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "We do not!"

"How can you say that?" Ye Xiaoye pointed toward the opposite premises. "Is there not a brand new shop opening over there?"

"Even if there is a new shop, do you know how to clean? Do you know how to do the laundry and cook meals?"

"Why would anyone need to know how to do those things?"

"You surely don't expect the owner to do them, do you?" Jiang Xiaoyue countered, hands planted firmly on her hips as if stating the most obvious truth in the world.

Standing to the side, Fang Qi mused to himself, "I never expected this girl to possess such an enlightened perspective!"

"...That... actually makes a bit of sense?!" Ye Xiaoye dithered, her posture slumping in dejection. "It seems I don't know how to do any of that..."

Jiang Xiaoyue immediately swelled with triumph.

"...But this young lady knows spells!"

"What is so grand about spells? I know them too!"

"Let me show you the Cloud Summoning Spell of our Cloud Ocean Sect!"

"How embarrassing to flaunt such a low-grade spell!"

"...And the Mist Gathering Spell!"

"Not impressive at all!"

"..."

Fang Qi watched the two girls engage in their sudden, petulant squabble, his head beginning to throb with an impending ache.

On the other side of the scene.

"Whew—! Saved at last!" Lin Shao and Xu Luo collapsed onto the ground, entirely spent, wiping the cold sweat that drenched their backs. "If we had been captured again this time, everything would have been ruined!"

The mere thought of being expelled from the academy, returning to their clans, and enduring the cold, disdainful glares of everyone they knew made them shudder with dread.

Song Qingfeng also breathed a sigh of relief. "Owner, must you make things so terrifyingly suspenseful...? I was nearly frightened to death by you!"

"In any case, thank you for your help this time!" Lin Shao stood up from the dirt, his face twitching slightly. "Owner... could we trouble you with one more matter...?"

"What is it...?"

"Our cultivation bases have been sealed, and we cannot undo it..." Lin Shao and Xu Luo shared an expression of profound awkwardness. If they returned to the academy with their powers still bound and were discovered, the consequences would be dire.

...

Ultimately, Song Qingfeng and his companions managed to return safely and quietly that evening.

And word of this incident, in due course, reached the ears of Qin Bing.

"What?! Two academy instructors were beaten into a wretched retreat right in front of the Origin Internet Club by that shop owner?!" Qin Bing slammed his hand heavily against the desk. "What sort of useless cowards are they?! To be so utterly incompetent?!"

Standing before him was a middle-aged male instructor with a ruddy complexion and a robust, iron-tower of a frame. "That establishment possesses some unusual methods; ordinary instructors are likely no match for him."

"Is that so...?" On the other end, Qin Bing fell silent, sinking deep into contemplation.

...

Lingyun Academy, the Instructors' Quarters.

The brilliant rays of the morning sun streamed through the stained-glass windows, illuminating Mu Hongzhu as she reviewed the curriculum spread across her desk, just as she did every day. The national examinations were fast approaching, an event of paramount importance for the entirety of Lingyun Academy, including all its elite disciples.

Martial techniques stood as the most crucial element of actual combat, and as a martial techniques instructor, she could scarce afford any errors under her watch.

Early this morning, the atmosphere within the quarters seemed considerably more animated than usual, particularly among the instructors charged with managing the Yellow House.

"I heard that Instructor Zhou and Instructor Li went to that little shop called the Origin Internet Club yesterday to apprehend some disciples, only to emerge thoroughly humiliated?"

"Could that be true? Chief Instructor Qin long ago issued a strict prohibition; how could any disciples still possess the audacity to venture there?!"

"How could it not be true? Instructor Zhou and Instructor Li are still nursing their wounds even now! Word has it... they might very well be expelled from the academy!"

"That severe?!"

"..."

"Instructor Mu." Chen Zhong, who oversaw the Class A division, was naturally very well-acquainted with Mu Hongzhu. As he passed by her desk, he offered a casual greeting. "The instructors have been whispering about these matters since dawn. Do not let it trouble your mind."

Mu Hongzhu nodded in acknowledgment.

News traveled faster than anything else. Although the academy was attempting to suppress the information, it was said that quite a few people had witnessed the event outside the shop, meaning its widespread dissemination was merely a matter of time.

She could not help but feel an increasing curiosity about what kind of establishment that little shop truly was, and what sort of magical allure it held to make the disciples risk everything just to visit.

She shook her head gently, as if to banish these thoughts from her mind; after all, she had numerous urgent matters demanding her immediate attention.

...

Meanwhile, within the grounds of Lingyun Academy.

"I heard that yesterday, some people wore masks to enter and leave the Origin Internet Club, and they returned entirely unscathed?!" A small cluster of disciples had gathered around Xi Qi. "Come, come, tonight we shall also..."

"Exactly! Let us go procure some masks right now! We shall leave the academy together tonight!"

Nalan Mingxue was also present within the academy at this hour.

"Miss Nalan," Lan Yan remarked with a hint of regret, "it seems we departed a bit too early yesterday. Had we stayed just a while longer, we would have witnessed the owner displaying the Thousand Sword Technique!"

The boss fought two mentors and won a grand victory, so can we finally sit back, relax, and go play games?

Nalan Mingxue furrowed her brow, seemingly still lost in deep thought, and answered absently, Tonight we will go play Counter-Strike to practice our firearm skills.

That is wonderful! Lanyan, who was finally free from her lingering dread, said with joy, Let us invite the boss along when the time comes, round up some more people, and play that desert map!