Chapter 14: The Dean Appears

Chapter 14: The Dean Appears

Suddenly hearing the male voice, Liu Botao trembled all over, nervously glancing around. At the same time, the more than two thousand students standing quietly in the square began to stir. They looked around anxiously, their eyes burning with fervor.

Qin Zhe, witnessing this scene, was completely puzzled. Who was speaking? Just a simple sentence caused Liu Botao to cower like that, and the students’ emotions seemed somewhat agitated.

“It’s the Dean! Dean Wang has returned!” murmured a student from the Celestial Path Department not far from Qin Zhe, clearing up his confusion.

“Up there! Dean Wang is in the sky!” someone suddenly shouted, causing everyone to look up toward the horizon.

Qin Zhe followed suit, but saw nothing.

“Oh dear, I was hiding so well, how did they discover me?” came a calm male voice again, tinged with a playful tone.

In the next moment, a cloud floating above the square quietly dispersed, revealing the figure of a middle-aged man with white hair and a youthful face, smiling gently.

“It's really Dean Wang!”

The students from the three departments grew increasingly excited, gazing at the descending middle-aged man with expressions of reverence.

Qin Zhe learned the man’s identity and stared at him, feeling a mixture of excitement and curiosity in his heart.

Wang Chongguo, Dean of Haicheng University—a legendary figure!

An expert of the sixth level in the Celestial Path, a genuine top-tier powerhouse in this world.

Though the world classifies cultivators’ strength into ten levels, in reality, the highest known strength among cultivators so far is only the seventh level, and only three individuals have reached it.

Levels above seven are currently the stuff of legend, or perhaps mere fantasies.

Qin Zhe didn’t dwell on this much. After all, considering the world’s history, the revival of spiritual energy had only occurred for just over a century, so the existence of thousand-year-old hidden monsters was unlikely.

Over there, Liu Botao looked at Wang Chongguo descending and shakily approached him.

“Dean... Dean, when did you come back?”

“What? Do I have to report to you when I return?” Wang Chongguo glanced at him and snorted coldly.

“If I didn’t come back, I’m afraid the school’s teaching ethics would have been completely ruined by you!”

Saying this, Wang Chongguo raised his hand and slapped the bald spot on top of Liu Botao’s head.

“You say you’re bald, so be bald. Why do you insist on keeping a ring of hair? Can’t part with those few strands? For the sake of image, wouldn’t it be better to shave it all off? What if students laugh at you? Does it make a difference? You’re over forty years old—don’t you have any backbone? How can you be a teacher?”

Liu Botao endured the slap and the ridicule without uttering a word, forcing a strained smile.

The students from the three departments watching Wang Chongguo scold Liu Botao couldn’t help but chuckle, some even bursting into loud laughter, completely losing the timid demeanor they had moments ago.

Qin Zhe took all this in, growing even more curious about Wang Chongguo.

Clearly, this dean was not only powerful but also well regarded among the students.

More importantly, Wang Chongguo seemed quite an interesting character!

Noticing Qin Zhe’s gaze, Wang Chongguo looked over from afar and gave a warm, approachable smile.

That look and smile seemed to say: “I’ve already stood up for you.”

Then, his expression suddenly turned serious and authoritative as he fixed his gaze on Liu Botao again.

“Stop standing there. Go back and write me a self-criticism. Hand it into my office before this assessment ends.”

After saying this, Wang Chongguo snorted coldly once more.

“Secretly altering the exam questions and sending a martial arts student to the deepest part of the Cold Moon Secret Realm to retrieve the essence of Cold Moon—how could you think of such a thing? If he really went and something happened, would you take responsibility?”

Originally just forced to smile awkwardly while being reprimanded, Liu Botao’s face suddenly turned pale and, with a loud thud, he knelt down on the ground.

“Dean! Please hear my explanation! It’s not as you think!”

“Get lost! Don’t embarrass yourself here!”

Wang Chongguo’s demeanor abruptly changed from friendly to stern, and with a kick, he sent Liu Botao flying.

The kick was fierce.

Using his spiritual energy, the sixth-level Wang Chongguo’s kick sent Liu Botao hurtling through the air, crashing into a small altar beside the square.

The sudden turn of events stunned the students, but their expressions improved considerably.

When Wang Chongguo mentioned Liu Botao secretly changing the exam questions, the expressions among students from the Celestial Path, Demonic Path, and Martial Arts departments all changed.

Although the Cold Moon Secret Realm was one of the earliest discovered secret realms and had been fully explored, dangers still existed.

Especially in the depths of the realm, perils lurked everywhere—places no student should venture, let alone a martial arts student.

Normally, the academy assigns a specific spiritual object for students to collect in the secret realm for their assessment, with difficulty tailored to each department.

The exam questions for the Celestial and Demonic Paths were tougher, while those for the Martial Arts Department were relatively simpler.

But Liu Botao’s alteration made matters far more serious!

The dangers within the secret realm were very real, not to be taken lightly.

Even though the academy conducts risk assessments to prioritize student safety, occasionally someone would never return, lost forever within the realm.

Even the Demonic Path students, who usually looked down upon the Martial Arts Department, couldn’t ignore Liu Botao’s act of turning a student’s exam into a “death sentence.”

After all, this was a matter of life and death!

Standing in his place, Qin Zhe was somewhat surprised.

Liu Botao was a disgrace—his shameless flattery of Zhou Wu had made that clear.

But Qin Zhe hadn’t expected him to be foolish enough to assign a “death sentence” exam.

Still, more than surprise, Qin Zhe had to admire how skillfully Wang Chongguo handled the situation.

A “death sentence” in his hands naturally wouldn’t result in death.

He was not stupid enough to send someone knowingly into danger.

If this “death sentence” exam were to be exposed later, it would deal an unprecedented blow to Haicheng University’s reputation.

Yet Wang Chongguo not only took the initiative to expose the matter but also deftly kicked away the problem and the responsibility.

Impressive!

Quietly retracting his gaze, Qin Zhe glanced toward where Liu Qingzhi was standing.

The department head evidently knew beforehand that Wang Chongguo was nearby; this exposure of the “death sentence” exam likely involved her.

At the podium, after kicking Liu Botao away like a stray ball, Wang Chongguo’s face changed again, revealing a refreshed and pleasant smile.

“Students, since there was a problem with this exam, I’ve made an executive decision. This assessment will pass if you collect spiritual objects worth fifty medium-grade spirit stones or more in total during your expedition into the secret realm, regardless of which department you belong to. As for any other treasures you find in the realm, you may keep them for your own use or exchange them for credits. The exchange rate will be announced after the assessment concludes.”

Upon hearing this, not only did the students in the square grow excited, but even Qin Zhe felt stirred.

There was no way around it—the dean was a master of handling people!

In previous assessments, aside from the required spiritual objects, students had to surrender eighty percent of all other gains. This time, they could allocate their spoils freely!

It was well known that secret realms were filled with treasures.

Even fully explored secret realms still contained abundant riches.

Moreover, over time, new spiritual objects would emerge within the realms!

For this reason, secret realms were regarded as vital strategic resources, fiercely contested by many.

(End of Chapter)