Chapter 278: Silent Night

This was already the fifth time the entire venue had fallen into silence.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the deep pit, where Gu Yun, whose life or death was unknown, hid an extremely intense look of terror in his pupils.

Gu Yun lost!

The proud Eleventh Sequence of Qianlong Academy was defeated at Su Yu's hands.

Even his life or death remains unknown.

The crowd fell into silence one after another.

You should know that anyone capable of becoming a Sequence is without exception the most outstanding heaven‑chosen among Qianlong Academy's seven thousand plus students.

Some are in their third year, some in their fourth year.

Having cultivated for several years within Qianlong Academy and relying on its abundant resources, they have achieved their present strength.

Yet, before a freshman who had just enrolled, they collapsed without any power to resist.

This is something none of Qianlong Academy's students could have ever imagined.

For a moment, many people's gazes toward Su Yu changed.

Su Yu defeated Gu Yun, and thus he now takes Gu Yun's place, becoming Qianlong Academy's new Eleventh Sequence!

Su Yu glanced lightly at the surrounding crowd and spoke lightly.

"Who else wants to continue? Today I, Su Yu, will accompany you here!"

His casual tone echoed across the whole plaza, and for a moment many students couldn't help but shrink their necks.

What a joke.

Gu Yun isn't even a match for Su Yu—who would dare to oppose him?

Isn't this practically asking for death?

Yet, there really are those who seek death.

Within the crowd, a voice sounded.

"Su Yu, you've beaten Gu Yun's Sequence into this state—what crime do you deserve?"

Hearing that voice, many people's hearts twitched slightly, and even Su Yu almost laughed in anger.

Su Yu slowly turned his gaze toward the direction the voice came from.

He saw a shifty‑eyed, rat‑like fellow hiding in the crowd, shouting.

"Su Yu, you're merely a purple‑clad disciple, yet you dare to show disrespect to the Sequence, even heavily injuring the Chief Gu Yun—do you still have any regard for Qianlong Academy's rules?"

"I see you haven't learned your lesson; in my opinion, the Principal should exile you again, forever barring you from Qianlong!"

Those senseless words instantly stirred the minds of other fools, who began shouting in unison.

"Exactly, Su Yu—you've beaten Chief Gu Yun into this state; what crime do you deserve?"

They kept berating Su Yu.

And just then, a faint voice sounded.

"What's all this clamor about!"

Two figures appeared between heaven and earth.

One held a wine gourd, standing beside a middle‑aged man with a full head of silver hair, sipping fine wine lightly.

And the speaker was none other than Zhao Tianxing.

Many people felt a sudden joy upon seeing Zhao Tianxing appear.

"Principal, it's the Principal!"

"Principal, please judge quickly—this Su Yu actually insulted us, lumping us into the trash, and because Gu Yun's Sequence couldn't stand it, Su Yu beat him into this state."

"Such a person is unworthy to be a student of Qianlong Academy!"

"Exactly, Principal—Su Yu, this wolf‑cub with wild ambition, simply doesn't deserve to be part of Qianlong Academy."

"This Su Yu, relying on his master being the Slay Dragon King and himself a Young Marshal of the Slay Dragon Army, flaunts his might within Qianlong Academy—such a person, in my view, should simply be expelled from the school and never be hired again."

Many others spoke even more venomously.

Clearly, they swore not to rest until they brought Su Yu down.

Facing the crowd's voices, Su Yu simply leaned silently against the platform, waiting for Zhao Tianxing to speak.

Anyway, I was acting on Zhao Tianxing's orders; now that he has appeared, I'll leave the concluding work to him.

I only need to take charge of watching the show.

"Hmph!"

Facing the crowd's voices, Zhao Tianxing merely gave a cold snort.

An aura befitting a Marquis instantly permeated the entire plaza.

For a moment, the whole venue fell silent.

Some people looked at Zhao Tianxing with fear.

At that moment they realized Zhao Tianxing is a Marquis.

"I see you've forgotten I'm the Principal!"

Zhao Tianxing's icy voice swept through everyone's hearts like a blade.

For a moment, many people's faces twitched slightly, unsure why Zhao Tianxing said that.

"You, as senior students of Qianlong Academy, were actually defeated by a freshman, and even allowed a mere freshman to become our Chief—if this got out, I wouldn't believe you weren't trash."

"Could it be that Su Yu got this wrong?"

As Zhao Tianxing's voice rang out, many people fell into silence.

Su Yu called them trash, and they couldn't bear it—after all, Su Yu is merely a freshman, no matter how monstrous, they are still upperclassmen.

In the upperclassmen's minds, they naturally consider themselves a step above freshmen—a mindset any academy shares.

But Zhao Tianxing said about them, they could however endure giving=.

From one perspective, Zhao Tianxing is not only the principal of Qianlong Academy, but also a marquis of the Human Race, with great strength, an existence standing at the pinnacle of Daxia's pyramid.

For such a person, no matter what they say, they dare not refute.

Put bluntly, it's bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

However, Su Yu is no soft persimmon; he directly gave them a crisp and resounding slap in the face.

It was only then that they clamored in front of Zhao Tianxing to expel Su Yu.

But they forgot....

Zhao Tianxing is the principal of Qianlong Academy!

Zhao Tianxing is the master of Qianlong Academy!

"A bunch of trash, when they can't win they just know how to nitpick and complain; not to mention Su Yu, even if I saw them, I'd scold them."

"Relying on Qianlong Academy's abundant resources, you still show no desire to improve, day after day just thinking about excluding differences and seeking sameness; have you forgotten Qianlong Academy's motto?"

Zhao Tianxing looked down at the crowd with a grim expression.

He had Su Yu come, originally intending to clean up the corrupt trends in Qianlong Academy, but he didn't expect that, under such stimulation, there would still be so many people lacking ambition.

They even wanted to force out a heaven-chosen genius.

This was something Zhao Tianxing never imagined.

Zhao Tianxing's gaze swept over the crowd.

"You, you, you, and you!"

Zhao Tianxing pointed his finger at each student; these were the ones who had clamored the loudest just before.

"You aren't just wanting to make noise and demand exile, are you? Fine, I'll give you this opportunity: starting now, you are not to set foot in Qianlong Academy for half a year; if I find you have, I will permanently revoke your status as Qianlong Academy students."

"Give me a proper half-year of training in the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield—when the half-year is up, when can you come back!"

Zhao Tianxing's icy voice rang in the ears of those few students who had been singled out.

Their faces instantly turned deathly pale.

Exile to the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield, while offering great opportunity, also carries great danger.

Even the tasks they usually do are near Qianlong City; if they encounter danger, they can return to Qianlong City immediately to preserve their lives.

And Zhao Tianxing's words directly left them with no backing.

Immediately, someone knelt on the ground.

"Principal, spare my life; please, principal, take back your order—I know I was wrong."

With one person taking the lead, the others also hurriedly knelt on the ground.

"Yes, principal, we know we were wrong; from now on we will diligently cultivate, not bring shame to Qianlong Academy; please, principal, take back your order."

"Principal, please forgive us!"

They kept kowtowing, hoping Zhao Tianxing would take back his order.

However, this time Zhao Tianxing was determined to clean up and rectify Qianlong Academy; naturally he could not slip up now.

He let out a cold snort.

"Will you leave on your own, or shall I help you?"

Several people instantly turned deathly pale, as if losing their souls, they staggered to their feet and walked outward.

This scene made all the students' hearts tighten involuntarily.

They realized that this time Zhao Tianxing intended to thoroughly overhaul Qianlong Academy.

Still, some breathed a sigh of relief; they had previously mocked and clamored against Su Yu, but not as intensely as those few.

At that moment they felt somewhat relieved.

Zhao Tianxing stood above the nine heavens, hands clasped behind his back, and said lightly.

"Starting now, students in year two and above will undergo an assessment each month; those who rank in the last ten each time will be expelled from Qianlong Academy and never allowed to set foot in it again."

"Ranking is determined by each year level; the bottom ten of each year are expelled!"

"In other words, thirty people will be expelled each month."

Zhao Tianxing said in a deep voice.

Even Li Zhangsheng, standing beside Zhao Tianxing, couldn't help but be startled.

He really hadn't expected that his own senior brother would possess such great resolve.

He actually enacted such a cruel rule.

That sentence instantly caused all the students' faces to change.

Especially those who had been slacking off in the academy, enjoying Qianlong Academy's benefits but never truly cultivating, muddling through life.

And now, Zhao Tianxing's words have completely cut off their retreat.

There is no way to continue living in idleness as before.

Only Su Yu stood quietly leaning against the edge of the fighting platform, listening to Zhao Tianxing's words, his brow slightly raised.

"Good fellow, this really leaves them no retreat!"

However, Su Yu also somewhat agreed.

If there were no compulsory rules, even if tonight we slapped everyone's face, they might strive for a short time.

But as time passes, such an atmosphere will return.

"This rule will be preserved forever; even if Qianlong Academy later becomes one of the five great academies, it will remain so!"

Zhao Tianxing said coldly.

Every principal of Qianlong Academy can set rules within the academy; even later principals cannot change them.

Zhao Tianxing's remark, once uttered, amounts to firmly establishing this rule in Qianlong Academy.

For a moment, the entire square fell into silence.

And tonight, too, was destined to be a silent night.