Chapter 108: The Guardian of Aru Village

It is not easy to overthrow a Great Heretic.

Moreover, having operated in the Academy for many years, Ha Fusai's authority grows daily; the students he bullies dare only to seethe in silence, and even when Cyno, in his capacity as Grand Discipline Officer, promises to uphold justice for them, they dare not utter another word.

Nafisi is a Sage of the Vitalist School.

Naturally, he had long noticed this problem of academic corruption.

But because no evidence of his plagiarism could ever be caught, this has allowed Ha Fusai to keep gaining fame and profit to this day.

"No one is willing to stake their future on Cyno definitely being able to overthrow Ha Fusai."

Nafisi's tone was rather helpless.

This is reality.

If Ha Fusai were still a Heretic, he would long ago have been exiled to the Dao Achievement Forest to reflect on his past.

But he is a Great Heretic.

That makes all the difference.

The status of a Great Heretic is too high, and he is furthermore a true power-holder within the Academy; to use these matters to strip him completely of his current position and prevent him from retaliating against the students who reported him is no less difficult than overthrowing a Sage.

"What do you need me to do?"

Although Nafisi had already explained the difficulty of investigating Ha Fusai, Luo De remained just as before, without a trace of fear, and even felt eager to try.

Others fear Ha Fusai.

He, however, does not.

Behind him stand two Sages and a Grand Discipline Officer.

It can be said that within the Academy,

Unless Luo De deliberately provokes other Sages or a Great Sage, he can walk sideways, and no one can move him.

With such a background,

adding to this, he himself bears enmity toward Ha Fusai because of A De Ba Yi.

Therefore, in investigating this major case of academic corruption, he is undoubtedly the best choice.

Next,

Nafisi then began to explain his plan.

"First."

"You must make Ha Fusai notice the knowledge in your hands that has never appeared before."

"That is simple."

"After all, you are now my student, and you have plenty of opportunities to display the knowledge you hold."

"Second."

"The knowledge you display must stir Ha Fusai's heart, and moreover stir him to the point that he is willing to take risks and seize it by force from my student."

The second point Nafisi mentioned is the most difficult.

No matter how arrogant and domineering Ha Fusai is, he still sizes up people before acting.

Luo De, a disciple of a Sage and moreover a disciple of two Sages, would under normal circumstances absolutely not provoke him.

Therefore, how to move him, to make him unable to suppress the desire in his heart to strike at Luo De, is the crux.

The discussion of this problem.

Not only Nafisi and Juleshi, but Juleshi, Cyno, and Tighnari also joined in, contributing their opinions and ideas.

The five of them gathered together, taking materials and searching for things, murmuring until midnight, finally settling on a plan that everyone considered reasonable, after which they each left satisfied.

After they dispersed,

Under the moonlight, walking down the empty corridor of Ameliduo Academy, Luo De's mood was excellent.

No matter how one puts it,

A De Ba Yi is my friend.

The grievances and injustices he once suffered, if not helped to vent, will always leave him feeling somewhat displeased.

"Ha Fusai."

"Hmph—"

Recalling the plan that Nafisi and Juleshi had jointly hammered out, Luo De's expression instantly grew much more solemn.

For this matter,

Nafisi could be said to have spared no expense.

If it succeeds, that's fine.

But if it fails, not only will Luo De's efforts be snatched away by Ha Fusai, but his standing in the Vitalist School will also become even more secure.

What is more serious,

If, before Nafisi's retirement, Luo De fails to pass the Great Heretic's examination, then given Ha Fusai's seniority and the achievements he has taken from Luo De, the Sage position of the Vitalist School is very likely to be inherited by him.

This is the worst possible outcome.

"Therefore, no matter what method is used, this affair must succeed and cannot fail."

Recalling the words Nafisi and Juleshi had spoken to him at parting, a sharp glint flashed in Luo De's eyes.

Nafisi and they are still too conservative.

According to Luo De's idea,

Even if this plan fails, he still has a final road to take, a road sufficient to settle all problems before Nafisi retires.

"Huh?"

Returning to the door of his single dormitory, just as he was about to fish out his key to open it, Luo De suddenly noticed a person standing before the door.

She was a woman dressed in the robes of the Bright Theory School, her skin somewhat dark, and in the dim night her features were not very clear.

Inside the Academy.

People with such dark skin are not commonly seen.

Bright Theory Faction, and still a woman.

Plus the hint Nadixa gave me earlier.

The visitor's identity is already becoming apparent.

Great Sage's assistant, Setare.

Just as Nadixa said, if Luo De doesn't go find her, she will come find him on her own.

"Are you, Luo De, junior?"

Upon seeing Luo De return, Setare first spoke up and asked.

From the day the list was posted until now, almost half a month has passed.

Luo De has been officially enrolled for ten days already.

But this is still the first time she has seen Luo De in person.

Before, she had only seen his identity information on the virtual network.

Just as Sage Nafis said when the sages held a meeting that day, Luo De's information is very simple; aside from his origin from A Ru Cun, there is nothing else, including study records or records of knowledge obtained from the virtual network—these basic informations are all missing; the person's entire past experience is like a blank sheet, as if he suddenly appeared out of nowhere in Sumeru.

This point made Setare quite concerned, and also increased her interest in Luo De.

Back then, she managed to score full marks in a single subject and gain admission, relying on her later arduous study and relentless effort in the rainforest region.

Luo De's record.

Clearly, he only studied in the desert region, with no exposure to the rainforest region's instruction.

However, when she actually met Luo De, her first question was a doubtful sentence: "Are you really a desert dweller?"

What desert dweller looks like this?

Setare lowered her head to look at her own naturally dark skin that no amount of care can whiten, and she couldn't help but doubt Luo De's identity.

But the virtual network indeed says so.

Could the virtual network's records be wrong?

"I come from A Ru Cun; according to my household registration, I am indeed a desert dweller."

Luo De is also helpless.

This question is often asked of him.

His skin tone is indeed very different from that of desert dwellers, and despite working under the scorching sun for over half a year doing farm labor, his skin hasn't gotten darker at all.

This leads him to constantly have to explain this to people who don't know him.

"From A Ru Cun"

Looking at those few characters displayed on the virtual network terminal before her, Setare shook her head and did not continue to press further.

At the same time, a question that had long lingered in her heart also made her more confused.

"If he truly comes from the desert, how did he manage it?"

This problem has troubled her for many days.

Until today.

Finally, there is an opportunity to ask Luo De about this.

"Setare, senior sister, coming to find me late at night—is it specifically to ask me about this?"

Inside the dormitory, Luo De handed her a cup of tea and sat opposite Setare.

This is a dormitory arranged for him by Nafis after his enrollment, not far from Nafis's office.

Unlike other freshmen who have to share rooms.

As a disciple of the sages, Luo De not only has the treatment of a single dormitory, but also has two rooms.

At the Xibanduomo Academy, Juleshe also arranged a dormitory for him; when he goes to the Xibanduomo Academy to study, he will stay there.

But the material privileges extend only this far.

Other aspects, including the furnishings of this dormitory, are no different from those of other freshmen's dorms.

Setare held the teacup with both hands, looked around left and right, then turned her gaze back to Luo De and nodded, saying: "That day, over this matter, the sages had a big argument."

It's not good to gossip about the sages behind their backs.

But she still spoke out about how Kawaja questioned Luo De that day; as for how Nafis defended Luo De, she didn't say.

After she finished speaking.

Luo De laughed and asked: "Then, Senior Sister Setare, what do you think? Do you think I really stole knowledge? Or do you think my current learning is all through canned knowledge?"

"I don't know."

"That's why I came to ask you."

Setare spoke frankly: "I too am from the desert; I know very well how difficult it is to acquire knowledge in the desert. Someone like you, purely studying in the desert and achieving your current results, frankly speaking, is indeed hard to believe."

"In other words, you also think I might have used canned knowledge, right?"

Luo De's words were the sort that could easily give someone a handle to hold onto, yet his face showed no reaction at all; in fact, he smiled even more brightly than before.

But Setare couldn't answer that remark.

She indeed had that thought.

Furthermore, it wasn't just her who had this thought.

Regarding the rumors about Luo De, in the Academy these past few days they have been growing ever more intense.

Eight or nine out of ten are questioning where his knowledge came from; the rumors about his using canned knowledge are also rampant, and even many students who originally didn't care much about Luo De are discussing this.

Setare knows.

The use of canned knowledge is strictly prohibited in the Academy; once this is proven, Luo De will certainly be expelled from the institute.

But Nafis Sage and Jules Sage firmly asserted that Luo De had not used canned knowledge, and personally took him as a disciple; relying on the prestige of the two sages, this prevented the rumors from gaining further heat.

However, Saitalei wasn't here to confirm that matter and then look for a chance to expel Luo De from the Academy.

She came specially to remind Luo De, given that everyone shares a desert background.

"Luo De, even if you really used canned knowledge, it's fine; the Venerable Sage has already taken you as a disciple, which shows they won't hold your past against you. If someone asks, just deny it to the death, and from now on don't use it again."

As for Saitalei's kind reminder,

Luo De's response was to take out the experimental record he had previously shown Nafis.

At the same time.

He then asked, "Saitalei, have you looked over my test paper?"

"No."

"After the meeting that day, Nafis Sage and Jules Sage took your test paper away."

Saitalei replied while carefully browsing through the experimental report Luo De handed her.

The deeper she read, the graver her expression became.

Although she was a scholar of the Clear Theory School, the Life Theory School's knowledge is also recorded in the Void Terminal; a little inquiry revealed that Saitalei discovered what made this experimental report unique.

Luo De also timely said, "How about it? Have you found any data on this knowledge in the Void? The knowledge used in my test paper is exactly this."

"No, no."

Saitalei lifted her head in bewilderment, looking at Luo De in disbelief, her astonished expression as if she had seen an alien.

A desert dweller hailing from A Ru Cun.

He actually arrived at an experimental conclusion not entirely bound by the Academy's current system.

Could a desert dweller really accomplish that?

"You now understand why Nafis Teacher firmly believed I hadn't used canned knowledge and was willing to take me as a disciple, right?"

Luo De smiled.

How could a system inconsistent with the Academy's current knowledge possibly be obtained through canned knowledge?

As for the claim that he stole knowledge,

That is indeed correct.

He indeed stole knowledge, and he stole a lot of it.

But compared to using canned knowledge, stealing knowledge is merely trivial—the kind even Cyno wouldn't bother with.

Saitalei's first doubt is thus resolved here.

Next.

Without her needing to ask, Luo De then produced the badge that Kantisi had given him when he left A Ru Cun.

It is a water‑blue badge, its pattern exactly the same as the Guardian Shield passed down through generations in A Ru Cun.

"What is this?"

Saitalei is knowledgeable; at a glance she recognized what the badge was, and she exclaimed in astonishment, "You are the Guardian of A Ru Cun!?"

"No."

Luo De put away the badge and shook his finger, saying, "In A Ru Cun, they usually call me the Village Keeper."

(End of chapter)