Over these past few days, Huai Shi had remained still, allowing the rumors outside to fernt. However, the one truly bustling about was Wood Cottage.
Using his harmless-looking face, he mingled among various clubs and had already figured out which individuals were truly stirring up trouble; the list was complete.
The reason Huai Shi hadn't taken action before was that even if the situation cald down, lingering trouble would inevitably remain hidden beneath the surface.
It was better to wait until everything had fully fernted; then he could eradicate the problem from its root. Once the overwhelming tide receded, it would beco clear who among the swimrs was without pants.
When that ti ca, capturing them all at once would be much simpler than dealing with any remaining loose ends.
Having gathered proof that they were spreading rumors and committing misdeeds in his na, Huai Shi had no intention of showing rcy.
Generally speaking, the issue could be resolved simply by handing the list to the school office. Even without him taking any action, the school itself would provide him with an explanation. Perhaps the vice-principal himself would handle it. He wouldn't care about allegiances and would likely enjoy the crackdown. This would definitely provide Huai Shi with a satisfactory resolution.
But making an example of one was starkly different from annihilating them all. There were countless associated parties involved.
Taking drastic asures would bring him no benefit. No matter how big the uproar, the worst outco for them would be expulsion, which wasn't as valuable as holding leverage over them.
He suddenly realized his own way of thinking was gradually becoming more like Ai Qing's as he walked along humming a tune, as if he were about to enjoy a hotpot, as he approached the first club.
Ivory Tower Sprint et.
Upon arrival, he found nothing but chaos, with groans and wails echoing around.
It was as if Godzilla had rampaged through: the entrance was shattered, sports equipnt was strewn about haphazardly, and several students lay on chairs and yoga mats, moaning in pain, their faces bruised and swollen.
"Damn it, what's going on?" Lin Nineteen poked his head in, startled, and imdiately pulled Huai Shi, urging, "Teacher, let's get out of here! They're trying to fra us!"
It was Little Nineteenth of the Lin Family's innate instinct for troublemaking and framing others.
If I'm not mistaken, this group deliberately created this ss to fra us!
But before they could leave, they heard an indignant voice from outside:
"You guys are just too much!"
A burly student, his arms and legs in casts and supported by crutches, struggled to walk in. Upon seeing Huai Shi and Lin Nineteen, he flew into a rage.
Tears of grievance stread down his face:
"You already beat us up once! Why do you have to co back for a second ti!"
"What the hell?" Huai Shi stood still, in disbelief. "Beaten up? When did I beat you?"
"So you still think one round wasn't enough and you had to co back for more, is that it!"
The club president ground his teeth, then, with a cry of despair, tossed his crutches aside and sprawled on the floor. "Beat up, then! I trusted the wrong person, I did the wrong thing, but I won't beg for rcy!"
Lin Nineteen's expression twitched. "Wait, today we..."
He was about to say they hadn't co to fight, but feeling the weighty weapon in his pocket, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
Other club mbers, wincing in pain, hurriedly scrambled up to help their president from the ground. They looked at Huai Shi and Lin Nineteen with resentnt before one reluctantly stepped forward. "Our president can't take it anymore. If you want to vent, co at !"
Why are we being made out to be the villains here!
Lin Nineteen was furious and about to speak when Huai Shi put a hand on his shoulder.
Of course, Huai Shi could tell these injuries weren't self-inflicted attempts to fra soone. Moreover, whoever had done it had shown restraint, rely breaking arms and legs.
"Teacher Huai Shi, please rest assured. Since we lost, we are willing to accept defeat," the club president said, pushing away the other mbers and stepping forward. "Our sprint club has integrity. We won't make the sa mistake twice. Tomorrow, we will publicly apologize to you and clarify the misunderstanding. If that's not enough, we're willing to sign another letter of apology."
Huai Shi and Lin Nineteen looked at each other.
So, soone had indeed been here before? And this person had forced them to promise a public apology and sign a letter?
"Who ca to see you just now?" Lin Nineteen blurted out.
The second stop was the Basketball Club, the third the Debate Club, the fourth the Public Speaking Fellowship... all the way to the ninth, the Ivory Tower Environntal Protection Association.
Each club had been visited and its mbers assaulted. The luckier ones only suffered a broken arm or leg; the worst ended up with injured backs. As long as they weren't dead, the school infirmary could patch them up, even if it ant a month of bed rest.
Each group was forced to agree to a public apology and to handwrite and sign a letter of apology before the perpetrator left.
One person with one sword, a Second Stage Sublimator, had stord through nine clubs in just half a day, then swiftly headed to the last one.
Sea Fishing Club.
This club, popular among Purebloods, was quite prestigious. After all, if a family didn't even own a yacht, sea fishing was naturally beyond their ans.
This ti, finally, soone dared to block her path.
"Yuan Yuan! Are you really going to be this excessive!" Morgan, furious, stord out of the lounge to the entrance, confronting the teenage girl who had demolished their gate with a single sword strike. "Or does your Yuan Family have so grievance against my Howler Family?"
Yuan Yuan leaned on the Mountain Monarch's Giant Sword, its poml nearly reaching her shoulder. She maintained her usual solemn and dignified posture, as poised as ever.
"Do not casually invoke family nas, Morgan," she stated calmly. "Because I can represent my family. You cannot. If I were here today representing the Yuan Family, I would undoubtedly take your head. You should count yourself fortunate that I am not."
"Ha! Such arrogance! The Yuan Family really is imposing!" Morgan laughed, though furious. "Fine! I'd like to see how you flatten my Sea Fishing Club today! When that happens, you'll have offended more than just !"
"Likewise—"
Amidst a tiger's roar, Yuan Yuan leveled the Mountain Monarch's Giant Sword, aiming it through the gaping doorway at Morgan's increasingly pale face.
She said, "The people you have offended are also more than just ."
The Sword Blade erupted with a roar, only to stop abruptly.
A dagger materialized at the doorway, lifting to et the Mountain Monarch's Sword Blade tip to tip, incredibly holding it steady. Then, from behind the dagger, a middle-aged man dressed like an Arican cowboy, complete with a felt hat, stepped out of thin air.
The faculty advisor for the Sea Fishing Club had finally rushed over, preventing Yuan Yuan from using force within his club.
"Calm down, Miss Yuan," the middle-aged man, Jacob, said. "Is there any problem that can't be solved through discussion? I believe if we sit down and talk, we can reach a satisfactory resolution."
"Resolution?" Yuan Yuan mused, then tilted her head. "A public apology, a letter of apology, and one broken hand should suffice—"
She glanced at Morgan. "I want the left hand."
"Yuan Yuan, stop ddling! It's not your place to demand justice!" Morgan roared. "What, have you fallen for that pretty White-nad face and want to—"
He hadn't finished speaking when a streak of electric light whizzed toward him.
It happened so fast Jacob couldn't react.
Thunder cracked.
As the boom spread, the sharp point of a spear hovering inches from Morgan's nose revealed its true form: a heavy yet elegant Trident, wielded by a young man.
Delivered right to Morgan's lips.
If he so much as opened his mouth, he would taste iron.
"Morgan, if I hear one more dirty word about my cousin from your mouth, prepare to say goodbye to your tongue," the young man said with a smile, softly delivering his ultimatum.
The killing intent Yuan Zhao had accumulated in the Social Security Bureau was palpable. Even though he might be strung up and beaten by his cousin at ho, when it ca to the art and skill of killing, the experience points he'd gained from his Older Cousin far surpassed Yuan Yuan's.
Besides, Yuan Yuan was a first-tir at causing such mayhem; how could she be as ruthlessly efficient as a repeat offender like Yuan Zhao?
He had followed her after all.
No matter how much he disliked sticking his neck out for that Huai Shi fellow, he couldn't just let his cousin be bullied by these thugs, could he?
"Besides..." He glanced back. "The main party involved is already here, isn't he?"
Outside the Sea Fishing Club's demolished gate, at the end of the road, a bicycle suddenly appeared, kicking up a gust of wind as it rapidly approached.
It braked sharply at the entrance, almost throwing Wood Cottage off the rear seat.
"Couldn't we have taken a taxi, Teacher?" Lin Nineteen asked, rubbing his backside.
"Nonsense! You're so young and already so extravagant. We should save where we can; thrift is a virtue! Besides, it's good exercise, isn't it?" Huai Shi, on the bicycle, retorted loudly. He lifted his head, looked at the manor-like Sea Fishing Club and the scene at its entrance, and nodded.
"Yo, everyone's here."
The atmosphere grew even heavier, not lightening in the slightest with his arrival.
This made start doubting those silly netizens. Weren't you supposed to be able to blend in with kids these days just by adding 'yo' to the end of your sentences? Why isn't it working?
"Has everyone eaten?" Huai Shi asked habitually as he propped up his bicycle. Without waiting for a response, he reached out and patted Yuan Yuan on the shoulder. "Thanks."
Yuan Yuan stiffened for a mont, then looked away, flustered.
As for Yuan Zhao... she'd pretend she hadn't seen him!
Huai Shi's gaze fell on Morgan's face. He couldn't help but stroke his chin and smile.
Morgan's face paled visibly, and he instinctively took a step back.
Jacob stepped in front of him, fixing his gaze on Huai Shi and asking, though he already knew the answer, "May I ask what brings Teacher Huai Shi here? The Sea Fishing Club does not welco uninvited guests. Are you perhaps here to register as a mber?"
"Unfortunately, I don't own a boat, and I'm not much of a fisherman. Besides, catching them is too much trouble. I prefer using explosives," Huai Shi replied. As he spoke, his hand perford Creation out of Nothing, conjuring a round bomb. It spun on his fingertips, morphing from a sphere to a cube, then to an icosahedron, as if it were dough being kneaded and shaped, finally forming a lifelike middle finger pointing directly at Jacob.
Then, as Huai Shi closed his hand, the bomb—powerful enough to blast the club's gateway sky-high—instantly disintegrated into Source Substance and vanished.
In the silence, soone finally let out a sigh of relief.
Only to hear Huai Shi's cold voice.
"I'm here for two things."
He said, "First, over the past few days, so unpleasant things have happened involving my students and my classroom."
He gazed at Jacob before him, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Do you, by any chance, have any idea what I'm referring to?"
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