When Zhuang Fan was going to launch another attack, Mo Sir had come back with Dean Yi Yuechuan and the Dean of Students, Shi Wengong.
âWhat are you fighting for?â
The two had stopped by then, but there were still traces of the knife radiance and the palm energy left in the air.
âMo Sir, this guy is too arrogant. I attacked him because he went too far.â
Zhuang Fan was the one who had attacked first, so he hurried to explain for himself.
âDean, Dean of Students, as I said, this short-term disciple is very arrogant. He holds no respect for his teachers or seniors. If we keep him here, Iâm afraid he will cause us trouble,â Mo Sir said coldly.
Yi Yuechuan and Shi Wengong had just seen Jiang Chen. They didnât expect him to be the guy Mo Sir had been talking about. They were quite surprised.
Neither of them aired an opinion. Shi Wengong went forward with a poker face and pointed in the air.
Suddenly, what had just happened was being played in the air where he had pointed, starting from Jiang Chenâs draw.
He saw Zhuang Fanâs scorn, Jiang Chenâs counterattack, and the argument between Jiang Chen and Mo Sir.
Zhuang Fan and Mo Sir didnât panic, since they didnât think theyâd done anything wrong.
The other disciples of the Sacred Institute had pity on their faces. It was hard to differentiate who was right and who was wrong in quarrels like that. It was their attitudes that mattered most.
Jiang Chen was a newbie and short-term disciple, but he had been so arrogant. His attitude wasnât right!
âIt was only a quarrel, not so severe that someone has to be expelled. The Sacred Institute isnât a third-class force. Itâs a representation of power and justice in peopleâs eyes.
âJiang Chen, youâre an outstanding short-term disciple recognized by Nan Gong. Donât say these things just to vent your anger. You talent will be recognized at the Sacred Institute.
âZhuang Fan, as an apprentice brother, you should behave more maturely.â
Yi Yuechuan didnât punish anyone. She was both tough and gentle. What surprised everyone was that she was gentle to Jiang Chen and tough on Mo Sir and Zhuang Fan.
As for the reason, like she had said, Jiang Chen was an outstanding short-term disciple recognized by Nan Gong, who had a high position in the Sacred Institute.
Mo Sir knew it was impossible to expel Jiang Chen with just his own effort.
âDean, he insulted and looked down on me. Iâve lost face to stay at the Sacred Institute!â Zhuang Fan shouted. It didnât matter to him whether Jiang Chen would be expelled. The only thing that mattered to him was his reputation.
It sounded funny to the other short-term disciples.
Zhuang Fan had made a fool of all short-term disciples when he came there, and he had insulted Jiang Chen first, but at that moment, he made it sound like it was all Jiang Chenâs fault.
Although they werenât in favor of Jiang Chen, they werenât with Zhuang Fan either. They kept their silence because they were afraid.
âWhat do you suggest?â Yi Yuechuan asked him.
âWe should get onto the Hero Platform,â Zhuang Fan replied without even thinking. He had already made up his mind.
Without waiting for Yi Yuechuanâs response, he said again, âIf he loses, I wonât need his apology. I only want him to know and show the other short-term disciples that their achievements in their fields are nothing worth mentioning here!â
Yi Yuechuan frowned and looked toward Dean of Students Shi Wengong. The latter nodded. He thought it was fine.
âJiang Chen, what do you think?â Yi Yuechuan asked.
âI accept.â
He had decided to stay due to the deanâs management style. As for the fight on the Hero Platform, he didnât find it important.
Judging from the other short-term disciplesâ reactions when they heard the words âHero Platform,â one could roughly gather what kind of place it was.
Lu Fei and the others were confused. They asked the guy beside them about it.
âThe Hero Platform is a ring for fights. In the Sacred Institute, fights between disciples arenât allowed, except on the Hero Platform. Most importantly, fights on the Hero Platform will be played live in the Sacred Institute, in the same way the dean watched the quarrel just now.
âWeâve seen three fights on the Hero Platform so far. They were all fights between disciples of the Sacred Institute and the short-term disciples, all for the same reason.
âThere are always some short-term disciples who think themselves great after having defeated everyone in their fields. Theyâre usually tough eggs to crack, but theyâll get a good lesson. I thought there were no such person in our west courtyard, but here he is on the first day. Heâs a fool.â
It wasnât difficult to imagine the short-term disciples in the west courtyard had lost their pride. Even though they still had some, they were hiding it deep inside.
âDid you come here along with this Jiang Chen? You know anything about him? He got an outstanding grade study here even though heâs only in the completed middle stage, but you five are all in the late stage, so I guess this isnât because the level in your field is generally low.â
The other short-term disciples all looked towards the five from the Fire Field.
They looked at each other. They didnât know anything about Jiang Chen except their exchange of blows in the ring.
âThatâs who he is, not afraid of authorities, and proud.â Princess Crimson Moon recalled the scene when Jiang Chen had cut the Third Princeâs head off. She had been petrified at that moment.
She had never seen the imperial authority that she had always been proud of be trampled on like that. Although she had never liked the Third Princeâs behavior, she wouldnât allow an outsider to kill him.
âHey, what a coincidence. The other short-term disciples that have been taught a lesson in the other three courtyards are all like what you just said. Not only can you see images from the live transmission of the Hero Platform, but you can hear sounds. We heard them very clearly.
âBut in the end, they were all defeated by the disciples of the Sacred Institute.
âYou know what the worst part was?â
Princess Crimson Moon and the other four didnât have a clue.
The other short-term disciples had unreadable expressions. They looked helpless. At the same time, it seemed they were struggling to accept a fact they were unwilling to accept.
âThose who defeated the short-term disciples are only mediocre in the Sacred Institute.â
That meant the best geniuses in various fields werenât a match for an average disciple of the Sacred Institute.
As they talked, Jiang Chen and Zhuang Fan followed Shi Wengong to the Hero Platform.
There was a Hero Platform in each courtyard. No matter which one was open, the other three courtyards would be able to watch the live transmission.
When Jiang Chen saw the Hero Platform, he saw it was the same as the rings used in the competition for the Sacred Institute.
Or to put it another way, those rings had been built according to the Hero Platform.
What was special about the Hero Platform was that each of its flagstones had been reinforced by a peculiar method so that it was very solid. Damage done to the rings during the fight between Jiang Chen and the Third Prince wouldnât happen here.
Zhuang Fan walked onto the Hero Platform eagerly. At the same time, there was a wonderful connection between the Hero Platform and his token.
Some words appeared on the column beside the Hero Platform. It read, âZhuang Fan, No.151 of the Earth Grade of the West Courtyard.â
Princess Crimson Moon and the others didnât understand what this rank meant, so they asked the guy beside them again.
âHeâs number 151!â
After an exclamation, he started to explain, âThe Sacred Institute holds tests frequently. The rank is decided by their general performance. In the twelve classes of the Earth Grade, there are 700 or 800 disciples in total, but only the first 300 have ranks.
âIn the fights at the other three courtyards, the disciples of the Sacred Institute that the short-term disciples confronted were ranked between 200th and 300th.â
Zhuang Fan was a class leader. It was normal his rank was higher. Jiang Chen shouldnât have offended him.
Jiang Chen walked onto the Hero Platform, too. Below Zhuang Fanâs introduction, there appeared two words: Short-term Disciple.
The disciples of the Sacred Institute that had followed them there found it funny. Some of them burst into laughter. They were discussing with each other in low voices.