Bei Kun let out a cold sneer and said no more. He waved his hand, and his group of cronies immediately began to jeer: "Are all the people in the Second Academy cowards?"
More unpleasant remarks continued to pour out.
The students of the Second Academy nearby instantly looked angry, but intimidated by Bei Kun's fierce reputation, they were all too afraid to speak out.
"Li Luo, why must you drag the entire Second Academy down with you because of your own problems?" Bei Kun asked maliciously.
This Bei Kun was quite cunning; he intentionally escalated the situation to provoke the students of the Second Academy. Since these students dared not do anything to him, they would naturally turn their resentment toward Li Luo, thereby forcing him to step forward.
"Shut your mouths."
However, a sharp shout of anger rang out soon after. Zhao Kuo stepped forward, glaring at Bei Kun, and said, "If you want to fight, I'll take you on."
"It's you again."
Bei Kun frowned and said, "It seems I didn't beat you hard enough last time."
Zhao Kuo was about to retort, but Li Luo waved a hand to stop him, saying with a helpless expression, "Why bother with this dog excrement?"
He then turned his gaze toward Bei Kun’s cronies and sighed, "Help me write down all their names. I’ll have someone teach them how to get along peacefully with their classmates later."
Although Luolan Manor currently faced significant troubles, it was still one of the five great manors of the Great Xia Kingdom. The forces left behind at the old estate were not weak; at the very least, they had plenty of guards at the Resonance Master level.
The surrounding students were dumbfounded upon hearing this, and Bei Kun’s cronies were left in a state of utter shock and confusion.
*Big brother, do you really have to do this? We’re just kids playing around at the academy! You’re actually going home to find people to beat us up?*
*That’s not logical!*
They looked at one another in dismay and could not help but take a few steps back. Their jeering stopped abruptly because they knew Li Luo was truly capable of doing exactly that.
Even though he had an empty resonance, he was still the Young Mansion Master of Luolan Manor. Having a few expert Resonance Masters arrive to hood them and give them a sound beating was easy work.
Bei Kun was also stunned for a moment before he cursed, "Li Luo, have you no shame? Using such tactics!"
Li Luo frowned and replied, "If you're not satisfied, go ahead and ask your Bei family experts to come and fight me."
Bei Kun opened his mouth, finding he had no retort. While Luolan Manor was currently facing internal and external strife, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. As long as it hadn't truly collapsed, the Bei family only dared to take small, stealthy bites. As for calling upon his family's experts—setting aside whether he could actually move them to action, even if he did, would they really dare to do anything to Li Luo? The consequences would be something he clearly couldn't bear.
Consequently, he stood there frozen, feeling quite disheveled.
***
At the very top of the Resonance Power Tree stood a treehouse. Several figures were watching the argument among the students below.
"Heh, this little guy from Luolan Manor is quite interesting," a gray-haired old man wearing a black and white coat said with a smile.
This elder was the Dean of Nanfeng Academy, Wei Sha, a man of great renown in Tianshu Prefecture.
"Disputes between students, yet he still has to resort to the influence of his family to resolve them. That’s not interesting at all. I wonder how those two legends of Luolan Manor managed to raise such a rogue of a son," a voice interjected from the side.
The speaker was a lean man who carried himself with a scholarly air, yet his brows were etched with a sense of haughty arrogance. This was Lin Feng, a mentor at the First Academy of Nanfeng Academy. It was he who had insisted on kicking Li Luo out of the First Academy and demoting him to the Second.
"Mentor Lin Feng, that is quite harsh. Bei Kun knew full well that Li Luo has an empty resonance and went looking for trouble anyway; isn't that even more malicious?" Xu Shanyue, standing nearby, retorted immediately upon hearing this.
Lin Feng replied indifferently, "Conflicts between classmates are beneficial for their mutual competition and improvement."
However, he clearly had no interest in arguing this point further with Xu Shanyue. He turned his gaze toward the old man and said, "Dean, I wonder what your thoughts are on the proposal I mentioned earlier?"
Dean Wei blinked and asked, "Which proposal?"
Lin Feng felt helpless but could only explain, "The academy’s grand examination is approaching, and our First Academy’s supply of golden leaves is running low. I would like to ask you to allocate five more golden leaves to us."
"I disagree!"
It was Xu Shanyue who spoke. He glared at Lin Feng, because currently, besides those in the hands of the First Academy, there were only ten golden leaves left in the entire school, held by the Second Academy. If Lin Feng wanted five more, where else could they come from? They would have to be taken from the Second Academy!
This guy was truly pushing his luck.
***
At the top of the towering Resonance Power Tree, Lin Feng and Xu Shanyue, the heads of the First and Second Academies, were locked in a dispute over the allocation of the golden leaves.
"Xu Shanyue, you should understand how many outstanding students are gathered in the First Academy. Their talent is far superior to those in the other academies. If we provide them with better cultivation conditions, the results they achieve will far exceed those of the others," Lin Feng said in a deep voice.
Xu Shanyue scoffed, "The First Academy is indeed excellent, but that doesn't mean the Second Academy is full of trash unworthy of golden leaves, does it? There are fifty golden leaves in total on the Resonance Power Tree, and forty are already in the hands of the First Academy. Are you still not satisfied?"
Lin Feng frowned. "This isn't a question of satisfaction; it’s a matter of the First Academy students being able to better utilize the value of the golden leaves. I’m not targeting your students, but that is simply the reality."
Xu Shanyue sneered, "Isn't your real goal to drain every resource from Nanfeng Academy so you can produce a few more students capable of entering the 'Saint Xuanxing Academy,' thereby padding your own resume so you can be promoted there too?"
In truth, it wasn't just the students who viewed Saint Xuanxing Academy as their goal; mentors at these secondary academies saw it as a holy land as well. Every effort they made was aimed at eventually teaching there, as it would be a massive boost to their status and future achievements.
Having such a goal was not a bad thing, but Xu Shanyue felt that Lin Feng was too utilitarian and only cared about his own interests. Just like when he kicked Li Luo into the Second Academy—there was truly no need for it; even with an empty resonance, Li Luo wouldn't have held them back that much.
Lin Feng had likely done it to establish his authority, ensuring the brilliant students in the First Academy wouldn't challenge the authority of someone who had only recently arrived at Nanfeng Academy.
Hearing this, Lin Feng’s expression darkened. "Xu Shanyue, do not spout nonsense."
Other mentors from Nanfeng Academy watched the two get heated and quickly stepped in to mediate.
The old Dean, Wei Sha, was also feeling a headache. The golden leaves on the Resonance Power Tree were scarce, and every academy wanted more. This was understandable, as student performance was tied to the mentors' evaluations and promotions.
However, Lin Feng had been pestering him about this for a long time, and he had been dragging his feet. It seemed he had to give an answer today.
Wei Sha looked at the figures on the tree below and mused for a moment. "The Second Academy's golden leaves cannot be given away without reason. We cannot simply deprive the students of the Second Academy of their desire for progress just because the First Academy is more excellent."
"If you both want to compete for the golden leaves, you will have to let the students fight for them themselves."
"How about this: the First and Second Academies will each select three students at or below the Sixth Seal Stage to compete. If the First Academy wins, the Second Academy will hand over five golden leaves. But if the Second Academy wins, the First Academy must share ten golden leaves from your quota with them."
As the old Dean’s words fell, Lin Feng and Xu Shanyue stopped arguing and frowned.
"Dean, why should the First Academy lose ten golden leaves if we lose?" Lin Feng asked, unsatisfied.
Wei Sha laughed. "Because the dispute over the golden leaves was something you initiated, and besides, the First Academy is already stronger. If they don't pay a heavier price, why would the Second Academy agree to compete with you for nothing?"
Lin Feng thought it over, frowning, and eventually said, "Fine."
Even if the competition were restricted to the Sixth Seal Stage, his First Academy still held a significant advantage.
Xu Shanyue, however, was hesitant. While the prospect of winning ten leaves if the First Academy lost was tempting, he understood that the First Academy was the face of Nanfeng Academy, and the caliber of their students far surpassed all the other academies.
"Dean, we only have two students in the Second Academy who have reached the Sixth Seal Stage," Xu Shanyue said helplessly.
Lin Feng smiled and said, "Don't worry. The First Academy students won't let it drag on to a stalemate like that."
Xu Shanyue’s face sank, anger surging in his eyes.
The old Dean sighed and said, "Little Xu, don't worry. Even if you lose, I will compensate the Second Academy next year. As for now, there is only one month until the grand academy examination."
Having heard the old Dean speak in this manner, Xu Shanyue fell silent for several seconds before finally nodding in frustration. It was clear that in the Dean’s heart, the First Academy, as the face of Nanfeng Academy, was entitled to certain privileges the Second Academy lacked.
Xu Shanyue knew he couldn't blame the Dean for this; it was human nature. Would anyone favor the Second Academy over the most excellent First Academy?
"I will go make the arrangements," Xu Shanyue said, before turning and leaping down from the treehouse.
Lin Feng smiled and turned to make his own arrangements.
At the same time, slightly further down, Bei Kun had finally led his people away in a somewhat dejected and unwilling manner. After all, Li Luo had completely ignored his provocations, and his unconventional methods had rattled Bei Kun's group.
Young people were hot-blooded. Even if they had to break their own scalps in a fight, they would usually grit their teeth for the sake of face. Who had ever seen someone who threatened to bring in outsiders to beat people up at the slightest provocation?
It was completely against the rules!