Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

Yao Xiaozheng remained silent for a moment before speaking: "He is my student. He made a mistake, and I am responsible. He should be punished where necessary, and dismissed where appropriate. I will accept that."

Lu Chen glanced at him and suddenly smiled.

"Yao Xiaozheng, you're just too stubborn." He leaned back in his chair. "I'm not asking about your responsibility, I'm asking what you plan to do—about Sun Fan."

Yao Xiaozheng's fingers clenched slightly.

"Not really."

"Oh?"

"Yan Gaotian went to kill him, and he killed Yan Gaotian in self-defense. That was justified." Yao Xiaozheng's voice was calm. "I will not blame someone who acted in self-defense just because my student died."

Lu Chen stared at him for a long time before nodding.

"Okay. I'm relieved to hear that."

He waved his hand.

Yao Xiaozheng turned and walked out, but stopped abruptly at the door.

"headmaster."

"Um?"

"Sun Fan is a promising talent."

Lu Chen didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Yao Xiaozheng didn't explain, and went out the door.

Lu Chen sat in the chair, watching Yao Xiaozheng's figure disappear outside the door, and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest a few times.

"interesting."

He muttered something under his breath, then picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.

"Send Zhang Guangcheng to see me."

On the fifth day after Sun Fan returned from the secret realm, he finally went out.

He has been practicing his martial arts at his residence these days and hasn't gone out much.

The internal energy of the Divine Illumination Scripture was steadily increasing, and the warm current in his chest was getting stronger and stronger, but the bloodshot color in his eyes had never completely disappeared.

He tried many methods—meditation, breathing exercises, and even tried to guide the inner demon to his limbs and bones so that his body could slowly digest it.

But every time he was almost completely cleaned up, the blood would reappear, as if it were challenging him.

He suddenly realized.

This inner demon is not some kind of impurity; it cannot be cleared away with internal force.

That was a nightmare inherent in his swordsmanship.

This also means that he is currently unable to control that sword at all.

If one day I can truly control it, then the inner demons will disappear on their own.

Thinking about this, Sun Fan couldn't help but laugh.

Can he wield the fifteenth sword?

Even the Third Young Master, who was standing at the threshold of the Seventh Realm, couldn't do it.

If you could do that, you wouldn't cut off your own finger.

Since we can't get rid of it, we'll just leave it there.

When Dong Dahai knocked on the door and came in, Sun Fan was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard.

"Squad leader, someone outside is spreading rumors." Dong Dahai stood at the courtyard gate and did not go in.

Sun Fan did not stop his sword strike and continued to swing it.

"What are you spreading?"

"It is said that you killed the ferocious tiger and the Blood Blade Ancestor in the secret realm."

Sun Fan paused for a moment, then continued swinging his sword.

This was the message he had secretly leaked to Dahai.

Do they believe it?

Dong Dahai remained silent for a while, then shook his head.

"I don't believe you. They say you're bragging."

"boast?"

"Hmm. Someone checked the records and found that Blood Blade Ancestor is a peak expert of the Fourth Realm. You, a mere Pulse Opening Realm cultivator, have no chance of killing him. Even if Blood Blade Ancestor was seriously injured, he is still not someone you can handle. They say you took credit for someone else's work in the secret realm and claimed it as your own."

Sun Fan sheathed his sword, walked to the stone table, sat down, poured himself a glass of water, and slowly drank it.

"Anything else?"

"Some people say that you didn't do anything in the secret realm at all, that it was a character in the story who helped kill Blood Blade Ancestor, and that you were just lucky to have made connections with someone."

"And some people say..."

"Alright," Sun Fan interrupted him. "No need to say anything more."

Dong Dahai shut his mouth and stood aside.

Sun Fan put down his cup and looked at the old locust tree in the yard. The leaves on the tree had already begun to turn yellow, and when the wind blew, they rustled. A few leaves drifted down and landed on the surface of the pond, swirling around.

"It's fine," he said.

Dong Dahai was taken aback: "Pretty good?"

He didn't quite understand Sun Fan's intention in doing this.

"That's good that they don't believe it." Sun Fan stood up. "If they did believe it, it would only cause trouble."

He turned around and looked at Dong Dahai: "Think about it, if they all believed that I killed the ferocious tiger and the Blood Blade Ancestor all by myself, what would they think of me?"

Dong Dahai thought for a moment: "They'll think you're dangerous."

"It's not just about danger," Sun Fan shook his head, "it's about feeling like I'm a threat. A first-year student who can kill a Qi Gathering Realm expert, a peak Fourth Realm powerhouse."

"You need to be careful with this kind of person."

He walked back and sat down at the stone table.

"But if they don't believe me, if they think I'm bragging, if they think I rely on luck, on others, or on underhanded methods, then they won't take me seriously. If they don't take me seriously, they won't be in a hurry to take action against me. If they're not in a hurry to take action, then I'll have time."

He picked up the cup and took another sip of water.

"Time is the most precious thing right now."

Dong Dahai nodded thoughtfully.

"So you deliberately had me leak the information so they wouldn't believe it?"

"I deliberately wanted you to tell the truth," Sun Fan corrected. "Sometimes, the truth is harder to believe than a lie."

He put down his cup and stood up.

"Let's go to the cafeteria for lunch. I'm hungry."

News travels faster than the wind in the cafeteria.

As Sun Fan sat down with his tray, the eyes of the people at the surrounding tables were drawn to him as if by a magnet. Whispers rose and fell, like a swarm of bees buzzing. Some whispered among themselves, some deliberately slammed their chopsticks on the table to make noise, and some coughed to cover their stares.

Sun Fan didn't look up. He picked up a piece of braised pork, chewed it slowly, and remained calm.

Dong Dahai sat opposite him, his scarred face expressionless, but his grip on the chopsticks was tighter than usual.

Red Wolf and Du Ming happened to be sitting nearby. Hearing the surrounding discussions, they tried to slam their fists on the table and stand up several times, but Du Ming kicked their ankles under the table each time.

"That's him? He doesn't look like much."

"I heard he killed a ferocious tiger in the secret realm? That's just bragging, right? A mere Qi Gathering Realm cultivator killing a Qi Opening Realm cultivator?"

"He killed Blood Sabre Ancestor too? Wasn't that a peak fourth-realm expert? Even if he was seriously injured, he couldn't have faked it."

"They definitely benefited from the plot involving a character. They were just lucky."

"When did bragging become popular at dark martial arts schools?"

Red Wolf's face turned bright red, and he gripped his chopsticks so tightly they made a cracking sound.

As firsthand witnesses, only they know how difficult it was for Sun Fan in the previous secret realm.

He wouldn't allow Sun Fan to be insulted by such rumors!

He slammed his chopsticks on the table, stood up abruptly, and pushed his chair back with a screeching sound.

"Have you said enough?"

The cafeteria fell silent instantly. All eyes shifted from Sun Fan to Red Wolf.

Red Wolf glared at the people at the table who were talking the loudest. It was a face he didn't recognize, a second-year student wearing a flashy jacket, with a toothpick in his mouth, looking rather sleazy.

"What did you just say? Say it again?"