After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

"Mo Yu, you should go."

Zhuque's words startled the Long-Armed Ape.

Zhuque ignored the monkey and addressed only the teachers and students of her academy.

"You all better remember this: there was a student from the First Academy who beat you up in front of everyone, and you couldn't even fight back!"

You're all a bunch of useless trash!

Suzaku, unusually, swore, and the teachers and students of Suzaku Academy all lowered their heads, looking ashamed.

Zhuque lowered her head again and looked at Zhou Yan.

"except you."

The teachers and students of Suzaku Academy looked at Zhou Yan with awe, as if they were looking directly at a ghost or god.

Chapter Twenty-One: Shameful

After Zhuque finished his tirade, the surroundings fell silent again.

Zhou Yan below seemed to have seen something, and turned his head to the side, looking in one direction.

The long-armed ape opposite Zhou Yan stared intently at him. He swore he had never met anyone as adept at positioning as Zhou Yan in his entire life. He had previously heard from his classmate that Wu Shanfu had spoken highly of Zhou Yan, and the long-armed ape had assumed that Wu Shanfu was short-sighted and that Zhou Yan was good at boasting and deceiving. But now, seeing this, the long-armed ape himself thought Zhou Yan was incredibly skilled.

Faced with such a formidable opponent, Bai Lin's hatred was no longer important; the Long-Armed Ape only wanted to fight Zhou Yan until dawn.

Unfortunately, with the Vermilion Bird standing above him, he still dared to mess around with Zhou Yan when the Vermilion Bird was in charge. The Long-Armed Ape estimated that his little bit of flesh wouldn't be enough for the Vermilion Bird to roast in a few breaths.

After thinking for a moment, the gibbon said with a sense of frustration.

“I will come back to challenge you again someday, Junior Zhou.”

The gibbon gave a thumbs-up and said sincerely.

"You are this one."

Zhou Yan turned to look at the gibbon, but the young man remained silent.

The gibbon took a few steps and left Zhou Yan's side. The monkey was slow in lifting and lowering its feet, but it had already crossed the street outside the Wutong Hotel and disappeared in just a few steps.

Zhuque transformed into a streak of fire and entered the conference room on the fifth floor of the Wutong Hotel. The discipline director below watched Zhuque disappear, sighed inwardly, and then spoke to the other students.

"Zhou Yan, Lin Lei, Yu Fei (Huo Dou), come with me to the meeting room. The rest of you can leave now and do as you please."

The discipline director walked into the lobby of the Wutong Hotel. At this moment, all the windows of the lobby were shattered, the doors were deformed, and one of the infill walls had been knocked away. However, since it was a frame structure, it was not considered a dangerous building that could no longer be inhabited.

Following behind the discipline director, Lin Lei and Yu Fei entered the hotel lobby on the first floor.

Zhou Yan jogged to the entrance of the Wutong Hotel, where students from Zhuque Academy and reporters outside the gate made way for him.

The reporters simply held cameras, pointing them at Zhou Yan, while the students of Zhuque Academy were filled with fear.

As Zhou Yan stepped into the cleared path, rustling discussions could be heard from all directions.

"Did Zhou Yan really only awaken his powers for half a year?"

"Am I seeing things? Zhou Yan is actually fighting Mo Yu to a standstill?"

A gasp of fear.

"What do you mean it's a draw? Mo Yu fought with the discipline director for so long, his stamina must have been almost depleted. When Zhou Yan fought with senior Mo Yu, senior Mo Yu might have been weak in the knees."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

“Indeed, Zhou Yan punched Senior Mo Yu just now, but Senior Mo Yu doesn’t seem to be injured. Zhou Yan is good at positioning, but his attack power is still lacking. I don’t think he can even break through Senior Mo Yu’s defense.”

"Pah! Even if he's weak, he's still the top student in the four schools. Zhou Yan is probably much stronger than when he fought Lin Lei before. What has he been through these past few months? How did he suddenly become so much stronger?"

"Is he really a demigod? Which bloodline is he a demigod of? How come this guy can fight Mo Yu to a standstill in such a short time?"

Amidst countless gazes, Zhou Yan walked into the lobby of the Wutong Hotel and then into the elevator where the discipline director was located.

Upon entering, the water elemental training director, Lin Lei, and Yu Fei all cast enigmatic glances at Zhou Yan.

The discipline director said meaningfully.

"You don't seem to have transformed into your mythical form yet?"

Lin Lei and Yu Fei were struck dumb, their faces growing increasingly grim.

Mythical form can significantly boost the combat power of awakened beings. Zhou Yan fought against the Long-Armed Ape in its mythical form without actually manifesting his mythical form. Just how strong is Zhou Yan?

Zhou Yan said indifferently.

"When he fought me, the Long-Armed Ape didn't have much energy left. Teacher, you don't think that he didn't suffer any damage after you fought him, do you?"

The discipline master looked much better.

"Even if there are casualties, it's Mo Yu. I used to think you were just a top student in our school when I saw you fight Lin Lei. But now I see you could probably be in the top ten of the four schools."

The discipline director then looked at Lin Lei and Yu Fei.

"Take a good look at Zhou Yan. He's only been in school for half a year and he already has this kind of fighting power..."

Lin Lei and Yu Fei lowered their heads, and Lin Lei said weakly.

"I just haven't developed my bloodline power to a very high level yet, wait for me..."

Lin Lei wanted to say that once he reached the same level of bloodline awakening as the Long-Armed Ape, the Long-Armed Ape might not be his match, but the thought of saying it made him feel guilty, and Lin Lei dared not say it out loud.

"Ding dong..."

The elevator doors opened.

The discipline director led the three children out and then to the meeting room on the left.

Inside the conference room, Zhuque sat at the very front of the conference table. The discipline director walked to Zhuque's left and sat down, while the other three stood, not daring to sit down.

Zhuque tried these three children.

"I don't mind if you go out and cause trouble."

Zhuque's tone was laced with hostility.

"But you guys got attacked on your doorstep and you couldn't even fight back!"

A funny anecdote is that when soldiers from different units fight each other, the winners at most get a collective disciplinary action, and then the two brothers are left unscathed.

Those who lose will face intense training all day long and all sorts of unfair treatment, because fighting is acceptable, but losing is not.

Suzaku shared the same thought. Young people are full of vigor and it's normal for them to fight over a disagreement. Suzaku didn't care about the conflicts between young people, but you can't lose. Losing is shameful and makes you a scoundrel!

As Zhuque spoke, she looked at the discipline director, who quickly replied.

"That child used a magical technique I've never seen before to catch me off guard. Lord Suzaku, look at me, I'm completely unharmed. If we were to fight again, I would definitely win."

Zhuque snorted and then turned to look at Zhou Yan and the others.

Lin Lei and Yu Fei both lowered their heads, looking embarrassed.

Only Zhou Yan had his head raised.

The voice of the Vermilion Bird echoed in Zhou Yan's mind.

"You overheard 'The Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Fiends'?"

Zhou Yan was able to fight the Tongbi Ape to a draw, even if the Tongbi Ape had been weakened by the training director. That was still something Zhou Yan, who hadn't shown his mythical form, could not have done, unless Zhou Yan had learned the "Seventy-Two Transformations of the Earthly Fiends" and gained many supernatural powers.

Zhou Yan remained silent for a few seconds before responding.

"I learned some incomplete versions of the Seventy-Two Transformations."

Zhuque withdrew his gaze and nodded.

"Zhou Yan did a good job; at least he saved face for our school. As for you..."

Zhuque stared at Lin Lei and Yu Fei with a look of disappointment and frustration.

"I'll prepare some cultivation resources and immortal techniques for you later. Don't go out before the Four Schools Competition. Focus all your energy on training. Remember to regain the face that the Tongbei Ape lost in the Four Schools Competition!"

"Do you know?!"

"understood!"

"understand!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Mastermind

A commercial building is located 500 meters away from Wutong Hotel.

Mu Yuan stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of an office, his eyes fixed on the entrance of the Wutong Hotel.

The demigod squinted, his mind replaying the scene of Zhou Yan's battle with the long-armed ape.

"Interesting, Yin-Yang Fist Technique?"

Bai Lin was instigated by Mu Yuan, who also facilitated the battle between the Long-Armed Ape and the students of the Vermilion Bird Academy. He originally hoped that the Long-Armed Ape would face off against Leng Qing and other top students from the previous year's four-school competition, so that both sides would reveal their trump cards.

Instead of Leng Qing, Zhou Yan was brought out.

Mu Yuan had heard that Zhou Yan could easily beat Lin Lei, a student from the Vermilion Bird Academy, and that Wu Shanfu could praise his skills, but now that he saw it, Mu Yuan felt that he had underestimated Zhou Yan.

This guy actually managed to gain the upper hand against the Long-Armed Ape in close combat; he's probably one of the top five melee fighters among the four schools. However, Zhou Yan isn't participating in the four-school competition this time, so there's no need to worry about facing him.

Zhou Yan can be set aside.

If Zhou Yan isn't a major threat yet, how will we fight against the Long-Armed Ape if we face it in the future?

By the way, when this long-armed monkey left, it kept turning back to Zhou Yan, so it must have been a worthy opponent. It will definitely come back to find Zhou Yan and give him another punch in the future.

So go find Zhou Yan later, give him some benefits, and ask him to poison the Tongbi Ape or something?

We also need to manage Mi Qing's side. It would be best to trick a few more top students from the First Academy into going against Leng Qing and the others, in order to obtain information about their opponents.

As for the remaining White Tiger Academy, it's more troublesome. Mu Yuan has already discovered that there is a True God in the White Tiger Academy, but this True God seems to have androphobia, which is something that Mu Yuan, a master of illusion, has many ways to counter.

"Ding dong..."

The sudden doorbell interrupted Mu Yuan's thoughts. Mu Yuan frowned, but quickly turned around and walked to the office door to open it.

As soon as the door opened, Mu Yuan's grip on the doorknob tightened, almost squeezing it off. However, being a very shrewd person, Mu Yuan quickly regained his composure.

Mu Yuan smiled at the person who came in through the door.

"Junior Zhou, what brings you here?"

Zhou Yan was standing outside the door.

Zhou Yan sneered.

"You're the one who instigated the gibbon to come here, aren't you?"

Mu Yuan initially wanted to deny it, but then he thought that denying it would be too low-class and pointless, so he changed his mind.

"Junior Zhou, do you know that I received a phone call just a day ago after I finished my competition at the Zhongzhou City Gymnasium?"

"Guess who called me?"

Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes.

Mu Yuan didn't keep anyone in suspense; he asked and answered his own question.

"It's Mi Qing, your... ex-girlfriend."

After saying that, Mu Yuan waited for Zhou Yan's rebuttal. He didn't know if Mi Qing was Zhou Yan's ex-girlfriend. Anyway, if she wasn't, Mu Yuan would just say that Mi Qing claimed to be Zhou Yan's ex-girlfriend.

Anyway, it's a non-stick pan.

Zhou Yan did not refute, but simply asked.

"and then?"

Mu Yuan mocked.

"Mi Qing wants me to kill you."

At this point, the blame was shifted eastward, and Zhou Yan was made to focus his attention and hatred on Mi Qing.

Zhou Yan's expression did indeed change slightly.

Mu Yuan shook his head.

"They say the most poisonous heart is a woman's, junior. You really have a bad woman as your girlfriend. Luckily, I know you and didn't agree to Mi Qing's request. It seems that Mi Qing was angry because I didn't agree. In addition, Mi Qing's boyfriend, Bai Lin, sensed something was wrong and questioned her several times."