Chapter 522: "The Wind Kicks Up (1)"
The Zephyr Academy was still the same as before, quiet and tranquil, looking as if nothing had happened.
The Spirit Hunt had ended and the disciples returned, all of them comfortably settled back into familiar surroundings as they recounted all that they had experienced back in the Battle Spirits Forest.
But it was right within this tranquility that a storm was about to rage.
All the disciples had still not fully recovered from the trials they had undergone from the Spirit Hunt and it had barely been two days since they had returned back to the academy that an astonishing piece of news reached their ears.
Lu Wei Jie and the others in his team who had withdrawn themselves prematurely from the recently ended Spirit Hunt had been expelled from the Zephyr Academy in punishment. Although they had not revealed the reason, but the marching orders had been given. More than twenty disciples were suddenly struck off from the Zephyr Academy's roster.
The list had even included the last Spirit Tournament's second ranked Lu Wei Jie.
All the disciples driven out of the Zephyr Academy were disciples who had been in the same team with Lu Wei Jie, and with the exceptions of Ning Xin and Yin Yan, none was spared!
It caused a big commotion. Even when the Zephyr Academy tried to hide it, the astounding news could not be suppressed!
All the other disciples were shocked by the revelation. Lu Wei Jie's sudden withdrawal from the Spirit Hunt with his team had already sparked off much debate and arguments, and now that all of them were suddenly expelled, the voices raised in questions reached new heights!
In the Vice Headmaster's office, Ning Rui's face was dark as he looked at the pale faced Ning Xin, his eyes narrowed in admonishment.
"In regards to this matter, I have already cleared it with the Headmaster. Lu Wei Jie and the others will assume the responsibilities for it. Just make sure you stay within the office during this period and do not go anywhere. And only after the matter dies down, we'll makes other plans." Ning Rui's mood could not get any worse at the moment. He had thought that after the recent Spirit Hunt, he would be rid of Fan Jin, one of the biggest thorns in his side. Never had he expected that Ning Xin would stir up such a big mess, failing in her mission, and even offended such powerful people.
The disciples of Mu Chen from the Cloud Treading Peak and the most ferocious strike force, the Rui Lin Army.....
When Nangong Xu had just brought Ning Xin and Lu Wei Jie back and reported the news to him, Ning Rui had almost exploded in rage.
He knew better than anyone what kind of a temperament his own daughter possessed. Ning Rui had privately approved of Ning Xin's power and her deviously scheming mind privately. She had always been cautious and dependable when carrying out her schemes and when he found out that she had stirred up so much trouble with such dire consequences this time, Ning Rui had been rather shocked.
Although he knew that the severity of the matter would even implicate the reputation of the Zephyr Academy, but Ning Rui could not leave his own daughter in the lurch. If Ning Xin's misdeeds were made known and spread, not only she would lose her standing in the academy, even his position as the Vice Headmaster would be put at risk.
Hence, Ning Rui had had no choice but to lower himself before Fan Qi this once, and pleaded with tears in his eyes. Fan Qi had relented when he was reminded of the fact that they were fellow disciples under the same Master and had allowed them to secretly remove Lu Wei Jie and the others, to hide the truth of the matter.
Expelling more than twenty disciples all at once, was also deemed to be a form of answer to Rong Heng and Long Qi.
"Yes. I have committed a big mistake in this matter and I plead for my father's forgiveness. I promise to be extra careful in future." Ning Xin nodded obediently, but her heart was still in a state of panic.
"I will leave Yin Yan in your hands for the time being. You should know very well how he should be used." Ning Rui said, his eyes staring at Ning Xin.
Ning Xin acknowledged, submissively docile.
Ning Rui sighed and asked again: "You are sure you saw them clearly? Jun Xie and those boys from the branch division are really that powerful?" What really made Ning Rui uneasy besides the fact that their attempt at murder had failed, was Jun Xie's, Qiao Chu's and the others' overwhelming powers.
Before this, Ning Rui had not perceived Jun Xie as a threat at all and seen the boy only as a pawn to be used to attack Fan Jin. He had not seen the need for him to personally deal with such a petty and lowly disciple then.
Chapter 523: "The Wind Kicks Up (2)"
But this time, Ning Xin had brought back shocking news with her.
Ning Rui had never even bothered to look Jun Xie in the eye and he was astounded to suddenly be hearing that he possessed such overwhelming power while those mysterious disciples from the branch division had possessed purple spirits!
That was just too unbelievable!
Purple spirits, they were the pinnacle of strength and power and they have not been seen in the last century. Why would the amazing power suddenly show up on disciples of the branch division? All of those revelations had shocked Ning Rui beyond words and he could not fully comprehend them.
"I'm sure I saw them clearly. It is all true....." When she recalled all that she saw that day, Ning Xin could not help but tremble uncontrollably.
Ning Rui's frown grew deeper, "Have you ever faced off with Jun Xie before?"
Ning Xin shook her head immediately.
"Never did. All the deeds were carried out by Yin Yan."
Ning Rui tapped his fingers on his table while deep in thought. After a Fan Jin wins over the youths and all their overwhelming strength, it would deal a big blow to the plans we had in place. Since you have never been in direct confrontation with Jun Xie before, you should use everything within your ability to win him over and convince him to switch sides."
He never believed in eternal enmities, and neither in eternal friendships. Ning Rui was able to size up the situation rather quickly.
When Jun Xie had still been perceived as trash, he had been happy to see his daughter use him as a pawn. But when the pawn was found to possess such great power, it would not be wise to leave him at the enemy's side.
Ning Xin was aghast. "Father, Jun Xie might have turned out more powerful than we expected him to be. But he is still rather young and I don't think we need to....."
"What do you know!?" Ning Rui chided sternly.
Ning Xin trembled.
"Where did you think those few purple spirits had suddenly sprouted out from? I have thoroughly checked on all the people around Fan Jin. Even if we don't mention him as he is still a young youth, but not even his well respected father will be able to win the favour of any purple spirit exponents! If Fan Jin was really that capable, he would not have been so badly toyed by your schemes. Those few purple spirit users must be linked to Jun Xie. If we manage to win Jun Xie over to our side, we won't just be winning over one person, but also the powerful exponents behind him!" Ning Rui said with a chilling laugh and based on Ning Xin's observations, Jun Xie had broken through to the yellow spirit level.
A fourteen year old who had broken through to the yellow spirit level..... What kind of an unbelievable gift was that? And added to that, he had a rather powerful ring spirit as well, which made Jun Xie an excellent target. But most importantly, it was what the inconceivable purple spirit exponents behind him would bring!
If he was able to successfully convince those few purple spirit users to come over on his side, and everything that was happening now, would no longer pose to be a problem anymore.
Ning Xin gasped loudly, as she realised how important it was to win Jun Xie over.
"But I have mentored Yin Yan all this while, whereas things between him and Jun Xie....." Ning Xin's voice trailed off as she bit on her lip. The fact that Yin Yan had been able to still remain in the Zephyr Academy was never her father's intention, but it was all due to his own position in the Academy.
The disciples of the Spirit Healer faculty had always been independently controlled by Gu Li Sheng himself and not even the Headmaster was able to interfere with him. And the incident in the Battle Spirits Forest was known only to the few people Nangong Xu, Fan Qi and Ning Rui. In order to protect the Zephyr Academy's reputation, not a single one among them dared to leak a word of it to anybody. Gu Li Sheng was hence unaware of the matter and would naturally not drive Yin Yan out.
Yin Yan had served as Ning Xin's ward for a rather long time and clever as she was, Ning Xin knew how Yin Yan felt towards her.
But his position and his obedience had made Ning Xin find him useful and easy to manipulate. But if it came to threatening her own interests, there wasn't much that Ning Xin would hesitate to sacrifice.
Chapter 524: "The Wind Kicks Up (3)"
"The truth of the matter was that Li Zi Mu was the one who started the whole farce and Yin Yan was inexorably duped into playing along with it." Ning Rui said with a meaningful glance to Ning Xin.
Ning Xin's eyes lit up and a smile grew on her lips.
"What Father means is for Yin Yan to go apologise to Jun Xie."
Ning Rui nodded, satisfacted. "This time, do not fail me again, or I will really be utterly disappointed with you." Ning Rui's steely gaze fell on Ning Xin suddenly felt the chill from those eyes. Even though they were linked in blood, Ning Xin was still extremely fearful of her own father.
"I won't....." Ning Xin gulped, as she hurriedly reassured.
However, things did not turn out the way as what Ning Xin and Ning Rui had planned.
Ning Rui had intended for Lu Wei Jie and the other over twenty disciples to become scapegoats for the disaster his daughter had caused and thought that the fact that Lu Wei Jie had a soft spot for Ning Xin all this while would make Lu Wei Jie be willing to hide the real truth behind the matter for her.
But.....
Ning Rui did not know that Ning Xin had hidden part of the truth from him. In order to save herself, Ning Xin had quickly only brought Yin Yan back with her and left Lu Wei Jie and the rest of the team in the lurch which had almost caused all of them to lose their lives.
In view of the circumstances, there was no way Lu Wei Jie would hide the truth for Ning Xin, especially when they got to know that he and the other over twenty disciples were to be driven out of the Zephyr Academy while Ning Xin and Yin Yan did not suffer any form of punishment in the least.
Lu Wei Jie was absolutely outraged!
At the mains gates of the Zephyr Academy, more than twenty disciples who had been expelled from the Zephyr Academy stood, theirs faces in tears, all dressed in civilian clothings after they were made to change out of the Zephyr Academy's uniforms, staring forlornly at the academy they had grown to become so familiar with, their hearts heavy.
They thought back to the day they had first come here, inspired to achieve their lofty goals, having stood out among the sea of applicants fighting to enroll, and had dreamed of the day that they would one day shoot up the societal ranks. But now, they had nothing left. They had not completed their studies and they had been thrown out by the Zephyr Academy. All their dreams and aspirations were suddenly shattered and the pieces lay crumbled upon the ground before them.
"Senior Lu, what are we supposed to do in future?" A disciple among the group asked as he looked sadly at Lu Wei Jie. Before the gates, many disciples had congregated, here to watch the miserable worms who had been abandoned.
Lu Wei Jie's face was ashen as he stared at the whispering disciples grouped together within the Zephyr Academy, and the rage within his chest reached an inferno.
"What to do! ? Since the Zephyr Academy is not giving us any other way out, then we need not observe or consider any sense of propriety for the academy as well! We can just bring them down with us! I will no longer hold this dump of an academy dear to my heart!" Lu Wei Jie shouted angrily.
The Zephyr Academy had after driving them out of the academy gates, said that those disciples possessed dubious characters and were despicable in their deeds.
That critique from the academy had inadvertently also killed the futures of all those disciples. With such a testimonial coming from the Zephyr Academy, which other respectable academy would be willing to take them in?
Lu Wei Jie was almost exploding with rage. The prospects for his future had been shining bright. As the second in rank in the last Spirit Tournament, he had everything he wanted going for him. But he had been bewitched by a slut and had committed a huge wrong, which finally destroyed his own future and the whole responsibility for it had been thrown onto him. But the one person from whom the whole scheme had originated from, had used her father's powerful position as the Vice Headmaster, to escaped unscathed. She had not only not been expelled by the Zephyr Academy, but was still enjoying her unchanged status as the Senior Ning that all the disciples respected.
Based on what! ?
A slut like that, a shameless girl like that, why should he allow her to achieve the great future that was denied to all of them! ?
Lu Wei Jie's expression became grim as his rage and the sense of injustice in his heart grew. It gave him the courage and determination to finally step forward and stand before the gathered disciples behind the gates, and shouted out loudly!
Chapter 525: "The Wind Kicks Up (4)"
"The Zephyr Academy does not do its revered reputation justice and abuses its power for personal gain! We will not accept the injustice!"
Lu Wei Jie's loud proclamation made all the disciples within the Zephyr Academy prick up their ears!
They did not know what had caused Lu Wei Jie and the others to be expelled from the Zephyr Academy and when they heard what Lu Wei Jie had just said, they began to think that there was more than meets the eye in the matter!
Among the crowd of disciples, a tiny figure stood right at the back of everyone and a slight cold smile appeared on the delicate features on that face.
'Lu Wei Jie, I spared you your life back then, today, you must really put up a good show for me in return.'
"Senior Lu!" The other youths who had been thrown out with him stared worriedly at Lu Wei Jie. They were been accomplices to the crime and had been similarly victimised in this matter hence they naturally knew what Lu Wei Jie was about to say next!
"All of our futures have been ruined and how much longer do you want to hide the truth for that person!? All of you might be willing to be stepping stones for that person but not me! She was the one behind all of this, so why should we bear all the consequences! ? She is still safe and sound within the academy, enjoying the love and respect from all the disciples who are ignorant of the truth!" Lu Wei Jie scolded the others through tightly clenched teeth.
He was not about to go down without a fight.
The group of youths lowered their head, the sense of injustice in their hearts were suddenly sparked by Lu Wei Jie's fiery words!
"Ning Xin! If you still have any conscience left in you, come out here right this instant! You were overcome by your own greed and attempted to murder the disciples from the Cloud Treading Peak and the General of the Rui Lin Army! The attempt failed and you pushed all the blame onto us! In order for the Zephyr Academy to answer to the Cloud Treading Peak and the Rui Lin Army, they have dumped all responsibility for the matter on all of us here and thrown us out of the Zephyr Academy, making us bear all the blame! We have no other way out of this, while you are being absolved completely from the matter! Just because your father is the Vice Headmaster of the Zephyr Academy! Just because the Headmaster and your father are fellow disciples!" Lu Wei Jie was not going to hold back in the slightest. Since Ning Xin and Ning Rui were not giving them a way out of this, he didn't see any need to hide anything!
Even if he would not be able to finish his academic studies, he was confident he would still succeed with his family's strong connections!
Lu Wei Jie's words stirred the crowd of disciples gathered before them!
What is this about the Cloud Treading Peak!? What is this about the Rui Lin Army..... The two names uttered endlessly thundered in the ears and stuck like lightning into the hearts of the disciples there!
Ning Xin plotted against those two powers!?
What really happened!!?
Fanned by Lu Wei Jie's inflammatory words, the other youths who had been prepared to forgive and move on were suddenly acutely made aware of the discrepancy in the punishment meted out to Ning Xin and them. They grew angry and joined with Lu Wei Jie, spilling every single detail they knew about the incident that happened in the Battle Spirits Forest.
More than twenty youths chirped, one after another, as they explained in detail, all that had gone on in their own words.
The real truth when revealed, had all the disciples tongue tied and staring in disbelief, their faces in shock!
Lu Wei Jie and Ning Xin were both well known and leading figures among the disciples of the Zephyr Academy. Although Lu Wei Jie was not as worshipped and loved like Ning Xin was, but he possessed great power and was an individual who won everyone's praise as a prodigious youth.
Both of them had enjoyed a rather good relationship with each other and all the disciples knew that they had been in the same team during the Spirit Hunt.
But now, everyone in that team had been thrown out together with Lu Wei Jie, but for the exception of Ning Xin and Yin Yan. The circumstances were already suspicious by itself and with Lu Wei Jie and the others' statements, a fiery debate suddenly erupted heatedly among all the disciples!
Nobody could easily accept the picture of the usually gentle and graceful Senior Ning they had in their minds could possibly be the very same person as the image of a greedy murderer who lusted for personal enrichment and was a despicable girl, who would betray her own fellow disciples, as described by Lu Wei Wei Jie and the group of twenty over youths before them.
Lu Wei Jie and the other youths grew angrier as they spoke and they went on to blast at Ning Rui and Fan Qi for the unjust and unequal way the matter had been handled.
"You think that you can use us to appease the rage of the Cloud Treading Peak and the Rui Lin Army!? I think you are making a very big mistake here! As brilliant as General Long is, he will never believe your one sided response. You just wait till the Rui Lin Army comes knocking upon these very gates!"