Chapter 215: Each Side Holds Its Own View

Zu An knew without even looking that the person who arrived was Shi Kun's protector, Shi Lezhi, because his system had already received Rage points in advance.

Rage points from Shi Lezhi: 444!

For a moment, he could barely breathe. An eighth-rank expert was far beyond anything he could contend with at his current level. The gap between them was simply too immense.

He wanted to fight back, but under the opponent's suppressive aura, even moving a finger was difficult. He wanted to dodge, but having charged too fiercely, he had no leverage to maneuver.

He could only grit his teeth and activate the Primordial Chaos Sutra, preparing to withstand the attack with his physical strength.

Just then, a white blur flashed past.

If anyone in the arena knew Zu An was about to act, it was Chu Chuyan. She knew he was striking out of anger on her behalf.

Previously, in the secret realm, Shi Kun had forced her to the point where her vital meridians were shattered. Even finding the Vanishing Lotus had only barely saved her life. Had it not been for a fortunate coincidence later on, she would be a cripple now.

Furthermore, Shi Kun had known she was on the verge of death, yet still harbored malicious intentions toward her body.

In fact, even if Zu An hadn't acted just now, she had already intended to settle scores with Shi Kun.

So, seeing him make a move, she focused and prepared, knowing that Shi Lezhi was likely nearby.

A loud bang echoed. Shi Lezhi stood unmoving in front of Shi Kun, protecting him. Chu Chuyan, meanwhile, pulled Zu An back, sliding over a dozen meters before finally regaining her footing.

Chu Chuyan's body trembled, and a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of her lips.

Although she was close to seventh-rank, there was still a significant difference in cultivation realms compared to Shi Lezhi.

Zu An hurriedly asked, "Are you okay?"

"What if she gets critically injured again right after I just healed her?"

"Hmm, would I then have a legitimate reason to do 'blushing things' with her... *cough cough*, I mean, legitimately treat her injuries?"

Chu Chuyan shook her head, "It's nothing, just a superficial injury."

"Oh," Zu An said, instantly looking disappointed.

This left Chu Chuyan puzzled. "What's wrong with him? He's unhappy because my injury isn't serious?"

At this point, the surrounding people also reacted, whispering among themselves:

"As expected of the academy's strongest, to be able to directly confront an eighth-rank cultivator!"

"Clearly, the Shi family's expert went easy on her. Otherwise, an eighth-rank cultivator could kill a sixth-rank one as easily as slaughtering a chicken. How could Miss Chu, at sixth-rank, withstand that?"

"Indeed, it seems the Shi family showed restraint."

At this point, other indignant voices spoke up: "As if the Shi family would dare lay a hand on Miss Chu! This is Moonlit City, after all. If the Shi family harmed the Chu family's daughter, would they expect to leave here alive? Never mind Duke Moonlit, even the academy wouldn't stand by idly."

Others continued to chatter, but only Shi Lezhi was unsettled and suspicious. He had not held back in his attempt to kill Zu An just now, yet Chu Chuyan had taken a palm strike from him and only suffered minor injuries. "Is she really only fifth-rank cultivation? Why does it feel like she's almost seventh-rank?"

"What are you doing?"

Just then, a cold voice rang out.

"Principal Jiang!"

The academy's teachers and students all bowed, even Bai Susu and Lu De showed great respect. Clearly, seeing Jiang Luofu appear, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Only Zu An's first reaction was to look at her legs. They were truly straight and slender, without a single flaw. Today she wore no stockings, yet her skin glowed, even more dazzling than when she did.

Zu An secretly sighed in relief that he wasn't like Wei Suo, a stocking fetishist who needed to see stockings to be satisfied. He saw

beautiful, well-proportioned legs and still felt refreshed from the bottom of his heart.

At this point, Shi Lezhi spoke up: "Reporting to Principal Jiang, I had no intention of causing trouble. However, this fellow immediately launched a deadly attack on our young master upon meeting him, which is truly despicable. As far as I know, attacking a fellow student with lethal intent in the academy is also a capital offense, isn't it?"

Jiang Luofu hummed in acknowledgment, "Indeed, it is a capital offense. Zu An, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Seeing Principal Jiang looking angry, the other students began to whisper among themselves:

"Zu An has really gotten carried away, daring to try and kill Young Master Shi!"

"Exactly. What's Young Master Shi's status, and what's his? He has no self-awareness."

"What's so impressive about that? In the end, men are judged by their overall strength."

Many male students nodded in agreement, thinking, "You might have conquered a few naive young girls with your extraordinary talent, but can you really conquer the mature Principal Jiang?"

Seeing the steady stream of Rage points he was receiving in his system, Zu An felt speechless. "Shouldn't someone like Shi Kun, a rich, handsome, and powerful man, be the target of your envy?" he wondered. "Why are you all jealous of me?"

Of course, this was just a slight complaint; inwardly, he was quite pleased, as more Rage points were always beneficial to him.

Composing himself, he replied:

"Reporting to Principal Jiang, I fully agree that those who lethally attack fellow students should be sentenced to death."

Jiang Luofu snorted coldly, "So, you admit your guilt?"

Hearing her cold tone, Ji Xiaoxi, Qiao Xueying, and others grew secretly anxious. Only Zu An knew that while Principal Jiang appeared to be scolding him, she was actually leaving him room to explain. If she truly intended to deal with him, she would have directly sealed his fate without asking any questions.

Zu An calmly replied: "The reason I acted in anger just now is because in the Yaoguang Secret Realm, Shi Kun sent family warriors to relentlessly hunt me, almost costing me my life."

"Nonsense! Only students from Moonlit Academy are qualified to enter the secret realm, and Principal Jiang personally oversees their entry. How could any family's warriors have infiltrated? Are you questioning Principal Jiang's fairness?"

Before anyone from the Shi family could respond, Wu Qing spoke up first. For some reason, she found Zu An particularly irritating. She wasn't sure if it was because he was Chu Chuyan's husband or because he had previously bothered her.

Wu Qing usually had a bad temper and wasn't very popular, but her words were logical and many people nodded in agreement.

Zu An replied, "Of course I don't doubt the Principal's fairness. But what if the Shi family had secretly bribed some academy students beforehand? Most of those who attacked me in the secret realm were students from the Earth Class, and during the fighting, they were clearly taking orders from the same person."

"Is that so?" Jiang Luofu frowned. Academy staff had already come to report to her that the number of students who had emerged this time was incorrect; many were missing, and the losses were greater than any previous expedition.

Jiang Luofu's brows furrowed further. Such tragic losses had not been seen in a hundred years and were considered a very serious incident. Afterwards, she would have to explain it to the Taichang Department.

Wu Qing fell silent. As someone from a prominent family, she naturally knew some inside information. Not to mention the Shi family, even the Wu family had informants within the academy. After all, some students from humble backgrounds, without power or influence, were relatively easy to buy off.

Shi Kun, recovering from his initial shock, seized the opportunity to say: "That's outrageous fabrication! Our Shi family has never done such a thing. In my opinion, perhaps you and those students discovered some rare treasure in the secret realm simultaneously and grew greedy, then launched a surprise attack to ambush the others, and now you're turning around and trying to pin the blame on me."

Many who were usually close to the Shi family immediately spoke up in agreement, and except for Xie Xiu and Pei Mianman, who guessed the truth, and Zheng Dan, who knew the truth, the others secretly nodded, acknowledging that what Shi Kun said was indeed reasonable.

Furthermore, comparing Shi Kun's usual gentle and refined demeanor with Zu An's thuggish appearance, people subconsciously were more inclined to believe Shi Kun.

Zu An frowned. There was indeed no evidence of what had happened in the secret realm, as all those involved were dead. Shi Kun must have anticipated this, which was why he dared to act so brazenly in the secret realm.

Qiao Xueying, standing nearby, opened her mouth as if to speak but was stopped by Zu An. Although he didn't know how the Shi family controlled Qiao Xueying, it was clear they wouldn't have left no means of leverage, so he didn't want to put her in a difficult position.

Furthermore, even if Qiao Xueying spoke, it would be useless. Shi Kun could completely deny it, and now there was no one left to contradict him.

Noticing that Qiao Xueying was still alive, a shadow of gloom flickered in Shi Kun's eyes. However, he knew it wasn't the time to confront her. So he continued to challenge Zu An: "If you hadn't launched a sneak attack, how could you, a mere third-rank, have harmed those fourth-rank senior students from the Earth Class?"

Zu An chuckled. "If you were talking about other things, I might not immediately think of a way to respond, but when it comes to this, I'm wide awake! If I'm not mistaken, you're fifth-rank, aren't you? If your 'servant' hadn't intervened just now, you'd probably already be dead by my sword, like a slaughtered chicken."

"You!" Shi Kun's face instantly flushed crimson. He still hadn't fully processed what had happened in that instant. The thought of being forced to such a state in front of everyone was an utter humiliation.

Rage points from Shi Kun: 888!

Shi Lezhi, standing nearby, twitched when he heard the word "servant." Although he knew he was indeed a servant of the Shi family, he was still an eighth-rank expert. Even the Shi family gave him face and treated him with respect on a daily basis. Yet this fellow had used such a derogatory term directly.

"You brat, you're asking for death!" he roared, making as if to lunge forward.

Rage points from Shi Lezhi: 999!

Jiang Luofu casually stepped forward, standing between them. Although she said nothing, her message was clear: no matter what, academy members were not to be disciplined by outsiders.

Shi Lezhi's breath caught. An eighth-rank cultivator with no potential for advancement like him was clearly no match for someone in the prime of her life like Jiang Luofu. He dared not offend this mysterious woman and could only retreat resentfully.

"No wonder everyone in the academy says Zu An lives off women; he always has a woman protecting him!"

Of course, this was just his inner grumbling; he didn't truly believe Zu An could "live off" the esteemed Principal Jiang Luofu.

At this point, Chu Chuyan also spoke up: "I can also testify about what happened in the secret realm. Although I didn't personally witness how those individuals pursued Ah Zu, I was certainly present for Shi Kun's subsequent pursuit of both of us."

Zu An, standing beside her, secretly lamented his "silly wife" for being so honest. "What if she had just firmly insisted she saw it? With her usual popularity and reputation, would anyone doubt her?"

At this, the crowd erupted in an uproar. If the earlier confrontation between Shi Kun and Zu An was merely a spectacle for them, now hearing that even Chu Chuyan had been in danger, a wave of righteous indignation swept through the group.

"How dare he lay a hand on our goddess? What good is his handsomeness then?"

Xie Xiu unfurled his fan and suddenly stepped out from the crowd. "Miss Chu, to my knowledge, while Young Master Shi's cultivation is impressive, it should be slightly inferior to yours. Even with a few companions, to claim they pursued you... that hardly seems plausible."

This was also the doubt of many present, and upon hearing him, they nodded and looked at him curiously.