Chapter 19: Framing

After a thorough beating, Zhang Xuan finally felt much more comfortable.

Looking down, he saw that Yao Han’s mask had fallen off, and his face was so battered and distorted that even his own mother wouldn’t recognize him.

“Uh…”

With his anger subsiding, Zhang Xuan’s mind became sharp again: “This guy is the steward of White Jade City’s Lord, and also my disciple’s uncle. A good beating is fine, but I can’t kill him!”

No matter what, this guy was Zhao Ya’s Uncle Yao. If he were to kill him, wouldn’t his newly accepted disciple explode with anger? There would definitely be no chance of reconciliation in the future!

Furthermore, White Jade City was known as the third-largest city in Tianxuan Kingdom. As its Lord, he must be powerful and command significant influence. If his steward were killed, a thorough investigation could easily trace it back to Zhang Xuan, leading to considerable trouble.

Having just arrived in this world and not yet firmly established, it was better to keep a low profile.

“I can’t let him suspect me!”

A thought struck him. Since he couldn’t kill him, he had to let him leave alive. But if he attacked Zhang Xuan and got beaten up, he would definitely be suspicious!

“Oh, right, there’s a perfect scapegoat. If he hadn’t bothered me today, I wouldn’t have thought of him…”

He suddenly thought of someone.

It was Shang Bin, who had constantly ridiculed him when he met Shen Birou earlier in the day.

Anyway, this guy was Elder Shang Chen’s grandson. If he framed him, Yao Han wouldn’t dare retaliate even if he knew. Even if he did retaliate, them fighting each other would be even better!

With this thought, Zhang Xuan looked down at the unrecognizable Yao Han and lowered his voice: “Zhang Xuan and I have a conflict. He angered me today, and I was planning to teach him a lesson tonight! However, if he were truly castrated by you, Bi… she would definitely think I did it and misunderstand me! If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for being caught by me at the wrong time!”

“…”

Only then did Yao Han realize why he had been beaten. He wanted to retort, but his mouth was so swollen like a sausage that he couldn’t speak.

“Scram!” Seeing that the other party understood him, Zhang Xuan stopped talking nonsense, stood up, and kicked Yao Han, sending him flying more than ten meters away.

“Damn it!” Cursing inwardly, Yao Han knew that if he continued fighting today, he would still be the one suffering. He gritted his teeth, turned, and left.

At the same time, he remembered two characteristics: first, the person who beat him had just interacted with Zhang Xuan during the day and had been angered by him! Second, he and Zhang Xuan were likely love rivals, both pursuing a woman whose name contained “Bi.”

Knowing these two points, it would be easy to find out who had attacked him today.

Seeing Yao Han leave, Zhang Xuan finally relaxed. He tidied up and returned to his dormitory.

It was quite a close call, to be honest. If he hadn’t been cultivating tonight and was still awake, he really didn’t know what might have happened.

However, at least the danger was temporarily averted.

“To survive in this world… strength is the most important thing!”

Sitting on his dormitory bed, Zhang Xuan muttered to himself.

If his cultivation hadn’t advanced tonight, even knowing Yao Han’s weaknesses, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to defeat him, and he would have been the one to suffer.

Therefore, there was no other urgent task than to quickly improve his strength; the stronger, the better!

With these thoughts, he gradually drifted off to sleep.

The next day, he woke up at dawn. Although he had only slept for less than two hours and had been through so much, he still felt full of energy, without the slightest hint of tiredness.

“Time for class!”

Muttering to himself, he put on his clothes and strode towards his classroom.

Soon, he arrived at the classroom. As he pushed the door open and stepped inside, a chubby young man excitedly greeted him.

“Teacher Zhang, you’re here! Look, I’ve already finished cleaning the room!” It was Yuan Tao, the chubby student he had last accepted.

He had threatened this guy, and unexpectedly, he was indeed the first to arrive today, and he had even cleaned the room immaculately.

“Not bad!” Zhang Xuan nodded.

“Hehe, since Teacher says I’m good, shouldn’t there be a reward? Like three or five martial arts techniques or cultivation methods…”

This guy was the type to take an inch and ask for a mile.

“Just wait over there for now. I’ll start class once the other students arrive!” Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

The first to arrive was the chubby young man, and the second was surprisingly Liu Yang, the student he had won in a bet!

However, Liu Yang’s attitude wasn’t as good as the chubby young man’s. His face was full of reluctance, and he looked at Zhang Xuan with disdain.

In his opinion, Zhang Xuan’s victory in the bet was pure luck. How painful would it be for a dignified genius like him to study under such a teacher?

The third to arrive was Zheng Yang, the young man skilled in using a spear!

Zhang Xuan had immediately pointed out the flaws in his spear technique, causing his strength to more than double. He was very convinced by this teacher, arguably the only student among them who was genuinely willing to learn.

The fourth was Wang Ying, the shy girl. As soon as she entered and saw other students, her face flushed, and she hid in a corner.

***

“Today, my body’s problems should finally be resolved…” Zhao Ya opened her eyes.

Yesterday, that supposedly worst teacher had claimed he could resolve her physical issues. After returning, she had been a mix of worry and confusion, tossing and turning until past midnight before finally falling asleep.

Regardless of whether what he said was true or false, she would definitely get an answer today!

Thinking this, she washed up, got dressed, and left her room.

As the daughter of the City Lord, specifically White Jade City’s Lord, and one of the top ten in the freshman entrance examination, it was naturally impossible for her to live in a common student dormitory. Instead, she had her own small courtyard with many rooms. Her steward, Uncle Yao, lived in a house nearby.

“Uncle Yao, I’m going to class!” Seeing no movement from his room, Zhao Ya called out and was about to leave.

“Miss, wait for me! I’ll go with you!” a voice called out. The room door opened, and Yao Han stepped out.

Upon seeing his appearance, Zhao Ya froze: “Uncle Yao, what… what happened to you?”

His face was swollen, his eyes were black, and in just one night, her once dignified Uncle Yao, the grand steward, had become completely unrecognizable. If not for his familiar voice, she wouldn’t have known who he was!

“Oh, I practiced too hard yesterday and accidentally hit myself!” Yao Han said.

“…”

Who practices martial arts by hitting themselves? Could you possibly come up with a worse excuse…?

“Uncle Yao, what exactly happened? Who did this? If you don’t tell me, I’ll tell Father!” Zhao Ya fumed.

“Miss, you don’t need to worry about this; it’s my own problem… I can handle it myself! You should go to class first. I want to see what kind of teacher this one you’ve recognized is. If he’s as bad as the rumors say, I’ll immediately report to the City Lord and have Hongtian Academy change your teacher…” Yao Han waved his hand grandly, full of bravado, but the movement was too big, tearing at his injuries and making him break out in a cold sweat.

“Alright!”

Seeing that he didn’t want her to interfere, Zhao Ya said no more, and the two walked towards Zhang Xuan’s classroom.

“Uncle Yao, you’re so badly injured. Why don’t you go back and rest? I can go to class alone; you don’t need to see me off!” After walking for a while, seeing him trembling all over and drenched in sweat, Zhao Ya couldn’t help but say.

Yesterday, Zhang Xuan had shown no mercy. Even after taking medicine for his injuries and resting for several hours, Yao Han was still badly hurt. Being able to walk at all was impressive.

“Miss, when the City Lord arrived, he specifically instructed me to make sure you chose a good teacher. You chose this fellow, so how can I report back? No matter what,” Yao Han said, “I must expose this guy in front of you, so you know he’s actually an unlearned good-for-nothing! Only someone as naive as you would fall for his trick. With his level, he definitely won’t attract a second student. Just wait a bit, and you’ll see his classroom has no students…”

*Creak!*

The door pushed open, revealing the scene inside.

Zhang Xuan and four new students were standing there.