Monarch Night
Chapter 51 - 16 This is all at the leader’s behest

Chapter 51: Chapter 16 This is all at the leader’s behest

This situation suddenly became an unexpected disaster.

No one had anticipated that a bloody mishap would suddenly erupt amidst a match that was proceeding normally!

Ximen Xuri was filled with madness, his eyes already dim with despair.

Having cultivated until now, his skills in taking lives were mostly concentrated in the use of hidden weapons in his right hand, yet now, his right hand had been severed by Fang Che’s single strike!

He had even been stepped on!

It could have been reattached, but after that stomp, he was destined to be crippled!

His whole life was ruined!

His eyes were filled with deadly resentment, he had forgotten everything else, wanting only to kill in revenge!

The head referee quickly sprung into action, "Stop..."

Just then, Fang Che seemed to have regained control of his anger, moved his blade aside, stepped back, and silently gathered his cultivation, giving Ximen Xuri a chance to counterattack, and then turned around with an apologetic look, "I’m sorry, teacher, I couldn’t hold back..."

The two referees also breathed a sigh of relief, "It’s..."

At this moment, countless shouts from below, "Watch out!"

A ferocious roar!

Behind him, from Ximen Xuri’s left sleeve, a sudden streak of crimson light flared.

It was the Crimson Blood Snake!

This was even more unexpected; no one thought that Ximen Xuri still hadn’t given up.

No.

It wasn’t about not giving up; he wanted to kill Fang Che for revenge!

He had lost all reason.

This time it was truly too late.

From a distance, on the high platform, two figures dashed forward, flying over like lightning, but it was too late.

At this critical juncture!

"Damn it!"

The blade flashed fiercely, and with a turn, Fang Che roared as the blade light, filled with boundless rage, came crashing down!

The Crimson Blood Snake was cleaved in two, and before the foul-smelling blood could splatter, the blade had already descended from the top of Ximen Xuri’s head, slicing from head to groin!

Both halves of the body fell to the sides.

Both halves of the face still bore resentment.

Fang Che held the knife, his body maintaining the slashing pose, violently trembling with a pale face.

He seemed terrified.

With a swish.

Two senior instructors landed on the stage, and the two referees had already acted.

But, everything was too late.

Ximen Xuri was now in two halves.

No, three pieces. There was that arm too!

"Ah! This..."

Several instructors on the stage stamped their feet and sighed heavily, truly at a loss for words.

The incident had unfolded on stage, right and wrong witnessed by tens of thousands of eyes.

Even though Fang Che was the killer, everyone understood that it really wasn’t Fang Che’s fault!

Ximen Xuri had started with the upper hand.

And that wasn’t the end of it.

Not only did he initiate the use of weapons, but he also used a hidden weapon, and only called out a warning after striking, clearly intending to kill without taking responsibility.

Being suddenly counterattacked and wounded in the arm, having a blade held to his neck, he had already lost. Fang Che, in his rage, had restrained himself and spared his life, yet Ximen Xuri still tried to ambush his opponent when he was let go!

Having been split with a single blow, there was nothing to be said, and some might even find it immensely satisfying!

Such a person deserved death!

Looking at Fang Che’s somewhat pale face standing on the stage, the face of the young and talented was filled with panic after shock.

Perhaps this child had killed for the first time?

Although it was an angry counterattack in the face of danger, he must have been badly frightened.

Many female students felt a bit of pity in their hearts.

This Ximen Xuri really was too much of a bully!

Fang Qingyun and a few others almost rushed onto the stage, extremely anxious, "Cousin! Cousin, are you alright?"

Fang Che’s face was pale, "I should be fine... did I... did I kill someone?"

Clearly showing the fear of taking a life for the first time, after all, it was a human life.

Turning to look at Ximen Xuri’s corpse, Fang Che suddenly covered his mouth, as if he was going to vomit.

On the stage, two instructors and two referees looked at Fang Che with some suspicion.

Something was a bit odd about this situation.

But now was not the time to investigate.

First, they had to clean up the stage, then hastily arrange for the next pair to compete.

"The competition continues!"

And then, they took Fang Che away.

The crowd below was abuzz with discussion, and many were no longer concerned about the battles on stage.

Almost everyone was agreed: Fang Che was not in the wrong! This Ximen Xuri deserved to be killed!

...

"Fang Che, you were at a disadvantage at the beginning, weren’t you? We don’t believe that when you were less powerful than your opponent, you were capable of penetrating his hidden weapon attack and countering," said one of the referees. "Explain yourself."

"I hid my strength!"

Fang Che confidently replied, "My cultivation was actually higher than his!"

"Oh? Which level of martial master are you?"

"Fourth Realm!"

Fang Che said, "Originally at the Third Layer, I reached the Fourth Level after coming to the Martial Arts Academy, with the help of Vice Mountain Master Huang Yifan."

"Vice Mountain Master Huang?"

The two senior instructors were flabbergasted.

How did Vice Mountain Master Huang get involved in this?

That’s pretty bizarre.

"Yes."

Fang Che decided to go all-out, pinning all the blame on Huang Yifan, "The Mountain Master told me that the purpose of this bet was to teach the freshmen a lesson, to not reveal all my strength. It wouldn’t be good if everyone placed their bets on me. It wouldn’t achieve the desired effect."

The two instructors looked at each other, speechless.

This is absolutely ridiculous!

Could it really work this way?

This made the questions they were about to ask next suddenly become unaskable.

"It was an arrangement by the leadership, and Fang Che just acted according to their wishes. What can you say? Could the leadership have anticipated Ximen Xuri’s despicable act and deliberately arranged for Fang Che to strike back in self-defense?"

"That’s obviously not possible."

"...with your strength, you should have been able to control yourself and not kill someone," the instructor sighed, the interrogatory tone now gone.

Fang Che said, "That strike was a subconscious fight-for-life reaction; in that situation, it was impossible for me to hold back. Maybe after going through more incidents like this, I might be able to control it, but for now... my strength isn’t there."

He wasn’t lying with that statement.

The two instructors looked at each other, finding the reasoning sound.

Not to mention Fang Che, even if it were them in that situation, their first thought would be to counter-kill, removing future threats!

No one would hold back!

"You entered the Martial Arts Academy with a sword, why did you use a knife in today’s battle?" one of the instructors asked.

"My master was the Sword King, so what’s so strange about me using a knife?" Fang Che responded.

There seemed so much sense in that statement!

"And the sword?"

"After being reminded by Vice Mountain Master Huang, I bought a sword to wear as a ruse," Fang Che said sincerely. "Actually, I don’t know how to use a sword."

Vice Mountain Master Huang again!

Both instructors covered their foreheads with the same gesture, no longer wanting to speak.

This is just...

They had never encountered such a speechless situation in their lives!

Just then, the door opened.

A man with three long beards stepped in.

This person appeared to be in his forties or fifties, exuded righteousness, and seemed to be Chuchen; his eyebrows carried a pure aura, and he had the presence of someone used to high authority, commanding respect without anger.

As he entered, he simply asked, "Are you done with the questioning?"

The two instructors stood up at the same time, responding, "Supervisor Meng."

Supervisor Meng frowned, "Such a clear-cut case, did it need so much time?"

"We are done with the questioning."

"Then hurry up and let him go!" Supervisor Meng waved his hand and then turned a kindly smile to Fang Che, "Go rest well, you must have been quite startled today, it’s not easy the first time you kill someone, right? Take some Elixir Pills to help calm your Divine Soul; a good sleep will do the trick."

"Yes, thank you very much, Lord Supervisor Meng!" Fang Che bowed in thanks.

Quite obedient.

Indeed, Supervisor Meng smiled, "You are quite well-behaved, kid."

He then took out a small bottle from his cloak, "Inside are two Elixir Pills that can help soothe your Divine Soul. You probably don’t have much good stuff on you, so let this old man help you out."

"Thank you, Supervisor Meng!"

Fang Che accepted them.

"Off you go."

Fang Che then left.

The two senior instructors felt a whole belly of complaints they couldn’t voice!

After involving Vice Mountain Master Huang, the taste of the situation became indescribable.

Who could have imagined that Supervisor Meng, who usually didn’t meddle much, would actually show up for Fang Che’s sake?

Does this Fang Che have some significant backing?

But that’s not right... all the students’ backgrounds are thoroughly vetted, and if there was anything noteworthy, it wouldn’t have been overlooked.

Moreover, there wasn’t any fuss before the school year started.

"I’ll be going too, back to watch the matches," said Supervisor Meng casually as he strolled away.

So, you came just for Fang Che’s sake?

Afraid we might wrong this student?

How does one even begin to explain this?

The two instructors were suddenly doubtful about life itself.

Supervisor Meng, whose name was Meng Chizheng, usually kept a low profile in the Martial Arts Academy. He sought neither conflicts nor competition and was an embodiment of righteousness, valuing fairness in everything. He had good standing among the people in the academy.

No one expected him to stand up for Fang Che on this occasion.

Even though everyone had seen what had happened, it still made no sense for the Supervisor himself to intervene.

...

Fang Che went straight home.

This afternoon, the match between the fifty competitors would end.

The matches between the remaining twenty-five would start tomorrow.

Sun Yuan was already waiting in the courtyard, sipping tea while watching Ye Meng practice martial arts.

He occasionally gave a pointer or two.

Ye Meng practiced so hard that she was sweating profusely.

Fang Che, young and easily hoodwinked, could be casually deceived, but this Sun Yuan was a slick old-timer from the Demon Sect, a purebred old-timer from Jianghu.

Ye Meng had to stay alert to get by.

Fortunately, Sun Yuan’s attention was completely somewhere else, and he seemed rather distracted, which allowed the girl to breathe a sigh of relief.

When Fang Che came home, his face was still somewhat pale.

His body even trembled slightly.

Sun Yuan’s attention was immediately drawn, and he stood up with concern, "What’s the matter, are you hurt?"

He had a bad feeling.

Was he defeated? How would they complete the mission then?

"I’m not hurt."

Fang Che’s face showed a hint of lingering fear, his voice slightly trembling, "Today I killed a man."

"Killed a man?" Sun Yuan froze, "Whom did you kill?"

"Ximen Xuri. I killed him," Fang Che spoke with a pale face, seemingly still filled with residual shock, "It’s disgusting, I want to throw up."

So that’s what happened!

Sun Yuan immediately relaxed, now a surge of joy rising, "Killing Ximen Xuri is only natural, why scare yourself? Kid, you still need more experience."

Ye Meng rolled her eyes secretly, what a thing to say.

Sure enough, Sun Yuan pushed it even further, "What’s killing a person or two? How about this, master could find a village for you to slaughter to practice? Don’t take it to heart, just think of it as killing dogs, you’ll get used to it gradually."

...

[Seeking monthly tickets, recommendations, to add to bookshelves, and to follow. The first update tomorrow will be at 11:30 AM, it’s already scheduled.]