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Divine Martial Academy.

The sudden upset a few days ago had put a sudden stop to the Battle of Geniuses, which was still currently suspended. Great Emperor Xue Yang had come in person and taken Xue Mo back to the Sea of Innocence. At the same time, he forbade anyone from taking so much as a single step out of Divine Martial Academy.

That day, every participant could sense the Great Emperor's fury pouring out of him like a volcanic eruption.

But they were all well aware that he was angry at the one who'd injured his daughter. Even if he decided to make trouble, he would go after the person in question. Practically everyone silently mourned that arrogant youth, yet against all expectations…

That youth disappeared from Divine Martial Academy and returned to his clan, completely unharmed. After that, they received orders that no one was to divulge this incident, and that furthermore, they were forbidden to leave the academy.

They were clearly innocent, yet they were now under curfew and house arrest.

Meanwhile, the actual offender got off scott free, returning home without incident. The other participants couldn't help but be furious, but in the face of the combined pressure of Great Emperor Xue Yang and the Northern Divine Mountain's Sea of Innocence, they had no choice but to grin and bear it.

As for the rest of Anti-Upheaval, Xue Yang had taken them back with him.

Murong Xue and the others might be able to keep a lid on what had happened, but Anti-Upheaval couldn't. Their relationship with Xue Mo was fundamentally different, and if they saw Ye Zichen, they would absolutely, undoubtedly let the cat out of the bag.

To prevent this possibility, Xue Yang had to take them with him.

Murong Xue and the other Skyspan Academy students were the only participants allowed to leave the Divine Martial Academy as they pleased. This, too, was Great Emperor Xue Yang's will.

Their task was simple: to keep a close eye on Ye Zichen, and whatever they did, prevent him from taking so much as half a step into the Divine Martial Academy. Although Xue Yang and the Sea of Innocence put pressure on them, who knew for sure whether they could really keep a lid on this?

They didn't know why Xue Yang trusted them with this, but they agreed that keeping this under wraps was for the best, so they all agreed.

And that was what led up to last night's strange welcoming party at the tavern.

However, there was one Skyspan Academy student who'd elected not to participate in their scheme: Jiang Wei.

He'd made it quite clear that he wanted nothing to do with this, but he promised not to tell Ye Zichen either. When he made his oath, Jiang Yong and the others decided not to press the issue, but now…

"Jiang Wei, I know you don't want to lower yourself by tricking others, but you really need to help us." Jiang Yong tightly knit his brows and pleaded bitterly with Jiang Wei. Jiang Wei, as usual, had his eyes shut as he motionlessly clutched his rusted sword.

This was the only method Jiang Yong could think of.

He understood Jiang Wei's personality, and Ye Zichen absolutely did too. Even though Jiang Wei suspected the others were up to something, he'd trust whatever Jiang Wei told him.

Because Jiang Wei was trustworthy by nature; he was proud, too proud to resort to deceiving others.

"Last night, our performance was a little over the top, and Brother Ye realized that something strange was going on. Xue Beibei told Xue'er that Brother Ye suspects us, and now he's back in Heavenly God City…."

No matter what Jiang Yong said, Jiang Wei just sat there in silence, like a wooden statue.

"Come on bro, say something! This is an emergency. You were there that day. If you were to fight that guy, what do you think your odds of victory would be?"

"Twenty percent…. No, not even," Jiang Wei spoke suddenly.

He'd been performing mental simulations for the past few days, trying to figure out what would happen if he fought that guy.

Twenty percent!

And that was assuming the situation was entirely to his advantage.

Given Jiang Wei's proud nature, he hated to admit that he was inferior to that person, but reality was staring him right in the face. If he'd swapped places with Xue Mo, his fate might have been even ghastlier.

Because that day, Xue Mo had fully activated the power of her bloodline.

The difference in strength was too big. He'd been watching from the bleachers, but he could do nothing as Xue Mo was injured. He'd clenched his fists so tightly, his nails cut into the flesh of his palm. It was all he could do to hold back and resist jumping in the fray.

He wasn't the only one. Everyone from Skyspan Academy had reacted much the same way.

But that person was just too terrifying, so terrifying that he was beyond the Battle of Geniuses's participants' comprehension. The way Jiang Wei saw it, perhaps only figures like the Fox Queen Su Liu'er, the Holy Maiden of the Nine Li Sun Yige, and the still-mysterious Liu Qing of the Four Directions Palace could stand up to him.

Or perhaps, he was stronger than those three too.

Jiang Yong had been urging Jiang Wei to help all this time, but when he heard that, he froze. He knew that person was strong, but he would never have imagined that Jiang Wei would admit his odds of victory weren't even twenty percent.

Then…. That guy….

"If even you know you most likely can't beat him, what about Brother Ye? If he goes after that guy, won't he just be throwing his life away? If he finds out about Xue Mo's situation, he'll absolutely go after that guy for revenge. Do you think he'll come back alive?"

Jiang Wei was silent.

"That guy…. He dared injure even the second daughter of the Sea of Innocence. You don't think he'll hold back on account of Brother Ye's status, do you? And speaking of his status, he has both the Profound Pavillion and the Lord of Seven Stars backing him. Can you imagine the consequences if something happens to him?"

Jiang Wei's tightly shut eyes suddenly sprang open, and his hands quivered. Jiang Yong sensed he was moved and seized the opportunity to push even harder. "Really, Jiang Wei, I know how proud you are and that you disdain deceiving others, which is why we didn't persist at first. But now, you're our only hope. Your words can determine what Brother Ye does next."

"If he goes and kills that guy and his family to avenge Xue Mo, then something happens to him, the Association of Saints, the Master of Seven Stars and her fellow star bearers, and even the Profound Pavilion will be stirred into action, causing chaos throughout the God Realm. It's that, or delay him for just a few days until Xue Mo wakes up, then explain."

"Do you think he'll believe me if I lie to him?" Jiang Wei sighed. "Also, do you really think there's any need to be so tense? Isn't Lady Providence Ye Zichen's aunt, and the one in charge of the Battle of Geniuses? Do you think she'd let Ye Zichen throw his life away?"

Jiang Yong had already thought of this, as had the rest of Skyspan Academy's representatives.

And if they'd thought of it, naturally, Great Emperor Xue Yang had thought of it too.

And yet, the Great Emperor still wanted to keep Ye Zichen in the dark. They didn't know why, but they knew it was necessary.

That's why victory and defeat were still in Jiang Wei's hands. That was why the had no choice but to rely on him.

Jiang Wei took a deep breath, but didn't argue with Jiang Wei about all that. Instead, he stared at him intently, his tone solemn. "All you need to do is answer me: are you helping or not?" His tone carried a hint of a threat, but Jiang Yong also sounded on the verge of giving up.

Time was tight. Jiang Yong couldn't afford to waste what little time he had with Jiang Wei. If his pride prevented him from lying, Jiang Wei should just leave now and leave him to discuss other possible countermeasures with the others.

"I understand," said Jiang Wei. "Tell me what I need to do!"