novelraw Chapter 113: When the Nest Is Overturned, No Egg Is Left Unbroken
Chapter 113: When the Nest Is Overturned, No Egg Is Left Unbroken
"Imperial law is imperial law, and school rules are school rules. The path of cultivation has always been a matter of chance and opportunity. In the hundred thousand years since the Primordial Wilds were first shaped, and the eight thousand years since Great Chu was founded, every nook and cranny of the world has inevitably harbored all manner of strange and questionable things."
"You all know the headmaster's position. So long as you apply yourselves to your studies and do not dabble in heretical practices, even a few small secrets will not be pried into."
"In past years, inner hall disciples who went out for training exercises did sometimes suffer losses, but at least the cause and effect could always be traced. This incident alone has yielded nothing after repeated investigation, and the damage to our reputation is severe."
"You may think that if the investigation truly runs dry, the matter will simply be dropped. But I would advise you not to indulge in that naive fantasy. Above the county government sits the prefectural government. If the county magistrate cannot contain this matter and it gets referred to the prefecture, and specialists are dispatched to investigate..."
"The question is no longer whether I have evidence or not. What you all need to think carefully about is this: when the nest is overturned, no egg is left unbroken. If we cannot quickly expose the culprit who harmed our fellow disciples, and the prefectural investigators come down to look into things, will those little secrets you've been keeping under the table stay hidden?"
"When that moment comes, if you try to explain that it was merely a personal interest of yours, do you think anyone will believe you?"
Those few sentences landed with devastating force.
Some people broke on the spot.
"Which son of a dog was it?"
"Murdering fellow disciples for no reason, I will not rest until I stand against this person!""Senior brother, rest assured. We'll turn over every mountain and search every sea to drag this wretch out!"
Others broke in private.
Senior Brother Yang was agitated.
How could anyone be so reckless? A little discretion, a little caution, that was hardly too much to ask.
Even he himself had done nothing more than quietly cultivate the spiritual roots of a few junior brothers and sisters on the side, and had not caused a single death to this day.
But this one had gone and abducted someone in broad daylight, in front of a crowd, and left not a body nor a living person behind. That was unambiguously the work of the demonic path.
He returned to his own alchemy room and gathered the students who had been secretly following his teachings.
Li Qiuchen was made to recount the details of the incident once more.
"The chief senior brother has always been steady and reliable. He would not make wild guesses. If he says there is a traitor, then there is a traitor. The only problem is that he has no evidence in hand. Now then, who do you all think this traitor could be?"
We think? Think what?
Senior Brother Yang knew full well this group of low-year novices couldn't contribute much, and waved a hand. "Say whatever comes to mind. Don't hold back. Since the traitor dared to move openly against Junior Sister Peng Lan, there is nothing stopping them from coming after any one of us next."
Li Qiuchen hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and said, "Senior Brother Yang, there is something we don't understand and can only ask your guidance on."
"Go ahead."
"The demon that day displayed Foundation Establishment cultivation. Setting aside all other factors and looking purely at that level of strength, how many creatures of that caliber exist within the borders of Yun County?"
"Quite a few, actually."
Senior Brother Yang shook his head and said, "You've only just enrolled and don't know much about these things yet. Yun County may be remote in terms of geography, but it's not without its impressive mountains and rivers. To say nothing of places further afield, just in the Dragon Scale River that runs past Yun County, there are three renowned great demons at the Golden Core realm, and the water clan demon generals under them at the Foundation Establishment realm number no fewer than twenty."
"And what about our county school?"
"Within the inner hall, only the chief senior brother has currently reached the Foundation Establishment realm."
Zeng Mingming spoke up from the side, "How can there only be one? The water clan has a great demon king at the Golden Core realm. If they're not going to bully us, who are they going to bully?"
Senior Brother Yang gave him a weary look and said, "Obviously because the others have already graduated. Once you've cultivated to the Foundation Establishment realm, what reason is there to stay at the county school?"
Zeng Mingming had a moment of dawning understanding, and immediately asked, "Then why hasn't the chief senior brother graduated yet?"
"Someone has to stay behind and hold the fort, to keep small-timers from taking advantage. The main reason the chief senior brother hasn't left is precisely to prevent something like today from happening."
Senior Brother Yang said with a note of feeling, "If I could successfully reach Foundation Establishment, I could take over the chief senior brother's position..."
That was easy enough to say, but inheriting the position of chief senior brother inevitably meant taking on the corresponding responsibilities.
Senior Brother Yang's words sounded fine on the surface, but from the subtle shifts in his expression, Li Qiuchen could tell he wasn't confident about competing for that position.
Below Murong Feng, there was no shortage of exceptionally talented senior brothers and sisters in the inner hall.
"Senior Brother Yang, could there be someone in our inner hall who has already reached Foundation Establishment but is deliberately concealing their cultivation and passing themselves off as Qi Refining?"
Senior Brother Yang gave Li Qiuchen a strange look.
"Wouldn't that just mean they're out of their mind?"
Now hang on, I take issue with that phrasing!
What do you mean, out of their mind? What's wrong with keeping a low profile?
"You've been reading too many novels."
Senior Brother Yang explained, "The Foundation Establishment realm today is not the same as Foundation Establishment in the age of the ancient cultivators."
"Because of the Elixir Viscera?"
"Exactly. Because of the Elixir Viscera, our cultivation efficiency now far surpasses that of the ancient cultivators. Once you advance to Foundation Establishment, your strength undergoes a leap forward."
"But by the same token, once you enter the Foundation Establishment realm, the resources required for continued cultivation multiply as well. Continuing to cultivate within the county school's inner hall would only mean working twice as hard for half the results, a waste of time. You would have to proceed to a higher institution, meaning one of the four great academies of the northern frontier."
Senior Brother Yang held up four fingers. "North Sea, White Mountain, Evergreen, and Mulan. Of these four great academies, the closest to our Yun County is the North Sea Academy. The vast majority of senior brothers and predecessors who successfully reach Foundation Establishment go on to study there."
"If someone in our inner hall had already reached Foundation Establishment but had no intention of leaving, and was still stirring up trouble on top of that... one could only say that either they were out of their mind and had no regard for their future, or..."
Senior Brother Yang paused here. "Or they have become entangled in some deep and weighty cause in this place and have something far-reaching in mind."
Was there someone like that?
Senior Brother Yang wracked his brain at length and came up empty.
The past two years had been quite peaceful. There had been competition among them, and there had been grudges, but nothing had ever escalated to this level.
Surely it couldn't be...
A flash of something cut through his mind, and Yang Wenping suddenly went still.
"Senior Brother Yang?"
"It's nothing. Something just came to mind briefly, nothing important."
Senior Brother Yang gave a casual laugh and kept his composure on the surface.
But Li Qiuchen, who had been watching his face throughout, could tell that this senior brother had very likely thought of something real.
He simply wasn't certain yet.
Subjective speculation was not something to go around voicing carelessly.
Li Qiuchen was afraid of taking the blame for something, and evidently Senior Brother Yang was too.
"Senior Brother Yang, what can we do at this point?"
"Wait."
Senior Brother Yang said in a low voice, "From today onward, pay close attention to any unusual activity in the town, and keep a particular eye out for deaths. Suicides, murders, or anything that looks like an accident on the surface. Whatever news you come across along those lines, report it to me at once."
"Does senior brother think the demon will continue to harm people?"
"It may not be a demon."
Senior Brother Yang shook his head and said, "Whatever the case, just do your best. And remember, do not act on impulse or take unnecessary risks. At your current level of strength, you would only be walking into someone's hands. If you truly find yourselves in danger, do not try to be heroes."
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