Chapter 55

"Who else knows about this matter?"

At this moment, Tang Yuan had already dispelled his imposing aura, and the hall was silent as a grave.

Shang Xia smiled indifferently and said, "On that day in the valley, all the surviving students heard about it."

Seeing Tang Yuan's face about to turn the color of pig liver, Shang Xia continued, "Rest assured, sir. I have already warned my classmates that matters of life and death must not be disclosed casually. If anyone were to spread rumors, the news would have already been out, not waiting until now."

Tang Yuan gave the young man in the hall a deep look, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone present like a vulture, and he said in a cold voice, "I will report to Dean Ji. Before that, anyone who leaves this hall will be punished together!"

Shang Xia did not believe that the high-level officials of Tongyou Academy were unaware of the news of Kou Chongxue's severe injuries.

Despite Tang Yuan's apparent panic, it was not necessarily because he was frightened by the news.

The more likely reason was that such a critical piece of information had leaked out!

Not only did someone like Shang Xia, a junior, know about it, but even more terrifying was that his source was from overhearing the conversation of Cang Ling martial cultivators.

What did this imply?

There was definitely a mole in Tongyou Academy!

And the mole must be in a high position within the academy, otherwise, it would be impossible to access such critical information.

Even more terrifying was that if there was a problem with the four great pillars of the sky and the four great beams of the sea in Youzhou, the Cang Ling martial cultivators of the Four Spirit Mountains would not miss the opportunity to cause trouble.

After all, Tongyou Peak was currently facing a severe situation.

Was it because Liu Jitang led people out privately, leaving Tongyou Peak's defenses weak, thus inviting the covetous gaze of the Four Spirit Mountains?

Or was it because the Four Spirit Mountains had learned of Kou Chongxue's severe injuries and deliberately launched an attack?

There was a fundamental difference between these two scenarios.

Such a difference could directly lead to a serious misjudgment by Tongyou Academy regarding the situation in the borderlands.

Currently, under Ji Wenlong's leadership, Tongyou Peak was clearly responding based on the first possibility.

But now, Shang Xia had told Tang Yuan that the Cang Ling martial cultivators had already known about Kou Chongxue's severe injuries, which completely changed the nature of the conflict.

All the measures taken by Tongyou Peak might have already fallen into the calculations of the Cang Ling martial cultivators.

This was the real reason for the panic of the chief of the patrol riders.

After Tang Yuan hurriedly left, the hall fell into an eerie silence.

At this moment, everyone's gaze kept shifting to Shang Xia.

Shang Xia sat down nonchalantly next to Shang Quan, his gaze falling on the patrol rider officer opposite him, and he clasped his hands and asked, "May I ask what you are called, sir?"

In Tongyou Academy, as long as one was not an ordinary student, addressing the other as "sir" was always appropriate.

The officer smiled slightly, somewhat uncomfortably, and said, "I am the patrol rider officer Sang Youqi."

"Ah, it's Mr. Sang, nice to meet you!"

Shang Xia had heard that there were three officers in the patrol rider hall, but only one was present.

Recalling what Uncle Quan had told him about the patrol riders being partially dispatched, could it be that the other two officers had already left Tongyou Peak with Liu Jitang?

Shang Xia nodded to the officer and then whispered to Shang Quan, "Uncle Quan, what is the 'Rose Society'? It sounds like a flower appreciation event?"

"Cough, cough," Yuan Zilu, who was next to Shang Quan, lightly coughed.

Shang Quan looked at Yuan Zilu, then at the opposite officer Sang Youqi, and then at the several patrol rider captains behind him, and said with a smile, "Since it has been mentioned today, there's no need to hide it anymore. They will know eventually."

Shang Quan's words seemed to be directed at the two martial realm officers present.

Yuan Zilu and Sang Youqi did not say anything.

Shang Quan smiled and said, "You may be unfamiliar with the 'Rose Society,' but if I mention the 'Remnants of the Five Surnames,' I'm sure some of you have heard of it."

Among the patrol rider captains, those who were a bit older showed a noticeable change in expression.

"The 'Remnants of the Five Surnames'? Are they the rebels of the Five Surnames families?" Shang Xia asked curiously.

Shang Quan opened his mouth to explain, but his face suddenly stiffened.

A powerful and domineering aura instantly descended, enveloping everyone in the hall. Shang Xia felt his entire body and mind stiffen.

"The 'Remnants of the Five Surnames' are indeed rebels of the Extraordinary Families, but in the Five Surnames families of Youzhou, they refer to only one of them!"

Outside the patrol rider hall, a tall and robust old man with half-black, half-white hair neatly combed back, walked in with his hands behind his back, his steps powerful and steady.

His presence seemed to have a strange charm; the moment he entered, almost everyone's attention was on him, their gazes following his movements, even ignoring the martial cultivators following behind him.

This was the leader of the Ji family, the first deputy dean of Tongyou Academy, and the second strongest Extraordinary Martial Cultivator in Youzhou, recognized by all, Ji Wenlong!

After entering the hall, Ji Wenlong quickly moved to the seat at the head of the table where Tang Yuan had been sitting, and a new chair was already prepared there.

When he sat down, the people in the hall finally woke from their suffocating state.

Shang Xia and the others then noticed that several martial cultivators had followed Ji Wenlong into the hall, and even Tang Yuan was not at the front.

Everyone who was seated quickly stood up to make room for their seats.

Shang Quan and Shang Xia's gazes fell on the three people at the front, particularly the fifty-year-old bearded old man on the right.

"Uncle Ke!"

"Grandpa Wu!"

Shang Quan and Shang Xia greeted the old man in low voices.

The old man merely nodded and sat down in the first seat to the right of Ji Wenlong.

Shang Quan and Shang Xia quickly stood on either side of the old man.

The others also took their seats, and Shang Xia observed the seating arrangement thoughtfully.

Suddenly, Shang Xia felt several gazes, like needles, piercing him from all directions.

In the patrol rider hall, no one was emitting a powerful aura, nor was anyone using martial will to suppress him, yet Shang Xia felt an invisible pressure enveloping him, more terrifying than the pressure from Tang Yuan earlier.

At this moment, Shang Ke, who was sitting in front of Shang Xia, waved his hand and said indifferently, "The young ones are curious and rash. Don't make things difficult for them."

Shang Xia immediately felt the invisible pressure dissipate, as if it had been dispelled by Shang Ke's wave of the hand, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Shang Ke then turned his head slightly and scolded, "So many people have been disturbed, what are you waiting for? Speak everything you know. If you dare to hide anything, even the Shang family cannot protect you!"

Shang Xia quickly replied, "Yes," and then recounted the conversation he had overheard between the two Fengyan tribe martial cultivators in the valley.

Even though the others had already heard a general idea from Tang Yuan and were somewhat prepared, the hall still fell into a profound silence after hearing Shang Xia's account.

After a long while, a somewhat weak laugh came from a middle-aged man sitting next to Shang Ke, who said, "Those two Cang Ling martial cultivators who were easily killed by Shang Xia were just ordinary low-rank martial cultivators. Moreover, from their names, they were not of the pure bloodline of the Fengyan tribe, the 'Yan' surname. What could they possibly know about the true situation? Perhaps..."

"Enough, stop saying these self-deceiving words!"

Ji Wenlong, sitting at the head of the table, mercilessly interrupted the speaker, causing the middle-aged man to look embarrassed.

Shang Quan whispered to Shang Xia, "That was Ji Min, a martial realm expert dispatched by the Ji family to Tongyou Peak."

Shang Xia nodded and then heard someone cautiously ask, "Dean Ji, is Dean Kou really injured?"

Everyone's gaze turned to Ji Wenlong at the head of the table.

This was the real concern of everyone.

Shang Quan took the opportunity to continue whispering to Shang Xia, "The one who just spoke is Zhao Yang, the officer of the Sutra Cave."

Shang Xia nodded and said, "I met him earlier."

As the true core figure of Tongyou City, if anyone truly knew the real situation of Kou Chongxue, it would be Ji Wenlong.

Ji Wenlong's expression was as calm as a well, making it impossible to discern his thoughts, and he said with a hint of indifference, "You don't need to know about this matter!"

In the hall, everyone's expressions varied.

At this moment, Ji Wenlong's gaze fell on the fourth person to his left, and he asked, "What news from the World Affairs Bureau? When will Qian Sitong return?"

"Qian Sitong is the supervisor of the World Affairs Bureau, and Li Zengyu is his subordinate officer."

Shang Quan paused and added, "Qian Sitong left with Liu Jitang."

Shang Xia nodded; although he did not know the person, he had heard of Qian Sitong, one of the four supervisors of the World Affairs Bureau.

Facing Ji Wenlong's question, Li Zengyu, the officer of the World Affairs Bureau, appeared somewhat nervous and stood up, saying, "Apart from the news of Tongyou City being under martial law, there is no other abnormality. I cannot contact Supervisor Qian."

Ji Wenlong looked at everyone and said, "Speak up. Since we are all gathered here today, let's share everything we know. It's no longer the time to hide things."

After a brief silence, a middle-aged man who looked quite robust and stood in the third seat on the left side stood up and said, "Let me start, and please correct me if I am wrong."

After a moment's thought, the middle-aged man continued, "Let's first discuss the situation we are facing."

"If what Shang Xia said is true, and Dean Kou is severely injured, and the Rose Society and the Cang Ling martial cultivators of the Four Spirit Mountains are working together, our current situation is extremely dangerous."

"First, with Dean Kou severely injured, Tongyou City is in a precarious position, and we will likely not receive any reinforcements from the academy."

"Second, Deputy Dean Liu left, taking more than half of the martial realm experts from Tongyou Peak, leaving the defenses severely weakened. Although Dean Ji has arrived to take charge, if the Four Spirit Mountains launch a full-scale attack and we do not receive reinforcements from the academy..."

At this point, the middle-aged man could not help but smile bitterly and shake his head.