Chapter 47

Amidst the surging crowd, many of the surrounding students watched this scene with a look of astonishment.

No one had expected that Li Luo, who came to save the situation, would bring a supervising mentor along.

"Damn, this young lord of the mansion is really not playing by the rules."

"Too cowardly, this makes it seem like he's afraid of Zong Fu."

"A quarrel among students, and he actually reports it to a mentor, really shocking."

"You're right, but... finding a mentor is actually the correct way, isn't it? Private brawls are against the rules."

"You... what you say is correct, but... but..." Someone stuttered, unable to refute because reporting rule violations to a mentor seemed to be the right thing to do.

But why does it feel a bit off?

While some of the surrounding students were lost in thought, Zong Fu quickly released his hand from Zhao Kuo's back and, with a forced smile, said to the expressionless supervising mentor, "Mentor, we weren't fighting, just joking around."

"You were clearly trying to hit me," Zhao Kuo said.

Zong Fu awkwardly denied, "How could I, don't slander me."

Li Luo also stepped forward and said with a smile, "It's okay, just be brave and speak your mind."

Zong Fu smiled, "No, no, really not."

The supervising mentor glanced at the scene, then looked at the sturdy female student from Zhongyang Academy, and the corner of his mouth twitched. "If you're going to frame someone, couldn't you find a better one?"

Zong Fu felt wronged. Zhongyang Academy was known for its strong yang energy, and there were very few female students. This sturdy little junior was the only girl among the top twenty in their academy, and they usually treated her like a treasure.

"You, stand there for three hours. If you're a minute late, I'll have the dean come and get you." The supervising mentor said with a bad temper.

Actually, these student brawls were too frequent recently, and they often turned a blind eye, but since Li Luo reported it, they had to handle it, or it would be considered dereliction of duty.

The supervising mentor turned and left.

Among the surrounding onlookers, low laughter could be heard, but it was unclear who they were laughing at.

Zong Fu stood there helplessly, not daring to move. Li Luo stepped forward and said with a smile, "Are you that curious about me? You even went to great lengths to use Zhao Kuo to force me out."

Zong Fu stared at Li Luo and sighed, "Because everyone says that the young lord of the mansion is nothing to fear, but I feel you might be the biggest variable in this major exam, so I had to test your limits."

Li Luo was somewhat surprised, "You have such high hopes for me?"

Zong Fu nodded, "Because I know how terrifying Jiang Qing'e is, I don't believe that someone engaged to her would be completely useless."

"Have you fought with Jiang Qing'e?" Li Luo was even more surprised.

Zong Fu sighed, "Fought? She just glanced at me once, and I was so scared my legs went numb."

"But Li Luo, you're so reluctant to fight, it seems you're hiding something. I'm also very curious to see how you'll perform in the major exam."

"We'll see when we meet in the major exam."

Li Luo smiled, then patted Zong Fu's shoulder, "You keep standing there, I'm going back to sleep."

With that, he left with Zhao Kuo amidst many strange gazes.

Zong Fu watched them leave, pouted helplessly, and then seemed to remember something, his face changing.

"Damn, if I'm penalized to stand, how can I attend Shi Kong's gathering tonight? He won't think I'm betraying him and not giving him face, will he?"

...

In a room somewhere in Bai Ling Garden.

Shi Kong greeted Xiang Liang and Chi Su with a warm smile, personally pouring tea for them, and spoke politely.

After a while, Chi Su frowned, "Why hasn't Zong Fu come yet?"

Xiang Liang was also puzzled because Zong Fu didn't seem uninterested in Shi Kong's proposal, so he was likely to show up.

Shi Kong smiled, but his eyes were slightly deep, wondering if Zong Fu was not giving him face.

Just then, someone knocked and entered, whispering something in his ear. His face then showed a look of surprise.

Shi Kong waved the person away and then looked at the two, smiling, "Zong Fu probably won't be able to come tonight."

"What happened?" Xiang Liang and Chi Su were surprised.

"He wanted to test Li Luo's limits, but Li Luo reported him to the supervising mentor, and now he's been penalized to stand for three hours." Shi Kong's face was a bit strange as he said this.

"Ah?"

Xiang Liang and Chi Su couldn't help but exclaim, then looked at each other, feeling somewhat amused and helpless.

"This Li Luo, he doesn't play by the rules," Xiang Liang couldn't help but laugh.

Reporting to a mentor, who would have thought of that? He's not afraid of being ridiculed?

"Maybe he really can't handle Zong Fu, so he had to choose this method," Chi Su said.

"I told you, there's no need to test Li Luo. He's not an opponent we need to pay attention to, and he doesn't deserve such caution," Xiang Liang said, pouting.

Shi Kong smiled, "Zong Fu's caution is good. If we really meet Li Luo in the major exam, just deal with him casually to avoid any unexpected issues."

However, he didn't seem too concerned and changed the topic to today's main business, "Although Zong Fu isn't here, we can't delay our purpose today."

"Our common goal is to pull Nanyang Academy from the top position in Tian Shu County."

"The strongest person in Nanyang Academy this year is Lü Qing'er. If we can take her out, Nanyang Academy will lose the qualification to compete for the first place, and they won't get the most admission slots this year."

"My suggestion is simple: in the final stage, we need to join forces to eliminate Lü Qing'er."

Xiang Liang and Chi Su exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes, and then asked, "Joining forces against Lü Qing'er won't be easy. Even if we can't defeat her, she can probably retreat safely. Also, in the final stage, there will be other strong opponents. If we fight too hard with Lü Qing'er, someone else might benefit."

Shi Kong smiled slightly, "I will make all the arrangements. You just need to appear at the time and place I arrange."

Xiang Liang and Chi Su pondered for a moment and finally nodded.

"Alright, as you say. Nanyang Academy has occupied the top position in Tian Shu County for too long, it's time for a change."

Shi Kong's smile grew wider, and he raised his teacup.

The three teacups lightly touched.

"Then, let's have a pleasant cooperation."