Chapter 14

Zhou Qing was truly panicked.

If Ye Tianming were to die inside this Guanxuan Hall, it would shock the entire universe. At that time, it wouldn't just be Qingzhou entering a self-investigation procedure; the entire Guanxuan World and the Outer Cabinet would immediately enter a self-investigation procedure.

And for them, the Guanxuan Guards of Qingzhou, it wouldn't be as simple as being dismissed from their posts.

If this incident caused the Guanxuan Sword Master to appear...

It would be completely over!

The entire Guanxuan Universe would likely undergo a major purge, because Ye Tianming's death here would not only tarnish the reputation of the Guanxuan Guards but also that of the Guanxuan Sword Master.

The Vice Chancellor's face was as grim as if he were attending a funeral. He had never expected that this young man would be so resolute, this guy isn't afraid of death!

This matter is difficult to handle.

The Vice Chancellor took a deep look at Ye Tianming, then turned and left.

Not to mention Zhou Qing, he was also afraid. If Ye Tianming were to take his own life, he would be the first to be held responsible.

Damn!

The money from the Xiao family is not easy to earn.

After the Vice Chancellor left, Zhou Qing looked at Ye Tianming. His throat tightened, and he cautiously said, "Young Master Ye, you can rest assured. In the future, we will not let anyone in without your permission."

He was now regretting bitterly. Because of a little bit of profit, he had let this Vice Chancellor in, almost causing a major incident.

Next time, if he wanted to cooperate again, he would have to be paid more.

Ye Tianming put away his sword and sat on the ground, silent.

Zhou Qing immediately felt a sense of relief. He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Young Master Ye, you are still young and have a bright future ahead. You must not do anything foolish."

Ye Tianming shook his head, "The Xiao family will not let me off. Even if I don't die now, I will die in the future. Since that's the case, I might as well die now and take the Xiao family down with me."

Zhou Qing was terrified. Whether you die in the future or not is not my concern, but if you die now, damn it, we will all have to pay the price.

He thought for a moment, then said, "Young Master Ye, the Xiao family is indeed powerful, but for now, they are unlikely to openly target you, so..."

Ye Tianming stared into the distance, silent, but the determination in his eyes grew stronger.

Zhou Qing, fearing that he might lose hope, quickly said, "Young Master Ye, dying now might seem like a solution, but it's not worth it. Moreover, even if you die, the academy cannot destroy the entire Xiao family because of this. It would be illegal, and at most, the Xiao family would be severely punished and removed from the core of power. But as I said earlier, it won't take long for them to recover, and at that time, what will happen to your Ye family?"

Ye Tianming asked, "What should I do, according to you, Senior?"

Zhou Qing was silent.

From his perspective, Ye Tianming's current situation was hopeless. Ye Tianming could not possibly stand up to the Xiao family, and the Xiao family was already working hard to resolve this matter. Given the Xiao family's connections, it was highly likely that they would succeed.

And once this matter was over, it would be extremely easy for the Xiao family to control Ye Tianming in the future, after all, Ye Tianming was just a member of a low-ranking family.

Of course, he could not tell Ye Tianming this, because if he did, this guy might really take his own life right here.

He had to stabilize this guy first.

Zhou Qing said solemnly, "Young Master Ye, you are a smart person, and I won't say anything insincere. The hatred between you and the Xiao family is now irreconcilable. What I want to say is, if this matter is resolved, you still have a chance to rise. With your talent, if you can find a very powerful mentor, the Xiao family will definitely not dare to move against you easily."

Ye Tianming was silent.

Zhou Qing continued, "Your talent is extraordinary. Given time, you will definitely rise. But if you die here now, you will indeed cause the Xiao family a lot of trouble, but the academy will not destroy the entire Xiao family because of this. It would be illegal, and at most, the Xiao family would be severely punished and removed from the core of power. But as I said earlier, it won't take long for them to recover, and at that time, they will definitely seek revenge on your Ye family."

Ye Tianming nodded, "I understand."

Zhou Qing looked at him, then left without saying anything more.

Inside the hall.

Ye Tianming sat on the ground, the blood on his neck still slowly oozing. He looked at the ground, silent, but his gaze grew colder.

Qingzhou Inspection Bureau.

At this moment, all the high-ranking officials of the academy had gathered here, with the current Chancellor of Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy, Ji Shi, sitting at the head of the table. On both sides were the Chancellor of the Qingzhou Inspection Bureau, the Chancellor of the Supervisory Bureau, the Vice Chancellor, and the various elders.

Everyone's faces were grim, as they had already learned about Ye Tianming's attempt to take his own life.

Damn!

Is this guy so stubborn?

Chancellor Ji Shi suddenly said, "What do you think?"

Everyone was silent.

An elder suddenly said, "Since no one is speaking, I will. The situation has escalated to this point, and we have only two options. The first is to follow the rules and immediately punish the Xiao family and all the participants. However, the Xiao family will not sit idly by. According to my information, they are already using all their connections to handle this matter. Therefore, even if we choose to punish the Xiao family, it will not be truly implemented. Most importantly, if we follow the normal procedure, many of the elders here will not be able to escape responsibility, right?"

As he spoke, he glanced at some of the elders present.

The faces of those elders immediately turned grim. They held high positions; how many of them were clean?

It could be said that for those in high positions, one investigation would lead to their downfall.

The elder continued, "If we do not follow the procedure, we cannot give an account to the Guanxuan World. But as the Chancellor said, if we follow the procedure, first, it will harm our own brothers, and second, we will confront the Xiao family directly. Everyone knows the strength and connections of the Xiao family, not to mention that their ancestor and the Guanxuan Sword Master were brothers..."

He paused, "Actually, everyone understands that our academy cannot punish the Xiao family. To punish the Xiao family, we would have to unite and report to the Guanxuan World, but clearly, no one will do this for a low-ranking family, especially since this matter will have a very negative impact on all the elders. Not only that, if this matter is thoroughly investigated, it might even implicate the previous groups of elders..."

This time, everyone was not just grim, but also fearful. If this matter were thoroughly investigated, it would implicate the previous groups of elders... After all, those previous groups of elders were not clean either. Now, those elders are mostly in high positions in the Outer Cabinet or even the Inner Cabinet...

It could be said that this cannot be investigated. If it is, it will implicate too many people, not just the previous groups, but the entire Wanzhou will have few clean people.

An elder with a fiery temper stood up, sneering, "I think that Ye Tianming is just being unreasonable. He even wants to commit suicide. Damn it, he is openly threatening us. In my opinion, let him commit suicide, and I want to see if he really isn't afraid of death."

Since the problem cannot be solved, solve the person who created the problem.

All the elders were silent, and silence was consent.

At this moment, another elder suddenly said, "Elder Ling, you cannot think like that. He is just a low-life. If he dies, so be it, but you must understand that if he really dies here, even if the Guanxuan World does not take our lives, we will definitely lose our positions, and we might even face imprisonment."

Elder Ling's face was dark, "So are we just going to be threatened by him?"

That elder did not speak but looked at Chancellor Ji Shi. Ji Shi calmly said, "Old Yuan, say what you want to say."

Old Yuan's real name was Yuan Qi, the Vice Chancellor of the academy.

Yuan Qi slowly said, "This matter cannot be investigated. If it is, not only the Xiao family but also our Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy will be implicated, and the consequences will be too severe. Therefore, the best solution is to make Ye Tianming voluntarily give up the investigation."

Elder Ling said solemnly, "He doesn't want to negotiate..."

Yuan Qi said, "He is not unwilling to negotiate, but he is too smart. He knows that once this matter is over, whether it's our academy or the Xiao family, it will be easy to deal with him. Therefore, what he wants is a promise and better conditions."

Elder Ling asked, "What if he really doesn't want to negotiate?"

Everyone looked at the Chancellor.

Chancellor Ji Shi slowly closed his eyes and said nothing.

The Vice Chancellor Yuan Qi understood the Chancellor's meaning and said, "Then tell him that if he doesn't want to negotiate, it will be a lose-lose situation. Before that, we have a thousand ways to make his family members die miserably in front of him. This person values family, and his family is his weakness. By controlling his family, we can control him!"

He paused, then continued, "Of course, we cannot do such evil deeds, nor do we need to. The Xiao family is more anxious than we are. This evil deed can be done by the Xiao family, and we just need to provide some support on the side."