Chapter 42 0044: Could you perhaps provide the tuition and scholarship funds in advance?

Lord Guo's residence.

He was currently watching a backup copy of a video showing a fight inside the Noble Club. It was the footage of Chu Yun and Duanmu Ci's duel. To protect Duanmu Ci's reputation and maintain Chu Yun's anonymity, this video could not be leaked.

After watching, Lord Guo's expression was odd. At last, he sent the video to his superior, the lord.

They spoke via video call, and the middle-aged man on screen, clad in the lord's robe and exuding a resolute air, also looked rather perplexed.

Both men had troubled faces.

“Lord, it seems to me this boy’s martial prowess far exceeds his magical talent. Should we ask the Magic Guild to give up on him?” Lord Guo ventured.

The lord’s brows furrowed, his eyelid twitching. “The Red Robe Mage has already come. Are you seriously going to tell him we won’t hand over the boy? You must not know how you’ll die if you do.”

He sighed deeply.

“But if he keeps studying magic, it will only delay his martial progress. Duanmu Ci is already outstanding, but this boy surpasses even him. You saw it yourself—the video shows that Duanmu Ci had no chance against him, in skill or strength!” Lord Guo pressed. “Letting the Magic Guild teach him is a waste of his martial talent.”

The lord rubbed his temples.

“Why didn’t you realize the boy’s martial talent sooner?” he snapped, glaring at Lord Guo. “When Mage Kote had his mishap, the Red Robe Mage went back and must’ve told the Magic Guild something. The vice president contacted me directly, demanding the boy!”

“The vice president!” Lord Guo’s eyelid twitched, and he fell silent.

Even the lord dared not offend the guild’s vice president. That old scoundrel could cut off all transport rights across View Mountain territory at a whim—no discussion, no appeal. Should they truly anger these people, wealth would mean nothing to them. For the guild and their faith in magic, they would do anything.

“Don’t leak this video. If the Duanmu family causes trouble, suppress them and ensure the boy’s safety. As for the Magic Guild, I’ll see what I can do,” the lord concluded.

Lord Guo nodded. “Yes.”

After hanging up, a subordinate reported, “Lord, Duanmu Han, Duanmu Ci’s father, requests an audience.”

“Let him in.”

Soon, Duanmu Han entered, getting straight to the point. “Is that boy really the same age as my son?”

Lord Guo nodded.

Duanmu Han still doubted. “Did he use some underhanded trick to beat my son?”

Lord Guo replied, “No.”

Duanmu Han pressed, “Do you believe this is real?”

Lord Guo said, “Why don’t you ask your son?”

Duanmu Han took a deep breath, pondered a moment, and asked, “Does the lord know about this?”

Lord Guo nodded. “He does. He also told me to pass you a message: don’t try anything.”

Duanmu Han was shaken. Did this mean that Chu Yun was about to replace Duanmu Ci?

“I deleted the club’s video, partly to protect your boy. As long as your family doesn’t acknowledge it, nothing happened. This is for Duanmu Ci’s sake,” Lord Guo told him. “Losing isn’t the end; he can win it back. Now he has a worthy rival—this is a good thing for Duanmu Ci, don’t you think?”

Duanmu Han, wise and shrewd, considered that perhaps this was the lord’s intention. At least, the signal wasn’t bad. In other words, from now on, the lord’s title would be contested between these two?

He could only nod. “Thank you.”

He took his leave.

Meanwhile, at the First Martial Academy, Principal Gu, holding Chu Yun’s expulsion file, threw it at the director of academic affairs.

“Look at what you’ve done! Do you have any idea what kind of student you expelled?” The principal’s face was livid.

They had heard of Duanmu Ci’s defeat; the rumor was almost certainly true.

To think that a genius who could defeat Duanmu Ci had been expelled and had gone straight to their rival school—Principal Gu nearly fainted from rage.

With the Martial Tournament approaching at year’s end, if they hadn’t let this genius slip away, paired with Duanmu Ci, they would easily reach the top eight, not just the top sixteen!

The principal’s fury was overwhelming. He summoned the academic affairs director who had processed the expulsion, and was ready to unleash his wrath.

The director was even more miserable than the principal. The thought of expelling such a prodigy, whose future was boundless, chilled him to the bone. If the boy ever bore a grudge, the director’s fate would be bleak indeed.

At that moment, the phone on the principal’s desk rang.

He answered, “Hello?”

“Principal Gu, hello. This is Principal Fang from next door. I called to thank you for your generosity. I won’t say much—just two words: thank you!”

Principal Gu’s face turned green. They had spent decades dethroning their neighbors, relegating them to the second tier. Now, this blunder had revitalized their rival.

“No need to thank me. I only worried your academy might fall behind and drag down our city’s overall standards, so I sent you such a student. Don’t get too cocky. Your elite team only has Hou Manman and Chu Yun worth mentioning; your overall strength is lacking. The city’s representatives will never come from your Lan Wind Academy.”

“Is that so?” Principal Fang chuckled. “Well… we’ll see you at the Martial Tournament.”

With that, he hung up before Principal Gu could reply.

Principal Gu, furious, smashed the phone on the ground and stomped on it several times. “That bald Fang is too much!”

He then pointed at the academic director and barked, “Pack your things and get out!”

On the other side.

Principal Fang of Lan Wind Academy hung up, feeling delightful. Leaning back with hands behind his head, he spun in his chair. After decades of being trampled, today he finally had the chance to disgust his old rival.

Just then, Chu Yun knocked on the door.

Principal Fang immediately stood up, his face beaming like the Buddha. “You’re here? Come in, come in! What would you like to drink? Juice or Dwarven red wine? I’ve got a few fine bottles in storage.”

Chu Yun replied, “No need, Principal. I just wanted to ask—here, students of proven ability don’t pay tuition, and they get scholarships every year, right? So could you refund my three years’ tuition and grant me five years’ scholarship all at once? I’m not sure how much I qualify for, just give me what you think is fair. I got calls from other schools today, and the negotiations are going smoothly…”

Principal Fang nearly spat blood.

(The third update tonight will be a bit late. If you can't wait, just sleep and check tomorrow morning.)