Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 113 - 107: Desperate Situation of West Courtyard
The teachers and students from the East Campus were the first to arrive, while the West Courtyard was still nowhere to be seen.
With an air of superiority, the numerous teachers and students from the East Campus waited for the West Courtyard’s arrival.
After all, in the recent years’ rivalries, the East Campus had always crushed the competition, achieving victories with overwhelming advantage.
Therefore, to the East Campus, the delay from the West Courtyard was seen as a sign of weakness.
Finally...
The figures from the West Courtyard appeared within sight.
Leading them were the West Courtyard’s Dean, Xu Fang, Xu Qingyuan, and others.
But at this moment, amidst these teachers and students from the West Courtyard, the one who drew the most attention was a new disciple—Qin Qing!
Qin Qing!
He had actually come!
He had not shown up during the last examination for new disciples in their first month.
Back then, he was punished and made to seclude himself for cultivation in the back mountains.
And this time, he had come!
At this moment, Mu Yunlan’s gaze likewise fell on Qin Qing.
In that instance, Qin Qing also noticed Mu Yunlan, who was surrounded by others like the moon encircled by stars, not far away.
Their gazes met in midair, and in an instant, old grudges and new hatred seemed to intertwine, creating undercurrents of turbulence.
"Xu Fang, you’ve finally arrived. Your pace is hardly distinguishable from a tortoise’s..." Qin Chang, the East Campus’s Dean, saw Xu Fang approaching and couldn’t help but quip with a chuckle.
"Hehe, good things take time. Dean Qin, it’s been a while since we’ve met. Hope you are well!" Xu Fang said.
"Thanks to your blessings. I’ve been quite well recently!" Qin Chang clasped his hands together in greeting, "Dean Xu, I heard you’ve made a breakthrough recently. Our Great Qian Martial Institute has gained another Nascent Soul Ancestor. Congratulations! However, it seems those disciples from your West Courtyard haven’t made much progress. If this continues, Dean Xu, no offense, but there’s really no necessity for the West Courtyard’s existence..."
As soon as these words of Qin Chang fell, Linghu Leiyue, standing beside him, echoed with sarcasm: "The West Courtyard indeed has no necessity to continue existing. Year by year, their assessment results fall short of the standard, and only a stray few ever make it to the top ten, and in the last exam, only one made it into the top ten, securing the very last place! Dean Xu, there’s a serious issue with the way you teach at the West Courtyard!"
Linghu Leiyue, born into privilege and once serving as the Crown Prince’s teacher—an Elder of the current Emperor—was now one of the Vice Deans of the East Campus.
His gaze was haughty, and he has always looked down upon the elders and disciples of the West Courtyard.
In his view, only scions of noble families or descendants of the royalty and powerful were more likely to achieve greater heights as martial artists.
As for those disciples from local counties and prefectures who joined the West Courtyard, they reeked of filth and dirt, which he found loathsome!
"That’s hardly certain!" retorted Xu Qingyuan, unwilling to concede: "The East Campus has its teaching methods, and the West Courtyard has ours. It’s not yet decided whose are better!"
"The annual assessment results have already spoken volumes!" Linghu Leiyue retorted with cold mockery.
"Oh, really?" Xu Qingyuan responded with a sneer, unconvinced: "Every year, your East Campus takes more than eighty percent of the cultivation resources. Why don’t you mention that? With barely ten percent of the resources, it’s a struggle for our disciples to cultivate. You also unscrupulously lure all the outstanding disciples to the East Campus. Why don’t you mention that?"
Xu Qingyuan’s words instantly resonated with many of the West Courtyard’s elders.
Indeed.
In recent years, the resources allocated to the West Courtyard had dwindled, and many talented disciples couldn’t get enough cultivation resources, forcing numerous promising ones to transfer to the East Campus.
This vicious cycle caused the West Courtyard to decline further with each passing year.
"Vice Dean Xu, why do you think the West Courtyard’s resources keep diminishing? Why do the top disciples run to our East Campus? It’s simply because you are not up to par! Your management is inadequate, and your system and philosophy are flawed!"
Upon saying this, Qin Chang paused for a moment, then sweeping his gaze around the room, he continued, "Therefore, I have called an all-institute Elders’ Council meeting. After this Grand Tournament of the Martial Institute, we shall address the issue of the West Courtyard’s existence!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"What?" Xu Fang was taken aback, "When did you convene the Elders’ Council? How come I didn’t know about this!"
"Hehe, Dean Xu, you are simply too preoccupied with other matters!" Shangguan Jian, who stood behind Xu Fang, stepped forward, speaking, "Vice Dean Jun and I, along with nearly twenty elders from the West Courtyard, have all deliberated over this. If the outcomes from the West Courtyard in this Grand Tournament are the same as the past two years, we agree to dissolve it!"
"That’s right!" Jun Tiance stepped forward, "We all agreed to this decision three days ago!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Fang instantly realized that Jun Tiance and Shangguan Jian had, unbeknownst to him, swayed many of the West Courtyard’s elders.
Xu Fang’s gaze swept over, scanning the elders behind him.
At this time, one by one, these elders involuntarily bowed their heads in submission.
"Xu Chuchen, Tang Mo, Zhao Yin..."
"What is going on with you all?"
Xu Fang roared the names of a few elders aloud.
"Sorry! Dean Xu!" the elder named Tang Mo said, looking ashamed: "I really had no choice. The cultivation resources for the West Courtyard have been far too scarce in the past two years. Not to mention for myself, but even my disciples cannot obtain enough resources to meet their needs for cultivation... I really can’t keep going on like this!"
Xu Chuchen followed, saying, "Dean Xu, looking at the current situation, there really is no necessity for the West Courtyard to continue. Let it go..."
Xu Fang then looked toward the other elders, who mostly showed expressions of helplessness.
Xu Fang took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart.
"Indeed, in these past years, the West Courtyard has been deteriorating. As the Dean, I cannot shirk the blame! But I beg you all, please give me one more chance. From this moment on, I, Xu Fang, will make sure to change the status quo and thoroughly improve the situation of the West Courtyard!" he said.
"Hahahaha..." Qin Chang burst into laughter: "Xu Fang, you might as well concern yourself with how not to lose too miserably in this Grand Tournament! But realistically, with how things stand with the West Courtyard now, you are bound to fail miserably again, and once that happens, the West Courtyard will be officially dissolved by today’s end!"
"Qin Chang, don’t speak too soon. The Grand Tournament hasn’t even begun. No one can predict the final outcome!"
Xu Fang had a shimmer in his eyes; although he said those words, it was clear from his voice that he lacked confidence.
He reflected on himself; in recent years, in his rush to break into the Nascent Soul Realm, he truly hadn’t paid enough attention to the West Courtyard.
He couldn’t deny his responsibility for the current state of the West Courtyard!
And now, the situation was nearly hopeless!
If the West Courtyard suffered another crushing defeat in this year’s end Grand Tournament, the entire Elders’ Council of the Great Qian Martial Institute would partake in a vote, and at that time, it was feared that the West Courtyard might be completely dissolved...
"What should I do to break through this impasse?" Xu Fang pondered with anguish.
