"Well, the Lightning Emperor." Maya stood up while extending her hand. "Please take a seat."

She didn’t plan to shake hands with the enemy.

The Lightning Emperor understood her actions and simply sat down without saying anything.

This was the first time Auric and the Lightning Emperor met face-to-face.

"Pardon me for not offering you even water, but surely you understand my reason. I’m very displeased to the extent that I wonder if I should just storm the Lightning Dojo right now." Maya’s expression turned cold.

The Lightning Emperor remained calm. He was wary of her threat, but he didn’t plan to act like a coward.

The Lightning Emperor took a deep breath before lowering his head. "I’ve come here to discuss that matter."

"Before you say anything else, you don’t have to bother making any excuses for your disciple. Before the culprits died, they gave a confession that your disciple was the one using their service."

Maya reminded him that it was pointless to defend his disciple’s actions. However, there was no proof that could be presented yet; otherwise, the police would have come knocking on his door.

Then again, Maya wouldn’t need that justification to knock on his door. She simply didn’t take any action because her student might have made a mistake by not securing the evidence.

The Lightning Emperor placed both hands on his knees before lowering his head. "For that matter, I have to apologize on his behalf. I have neglected his discipline, so the blame is on me.

"I’m willing to pay huge compensation, so please forgive my disciple."

It was surprising for the proud Lightning Emperor to lower his head. If Ellia were here, she would surely feel amused to witness something like this.

On the contrary, Maya simply looked at him coldly as though she felt nothing about this apology.

Rather, she raised her voice. "Compensation? Do you think this matter can be put aside so easily? If Director Popo hadn’t come to my student’s rescue, my student would have died. At that time, you wouldn’t even be here."

"Children make mistakes. It’s the adult’s problem to handle the mistakes. I acknowledge the mistake. That’s why I came here to see if there’s a possibility of a reconciliation."

Maya’s expression darkened before she glanced at Auric. "Well?"

As the directly involved party, it would only be right for Auric to get the chance to say something in this negotiation.

Auric was startled. It looked like Maya was asking for his input. If he dropped this matter here and now, he might not be able to fulfill his revenge, but he might not necessarily break his principles as long as the compensation was suitable.

However, Auric didn’t plan to drop this matter. Maya stated earlier that this situation might be good for him.

It didn’t sound like she was planning to forgive Simon in this matter.

If that was the case, Maya actually wanted him to create a compensation that was impossible for them to fulfill.

This way, it would show his willingness to forgive Simon. At the same time, because it was impossible to fulfill, the other party was the one unwilling to resolve this problem.

Still, Auric couldn’t make it so obvious. There was actually one condition he could think of. A condition that made it impossible for him to reconcile.

But to make it sound less obvious, Auric said, "I’m willing to do it as long as you pay me compensation equivalent to my life. However, this is a murder attempt. If I had less skill or fewer connections, I might not be here. So, I want Simon to apologize to me directly."

That was right. This condition would be impossible to fulfill.

Simon, given his personality, wouldn’t apologize to him. Besides, he was justified in asking for Simon’s apology. After all, Simon was the one ordering the hit.

However, the Lightning Emperor knew it was impossible. He could see what would happen if he asked Simon to apologize.

Currently, Simon needed to be disciplined first so that he wouldn’t think about killing Auric anymore.

The Lightning Emperor paused for a moment before saying, "How about changing the terms slightly? How about I give you a bigger compensation? Forget about the apology."

"Stop!" Maya frowned. "He is the culprit. He has done wrong, so isn’t it normal for my student to ask your disciple to apologize? If you do wrong, you have to apologize. Unless that’s not how you are taught."

The Lightning Emperor’s expression darkened. He definitely couldn’t let Auric and Simon meet.

Maya stood up. "So, are you going to take this deal or not?"

The Lightning Emperor gritted his teeth. "Please change the terms."

"You’re not sincere about this." Energy started to leak out of Maya’s body.

"I’m sincere. If not, why would I have come here?" The Lightning Emperor glared at Maya. He could accept his mistake, but he wouldn’t agree to be humiliated like this.

Auric’s expression turned serious. He was also circulating his energy, but this wasn’t a battle he could participate in.

All of a sudden, both their energies erupted, causing tremendous pressure in all directions.

Maya’s eyes turned black while the Lightning Emperor’s hair turned golden and started sparking.

Both of them waved their hands at the same time. Their energies clashed, cracking the entire room.

However, Maya was one step faster. She grabbed the Lightning Emperor’s wrist and spun her body, throwing the Lightning Emperor outside.

The Lightning Emperor crashed into the wall and flew for quite a distance before his energy erupted one more time, forcefully stopping his momentum.

Students and teachers were startled, not expecting a fight to break out. They couldn’t help but raise their heads, wondering what had happened.

In an instant, she was clad in a black coat. Auric could see that this black coat was made of energy.

Maya stomped the air and leaped toward the Lightning Emperor. She kicked the Lightning Emperor, who crossed both arms in front of him, blocking Maya’s kick.

Maya’s kick flared with energy, creating a massive cross in the sky. This cross expanded into a blade, pushing the Lightning Emperor away.

The Lightning Emperor’s arms were bleeding, but the wounds themselves were not deep.

Still, the Lightning Emperor wasn’t someone who would just take a beating. The Lightning Emperor raised his hand as lightning began to form. He threw this lightning at her.

Maya snapped her fingers. A black wave of energy formed a sphere around her.

The lightning struck the sphere, but the sphere suddenly expanded even further.

The people below her saw the sky turn dark because of this sphere.

The golden lightning then turned black before disappearing.

Maya raised her hand and shot a dark arrow into the sky. Suddenly, the sky turned black as if night had descended.

People rubbed their eyes, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them. The sun had disappeared from the sky.

But soon, an enormous amount of energy created unimaginable pressure.

Claws suddenly pierced through the sky and gradually opened the slit.

A pair of bloodshot eyes shone from within.

Those who saw the pair of eyes felt as if their hearts suddenly stopped.

"Haa..."

"Ha..."

Students started to fall to their knees, having a hard time breathing.

The teachers gritted their teeth. Maya hadn’t fought publicly until now, so they thought it was just a rumor.

However, they could finally see what was happening. As the rumor said, Maya might possess the ability to fight toe to toe against their principal or the Lightning Emperor.

"!!!" Even the Lightning Emperor didn’t expect Maya’s power to be this strong.

"Haaaa..." The Lightning Emperor shouted, raising his power to the highest level.

If the figure from that darkness were to descend, there was no telling what would happen.

After all, the pressure from that figure alone was enough to cripple the entire campus.

The Lightning Emperor had to destroy it before it was too late.

"It seems that because I have been too passive all this time, everyone has forgotten that I still exist. In that case, let me remind all of you again that I am not easy to bully." Maya snapped her fingers. "Eternal Nightmare."

Before she could fully activate her power, the principal’s voice echoed. "What are you two doing?!"

The principal’s energy erupted as he appeared between them.

"..." Maya and the Lightning Emperor frowned.

Maya’s killing intent soared for a second, but it died down right after. Her energy started to dissipate and the dark sky gradually turned bright again.

The lightning around the Lightning Emperor’s body started to disperse.

"You should have asked him that question. I am already willing to compromise, but he’s the one unwilling. You better bring him away, or I may not be able to control myself." Maya snorted.

She turned around and returned to her ruined office.

"..." The principal was speechless. He wondered what exactly had happened.

Auric, on the other hand, was able to witness his teacher’s power.

The pressure coming from the mysterious figure was definitely terrifying. If Maya didn’t hold back, he would definitely die before that figure even came out.

Nevertheless, Maya had returned to the office and simply said, "Let’s go."

Maya acted as if she didn’t care anymore and brought Auric elsewhere. The principal could see Auric there because the wall had crumbled. In fact, a few people could see the same thing.

They realized that Auric and Maya must have been negotiating something with the Lightning Emperor, and it looked like the negotiation didn’t work out.

Maya brought him to the villa as if she were trying to cool down.

"Teacher?" Auric was a bit confused about her actions this time.

"Have you seen through my intentions?"

Auric tilted his head. "I’m sorry. Can you please enlighten me?"

Maya raised four fingers. "I’ve just killed four birds with one stone. First of all, what will people think about this incident?"

Auric frowned. "The negotiation didn’t work out?"

"That’s just half of it. By giving that last message, I’ve made it clear that we’re willing to concede in the negotiation, but even after that, it’s too much for the Lightning Emperor to accept. It will show that we’re being the bigger person in this negotiation, so the criticism will fall to the Lightning Emperor."

"Ah?"

"The second objective is to send a clear message that you are not easy to bully with me here. People will have to think twice if they want to make a move against you. It’s a small benefit, but it will certainly make your life smoother from now on.

"The third objective is to confirm the conflict between you and Simon. This way, people will believe that the rumors are true. At that time, they will condemn Simon and worry about you."

Auric thought for a moment before asking, "But with this, won’t this create an irreconcilable relationship with the Lightning Emperor?"

Maya smirked. "That’s when we direct his anger to the Phoenix and Dragon Society. You mentioned before that this Abel from the Phoenix and Dragon Society is the mastermind of this whole mess, right? With this, the Lightning Emperor will clash with that club and its people, not us. We’ll just offer a simple apology, not because we wronged him but because we have just found new evidence that he is the true mastermind. This way, the Lightning Emperor can be said to owe us."

Auric gasped. "That’s the fourth objective?"

"Nope." Maya shook her head. "The fourth objective is to injure the Lightning Emperor and make him look weak. When Simon hears about this, what do you think he will think?

"Yes, he will think that his teacher is incompetent, and he will escape from the Lightning Dojo to kill you in one way or another.

"The Lightning Emperor must have wanted to protect him by apologizing personally, but this move will end up backfiring on him because there will be an opportunity for you to settle it once and for all.

"You still plan to kill Simon, do you? Then do it. The Lightning Emperor won’t think badly of you because..." Maya winked playfully. "We’ll help him uncover the truth. Just say that we found it after you kill Simon."

Auric’s jaw dropped. Lindwurm couldn’t help but say, "Look. This is a brilliant plan, much more brilliant than the plan you and Eric came up with."

Maya chuckled. "Close your mouth first. This is normal. You need to have this much understanding and planning if you want to fight against those sly foxes in the capital city or other countries."

Maya said it that way, but she only did it after she realized something from her grandfather’s words when she told him that she wanted to let Auric handle it himself for his growth.

Mathias told her, "Don’t forget that you are responsible for him. You need to make him feel that you are reliable, or else every time there’s a problem, he will think of a solution himself, and ’personal growth’ will sound like an excuse."

"I understand that you want to handle it yourself, but having a connection to me, Director Popo, the president of the Evolution Department, or even that old fox, Dexter, is also your own ability. Don’t mistake your connections as something that makes you look unreliable. Your connections are also part of your ability." Maya smiled. "All right. The lesson ends here."