Chapter 15: The Benevolent Undercover Agent
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Seeing what was happening, the students hurriedly cleared a path.
Li Xun was standing right by the entrance.
Although the voices outside were clamorous, the words “Prince Xue Xing” and “Fourth Prince” still reached his ears clearly.
“So it’s Xue Beng and Xue Xing. Could they be planning to drive Rongrong and me out of the academy?”
In an instant, Li Xun recalled what Qian Renxue had said at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Xue Xing had frequently interfered in the affairs of Heaven Dou Royal Academy and had even invited the younger generation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to enroll.
Combining that with the fact that, several years later, Xue Beng and Xue Xing would drive the people of Shrek Academy out of Heaven Dou Academy, Li Xun realized that the two of them seemed to have truly become the ones steering this academy.
“Could my arrival have disrupted the original course of events and triggered a butterfly effect?” Li Xun wondered.
If he had not gone to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Qian Renxue might never have thought of sending people to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
People always said that Qian Renxue had neglected her cultivation because of the trivial affairs surrounding her infiltration, or else she would have become a god long ago.
But Li Xun felt that this woman had simply gone undercover for nothing.
She had never seized military power, nor damaged the economy or people's livelihoods. She had even completely left alone the elite academy that served as the cradle of the nobility, allowing others to establish themselves there.
Most importantly, despite having two Titled Douluo at her side, she had delayed killing Emperor Xue Ye and ascending the throne.
Her only real achievement might have been killing two princes.
As an undercover agent, she had been a spectacular failure.
Just as Li Xun's thoughts began to wander, Prince Xue Xing and his entourage filed into the room.
“Who did this to the two boys from the Ge and Luo families?”
Seeing Ge Rong and Luo Rongdou lying on the ground, groaning in pain, Prince Xue Xing knitted his brows tightly.
“Who injured my two elder brothers? I’ll make sure he can’t survive in the Heaven Dou Empire!”
Barely into his teens, Xue Beng wore a haughty expression wholly inappropriate for his age as he shouted loudly.
“His acting still needs work.”
Standing to one side, Li Xun watched Xue Beng’s stiff performance. Gooseflesh rose all over his body, and he rolled his eyes.
“Brother Li Xun, what should we do?” Ning Rongrong nervously tugged at the corner of his clothes and whispered into his ear.
“It’s fine. They’re only putting on a show,” Li Xun reassured her.
As soon as Xue Xing and Xue Beng asked their questions, all the students around them turned their eyes toward Li Xun.
“Greetings, Fourth Prince. Greetings, Prince Xue Xing.”
The crew-cut teacher bowed to the two nobles, then pointed at Li Xun beside Prince Xue Xing.
“This is the student who attacked them.”
Upon hearing the teacher’s accusation, Xue Xing turned his head toward Li Xun—and immediately froze.
He already knew the details concerning Li Xun and Ning Rongrong.
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According to his original plan, he had intended to use Ge Rong and the other children to ostracize Li Xun and Ning Rongrong.
That way, the two would realize they were unwelcome and voluntarily withdraw from the academy, allowing him to avoid a conflict with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Who could have expected that he would receive word moments ago that Ge Rong and the others had been brutally beaten by Li Xun?
He had even assumed the intelligence he had received was false, and that Li Xun was actually much older.
Who would have thought that an eight-year-old child could pin sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boys to the ground and beat them senseless?
“You beat your fellow students? Do you understand the consequences?” Prince Xue Xing demanded with a frown.
On his way here, he had already laid out a plan. For that reason, he had deliberately brought Yu Tianheng and the others along.
He had wanted the geniuses of the two clans to clash, allowing him to profit from the conflict.
But seeing how small and thin Li Xun and Ning Rongrong were, he feared this plan would have to be shelved as well.
Given the arrogance of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, it would probably be difficult to persuade Yu Tianheng to attack children so much younger than himself.
“If beating an eighteen-year-old when you’re eight counts as assault, then yes, I did. But why don’t you ask why I acted in the first place?”
Li Xun’s eyes were clear, and his expression utterly innocent.
Who didn’t know how to play the victim? The two people lying on the ground were indeed rather pitiful—but he was young!
“Assault is assault. Regardless of the reason, it should never have happened.”
“If they did something wrong, you should have reported it to the teacher instead of using violence to settle the matter. Who are your parents?”
Prince Xue Xing wore a solemn expression, as though he were an elder patiently offering guidance.
The plan had deviated far too badly. Even he now felt the situation was troublesome.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was a powerful supporter of the imperial family.
If he forcibly expelled Li Xun and Ning Rongrong, Emperor Xue Ye would hear of it, and even he would be held accountable.
“Exactly. Which family are you from? You dared to beat my two elder brothers. I think you don’t want to remain in this academy!”
Seeing his uncle give him a meaningful look, Xue Beng’s expression turned vicious as he spoke ominously to Li Xun and Ning Rongrong.
“First, I didn’t assault them. They fought back; they just couldn’t beat me. At most, this counts as a brawl.”
“Second, I remember this teacher saying that the academy’s third rule strictly prohibits fighting and bullying, correct?”
“They mocked my junior sister repeatedly, and it has already affected her ability to attend class normally. In my view, that constitutes bullying.”
Li Xun refused to follow Xue Xing’s line of questioning. Instead, he raised two fingers and calmly laid out his own reasoning.
When it came to deciding who was right or wrong, sometimes it depended on who spoke more—and who spoke first.
That was how the wicked always managed to accuse their victims before being exposed.
In such situations, one had to get one’s own side of the story out first, so that people could form an initial understanding.
After all, even a single classroom contained several different circles. Later, those small groups could discuss the matter among themselves.
“What a sharp-tongued little brat! You actually think you can twist right and wrong in front of me.”
“I wonder who taught you to be this way.”
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Seeing that Li Xun had not answered his question directly, Prince Xue Xing’s expression hardened.
Li Xun was far cleverer than he had expected.
Just now, he had deliberately tried to lead Li Xun into mentioning Ning Fengzhi’s name.
He would then embellish the matter, confirming the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s reputation for overbearing conduct and Li Xun’s supposedly arrogant personality.
That would make the academy’s students fear and resent both Li Xun and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, isolating the pair.
But once Li Xun chose to clarify the causes and consequences of the incident, continuing to harp on the matter would serve no purpose.
People’s thoughts were complicated and changeable. If he pressed too hard, he might achieve the opposite of what he wanted.
“Your Highness, that is reasoning, not sharp-tongued sophistry.” Li Xun shook his head, once again refusing to answer directly.
“As the Fourth Prince, I’m asking you: which clan are you from?” Xue Beng demanded angrily when he saw that Li Xun would not answer either him or his uncle.
“My master is Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.”
Li Xun shot Xue Beng a sideways glance. Although he knew the boy was only pretending, his act was genuinely irritating.
He wondered whether Xue Beng, after pretending to be a wastrel for so long, would still be able to return to normal—or whether he would eventually become a foolish emperor.
“Hmph! So you are the favored disciple of Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. No wonder you act without the slightest restraint.”
“It seems the regulations of this royal academy are powerless against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.”
“Let’s go!”
Prince Xue Xing snorted coldly, swept his sleeve, and walked toward the door.
Li Xun’s age and background left him feeling helpless.
Still, this trip could hardly be called a failure.
Xue Xing swept his gaze over the surrounding students from the corner of his eye.
Given the dispute between them and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the nobles and commoners at the academy would probably not dare approach Li Xun and Ning Rongrong.
In the end, the empire still lay in the hands of powerful nobles like themselves.
So long as he could prevent Xue Qinghe’s faction from becoming integrated into the academy, any price he had to pay would be worthwhile.
As Prince Xue Xing departed, Xue Beng opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but swallowed the words.
His wastrel-like expression had also become somewhat restrained.
It was almost as though the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were some terrifying beast, making him wary.
Yu Tianheng gave Li Xun a deep look before leaving with the others.
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