"Jacob, you are so shameless. You said that I'm powerless right? Then why are you bullying a weaker disciple? I'm not even ranked, whereas you are ranked 3rd. Don't you feel ashamed of your behavior?" Arslan asked as he relaxed his hands.
"Obviously, not! You are clearly showing no sign of submissiveness towards who is stronger than you. It is only natural for me to put you back in your place!"
"Oh, come on, I don't buy it. You just want to show off in front of all these disciples and to gain Cindy's favor. Everyone here knows that. Look, they are talking about it even now."
"Arslan, shut up!!" Cindy said with a stridulous voice while closing her eyes not to see other disciples' reactions.
Jacob looked around and sent piercing gazes to everyone who dared to speak about him and Cindy. The crowd got silent all of a sudden, but it was unavoidable for Cindy to get embarrassed, as she blushed and her body shook a bit. Jacob avoided her eyes and looked nervously at Arslan,
"Don't you think that this is improving your situation!"
Arslan sneered at him,
"You can think what you want, but people know what you are up to." Arslan said pointing his hand to the crowd.
"Yeah, Arslan is right, he is just trying to win her by bullying him."
"Quite shameless indeed."
"But what can Arslan do to him? Elder Song is not saying anything either!"
The disciples began talking with each other once again, while Elder Song just looked at the scene, curious about how Arslan would have escaped from it.
"You are asking for death Arslan!" Jacob said as he clenched his fists and made a step forward. His face got wrinkled from anger as he prepared to attack,
"I will break your legs and make you bow down!" He jumped towards Arslan at an awesome speed, while Arslan waited for him without moving an inch, looking at him with a serious but calm glare.
"MOUNTAIN SPLITTER!" Jacob united his clenched fists above his head and hit with all his strength, moving his arms as if he were using a giant hammer.
"He is already using one of his best techniques!!" A disciple said.
BOOOOM
"My God, guys, look at the ground!!" Another one said as he pointed his hand below.
The ground got split in half by a long rift that began where Jacob hit. The air pressure he generated caused a strong dusty wind that enveloped all the disciples standing near him. Most of them had difficulty standing on their feet as the ground shook as if there was an earthquake. Stones coming from the paving went flying all around them.
After stabilizing their body balance, everyone was waiting anxiously to see the result of the clash that just happened.
"W-Wait, where did Elder Song go...?" A disciple using a perception technique noticed that Elder Song disappeared all of a sudden.
After a moment, the dusty fog got blown away, but how it happened seemed unnatural, as if someone else dispersed it.
"So, this is what you were planning..."
"!!!" Jacob was shocked, with his eyes open wide,
"E-Elder... Song?" Jacob said with a trembling voice as his hands were blocked by Elder Song's left hand.
"...Am I wrong, brat?" Elder Song asked while turning his head to the right to look at Arslan, who was standing fearless behind him, "You weren't even defending yourself." He stated.
Arslan smiled at him,
"Thanks, Elder Song! If it weren't for your intervention I would have been lying dead on the ground by now."
"So it was Elder Song to stop Jacob and blow the wind away! How did he get there so fast??" A disciple from the crowd said as he could finally see what happened.
"He is so strong! It seemed as if he had teleported himself in front of Arslan!" Another one said in admiration.
'I knew Elder Song would have stepped in after having lectured Troy about the rules of the Academy.' Arslan thought, satisfied with the result of his plan.
"I don't like cunning people like you, but rules are rules and must be respected. Thus, disciple Jacob, if you want to fight against him, you will need to challenge him officially." Elder Song said with an angered expression on his face.
"B-But-"
"No but. If you don't like the rules of the Academy you can leave at any moment." Elder Song's decisive tone made it difficult for Jacob, who was being denied the possibility to teach Arslan a lesson immediately. He gritted his teeth in frustration, but he didn't have any other choice than to accept,
"I wouldn't dare to disregard Elder Song like this." He said as he bowed in respect for Elder Song.
'At least for once, I got helped for real and not after being beaten.' Arslan thought,
"If this is all, then I shall take my leave." He said while turning away and heading again towards his dwelling.
"Arslan Crimson! I challenge you to an official duel!" Jacob said aloud so that everyone could hear him.
"Have you heard guys?!"
"Yeah, it seems he doesn't want to let him off!"
The disciples were surprised by such perseverance.
"I'm not interested in senseless duels, thanks anyway." Arslan said as he didn't even bother to look back at him, 'The disciples watching us get excited so easily.' He thought disappointed after hearing the huge uproar coming from the crowd.
Jacob's frustration increased more and more as he was being totally disrespected,
"Y-You would get the 3rd spot if you beat me!"
"And why should I care? I'm not stronger than you anyway. See you around." Arslan said as he waved his hand and disappeared from their sight.
"Oh come on, I hoped to see that trash getting beaten!"
"Yeah me too."
"Honestly, I think Jacob deserved it."
"Hey, I told you to be careful when you speak!"
"Oh, sorry, you are right."
"Let's go back guys, there is nothing else to see here."
The disciples were mostly unsatisfied with how that fight didn't lead to a proper resolution. And so, they left annoyed for how much time they wasted uselessly.
The only left ones were Cindy, Jacob, and John. The last one sighed as he was relieved by seeing Arslan able to get away thanks to Elder Song's intervention, who, after seeing Arslan getting away, headed to the Library to speak with Elder Oak.
"That trash completely disregarded me!!!" Jacob said in frustration as he ground his teeth with his body trembling in anger.
"Jacob, don't tell me you want to let him go like that after how he treated us!!" Cindy said as she couldn't accept one she considered a lowly dog not to obey her orders.
"Don't worry, I have my ways. I'll need to ask the help of a friend." Jacob said as his body stopped trembling and his face began smiling.