Boomm...!
Suddenly, the door of the dormitory was violently kicked open, and two guards walked in.
"Aidan, you skipped class without reason, the elders of the academy want to see you. Come with us!"
...
A few mins ago
"Aidan didn't come to class today for no reason. Look, his seat has been empty all this time."
"How dare he! This morning was the class of the academy elders, and he still dares not to come."
"Not good, the elder's expression is unpleasant, looks like Aidan is in trouble. Hehehe."
Above the academy, the youths whispered quietly. Some eyes kept glancing at Aidan's empty seat, and at the increasingly dark expression on the face of the academy elder.
Ever since Aidan had engaged in robbery and extortion, he had placed himself on the opposite side of everyone else. Seeing him in trouble was a delight for all the students.
The academy elder's face was ashen, explaining the secrets of exercising Ascension Sigils while secretly scanning Aidan's seat.
He sneered in his heart, "Aidan, oh Aidan. Your momentum is so strong, I was worried I wouldn't catch you. Today, you've come to me voluntarily. You're still just a sixteen-year-old boy, I overestimated you."
Most of his current unpleasant expression was feigned. His purpose was to take advantage of the situation to deal with Aidan, to quell his increasingly arrogant demeanor.
Admittedly, as time passed, Aidan's momentum grew stronger, making it difficult for other students to catch their breath.
A single dominant force was not what the academy elder hoped to see; he hoped for a scene where a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend.
"Come." The academy elder bent his finger, lightly tapping the lectern.
"Sir, we're here." The two guards outside the door immediately entered.
The academy elder snorted publicly, "This Aidan is outrageous, lazy as he is, skipping class blatantly under my nose. Go to the dormitory and bring him to me."
"Yes, sir." The guards turned and left.
Watching the guards disappear outside the door, the academy suddenly erupted into a noisy commotion.
Countless students whispered to each other.
"Aidan is in trouble now." Some eyes sparkled.
"Hehe, we'll have a good show later." Some gloated with joy.
"Brother, you're too arrogant. You're challenging the authority of the elder. No matter what punishment you receive, it's your own doing." Ewan looked at his seat and sighed inwardly.
Doommm! Doommm! Doomm!
The academy elder's face was stern, clapping his hands three times on the lectern, "Quiet, there shall be no noise in the academy!"
His current aura was like a volcano about to erupt, making people awe-struck.
Suddenly, the academy fell silent as a pin drop.
The students sat up straight, fearful, and closed their mouths.
But outwardly calm, their attention was already drawn away by this incident.
The lesson continued, but the youths seemed somewhat distracted.
Some students sitting near the windows occasionally glanced outside.
Time passed, and after a while, footsteps suddenly came from the doorway.
In an instant, many students' ears perked up, and dozens of pairs of eyes suddenly lit up.
"He's here..." The academy elder also heard the footsteps, squinting his eyes involuntarily.
He had already decided how to deal with Aidan. He would punish him by making him stand outside the door for three hours.
Although the punishment was not severe, it was still humiliating.
During classes, as students came and went, they would constantly see Aidan standing in punishment.
This shattered Aidan's terrifying image. When the students realized that Aidan was nothing more than this, the intimidation he brought would diminish greatly, and they would gain a newfound courage, sparking a desire to fight back.
What's more, the punishment for Aidan came from the academy. Invisibly, it would make the students more fearful and respectful of the academy.
Only with fear can there be obedience.
Therefore, although these methods seemed simple, they held deep meaning behind them.
The footsteps grew closer and closer, until finally, the person stopped outside the door.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A knocking sound echoed.
"Hehe, let me open the door!" A student sitting closest to the door volunteered, stood up, walked out of his seat, and opened the door.
The academy involuntarily fell silent, countless pairs of eyes fixed on the door.
Creak.
The door, in the hands of the student, was gently pulled open a crack.
Sunlight filtered through the crack, but at that moment, the student who opened the door suddenly trembled!
"Ah!!!" He paused, then exclaimed in shock, subconsciously taking a step back.
His body hit the desk, losing balance, and both he and the desk toppled to the ground.
His face turned pale, filled with fear, limbs trembling, unable to exert any strength. He fell to the ground, scrambling to get up, only to fall again.
"What's going on?!" For a moment, everyone's hearts tightened, furrowing their brows deeply.
Countless curious gazes, sparked by this incident, focused on the door.
The door was slowly pushed open from the outside.
Even the academy elder instinctively stopped teaching.
The first thing that came into view was a hand pushing against the door.
A young hand.
A bloody hand!
Seeing this bloody hand, many female students covered their mouths, emitting uncontrollable gasps.
The door slowly swung open completely.
Bright sunlight flooded in, the glare causing everyone to squint.
Against the backdrop of the intense sunlight, a dark silhouette outlined a young figure, appearing before everyone's eyes.
For some reason, a strong sense of unease surged in the academy elder's heart.
"It's Aidan!" Someone exclaimed in shock.
Everyone quickly adjusted to the sunlight, and they all saw the newcomer.
Aidan was covered in blood, standing proudly at the doorway, as though he had just experienced a fierce battle.
He slowly withdrew the hand that pushed the door open, while his right hand gripped hair, dragging someone along.
This person's left arm had been severed at the shoulder, motionless, and had fainted. Blood flowed steadily from the wound on his left shoulder.
"It's one of the guards who went to find Aidan!" Someone recognized the person's identity.
"What's going on here?" Someone panicked.
"He killed again, this time he killed a guard!" Someone pointed at Aidan, shouting in fear. It seemed that the louder they shouted, the more they could release their inner panic and fear.
For a moment, the academy was in an uproar.
Many students forgot discipline at this moment, involuntarily standing up from their seats. With eyes full of shock and panic, they stared at Aidan at the door.
In their imagination, Aidan would have been escorted by two guards, one on each side.
But the fact before them was—Aidan covered in blood, with a cold demeanor, as if a demon at the door. One guard was missing, and the other lay motionless, blood slowly pooling beneath him, forming a bright red puddle at the doorway.
A strong smell of blood instantly permeated the academy.
Even the academy elder was stunned; he had never anticipated such a scene!
After the shock came a surging anger.
These two guards were just ordinary mortals, not Ascendants. If they died, they died, and the academy elder didn't care much about that.
But the crucial point was their identity. They were guards of the academy, representing the dignity of the academy, representing the face of the academy elder.
This Aidan was simply audacious, daring to kill even the guards of the academy!
No, it was more than audacious; it was a blatant provocation, challenging the authority of the castle academy.
The academy elder was furious, pointing at Aidan and shouting, "Aidan! What's the meaning of this? You must explain yourself to me, preferably give me a reason to spare you. Otherwise, just for indiscriminately killing guards, you will be locked in prison, awaiting the law's execution!"
All the students fell silent.
The window frames trembled, and the roar of the academy elder echoed through the entire hall.
Only Aidan remained calm; his eyes deep and unfathomable, showing no hint of emotion.
Looking around, Aidan released his right hand. With a thud, the guard's head landed in the pool of blood on the ground, splashing droplets onto Aidan's trousers.
He nodded respectfully to the academy elder, breaking the silence with his calm voice, "Respected academy elder, there is indeed something I must report."
"Speak." The academy elder crossed his hands behind his back, looking down at Aidan, his gaze icy.
In his heart, he sneered, "Aidan, you keep making mistakes, and they keep getting bigger. Let's see how you explain this!"
In the academy, all eyes were on Aidan.
Among these gazes were shock, fear, mockery, and coldness.
But Aidan paid no attention to these gazes. He looked at the academy elder, pointing to the unconscious guard on the ground with a serious expression.
"Elder, these two guards harbored ill intentions, deserving punishment! At the critical moment of my breakthrough to the Intermediate Tier, they forcibly broke into my room. As everyone knows, Ascendants cannot be disturbed during their cultivation. This is especially true during a breakthrough to a higher realm. A slight mistake not only leads to a failed breakthrough but also damages the Ascension Sigils. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to step into the Intermediate Tier at the moment they intruded."
"But!" Before anyone else could react, Aidan continued, "These two refused to admit their mistakes and shamelessly attempted to attack me, even insulting the academy, falsely claiming that this disturbance of my cultivation was your intention, respected academy elder. I didn't believe them and resisted fiercely. These two are highly skilled in martial arts, and I fought bloody battles with them, defeating them in the end."
"However, considering their identity as guards of the academy, I didn't go for the kill. One had his arm severed, and the other had his thigh cut off. Although they lost quite a bit of blood, they are still alive. This is the truth of the matter, and I ask the elder to do justice for me!" Aidan finished speaking and bowed to the academy elder.
His tone was urgent, and he spoke a lot, leaving no room for others to interject.
After he finished, the others around slowly began to react.