108 Chapter 107: Conspiracy Crushed (2/2)
I didn't envy them.
”There shouldn't be any problems with that,” Xiao Zhang continued when no one objected. He glared at the now former student council members. ”We'll send you the official notice by tomorrow. For now, return to your dorm and get your affairs in order before you enter isolation training. Make sure to use your sentence to reflect on your own actions, hone your skills, and develop not just as a martial artist but also as a person.”
Since martial arts were strongly linked with character, justice and righteousness, it was thought that isolation training would help imprisoned martial artists develop their character if they totally dedicated their time into training in martial arts. I didn't buy it, of course – why would demonic martial arts and sects exist otherwise? – but I wasn't the authority here. So I didn't say anything.
Well, that wasn't completely true. There was something I wanted.
”Before they enter isolation training, do you mind if I challenge Li Chun Long to an official match?” I asked as I raised my hand.
Everyone turned to stare at me.
”It's not against the rules,” Xiao Zhang replied. ”But Student Li Chun Long has been disqualified from the tournament. Surely you no longer have a reason to fight him?”
”Reconsider your request,” Teacher Cai added. ”I don't mind officiating your match, but this will bring needless risk to your well-being.”
He was aware of how I was getting pummeled by Li Chun Long and destroyed one-sidedly before he and Teacher Jiao arrived to haul both my and Zhu Jiao's asses out of the fire, so to speak. Of course I remembered that too, but…
”Begging your pardon, but I don't want to automatically qualify for the finals like this. It leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and will invite rumors from the rest of the student body.” I paused and raised my head up high. ”I can already hear them saying about how lucky I am to get to the finals…like how fortune has favored me, or the academy is biased against the student council, or how I would have lost to Li Chun Long if this didn't happen.”
”Those are just talk, you can disregard them,” Xiao Zhang pointed out dismissively.
”Perhaps so, but as a martial artist, I want to prove all that wrong not through talk and speculation, not through questions of ”what if?”. I want to prove them with my very own actions.” I took a deep breath. ”If I lose this official match against Li Chun Long, then I will forfeit the final.”
There was a stir in the room as the teachers began discussing with each other in low whispers on how to deal with my response. I didn't react and merely continued standing up straight, refusing to slacken my spine as I waited.
”Very well. You indeed raise a good point. The ways of a martial artist should definitely be proven through actions rather than words. Thank you for reminding everyone of that. Permission granted.” Xiao Zhang turned to an astonished Li Chun Long. ”Consider this as one of the affairs you need to sort out before you enter isolation training.”
”Understood.”
Li Chun Long cupped his hands and bowed. He then turned toward me, his lips curling into a sneer.
I knew what that meant. He was laughing at me inwardly and swearing that I would regret this. No doubt he harbored resentment against me for ruining the student council's plans and getting in his way of crippling Zhu Jiao.
”Then we will hold the official match tomorrow,” Teacher Jiao said as he glanced from me to Li Chun Long. ”Best to get it done and over with so that Student Li Chun Long can get into isolation training as soon as possible.”
”Thank you very much.” I bowed formally as I thanked the staff.
”If there's nothing else, then this sessions is adjourned.” Xiao Zhang stuck the table with his fist to dismiss everyone. The students and teachers filed out of the pseudo court room, the student council members heading toward the dorm to prepare for the long isolation training ahead of them. As for me, I headed toward the training facility to train for tomorrow's official match. Even though it wasn't technically a tournament match, I couldn't afford to lose.
It wasn't just because of the promise I made in front of everyone. My pride wouldn't allow it. Plus I wanted to get a few hits in as revenge for the student council attacking Zhu Jiao to deny him the semifinal. They wanted to cripple him? They wanted to force him to forfeit the match against Bai Ning Xue, a match he had been looking forward to for so long?
Not a chance!
Furthermore, I rememebered how outfought I was a few days earlier when Li Chun Long singlehandedly defeated me with his Green Dragon Sect martial arts. I couldn't let it end like this. I wanted to defeat him.
That was the sole motivation right now.
”Hey! Wu, wait!”
Zhu Jiao hurried after me. As the main victim in this whole mess, he had also been called to stand witness at court and had been the first to give his account. The student council members had testified and pleaded guilty after him, and I had hammered the truth home with my own account, providing the evidence with my cellphone recording.
Not that my testimony was necessary, especially when the student council members had already pleaded guilty, but it was a matter of formality and so that the school scribes had a job to do – recording every word the defendants, the victims and the eyewitnesses said. To be honest, they probably recorded everything using qi devices, but they still had to replay the entire session and transcribe every word into written text.
I didn't envy them their job.
”Jiao, are you all right?”
I slowed down a little to allow him to catch up. Teacher Yi had done an amazing job, healing him fully in just a night. She was exhausted after that, and would probably be just as weary as the rest of the tournament ran its course. Even more so, now that she would be deprived of Qing Xin Xia's help when the latter went into isolation training.
Unless, of course, Qing Xin Xia counted her healing duties during the tournament as affairs to handle, and went into isolation training after the tournament ended. With only three months of imprisonment when compared to the rest of her comrades, she could go in later and still be released way earlier than the others.
”Yeah, I am…but more importantly!” Zhu Jiao stared at me in concern, no doubt having heard my challenge. ”Are you sure that's wise?”
”Wise? No. Necessary? Yes.”
”How the hell was that necessary?!” Zhu Jiao demanded. Before I could reply, we both turned around as another voice called out to us.
”Wu, Jiao! Are you guys all right? How did the court session go?”
Our friends had arrived, looking concerned. They had been anxiously waiting outside the courtroom for the results, and now that we had finally emerged, they quickly swarmed over us. Tong Xue, in particular, was extremely curious.
”They wouldn't tell us anything!” Tang Qi Hong complained, adding onto Tong Xue's question as she followed him.
”Seems like the student council members have been punished,” Ban Zhang remarked thoughtfully as he glanced in the direction where they were headed.
”You're right,” I informed him. He nodded in satisfaction.
”Well, it serves them right. They were supposed to be student council members, yet they went and did something like this.”
Ban Zhang certainly had the sense of duty and responsibility to be a student council member, but unfortunately they selected members based purely on strength and not leadership capabilities. Otherwise Ban Zhang would have become a student council member long ago. However, in terms of strength, he was unable to match any of them.
This was stupid. They should be selecting student council members based on leadership ability and charisma, not strength. Fortunately, Bai Ning Xue was completely impartial, fair and charismatic, to the point where her student council officers would be willing to break the rules just to preserve her position. While I couldn't say anything about the other student council members, I had to admit that it was testament to her personality and character that she could command such total respect from her subordinates and the rest of the student body.
”They were sentenced to six months of isolation training,” Zhu Jiao added, a bit of venom in his voice. He then softened. ”Xin Xia got three months because she tried to help me. All of them were removed from the student council.”
”Considering what they did, I say that was quite a light punishment.” Tong Xue folded his arms. When he caught Zhu Jiao's darkening expression, he quickly added, ”Well, not for Xin Xia, though. She clearly doesn't deserve to be punished this much.”
”Yeah…but they can't really let her off either. It's quite the dilemma.” Zhu Jiao sighed in frustration.
”I can't believe Xin Xia and Chun Long would do something like this.” Lian Rou shook her head in disbelief as she tried to digest the facts. She turned to Zhu Jiao and me. ”As long as you guys are all right, that's the most important thing.”
”By the way, what are you guys talking about?” Tang Qi Hong stared at me suspicious. ”What's not wise but necessary?”
”This guy…” Zhu Jiao groaned and jabbed a finger at me. ”Even though Li Chun Long has been disqualified from the tournament and he can just automatically advance to the final, he decides to go challenge Li Chun Long to an official match and promised that he would forfeit the final if he loses. What kind of idiot does that?!”
”That…certainly isn't wise…”
Tong Xue stared at me as if he had just saw an alien for the first time.
”But…I understand how Wu feels.”
Not surprisingly, it was Tang Qi Hong who backed me up. She came to my side and faced the others.
”If I were him, I wouldn't want to win like this. Not like this. I want to defeat my opponent fair and square, not through a technicality or disqualification.”
”That's true.” Zhu Jiao sighed. ”I guess I wouldn't want to win like this either. It'll leave a bitter taste in my mouth.”
”Not to mention, everyone would be talking about how Wu got it easy,” Tong Xue added, having realized my intentions. ”They'll accuse the teachers of playing favorites, or claim that Wu only won because his opponent was disqualified. This is the only way to convince them that he deserves to progress to the final on his own merit.”
”Wait, why does Fei Wu even need to convince anyone in the first place?” Lian Rou asked, bewildered.
I shrugged. ”Why do I even aim to win the tournament in the first place?”
”That's…” Lian Rou trailed off. ”The resources. The winner gets more resources than the others. The higher your ranking, the higher you finish in the tournament, the more resources you will be rewarded with.”
”True, but Wu can't receive artificial qi, so that's a big chunk of resources cut off for him. I don't think they'll compensate him for that even if he somehow wins the tournament.”
”It's not for the rewards or resources,” I added after Ban Zhang's sobering reminder. ”It's mostly for pride and prestige. That's why I don't want to win like this. There's no honor in automatically winning a match by disqualification.”
”Honor, huh?” Lian Rou murmured, and then nodded. ”I guess I see what you mean.”
”Yeah,” Tong Xue agreed. ”And it's also to deflect criticism, since there will surely be people complaining that you won by default and don't deserve to advance to the finals. If you defeat Li Chun Long in front of everyone, in an official match, you'll silence all those criticisms.”
”That is indeed the plan,” I assured him.
I had no idea how I bought into this whole beliefs about honor and pride. Readers might find it highly impractical and stupid, but I guess I was influenced by the ideas of sportsmanship. Even back in my original timeline, we had something called sportsmanship in tournaments and competitions. Of course, the stakes had been raised to insane levels, especially when money and sponsors were involved, but there was still talk of ideals and sportsmanship among the competitors. I would like to believe that those continue to exist.
”Okay. But do you have a way to defeat Li Chun Long? He's pretty strong, you know.”
Zhu Jiao was staring at me now, obviously remembering how I got blasted away by one of Li Chun Long's attakcks when I was trying to save him from Gu Chun Song and the others. I took a deep breath and sighed.
”No, I don't. Not yet, anyway. Besides…” I smiled as I returned Zhu Jiao's gaze. ”You should worry more about yourself, Jiao. Do you have a way to defeat Bai Ning Xue?”
”Hmph.” Zhu Jiao grinned. ”I plan to just show up and do my best. Whoever wins, I won't hold any resentment.”
”Then I shall do the same.”
”The problem, though…” Tang Qi Hong looked thoughtful as she glanced in the direction where the student council members had disappeared to. ”…is whether Li Chun Long has the same attitude. I'm sure he'll be focused on getting revenge on you for exposing the student council's schemes and causing them to get punished.”
”Even though they fully deserve it,” Ban Zhang muttered under his breath.
”Oh, don't worry. I'm sure Li Chun Long holds a grudge againt me.” My smile widened. ”In fact, I'm actually counting on it.”