Chapter 281: Support (1/2)

Xue Wei did not know whether to cry or to laugh when he saw that even Yuan Bailong had appeared on his doorstep, a smile beaming on his face as if he had gained something substantial from Xue Wei’s killing of the young master of the Baili family.

But, he felt that he had picked the right person to work with, as the moment the man heard these troubling rumors, he had rushed to meet Xue Wei instead of speculating about him.

Right after Yuan Bailing had appeared, another wave of people arrived in their courtyard; this time, it was the people from the Gu family.

“Now is not the time to smile,” Gu Bing’er said as she arrived with a stern expression on her face, and after seeing how casual and laid back the people within the courtyard were.

“Will the academy not protect Xue Wei?” Yuan Bailong asked curiously upon seeing Gu Bing’er’s panicked expression, and not completely understanding why she was so scared about what was going on.

“Usually, they would investigate when a murder happens on their grounds and then give a fair response to the people who are involved, but right now they do not have the time to actually do anything like that.

“Did you forget that the Soul Tower has stopped functioning? The elders really do not care about anything other than fixing the tower right now. Since they have no time to deal with this problem, they are going to let the Baili family get their own vengeance this time.

“But even if they were not busy, it is quite likely that they would have sided with the Baili family anyway, even if they had to sacrifice you.

“This continent might be different to yours, although everyone is living life easily, the hierarchy is not to be questioned. One’s number of eyes determines how bright your future is, and even then, it is important to pledge your allegiance to a family.

“The families pretend to be gentle and friendly on the surface, but the truth is that the capital is filled with corruption and schemes. Every official is hired or bribed by the families; even here at the academy, it is the same. The elders and teachers are all bribed or hired to assist the upcoming youngsters within the families.

“I came here late because I was having a conversation with the elders of our Gu family,” Gu Bing’er continued, her face solemn and serious. “We have decided to support you. We were supposed to go against the Baili family eventually, and considering that you have made it possible, we will just have to make it happen faster than expected.”

Yuan Bailong paused and then nodded his head. “I will go contact the Yuan family elders immediately,” he said and sat down in a corner of the lounge area, closing his eyes as he got ready to contact them through his mental connection.

Not long after, Yuan Bailong appeared next to Xue Wei and the others again, his face conflicted with mixed emotions.

“Some of the elders felt that you being in trouble did not have anything to do with our family,” he said hesitantly, his facial expression ugly. “But after convincing the old badgers, they understood that you are our only chance of going against the Baili family.

“Since they understood this now, they agreed to assist you, in case we start an all-out war against the Baili family—but we want to avoid that if at all possible.”

Xue Wei knew that currently, he did not have the strength to go against the entire Baili family on his own, but he had still acted against the young master regardless.

There were some decisions that had to be made, no matter what. Xue Wei understood that he had to stay true to himself, as if he stepped back even just once, it was likely to become a habit. If he became accustomed to stepping back, he would lose sight of who he was, and it would become difficult to advance his cultivation.

No one asked him whether or not it was an option to take a step back; everyone just understood Xue Wei’s personality and knew that doing so would be detrimental to his cultivation.

Still, Gu Bing’er was awash with emotion and sighed. She had never expected that things would evolve to the stage it was at currently.

“Well one good thing has come from this,” Xue Wei smiled gently, as he looked at the many people surrounding him. “If the academy truly washes their hands of us, then the oath we took when we joined the academy is invalid. If they betray us, we will no longer be restricted by the oath to be loyal to the academy either.”

“Do you plan on doing something to the academy?” Yuan Bailong asked with a frown on his face. Although he understood that it was good not to be restrained by an oath, he still valued the academy highly as it was the birthplace of every influential person within his country.

“The academy promised us many things when we agreed to join,” Xue Wei said slowly. “They promised us we could either join the spiritual energy class or the Qi class, but the truth is that no one has helped us join either side. In fact, we have been left all alone, and they haven’t told us anything about this problem we’re supposed to solve. Everything we have gained, apart from the assistance we got from the Soul Tower, we have gained from our very own efforts.

“We have no actual plans on harming the academy,” Xue Wei finally relented when he saw the worry in Yuan Bailong’s expression. “If we do, we will become the sworn enemy of the entire continent.

“However, not being limited by the oath will make things much easier for us. We will be able to move unnoticed and do things that might border on being unacceptable.”

“I see,” Yuan Bailong nodded his head, but he remained worried. Had Xue Wei just relented because he did not want him to worry, or was it the truth?