Dean Jiang was still deeply worried about this.

"The second round will definitely be disadvantageous for us."

"Zeng Quan will certainly have to appease the nineteen University Institutes. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have mentioned refining the rules."

That was a given. The second round was sure to be even more terrifying for Dragon Flame Academy.

Lu Chao spoke coolly, "With Marquis Longyin present, they won’t be able to cheat in the second round, no matter how difficult they make it. As long as there’s no cheating, we have a chance to counter anything they throw at us. We’ll just have to react as things unfold."

As Lu Chao spoke, Sun Shijin immediately replied, "Marquis Longyin... it was probably Yin Ye who invited him."

Just moments before, Lu Chao and the others had informed Sun Shijin’s group of three about Marquis Longyin’s presence...

"The situation now is actually much better than we initially expected. We have Marquis Longyin taking an impartial stance."

"And on top of that, we have Dongfang Ren..."

He didn’t directly say that Marquis Longyin was on their side, only that he was impartial.

At this moment, a thought occurred to Luo Wendeng, and he asked, "Brother Lu, could it be that Dongfang Ren will also be on our side? It seems like the reason Zeng Quan so readily declared the first round over was precisely because of Dongfang Ren, right?"

Although everyone had heard the legends of Dongfang Ren, they didn’t know much about this larger-than-life figure.

But Lu Chao, as a former Great Martial Emperor Star, naturally knew more than the others.

He explained in a low voice...

"Dongfang Ren comes from a Small Kingdom. Though he’s reclusive by nature, he has acted to protect the interests of Small Kingdoms in the past."

"Zeng Quan is using him to intimidate the nineteen University Institutes and prevent them from acting rashly."

"This actually helped Zeng Quan out of a tight spot, though. Without Dongfang Ren, he would have been caught between a rock and a hard place."

As he said this, a slightly regretful expression appeared on Lu Chao’s face.

Zeng Quan wanted to win people over. If Dongfang Ren hadn’t appeared just now, Zeng Quan would have offended a large group of people no matter what he decided. Now, by ending the first round, he has won the hearts of the Small Institutes.

In the second round, he can just establish rules favorable to the nineteen University Institutes, and he’ll be completely in the clear.

"But it doesn’t matter. Dongfang Ren certainly won’t be on our side."

"However, given his personality, he’ll handle things by the book. For us, all we need is fairness."

After Lu Chao’s explanation, everyone understood.

"It’s just... for Dongfang Ren to become a vice dean of the Beast Flame Academy, that’s very strange," Lu Chao added softly.

From what Lu Chao knew of Dongfang Ren, he shouldn’t be one to get involved in this sort of affair.

Suddenly, an elegant male voice sounded from behind the group from Dragon Flame Academy. "I heard that Dongfang Ren is getting old. Knowing his time is short, he wants to find a disciple at the Beast Flame Academy to carry on his legacy."

The group turned at the sound of the voice and saw Marquis Longyin walking over, a wine pot in his hand.

Seeing him, Lu Chao and the others greeted him with a slight cupped-fist salute.

Marquis Longyin just smiled and said, "For you from Dragon Flame Academy, Dongfang Ren is a huge opportunity. If you become his disciple, you’ll have a powerful backer in the Beast Flame Academy. The prerequisite, of course, is that you get through the placement battles."

After speaking, Marquis Longyin walked right past them, showing no intention of having a deeper conversation. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

’Perhaps it’s because he needs to avoid suspicion?’

But Marquis Longyin suddenly stopped and asked, "By the way, Lu Chao, if I had sided with the University Institutes earlier, how would you have responded?"

He was curious about this...

After all, if he, the academy’s Order Commander, had been like Guan Zanyi, everything Lu Chao had done would have been for nothing.

The slightest favoritism toward the nineteen University Institutes would have spelled doom for Dragon Flame Academy.

In response to this, Lu Chao was very calm...

"If that were the case, it would prove we had no hope at all. In that situation, I would start killing..."

"I would kill all the injustice, kill all the students from the so-called University Institutes, and turn the newly established Beast Flame Academy into a laughingstock."

Lu Chao had thought about it before. If things were still unfair, he would just tear the whole sky down and deal with the consequences.

Hearing this, Marquis Longyin couldn’t help but turn back, his eyes narrowed. "Aren’t you overestimating yourself? With seven vice deans keeping order earlier, how exactly would you have killed all the injustice?"

Lu Chao smiled faintly...

"At that time, Brother Luo and the others were still hiding amongst the Small Institutes that didn’t dare to charge forward. They hadn’t made their move yet. I could have slipped into the mountains alone, or I could have taken everyone from Dragon Flame Academy into the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land."

"I imagine that once inside the Forbidden Land, no one besides Marshal Fan would be able to catch us."

His pupils constricted slightly. Marquis Longyin recalled Yin Ye’s words.

’Lu Chao’s Soldier Dao is not much weaker than Fan Changcun’s...’

’If they entered the Forbidden Land, he could break through the barriers one after another and venture deeper. Who could possibly catch them then?’

"And then, whenever I felt like it, I’d pop out and kill someone. I’m quite well-versed in the art of assassination, you see," Lu Chao added softly.

This made Marquis Longyin’s pupils constrict again. He even felt a slight chill run up his spine.

Ultimately, he smiled in appreciation. "Since you have a fallback plan, we can rest easy. Go ahead and cut down all the injustice in the second round."

With that, Marquis Longyin strode away...

But he immediately returned again and said, "Right, I have some good news for you. The Beast Flame Academy will also be establishing a Martial Arts Institute, and the vice dean of the Martial Arts Institute will be... Fan Changcun."

When these words were spoken, the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect stared with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"The Martial Arts Institute was also proposed by Marshal Fan. Its purpose is to find a Military Genius and break through the Azure Flame Sect’s Forbidden Land."

"I’m starting to think he might have set this up specifically for you."

After saying this, Marquis Longyin truly left.

Fan Jinxiang was already so excited that she couldn’t help but walk over to Lu Chao and ask, "Brother Lu, when can we see my grandfather?"

Lu Chao took a deep breath and replied, "Once we officially become part of the Beast Flame Outer Courtyard, we will definitely be able to see him."

A sharp glint shone in his eyes. ’Marshal Fan’s move is brilliant,’ he thought.

’He’s forcing the Six Great Flame Countries to open an institute and recruit disciples for him. This way, I’ll have the chance to display my prowess in the Soldier Dao at the Martial Arts Institute, and I can also discuss the Soldier Dao with the old marshal whenever I want.’

’More importantly, I can enter the Azure Flame Forbidden Land at any time.’

’There’s even a fallback plan. If we can’t get into the Beast Flame Academy, we can go to the Martial Arts Institute.’

Thinking of this, Lu Chao spoke gravely to everyone, "Marquis Longyin, Dongfang Ren, and Marshal Fan... for us, the Beast Flame Academy isn’t just a pit of fire and despair."

Luo Wendeng and the others clenched their fists, filled with hope.

As they were talking, they were met with all sorts of gazes from their surroundings. The members of the Small Institutes were all discussing how Lu Chao and his group had led the way and broken through the round, but no one dared to approach them.

Everyone knew that they couldn’t get close to Dragon Flame Academy, or they would attract big trouble.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaoping couldn’t help but mutter, "We’re the ones who helped them pass the round, yet no one comes to thank us."

"It’s already not bad. At least it’s not like back at the Beast Flame Gate, where every single person was targeting us," Luo Wendun said comfortingly. The situation had at least changed; they were no longer enemies with the entire world.

Furthermore, with Marquis Longyin’s Order Enforcement Team present, the nineteen University Institutes didn’t dare to immediately make a move against Dragon Flame Academy.

They only shot them murderous glares...

Half an hour later, Zeng Quan reappeared with a group of Beast Flame Academy’s upper management. The rules for the second round were about to be announced.