Following Lu Chao’s voice, which rang out like a demon’s in the night, Dongfang Ren struck, pinning Zheng Liyuan down on the spot.

Upon hearing this, Dean Jiang’s eyes shot wide open, and he was instantly reminded of his younger son.

His younger son, the one upon whom he and even Elder Sun had once placed such high hopes, could now do nothing but stay at home and tend to his garden.

In a flash, rage surged through Dean Jiang. He immediately snatched up a large rock from nearby and, with all his might, smashed it down onto the knee of the pinned Zheng Liyuan...

"AARGH!"

A bloodcurdling scream, like a pig being slaughtered, echoed from Zheng Liyuan through the woods.

Immediately after, Dean Jiang brought the rock down hard on Zheng Liyuan’s other knee, eliciting a second, equally horrific scream.

Payback, doubled!

But he wasn’t finished. Dean Jiang wanted to ensure Zheng Liyuan would be completely crippled, unable to walk, just like his own younger son.

He continued to smash the large rock down, frantically... SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!

He didn’t stop until the rock itself shattered, until both of Zheng Liyuan’s kneecaps were utterly pulverized.

Finally...

Silence fell over the woods once more. Zheng Liyuan had passed out from the pain. He was crippled.

But even so, Dean Jiang hadn’t vented all his rage. He started punching and kicking the unconscious Zheng Liyuan, his fury fueled not only by what had happened to his son, but also by the years of suppression Dragon Flame Academy had endured.

He only stopped when Jiang Yu’s voice called out from a short distance away, "Grandpa..."

Dean Jiang froze, his head snapping toward his granddaughter. His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

The veiled threats of the past three days, combined with the recent events, had brought him to the brink of collapse. He had been terrified that his grandson and granddaughter would suffer the same fate as his younger son. Now, they were finally safe.

And so, Dean Jiang and Jiang Yu both sat on the ground, the grandfather and granddaughter checking on each other with concern.

After a long while, they recovered. They looked toward Lu Chao, Dongfang Ren, and Marquis Longyin. As for Lu Chao, there was no need for effusive thanks; he was one of their own, and formalities would only create distance.

To Dongfang Ren and Marquis Longyin, however, Dean Jiang and his granddaughter expressed their heartfelt gratitude over and over.

At that moment, the members of the Order Enforcement Team also arrived on the scene.

They stared at the four corpses in the woods and at Zheng Liyuan with his shattered knees, momentarily stunned.

They could only look blankly at Marquis Longyin, awaiting his orders.

Marquis Longyin, in turn, looked at Lu Chao, his expression a mix of shock and uncertainty. Although they hadn’t killed Zheng Liyuan, beating him to this state would surely drive Zeng Quan and the Saint Bone Zheng Family insane.

"As long as he’s not dead, they can be as mad as they want, but they’ll have to endure it for now. At the very least, they won’t retaliate on a large scale."

Lu Chao replied calmly, "Just dump the bodies and Zheng Liyuan on Zeng Quan’s doorstep. Don’t even say a word. They know what happened better than we do. If they want to blow this up, they can’t afford the fallout either."

The Saint Bone Zheng Family had a grand strategy involving the Beast Flame Academy. As long as Zheng Liyuan wasn’t dead, they wouldn’t risk a complete falling-out.

Hearing this, Marquis Longyin pondered for a moment before nodding heavily.

’Zheng Liyuan was the one who attacked Dean Jiang and Jiang Yu first. If this incident gets escalated, the only conclusion would be that Zheng Liyuan violated the rules of the Beast Flame competition.’

’As long as Zheng Liyuan isn’t dead, and as long as his Heavenly Destiny Bone is intact...’

’...then the Saint Bone Zheng Family will have no choice but to swallow their pride and accept this loss for now.’

’Of course, there will certainly be terrifying retaliation later, but it will be the kind of retaliation that ensures the Beast Flame competition can still continue.’

’Even without this incident with Zheng Liyuan, Dragon Flame Academy would have had to deal with their schemes anyway.’

With that thought, Marquis Longyin ordered the Order Enforcement Team members, "Take Zheng Liyuan and the bodies and dump them with Zeng Quan. Just say you found them in the woods and have no idea what happened."

The Order Enforcement Team members acknowledged the order and departed with Zheng Liyuan and the four corpses.

After they left...

Lu Chao spoke again, "The Celestial King Tutor in the woods just now said that our Elder Sun doesn’t have time to rescue Junior Sister Jiang. He has too many people to protect, which likely means the upper echelons of Beast Flame have other plans in motion."

At these words, the expressions on Dean Jiang and Jiang Yu’s faces changed drastically, and they shot to their feet.

"Don’t worry too much..."

Lu Chao immediately reassured them. "From Zheng Liyuan’s actions, we can see they’re worried about Marquis Longyin, and perhaps even about infuriating the Dragon Flame King. They aren’t planning anything too vicious. Instead, they’re resorting to coercion, bribery, and all sorts of other dirty tricks."

Just now, Zheng Liyuan’s main goal was to force Dean Jiang to betray Dragon Flame Academy.

The point was to ensure Dragon Flame Academy wouldn’t have enough people for the third trial.

"Dean Jiang, let’s go and foil every single one of their dirty tricks right now."

With that, Lu Chao turned to Marquis Longyin. "Marquis Longyin, as for the carvings in the old estate, I’ll leave them for you to handle as you see fit."

Then he said to Dongfang Ren, "Brother Dongfang, we’ll take our leave first."

Dongfang Ren nodded lightly in response. "If anything happens, the Order Enforcement Team members will notify me. You just go and do what you need to do."

The meaning was clear: although he wouldn’t be going with Lu Chao, Marquis Longyin’s side would dispatch members of the Order Enforcement Team to monitor everything from the air. If any major situation arose, he could spring into action.

This also showed that Dongfang Ren had been completely won over by Lu Chao and was now willing to help Dragon Flame Academy.

Lu Chao, of course, thanked him profusely before he, Dean Jiang, and Jiang Yu disappeared from the woods surrounding the old estate.

As they watched the three of them leave...

Marquis Longyin sighed and said, "Elder Dongfang, sometimes I really think this Fake Lu Chao is far more impressive than the real one. It’s just that his Heavenly Destiny Bone is too poor. No wonder he was completely unknown before."

Marquis Jilong, Yin Ye, had already provided information on Lu Chao’s background.

Lu Chao was also from the Great Wu Empire, born in Yangzhou City on the Great Wu Border. He was exceedingly ordinary due to his Bone of Myriad Stars.

At his wedding to Cheng Yunsu, the illegitimate granddaughter of the Saint Bone Su Family, he had a chance encounter with Wu Caicai and Fan Jinhua. This drew him into the war for survival of the Azure Flame Sect’s descendants, leading him from the Great Wu Empire to the Hundred Countries...

Later, he was taught the Soldier Dao and even the Martial Dao by Fan Changcun, and it was during the war in the Chaotic Hundred Countries that his power truly erupted.

"Sigh, when will I ever be able to find a disciple?"

Dongfang Ren let out a soft sigh, feeling quite dejected. He had failed to recruit a disciple precisely because Lu Chao was too formidable.

He, a man with Dual Saint Bones, couldn’t even recruit a disciple who was merely at the Earth Bone Level.

Hearing this, Marquis Longyin couldn’t help but want to laugh. "Why don’t you just pass on your martial arts to little brother Lu Chao and have him find a disciple for you instead?"

This was, of course, a joke, but Dongfang Ren’s eyes suddenly widened. "That makes sense." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In an instant, Marquis Longyin was left utterly speechless.

Just then, a carrier pigeon suddenly descended. Marquis Longyin’s eyes lit up. "The first reply from Brother Wang has arrived."

He quickly unfolded the letter, then just as quickly folded it back up.

It was more or less what he had expected...

It confirmed full support for the Fake Lu Chao’s fight for an Outer Courtyard spot. He was to intervene directly against any injustice. If that wasn’t enough, he was to threaten Zeng Quan and the others on the spot... if they dared to go too far, Marquis Jilong would dispatch an army from Jilong State.

And this was only the first reply. There would be more to come.