At Zheng Zhuhe’s shout, Beast Flame and the others felt the corners of their mouths twitch uncontrollably...

None of them showed any sign of retreating. Instead, they all looked toward Zeng Quan.

Zeng Jian’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot, but he couldn’t say anything more.

If he kept urging Zheng Zhuhe to ignore Wu Yiyi’s fate, he would make a mortal enemy of the Hundred Flames Trading Company. In the end, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Didn’t you hear him? Zhuhe said to retreat."

But the Dean of the Lion Institute shouted, "Wait! Wu Yiyi is a student of my Lion Institute! Give her back!"

He wasn’t about to listen to Zheng Zhuhe. What kind of logic was it to just release a captured student on demand?

To this, Lu Chao just sneered...

"A student from your Lion Institute trespassed on the grounds of my Dragon Flame Academy just to hurl insults at me, and you dare demand her back?"

"We’ll return her to you tomorrow. If you try to take her by force now, all you’ll get is a corpse."

Lu Chao’s voice was thick with killing intent...

No one thought he wouldn’t dare to kill Wu Yiyi. If things truly escalated, all pretenses would be off, and anyone could die. Both in the Chaotic Hundred Countries and during the second trial, this "Fake Lu Chao" had proven to be a ruthless killer.

Zheng Zhuhe, Zeng Quan, and the others had come to kill several people from Dragon Flame Academy. It would be strange if Lu Chao didn’t kill them in return given the chance.

At the same time, Zheng Zhuhe shot a fierce glare at the Dean of the Lion Institute, his expression screaming, ’Say one more word and I’ll fight you to the death.’

In the end, the Dean of the Lion Institute could only retreat resentfully.

But another voice rang out, "Wu Caicai, Yiyi is your little sister! How can you stand by and do nothing while she’s in the hands of these villains? Do you think you can face your second uncle?"

The speaker was none other than Zhong Qiao, resorting to emotional blackmail with family ties.

Wu Caicai’s fists clenched tightly. Another crime against the family was being pinned on her.

But Yu Xiaoping couldn’t help but jump in, saying coldly, "When Sister Caicai fell into someone else’s hands during the second trial, she was Wu Yiyi’s older sister. Did Wu Yiyi do right by her great uncle then?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Vice Dean Zhong immediately said, "At that time, Miss Yiyi had already done..."

He wanted to bring up all of Wu Yiyi’s theatrics during the second trial...

But Tan An cut him off. "Done jack shit! Look at how Zheng Zhuhe is acting now! Back then, if Wu Yiyi had said a single word, Zheng Zhuhe would have definitely released Miss Caicai... Who couldn’t see they were deliberately working together?"

Luo Wendeng spoke coolly, "If you couldn’t see it during the second trial, and you still can’t see it now, you’re an idiot."

Vice Dean Zhong was speechless!

Everyone could now see that Zheng Zhuhe was in love with Wu Yiyi.

Which meant their actions during the second trial had all been an act. Anyone who couldn’t see that was indeed an idiot.

Finally, Zeng Quan and his group vanished, too ashamed to stay any longer.

They had arrived full of aggression, only to retreat because of Zheng Zhuhe’s petty romance. It made them look like a bunch of fools.

Zeng Quan had to report this matter clearly to Zheng Liling, the Patriarch of the Saint Bone Zheng Family.

Zheng Zhuhe, after calling out for Wu Yiyi and spewing a torrent of curses at Lu Chao, finally retreated as well.

Zhong Qiao continued to berate Wu Caicai, but no one paid her any mind. Lu Chao repeated his condition: if they wanted Wu Yiyi back, her mother had to come negotiate in person, as he had a fine gift for her.

In the end, Zhong Qiao and Vice Dean Zhong could only leave in resentment.

A terrifying battle that had been on the verge of erupting ended with a whimper, leaving the onlookers feeling unsatisfied.

The gates to the Dragon Flame Academy courtyard closed, and everyone returned inside.

Dongfang Ren, however, left without a word, his figure floating away.

But Marquis Longyin followed them in. The moment he was inside, he let out a long breath and said with a smile, "Thank goodness we have Wu Yiyi. And thank goodness Zheng Zhuhe is completely bewitched by her. Otherwise, we would’ve been in big trouble."

Lu Chao nodded, casually tossing Wu Yiyi to the ground. "It was Xiao Su’er who captured her. We got lucky. I really didn’t expect Zheng Zhuhe to be so infatuated..."

As he spoke, Lu Chao looked at Cheng Yunsu...

If she hadn’t thought Wu Yiyi might be useful and knocked her out to bring her back, tonight’s battle would have been hard to avoid.

Of course, the moment they shattered both of Zheng Liyuan’s knees, a confrontation was already inevitable. Without Wu Yiyi, the plan would have been to have Dongfang Ren focus his attacks on Zheng Zhuhe...

Capturing him would have broken the deadlock!

But the trouble and difficulty would have been far greater than what they just faced.

Hearing this, Marquis Longyin couldn’t help but glance at Cheng Yunsu a few times, a little surprised by the performance of Lu Chao’s wife.

But he didn’t say anything more. Instead, he smiled and said, "I’ll head back to the Seven-Wall Ancient Mansion first. The students from Sky Cliff Academy are arriving soon."

He was naturally going back to bring the students from the Small Institutes to study the seven-wall restoration diagram that Dongfang Ren and Lu Chao had created.

After Marquis Longyin left, the members of Dragon Flame Academy all let out long sighs of relief...

Just then, Wu Yiyi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly started crying. "SOB... SOB..." She actually spoke through her tears, "Lu Chao, I... I really admire you. Maybe my way of expressing it was wrong, but I truly feel... for you..."

Before she could finish, Lu Chao immediately cut her off...

"Zheng Zhuhe might be a scumbag, but he’s been nothing but good to you. And you..."

"Forget it. There’s nothing more to say. Lock her up."

Cheng Yunsu had just told him that Wu Yiyi was trying to drive a wedge between them. It was laughable, but Wu Yiyi’s behavior was truly nauseating. She acted as if she could wrap any man in the world around her little finger.

Just a moment ago, she was giving Zheng Zhuhe the whole "’if there’s a next life’" speech, and now, in the blink of an eye, she was claiming to admire him.

Saying even one more word to her made Lu Chao feel sick.

No one paid any attention to Wu Yiyi’s performance. Even Wu Caicai ignored her completely. They would just lock her up and return her tomorrow.

If it weren’t for Wu Yiyi’s background with the Hundred Flames Trading Company, and the fact that it could easily implicate Wu Caicai, they would have just killed her.

At that moment, Wu Caicai walked over...

She solemnly handed back the small booklet Lu Chao had given her earlier. "Hero Lu, thank you. But isn’t a martial technique from the Great Wu Empire’s top ten a bit too valuable? I’m afraid..."

Before she could finish, Lu Chao took the booklet and said, "To me, it’s a small matter. Don’t worry about it."

A martial technique from the top ten of the Great Wu Empire was not valuable to him at all...

The only crucial thing was whether someone would figure out ahead of time that he was the real Lu Chao.

Even if it were valuable, he would definitely still help her.

Putting everything else aside, Wu Caicai had resolved the hidden danger of the Life-taking Bone in Yangzhou City for him. That was a huge favor.

Wu Caicai wanted to say more, but just then... THUD!

A figure landed with a powerful surge of True Qi. It was none other than Sun Shijin. The moment he touched down, he asked, "I heard Zeng Quan and his group came looking for trouble. Are you all okay?"

Just as he finished speaking, Fan Jinhua and Fan Jinxiang landed right behind him, their expressions just as tense.

When the three of them heard Lu Chao’s group recount what had just happened, they couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. But when Lu Chao went on to describe the other events of the night, including the attack on Dean Jiang, they couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of fear.