As he spoke, Zeng Quan led the senior members of Beast Flame to press in on Lu Chao and his companions once more...

At the same time, Su Jueying said coldly, "A fair point. In that case, allow me to conduct a more thorough..."

"Jueying, that’s enough." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Before he could finish, another Su Family Elder cut him off. "Haven’t you seen the situation clearly?" he said, his voice cold. "It’s Zeng Quan and his people who want to harm Lu Chao. Even if you perform a more thorough examination, they will never believe you."

At these words, the corners of Su Jueying’s mouth twitched, his eyes filled with utter resentment.

That Fake Lu Chao didn’t have a Life-taking Bone put him in a foul mood. He was deeply disappointed.

’This stumbling block to welcoming back and controlling the Saint Bone Family Head couldn’t be kicked aside.’

But ultimately, there was nothing more he could do. As an Elder of the Su Family, if he insisted on examining Lu Chao further, it would look as if he had sided with the Saint Bone Zheng Family—after all, Zeng Quan was one of them.

Su Jueying had no choice but to stand with Lu Chao.

Just then, Dongfang Ren’s voice rang out. "All Small Institutes, listen! It’s been confirmed that Dragon Flame Lu Chao’s Heavenly Destiny Bone is not a Life-taking Bone! If Zeng Quan still insists on harming Lu Chao, then join me, and we will crush them!"

Hearing this, the leaders of the Small Institutes clenched their fists one after another and charged into the martial arts arena.

At the same time... CLATTER.

Marquis Longyin’s Order Enforcement Team also stormed into the martial arts arena, assembling behind the Marquis to confront Zeng Quan and his men.

This sudden turn of events gave Sun Shijin a huge boost of confidence.

"Zeng Quan, you people truly are incorrigible."

"Never mind the first trial. In the second, you sent over a thousand students against the ten of us, and when you lost, you still had the gall to accuse us of cheating."

"Last night, you resorted to all kinds of dirty tricks..."

"In the third trial, you brought out fake students, and now that you’ve lost again, you’re accusing Lu Chao of having a Life-taking Bone."

"Is there anything you people won’t stoop to?"

Sun Shijin’s voice boomed across the entire arena, exposing all of the vile deeds committed by Zeng Quan and his cohorts.

Instantly, nearly all the Small Institutes recalled the various ordeals Dragon Flame Academy had endured recently. The looks they shot at Zeng Quan and his group were filled with nothing but disgust.

’A Beast Flame like this... there seems to be no point in joining.’

With Lu Chao as an example, it was nearly impossible for students from the Small Institutes to rise through the ranks.

Daring to rise up meant being relentlessly suppressed, just like Fake Lu Chao...

If it had been anyone else in Fake Lu Chao’s position, they would have died a hundred, even a thousand times over by now.

As these thoughts crossed their minds, the gazes of the crowd from the Small Institutes turned glacial, and their battle intent flared ever stronger.

This caused the expressions on Zeng Quan and his followers’ faces to turn increasingly grim.

After all, the first mission in establishing Beast Flame was to win over the various academies. From the very beginning, Zeng Quan had wanted to win hearts and minds.

But now, Fake Lu Chao and Dragon Flame Academy had pushed them into this corner, step by step.

Faced with this situation, the deans of the Inner Courtyards grew secretly apprehensive; the situation seemed to be spiraling out of their control.

Finally, Zeng Quan dissipated his True Qi and slowly forced a smile. "Elder Sun, you exaggerate. We have always pursued two words: ’fair play.’ Everything we do is for the sake of Beast Flame."

His words immediately drew a series of cold sneers from the crowd...

’Fair play?’

’Never mind the second trial—he sent out fake students in the third! What kind of shamelessness allowed Zeng Quan to utter those two words?’

But this also meant that Zeng Quan had backed down. He had retreated.

Ignoring the crowd’s expressions, he finally announced loudly, "Dragon Flame Academy has passed the qualification tournament and will now become a member of the Beast Flame Outer Courtyard. Congratulations."

Zeng Quan practically spat the words out through gritted teeth. Since he had backed down, he had no choice but to concede that Dragon Flame Academy had passed.

If he didn’t concede, a full-blown battle was imminent.

The deans of the six other Inner Courtyards were also grinding their teeth in fury, but they had no other choice but to accept it.

Then, Zeng Quan continued, "Since the examination has proven Fake Lu Chao does not have a Life-taking Bone, the aura we detected earlier likely came from Chang Yuan. His inability to break through to the Innate realm has always been suspicious. Send men to pursue Chang Yuan immediately!"

In truth, Chang Yuan couldn’t possibly possess a Life-taking Bone. He had already been inspected from top to bottom by the Tiger Flame Kingdom a thousand times over.

But Zeng Quan and his men needed a way to save face.

They had all claimed to have sensed the aura of a Life-taking Bone. Now that Fake Lu Chao was proven innocent, they naturally had to concoct a plausible explanation.

As for what happened next...

They wouldn’t actually claim Chang Yuan had a Life-taking Bone, of course. Zeng Quan was simply trying to manage the immediate situation.

Marquis Longyin and the others understood perfectly what was happening. They just sneered and said nothing...

"Now, let the third trial continue."

With that said, Zeng Quan turned and returned to his seat in the viewing stands. The other senior members of Beast Flame could only follow, seething with resentment.

The members of the Small Institutes who remained, of course, showered Dragon Flame Academy with congratulations.

But Sun Shijin and his companions weren’t so happy. For Dragon Flame Academy, their time in Beast Flame would be anything but relaxing.

Lu Chao’s expression remained calm, and he said nothing more.

And so, the crowd gradually dispersed back to the viewing stands, and the third match of the third trial began.

Following the results of the earlier draw, the Small Institutes that had passed the first two trials took to the stage one by one.

As for the Seven Great Inner Courtyards...

They continued to send out seven Innate Ninth Layer students, proceeding according to the established rules.

After the competition resumed...

The senior members of Beast Flame were, of course, back to furiously debating within their small circle. The Dean of the Lion Institute voiced his doubt, "That Life-taking Bone aura didn’t seem fake. Could there have been a problem with Su Jueying’s examination?"

"No, that’s not it. Su Jueying looked like he wanted Fake Lu Chao dead, too," the Dean of the Leopard Institute replied softly.

Everyone had seen it clearly. Su Jueying’s ill-tempered expression was definitely not an act.

"Then where did the Life-taking Bone aura come from?" The Dean of the Tiger Institute’s brows knitted tightly.

Zeng Quan’s expression shifted constantly. He was certain he had sensed it.

’And Fake Lu Chao’s reaction was a bit odd, too. But I’ve never heard of a Life-taking Bone that could be hidden so deeply.’

The Beast Flame leadership had no idea about Sun Shijin’s methods...

Sun Shijin himself had remained hidden for decades without being exposed.

Ultimately, Zeng Quan speculated, "Perhaps there is still something wrong with Fake Lu Chao, but we can’t examine him at the moment. It’s also possible that after someone died, their Destiny Bone mutated and gave off the aura of a Life-taking Bone. We could have simply made a mistake."

Zeng Quan felt the second possibility was more likely...

He added, "Of course, it’s also possible that someone with a Life-taking Bone is hiding here in the martial arts arena."

This was not an unlikely possibility; after all, with so many people present, it was plausible for one person with a Life-taking Bone to be hidden among them. Then Zeng Quan continued, "But let’s put that aside for now. The current situation is extremely unfavorable for us. We must find a way to turn this around."

The senior members of Beast Flame clenched their fists. They had indeed been put on the defensive.

Such an advantageous situation had been completely upended by Fake Lu Chao, leaving the Seven Great Inner Courtyards feeling isolated.

Looking at the others, Zeng Quan asked, "For the revival matches, have you secretly given the items from the Azure Flame Seven Walls to the various University Institutes?"