Chapter 325: Chapter 163: Beat Them Into Submission

"Is this Zhao Ke? I’m Wang Huansheng, the dean of the Martial Arts Academy."

When Dean Wang’s call connected, Zhao Ke’s scalp tingled the moment he heard the voice.

"Bro... Bro... It’s... it’s the dean!"

He’d never been in a situation like this.

Forget the dean—even talking to his advisor on the phone made him feel awkward and terrified, too scared to say the wrong thing.

Shao Qianwen looked just as anxious. The situation had clearly spiraled far beyond what she’d imagined.

"Hello. I’m Zhao Ke’s older brother."

Zhao Rui glanced at his younger brother. ’He still needs a lot of tempering,’ he thought. ’He’s young, inexperienced, and doesn’t come from a powerful family, after all.’

’He’ll get used to it once he’s seen more of the world.’

The era where might made right for Martial Artists was already dawning.

"Hello. I’ve been partially briefed on the situation with Zhao Ke. I am deeply sorry that such a terrible incident occurred on campus..."

Seeing that even Daoist Zhang couldn’t resolve the issue, Dean Wang knew he was dealing with someone extraordinary. Naturally, he wouldn’t put on the airs of a dean.

"Dean Wang, the Martial Dao is flourishing these days. If the school doesn’t rein in the students of the Martial Arts Institute, does that mean anyone with superior Martial Arts can just do as they please?"

Zhao Rui first took the moral high ground before continuing, "This is a small punishment meant to serve as a major warning. But since you’ve personally stepped in, Dean Wang, we can shorten it. Let’s say six o’clock this afternoon."

He had to give the dean some face, but he couldn’t just drop the punishment entirely.

Using force to stop violence often yielded surprisingly good results.

"This..."

Dean Wang stared at the disconnected call, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Six o’clock it is, then. This kind of Finger Technique usually requires a unique Heart Method to execute. It’s extremely difficult to undo unless you have Mastery of this specific art."

"My senior brother, Daoist Shi Quan, is an expert in this field, but unfortunately, he’s too far away to help with this urgent matter."

Hearing Zhao Rui’s terms and seeing Dean Wang’s slight displeasure, Daoist Zhang stepped in to smooth things over.

As they both belonged to the Daoist School, he was quite keen on getting to know this young Daoist practitioner.

Hearing this, Dean Wang couldn’t help but nod.

He had pulled a lot of strings to invite Daoist Zhang, an expert from the Taishan Sect, to the academy.

These days, the Various Martial Arts Sects were flourishing, with countless experts and old masters emerging from their ranks.

The era when university Martial Arts Academies, Martial Arts Sects, Court organizations, and the Secular Martial Arts Hall Alliance were all on equal footing was long gone.

While many prodigies in the university Martial Arts Institutes had advanced by leaps and bounds thanks to the Spiritual Qi Revival, their foundation at the Grandmaster Realm was simply too shallow.

They were no longer on the same level.

Many universities had begun hiring Grandmasters from local Sects to take up residence or engage in joint teaching programs.

Times had already changed.

"In that case, we’ll do as Daoist Zhang suggests."

Dean Wang sighed. In the past, what Martial Artist would have dared to challenge a university?

They’d have to get past the Grandmaster instructors first.

With no other options, the group went to the Martial Arts Team’s office to wait, drinking tea as they did.

Dean Wang used the opportunity to have someone investigate the incident.

When it was confirmed that members of the Martial Arts Team had aggressively gone looking for trouble, he asked in confusion, "How did the conflict even start?"

"According to bystanders, a friend of one of the Martial Arts Team members got into a conflict with them and called the team for backup..."

Hearing this, Dean Wang glared at Coach Lu. "Is everyone in the Martial Arts Academy too idle?" he snapped. "Instead of focusing on their Cultivation, they’re forming gangs now?"

Coach Lu’s face was full of indignation. "I will handle this," he said in a low voice.

"If you could handle it, would I even be here?"

Dean Wang slammed his hand on the table. "A fistfight is a minor issue," he raged. "But a whole group of them standing there like wooden statues, ending up on video..."

"That is *not* a minor issue!"

"It’s a disgrace!"

Coach Lu was rebuked into silence, but he wasn’t convinced. He secretly resolved to teach that person a lesson when they finally met.

’He can’t be stronger than me,’ he thought. ’He’s so young. He probably just specializes in some Acupoint Technique.’

Having made his point with Coach Lu, Dean Wang’s tone softened. "This incident is a wake-up call. You need to keep the Martial Arts Team on a tighter leash from now on..."

Coach Lu grunted in acknowledgment.

Daoist Zhang stroked his beard and chuckled. "Then again, you can’t really blame Coach Lu for this. In any case, we have a problem, so we’ll solve it... Drink your tea, drink your tea!"

Only then did Coach Lu’s expression soften.

And so they waited until just after five in the afternoon, when Zhao Rui arrived promptly at the Martial Arts Team’s headquarters with his brother.

"Which one of them is the expert? They both look so young!"

The crowd of "eagerly awaiting" Martial Arts Students saw Zhao Rui and his brother arrive and quickly backed away, whispering amongst themselves.

"Yeah, so young, and so powerful... and so handsome..."

"Maybe I should immobilize you with an acupoint strike and let him... hehehe..."

"Get lost..."

"I bet it’d feel amazing... Hehe, not that I’ve tried it."

"You’re so shameless..."

Listening to the "lewd banter" from the crowd, Zhao Rui realized for the first time that he had underestimated his Mirage Finger.

’So it’s also a Peak Martial Art for seducing women.’

The two had only taken a few steps when a figure suddenly shot out from the office building.

"You’ve got some nerve! Now that you’re here, you’re coming with me to apologize to the Dean!"

The man shouted and threw a palm strike at the two brothers.

Seeing this, a cold sneer appeared on Zhao Rui’s face.

’It seems a good beating is the only thing they’ll understand.’

He took a step forward, swung out a single palm, and completely neutralized the incoming Palm Force.

"[Replicable Martial Arts discovered: Thunderbolt Palm. Replicate?]"

A system prompt chimed in Zhao Rui’s mind.

’I thought I’d already collected most of the common Martial Arts,’ he mused. ’I didn’t expect this guy to have one I’m missing.’