Chapter 368: Chapter 364: Luo Zijie’s Suspicion

With the Vice Dean himself providing an explanation, no one would suspect a thing.

Seeing is believing, and with such a massive Giant Snake right in front of them, there was no room for doubt.

"Nice acting, old man. See? The whole thing is smoothed over now, isn’t it?" Tu Xiao’an sent a telepathic message to the Vice Dean, secretly amused.

The Vice Dean snorted coldly. "If you hadn’t saved my granddaughter, I would never have let you get away with this."

To think that the Vice Dean of the Ancient Academy—a man of great prestige and noble standing—would lie to all his students for the sake of this Snake Spirit.

Only he knew the rage smoldering in his heart.

"Brother..."

Suddenly, a grief-stricken cry tore through the air. A figure flashed past like a phantom, appearing in an instant before Luo Zixiong’s body.

The crowd looked on in shock. It was Luo Zijie, a god-level student from the Genius Class.

Only then did everyone remember that Luo Zixiong was Luo Zijie’s younger brother.

Tu Xiao’an’s expression darkened. ’It’s one thing to fool the others,’ he thought, ’but his own brother won’t be so easy to deceive.’

Upon arriving, the sight of his lifeless brother shattered Luo Zijie. He was overcome with a grief so profound it was impossible to believe, and his handsome face instantly twisted in anguish.

The wounds covering his brother’s body were horrifying. He had clearly been brutally tortured before his death.

In an instant, a powerful aura erupted from Luo Zijie. A wave of Qi blasted out from him, sending the surrounding students flying.

"How exactly did my brother die?!"

Luo Zijie roared, his entire being erupting with an overwhelming Killing Intent and an aura of abyssal fury.

The wrath of a god-level student was enough to make the entire Ancient Academy tremble.

"Zijie, my condolences," the Vice Dean said. "I, too, am deeply saddened by your brother’s death. It was the academy’s failure to let a Snake Demon slip in."

"A Snake Demon?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Luo Zijie snapped his head up to look at the behemoth. The Giant Snake was also lifeless.

"Damn you! Give me back my brother!"

The Elemental Power around Luo Zijie surged. He thrust a palm toward the Giant Snake’s corpse. With a deafening clap of thunder, a massive palm of energy, dozens of feet wide, materialized from thin air, pulsing with immense power.

BOOM!

The nearly twenty-meter-long Giant Snake instantly exploded. Flesh and blood rained down, filling the air with a sickeningly sweet, coppery stench.

"So strong..."

The crowd watched Luo Zijie, their hearts pounding in terror. It was clear his brother’s death had driven him mad with grief.

’This guy’s no weaker than Bai Junran,’ Tu Xiao’an thought to himself.

’Don’t blame me. Your brother was the one who came looking for trouble.’

Tu Xiao’an understood the pain of losing a loved one, but he felt no guilt. They were on opposite sides, after all.

After blasting the Giant Snake to smithereens, Luo Zijie frowned. A sliver of calm cut through his towering rage.

’Something’s not right. This Snake Demon was supposedly a Rank Three Demon Spirit. How could its body be so weak? Even in death, a being that cultivated to Rank Three should have an incredibly formidable, nigh-indestructible body.’

’Especially a member of the Snake Race, which has protective Snake Scales.’

Luo Zijie knew his grief-fueled strike was immensely powerful, but it shouldn’t have been enough to completely obliterate the corpse of a Rank Three Demon Spirit.

’This body was far too weak.’

A nagging suspicion took root: there was something strange about his brother’s death.

"Vice Dean, was my brother truly killed by that Snake Demon?" Luo Zijie asked, his voice low and heavy.

The Vice Dean looked at his furious, distorted face and said calmly, "Of course. That cannot be faked. Can you not sense the Snake Demon’s residual aura on your brother’s body?"

Luo Zijie faltered. It was true. A distinct trace of a Snake Demon’s aura lingered on his brother’s cold body. It was unmistakable.

But...

That didn’t explain why the Snake Demon’s body was so weak. It didn’t add up.

Luo Zijie fell silent. Suddenly, his gaze fell on Tu Xiao’an. "You. You were there. Was my brother really killed by that Snake Demon?"

Tu Xiao’an remained silent, merely nodding his head.

Luo Zijie clenched his fists so tightly his nails dug into his palms. He knew in his gut that something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

"Zijie, your brother died a hero, saving others. The academy will grant his family compensation. Furthermore, if you have any requests, you may bring them to me personally. I will grant whatever is within my power."

The Vice Dean looked at Tu Xiao’an and announced, "As for student Tu Xiao’an, for his meritorious service in slaying the Snake Demon, the academy will naturally reward him."

If you’re going to put on a show, you have to see it through to the end. The Vice Dean understood this perfectly.

Tu Xiao’an asked shamelessly, "Vice Dean, what kind of reward will I receive?"

The old man nearly coughed up blood. He had only said that for show, to give the crowd a proper resolution.

’He wasn’t actually going to reward Tu Xiao’an, the real culprit! You’re the murderer, don’t you have any damn self-awareness?’

Tu Xiao’an had asked in front of everyone, so the Vice Dean had no choice but to answer. He forced a chuckle and said, "A reward of ten... no, twenty Spirit Stones."

He had meant to say ten Spirit Stones, but a reward of only ten for slaying a Snake Demon would hardly be convincing. He had to change it to twenty.

"Thank you, Vice Dean. When a Demon invades the academy, it is a student’s duty to act," Tu Xiao’an said, holding out his hand.

The Vice Dean was stunned. He desperately wanted to smack the life out of him. This Snake Spirit was deliberately demanding payment in public, afraid he would go back on his word later.

"Very good, very good." The Vice Dean stroked his beard, swallowing his rage. He took out twenty translucent, crystalline Spirit Stones that pulsed with dense Energy and handed them to Tu Xiao’an.

"The Ancient Academy is truly just, rewarding merit and punishing evil. This student is thoroughly impressed," Tu Xiao’an said with a deep bow, giving the Vice Dean a subtle, mocking wink.

The Vice Dean’s face went pale with rage. He was forced to suffer in silence, unable to voice his bitterness. This Snake Spirit was infuriating!

He was clearly being mocked.

"All of you, disperse!" the Vice Dean waved at the onlookers. The rest could be handled by others.

"Vice Dean, this student has a matter to ask you about," Tu Xiao’an said, seeing the old man about to leave. He quickly made an excuse to follow him.

And so, the Snake Demon incident was considered closed, without arousing any further suspicion.

Only Luo Zijie remained, gazing at his brother’s cold body, his heart shattered. Then, a look of grim determination hardened his eyes. ’This isn’t so simple. It can’t be this simple.’

His gaze, dark and menacing, locked onto Tu Xiao’an’s retreating figure.

"Big brother, I have a real shot at getting into the Genius Class this year. Then we’ll both be legendary students at the Ancient Academy!"

Just a few days ago, his brother, Luo Zixiong, had told him this with a cheerful laugh.

But in the blink of an eye, his brother was gone forever.

Damn it... Damn it all...

’Brother, I swear I will find out the truth behind your death. I won’t let you die without a proper accounting.’

Of one thing, Luo Zijie was almost certain: his brother had absolutely not been killed by that pathetically weak Giant Snake.