The next day, while Auric was attending to his store, the Lightning Emperor was standing in front of Simon’s grave.

He had a pained look on his face as he couldn’t believe that his most talented disciple ended up dying so suddenly.

After Simon awakened his avatar, he immediately made him his personal disciple. He wondered what had gone wrong.

Surprisingly, the principal stood next to him to pay his respects as well.

"I’m sorry." The principal patted the Lightning Emperor’s back, apologizing. He also felt responsible for Simon’s death as well.

When he heard about Simon’s talent, he immediately headed to the Lightning Dojo and talked for many hours until he managed to persuade the Lightning Emperor to bring Simon to Grand Magica College.

The result might be different if Simon had never gone to college. After all, the Lightning Dojo was more than capable of teaching someone, especially with the Lightning Emperor in charge.

There were many people who didn’t even bother with formal education. After all, strength reigned supreme. As long as they had strength and skills, people would accept them.

So, Simon was supposed to study under the Lightning Emperor. Had he not convinced the Lightning Emperor, Simon might still be alive. He would be able to monitor Simon more closely, which would have allowed him to personally temper Simon’s character. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

That was why the principal thought it was his fault.

The Lightning Emperor said, "You’re not in the wrong. In the end, I was the one who made the decision. I’m sorry, but can I ask you a small favor?"

The principal didn’t say anything, which indicated that he would listen to his request.

"Can you turn a blind eye to what’s going to happen at Grand Magica College? You know my personality. I’ll do my best not to harm other parties who are innocent."

The principal said, "In two days, I’m supposed to head to the teacher’s conference in Sesnian. I will ask Vice Dean Maya to bring her students together. I will stay there for a week, but I will stay another week to take care of other things."

The principal indirectly implied that he wouldn’t be there for two weeks, so he couldn’t stop the Lightning Emperor.

"Thanks."

The principal bit his lip and patted the Lightning Emperor’s back a few more times before walking away.

The Lightning Emperor stayed for a bit longer before leaving as well.

...

In the Night and Day Store, Auric continued to take care of patients, but as he had said previously, most of them were people who had earth, lightning, or fire elements. In addition, there wasn’t anyone with a high enough rating to pique Auric’s interest.

Mr. Popo and Milinda still came to the store, fortunately. Mr. Popo knew what had happened to Auric in the past few days, so he was even more determined to go to the store.

He was worried that Auric might die without him realizing it, cutting off his daughter’s path.

Milinda, on the other hand, stopped dwelling on what Auric had done to the assassins. Those ruthless actions couldn’t be compared to the threat to his life.

So, it would be better for Mr. Popo and Milinda to stay at the store.

However, it all changed the moment the Lightning Emperor suddenly entered the store.

"You..." Mr. Popo widened his eyes. His expression turned solemn as he raised his guard. "What are you planning to do here?"

This was exactly what Mr. Popo was worried about. If the Lightning Emperor chose to kill Auric, it would be quite easy.

The Lightning Emperor had a tired expression, his eyes looking empty. He looked at Auric and asked in a solemn tone, "I’ve talked to your teacher. Can you spare me a few minutes of your time?"

Auric didn’t expect the Lightning Emperor to come, but it didn’t look like he was there to fight.

Mr. Popo was anxious, but Auric made the final decision. He turned to the customers and politely apologized, "I’m very sorry, everyone. I’ll take a ten-minute break. I’m really sorry."

Auric led him to his office. Of course, Mr. Popo followed him, while Milinda handled the customers.

No one could really say anything because it was the Lightning Emperor who came.

The Lightning Emperor gave him a few books and an envelope. "These are a few battle techniques that I possess. Your teacher mentioned that you would like to see my element..."

The Lightning Emperor raised his hand. Golden lightning sparked in his palm. This time, the spark was gentle, befitting the strength of a baby-form avatar.

Auric could see through the energy clearly, allowing him to copy it.

After demonstrating this lightning, the Lightning Emperor said, "Let this matter be put to rest. My disciple has paid for his wrongdoing with his life. Please tell your teacher about it as well."

Auric took a deep breath. There was something different about the Lightning Emperor.

His exhausted expression was clear for everyone to see.

Auric knew that every action had a consequence. His action of killing Simon would affect the Lightning Emperor.

In this city, the Lightning Emperor was like a hero. He rose from the bottom and established the Lightning Dojo with his prestige.

People worshipped him as their teacher. His gallant figure befitted that of a role model.

He was a fighter who didn’t know the words ’give up,’ but he was wise enough when he was supposed to retreat. He was a man worthy of respect.

And that kind of person now sounded so exhausted. He felt hurt and blamed himself for the tragedy. His only thought was that he shouldn’t have sent Simon to Grand Magica College in the first place.

Auric couldn’t say anything when the Lightning Emperor turned around and walked toward the door.

He opened it quietly. Before he stepped out, the Lightning Emperor said, "Again... I’m sorry."

"..." Auric clenched his fists. He wondered if he had gone too far.

His decision to kill Simon was not a mistake. He managed to maintain his principles.

However, Auric wondered if the situation shouldn’t have reached this stage in the first place.

Unfortunately, everything had already happened, and there was no way to undo it. They could only move on and continue with their lives.

...

At the same time, the principal had to fulfill his promise to the Lightning Emperor as well.

He was sitting in front of Maya.

"You want me to go with you?" Maya frowned. "You’re not going to say that I should go away and let this matter go, are you? I may have settled it with the Lightning Emperor, but that little idiot is a different matter."

The principal said, "You need to go with me and bring your disciple with you. It’s a teacher conference, and they’ll surely bring their own students. I’m sure it’s a good way for networking."

Maya glared at the principal as if she planned to reject him.

The principal sighed. "Please? You can consider it a favor from me. This matter has been blown out of proportion."

"..." Maya’s expression turned cold, but after seeing the principal’s expression, she couldn’t really say no.

Maya scratched the back of her head. "How long?"

"Seven days."

"Are you going to take care of my probation?"

"Yes."

"Any restrictions?"

"Just don’t kill other people. Your student can beat them until their parents can’t recognize them anymore, but just don’t kill anyone."

Maya let out a long sigh. "Fine."

This was actually a good opportunity for Auric. He couldn’t think of anything before this, but if the principal was going to give this opportunity, there was really no reason to reject him.

Other teachers would definitely bring their students as well, their most talented students. Auric might be able to copy a few more elements at this event.

Besides, she could think of another purpose.

After careful consideration, Maya sighed. "Very well. I’ll bring my student with me."

"All right."

The death of Simon Kestus greatly impacted the school. He was supposed to be one of the most brilliant students.

Had he not gotten into such a conflict, he would have grown to a terrifying degree. He might even surpass the Lightning Emperor.

That was why people felt it was a shame. However, they couldn’t turn a blind eye to the fact that Simon was such a scheming person.

If Auric didn’t have the ability to fight back, Auric wouldn’t be here anymore. In addition, Simon’s reputation was the worst.

The principal was there to handle the mess, while the Lightning Emperor fully focused on investigating the death of his student.

The butler returned to the Lightning Dojo a day later to report to the Lightning Emperor.

"So, it’s really true..." The Lightning Emperor frowned.

"Yes, sir. From the looks of it, it’s most likely that Abel intended to use the young master to hit Auric hard. According to my investigation, the reason the young master challenged Eric was his instigation."

"How about the time he challenged Auric?"

"Everything looked perfectly normal, sir. However, Miss Ellia made a suggestive move, which put Auric on Abel’s radar. After the lecture from you, the young master didn’t do anything in the next three weeks. In addition, Auric was nowhere near him."

"Yet, a few weeks later, he challenged Eric?"

"Yes. According to the club members, that was what happened." The butler nodded. "The young master didn’t look like he was planning to do anything to Eric at that time, as he believed that Eric was beneath him. Looking at all the advantages he had, it was only natural to think so."

The Lightning Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Indeed."

"Provoked, Eric accepted the match to defend his pride. After all, Eric was also one of the top students there. He fought hard and brilliantly, ultimately defeating the young master. I couldn’t find any fault with Eric. He was a diligent person. He kept training when people were sleeping."

After hearing the report, the Lightning Emperor was even more convinced that Abel was the true problem.

He didn’t like Auric and Eric, but it didn’t mean that he would illogically pin the blame on them when it was clearly not their fault. From the beginning, Simon was the one coming for them.

The biggest problem would be the one who was instigating his student.

If Simon had never joined the Phoenix and Dragon Society, this incident wouldn’t have occurred and his mentality might have been gradually tempered by the school.

Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.

The Lightning Emperor’s expression turned grim. "Tell me about Abel."

"Abel Bousque. His father is the owner of the Light and Palm Hotel. They’re currently the top local company for this business."

"What if we go after them?" The Lightning Emperor’s expression turned solemn.

"It’ll be quite hard. The Light and Palm Hotel could be shaken, considering how he has been manipulating everything behind the scenes. I’m afraid this Abel may manipulate other students in the club to fight back."

The Lightning Emperor thought for a moment. "So, we can’t do anything?"

"Not necessarily. When I investigated this matter, Miss Ellia seemed to be willing to take him down. She looked annoyed as well, most likely due to Auric. If we put pressure on them, Miss Ellia might do the rest of the job for us."

"..." The Lightning Emperor closed his eyes, pondering. "In that case, I need you to start preparing. He’s clever enough to wash his hands of it, so we can’t make this public. However, it doesn’t mean we can’t break him behind the scenes. We’ll destroy him piece by piece until we can grab him by the throat. He’s going to die. He must have expected his father to protect him, so we will crush him as well."

"Understood, sir. I will do it as subtly as possible." The butler nodded. The butler knew that if they acted aggressively, the other party could use Simon against them, saying that the student went astray because his teacher was unstable.

So, they couldn’t confront Abel directly. However, it didn’t mean that the Lightning Emperor planned to let them go.

The war between them had just begun.