Zhou Lian froze for a moment when he heard this.
Did he hear that right?
The genius carefully nurtured by the Olympus Family, Central Inspectorate official Patriarch Karisto, was now dead as could be, lying on the ground, his blood all washed away by the rain.
Yet the culprit’s disciple, Su Fu, was still standing perfectly fine, and now the Principal was actually asking what kind of compensation she wanted?
What did that mean?
Did a human life not even compare to her having suffered some bullying?
Why?!
He absolutely would not agree—such a request was sheer delusion.
Suppressing the anger raging inside him, Zhou Lian’s forehead veins throbbed faintly and he asked, “Principal Mu Erfeisi, with all due respect, aren’t your words going a bit too far?!”
His projection wavered slightly, killing intent in his eyes completely undisguised.
“Karisto was a Central Inspectorate official, while Su Fu is just a commoner. She provoked him first, so Karisto teaching her a lesson was entirely justified.”
He extended a hand, pointing at Karisto’s corpse on the ground, enunciating every word: “But for Tai Xuanzi to kill Karisto over this—this matter must be explained to me! Otherwise—”
He paused, “I’ll report this to the Central Education Department!”
No matter where this went, they were in the right.
Today, he must make Tai Xuanzi pay the price.
Principal Mu Erfeisi’s smile faded slightly at these words.
For some reason, Su Fu saw a few words written in the Principal’s gaze: “Giving you face, but you don’t want it, huh?”
Su Fu: “……”
She quickly shook her head.
That had to be her imagination.
The Principal looked so gentle—how could he have such thoughts?
She glanced at her master and found that she looked utterly unconcerned, not caring at all about Zhou Lian’s threats.
As for the Second Ring Inspector General on the opposite side, strictly speaking, as the highest-ranking official from the Ministry of Education present, even he showed no reaction.
On the contrary, he acted as if he only followed the Principal’s lead.
Truthfully, the Inspector General’s thinking was simple.
Are you kidding?
The Principal had been at Tianqiong Path Academy for so many years, while he’d only just taken this position. In a sense, it was because the Principal approved that he could become Inspector General, not the other way around.
Since that was the case… the Principal must have his reasons for saying this.
He’d support him!
The Inspector General even thought Zhou Lian was the one who didn’t know his place.
If you’re told to pay compensation, just pay up honestly.
Just then, a “dudu” knocking sound suddenly echoed.
Everyone tensed up and turned to look at the wooden door.
‘What was that? The door the Principal entered through was knocking?’
“Oh,” the Principal seemed to have a sudden realization, “Look at my memory, I almost forgot.”
He raised his hand slightly, the door creaked open with a “squeak”, and a man dressed in a long robe, holding a folding fan, stepped out from behind it.
Su Fu looked over and realized it was actually Teacher Zhuge.
Teacher Zhuge folded his fan, looking helplessly at Mu Erfeisi he asked, “Principal, how could you forget about me?”
Then he glanced around the room, exclaiming in surprise, “Eh? Clan Leader Zhou Lian, why do you look so terrible?”
Zhou Lian: “……”
The moment he saw Zhuge Yan appear, a bad feeling seized him, ‘Why was this foxy bastard showing up here?!’
Every time he appeared, nothing good ever happened.
Wait a minute—
Zhou Lian suddenly thought of something and his expression instantly stiffened.
‘No way…?’
Before he could finish thinking, Zhuge Yan suddenly cried out, “Major Tang Yu, who did this to you?”
Looking at the exhausted Tang Yu, he raged, “You’re a Guardian, and according to the Guardian Covenant, anyone who attacks you without cause must be severely punished!”
“Major Tang Yu, just tell me who did it, and I’ll go report them right now!”
Zhou Lian’s face changed completely.
Crap, there’s another Guardian here?
He was finished.
The Central Education Department’s Guardian system was no joke.
What the hell had Karisto done?
He actually dared to attack a Guardian!
He cursed inwardly, cold sweat trickling down his back—this just got even more complicated.
Seeing Zhuge Yan’s attitude, Zhou Lian instantly realized what this old fox was up to—he wanted to use this as a breakthrough point.
If it had just been an ordinary student or someone else, he could have threatened or quietly pressured them, turning black into white.
But a Guardian?
That was a notoriously “tough bone”—absolutely impossible to bribe.
Karisto had been the one to start trouble, and if a Guardian testified, this matter would be irrefutably proven.
‘That idiot! He hadn’t even managed to kill a single person and had turned the whole situation into a mess!’
He cursed inwardly, but forced himself to keep up a dignified front, his mind racing for a way out.
Sure enough, the next second, Tang Yu spoke.
With a weak smile, she stared straight at Zhou Lian’s projection and said, “Clan Leader Zhou Lian, you people have really let me down today.”
“An S-class Divine Emissary and a Central Inspector personally took action against a freshman, and after I intervened, he still refused to back down, even trying to kill me as well.”
She paused, “I will report everything that happened today, in full and truthfully, to the Central Education Department.”
Zhou Lian: “……”
‘What a disaster! That idiot Karisto!’
He’d started this, and there was a Guardian present to bear witness.
Even if they reported it to the Central Education Department, there was nothing they could do—now it was truly over.
He’d hoped to take this opportunity to bleed Tai Xuanzi dry, but that was impossible.
No wonder the Principal had immediately demanded compensation.
He must have known everything from the start.
So this was intentional—deliberately so.
Fury surged in Zhou Lian’s heart, and he glared at everyone, his face darkening as he finally understood.
So they’d been working together from the very beginning, plotting against the Olympus Family!
‘Fine.Very well!’
He ground his teeth and said, “So what? Su Fu is just a commoner. So what if someone took action against her…”
‘Her cheap life was nothing compared to Karisto’s!’
“Not quite right.” Zhuge Yan looked at Zhou Lian and kindly corrected him, “Su Fu was included in the Stellar River’s educational history and was awarded the Stellar River Medal.”
“In other words, she is now a key Stellar River Student, personally nurtured by the Ministry of Education.”
At these words, Zhou Lian froze, staring at Su Fu in disbelief and almost shrieking, “What did you say?! Her?!”
The Stellar River Medal?
That required at least a recommendation from the Minister of Education, a valedictorian title, and passing numerous strict requirements and complex reviews—it was an extremely rare honor.
Once awarded, it meant the Ministry of Education had designated the student as a key “seed” to be nurtured, with complete immunity in all educational matters.
Such students were known as “Stellar River Students” and were highly valued by the Ministry—virtually preordained as future core figures.
The last genius to receive such an honor was now the Minister of Education for the Second Star Ring.
Su Fu?
How could she possibly deserve that!
Su Fu herself was stunned.
What did that mean?
Had her pending title just been approved?
Who approved it?
It could only be the Tianqiong Path Academy’s Principal, Mu Erfeisi Ai’o.
Goodness, what an old fox—he was plotting all along.
And judging from Zhou Lian’s reaction, this medal seemed pretty impressive, huh?
A pauper like her instinctively wondered—did this mean more discounts when shopping?
Could she maybe get half off?
“Tsk tsk.” Zhuge Yan’s voice sounded, looking at Zhou Lian with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “So, it was you Olympus nobles who were so bold as to try and kill a Stellar River Student.”
“So courageous, aren’t you?”
Zhou Lian’s face was stormy.
He quickly confirmed with Zhuge Yan, then received definite affirmation.
He finally realized—they had been setting him up from the very start.
Zhuge Yan was openly threatening him.
They’d known he would target Su Fu, so they arranged for Tang Yu to testify and even prepared the Dragon Scale Defense for Su Fu in advance.
Yet Karisto had been foolish enough to blunder into it, leaving Zhou Lian with this mess.
Although Karisto was now dead, if the Central Education Department investigated, the Olympus Family would bleed dearly.
“Attacking a Guardian…”
“Attacking a Stellar River Student…”
It was like stabbing a wasp nest twice over.
Zhou Lian gritted his teeth, face ashen, “What do you want?”
He didn’t dare mention reporting to the Central Education Department anymore; now he feared the matter getting out.
So—enough with pretense, it was time for real negotiation.
Settle things—find out what it would take for them to let go.
Teacher Zhuge calmly unfolded his fan, fanning himself gently he said, “The Principal has already said it.”
He uttered two words: “Compensation.”
Zhou Lian: “…..”
His head buzzed, blood pressure soaring.
‘Compensation?’
Looking at the people before him, their faces clearly read—”Money!”
A bunch of paupers.
Zhou Lian was about to faint with rage.
Their family had already lost a Central Inspectorate official and a genius like Karisto, and now these people still dared demand compensation?
How dare they!
Utterly shameless.
He wanted nothing more than to leap out of his projection and tear everyone in the room to shreds.
But he couldn’t.
He could only force himself to calm down, ‘Breathe, breathe…’
After quite some self-regulation, Zhou Lian took a deep breath and unwillingly asked, “Say it—how much?”
Just treat it as paying off a group of beggars.
Don’t get angry, don’t get angry…
Just then, Su Fu saw Teacher Zhuge wink at her.
She got it.
Alright, it was her turn as the victim to step up, right?
So they wanted money.
Su Fu straightened her back instantly.
How much should she ask for?
Suddenly, a string of numbers floated so clearly into her mind.
Impossible to forget.
She slowly extended five fingers.
Zhou Lian frowned, “Five hundred thousand contribution points?”
Really daring to ask for the moon, he sneered inwardly, ‘No one had died—how dare she ask for so much?’
But if it could resolve this, five hundred thousand contribution points was… acceptable.
He was about to agree, but saw Su Fu shake her head.
Zhou Lian’s face changed—’what did that mean? Not five hundred thousand?’
His expression was as if he’d swallowed a fly.
“You mean five million?”
‘Utterly shameless! Karisto was dead, that was enough compensation—how could she dare ask for so much?’
‘Had Su Fu, this lowlife, ever even seen that much money? She just opened her mouth and named a figure!’
He was about to object when Su Fu shook her head again.
Now not only Zhou Lian, even Zhuge Yan and Tai Xuanzi looked at her in surprise.
Teacher Zhuge quietly stepped to her side and whispered, “Do you want fifty million? Can Zhou Lian handle that?”
“Su Fu, you really…”
Su Fu: “…..”
Actually, she’d meant eight zeros—five hundred million.
Zhou Lian absolutely couldn’t take it; his face had gone so dark he was about to catch fire.
He almost turned to leave several times—did they think the Olympus Family was made of money?
Karisto had just shot her once, and didn’t even hit her—how dare she ask for so much?
Insane!
“Oh, right!” Zhou Lian, head buzzing with anger, suddenly remembered, “That S-class Divine Artifact, God Spear, from Karisto hasn’t been accounted for! Not to mention all his top-tier Divine Artifacts—they’re all gone. Just thinking about those losses makes me tremble with rage.”
He was about to explode.
Seeing Zhou Lian like this, Su Fu’s attitude changed.
With a slight arch of her brow, she said teasingly, “What, the mighty Olympus Family can’t even come up with fifty million?”
Her eyes brimmed with ridicule.
“Didn’t you write a five hundred million clause on your one-sided contract before? I thought that kind of money was nothing to you. Turns out, not really, huh?”
The contempt in Su Fu’s eyes was unmistakable.