23: Chapter 23 Self-Defense

Facing Principal Zhao Qing's praise, Xiao Qingwu's expression remained calm without a trace of pride.

She shook her head slightly, and her cold, soft voice rang out:

"Principal, you flatter me too much. Compared to me, Lin Ye is actually the one who is more extraordinary."

As soon as these words were spoken, the office instantly fell silent.

Hearing this, Lin Ye raised his eyebrows helplessly and sighed inwardly.

This campus belle's observational skills were simply too sharp.

Principal Zhao Qing was also taken aback, his expression stunned.

He subconsciously looked at Lin Ye beside him, and Lin Ye's profile instantly flashed through his mind.

On the file, it was clearly marked in black and white: Rated F - Trash Deity, barren Divine Kingdom, no cultivation value, inferior dependents.

However, everything that happened today completely overturned this outdated file.

A trash deity rated F- could actually crush and slaughter over two hundred D+-grade Minotaur Orcs within a few short minutes, and even effortlessly shatter the opponent's Divine Kingdom core.

This level of combat power was definitely not something a trash deity could possess.

Principal Zhao Qing suppressed the shock in his heart, his gaze solemn and curious as he looked straight at Lin Ye and slowly asked:

"Lin Ye, I have always been paying attention to your file records."

"You are clearly an F- rating, why is the combat power of your dependents so terrifying? You can even head-on crush and shatter the divine core of Lu Ren, who has a D+ rating?"

Facing Principal Zhao Qing's straightforward doubt, Lin Ye's expression was calm without the slightest panic.

His pitch-black eyes were serene and waveless as he casually spat out a cold and direct remark.

"The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest."

Eight simple words without any extra explanation, neither exposing his Ancestral Tracing and Origin Nourishing talent nor mentioning the military merit resources obtained from the military department.

He was unwilling to explain too much, nor was there any need to confess his trump cards to anyone.

Principal Zhao Qing was stunned for a moment, staring at Lin Ye's indifferent and aloof face, unable to pursue the questioning for a moment.

He could hear that this was an evasion, yet there was no fault to be found with this cruel truth.

Just as the atmosphere in the office fell into silence, neat and steady footsteps came from downstairs.

Several personnel wearing silver-gray standard uniforms with divine patterns engraved on their chests walked into the teaching building.

The Deity Administration Bureau had arrived.

The leading man had a stern expression and a meticulous demeanor.

He wore standard divine energy firearms at his waist, and an orderly and solemn official coercion lingered around his body.

"Principal Zhao, we received a report that an incident of student divine kingdom invasion and divine core shattering occurred at your school, and we are here to verify and record it."

Principal Zhao Qing nodded and stood up without any redundant nonsense, directly leading several administrative personnel to the academy's divine kingdom monitoring room.

Inside the monitoring room, the high-precision divine kingdom recorder still retained complete fluctuation data.

The bureau personnel skillfully operated the instrument, and the blue light screen jumped rapidly, clearly restoring all the recent records.

[Time record: Lu Ren was the first to reach Lin Ye, with a contact duration of 7.2 seconds.]

[Divine kingdom link initiator: Lu Ren.]

[Invasion judgment: Lu Ren initiated a malicious invasion.]

[Counterattack judgment: Lin Ye belongs to passive self-defense.]

The cold data was fair, objective, and unalterable, clearly determining the attribution of all guilt.

The entire verification process took only a few short minutes.

The leading administrative personnel put away the record book and looked at Principal Zhao Qing with a calm expression: "The data verification is complete, the divine kingdom logs cannot be forged, and the judgment result of this incident is clear."

"Lu Ren deliberately initiated a forced invasion, violating the 'Federal Divine Lord Protection Regulations'. His own divine core was shattered, so he must bear the consequences himself and be dealt with according to federal laws."

"Lin Ye's self-defense counterattack was passively compliant throughout, requiring no penalties or any criminal responsibility."

Everything was done strictly by the book, without favoritism or human connections.

After the judgment ended, the few personnel from the Deity Administration Bureau did not linger unnecessarily, neatly packed up their instruments, and turned to leave the academy.

From beginning to end, they did not make things difficult for Lin Ye in the slightest.

Inside the office, Principal Zhao Qing looked at Lin Ye, who was standing there calmly, with mixed feelings in his heart.

He had originally wanted to use the excuse of the bureau to knock down Lin Ye's ruthless style of action, but now that the ironclad evidence was like a mountain and the rule judgments were clear, he simply could not find any reason to punish him.

"Forget it."

Principal Zhao Qing sighed helplessly, waved his hand, and his tone softened: "Since the rules protect you, I have nothing to say."

"However, Lin Ye, let me remind you of one thing."

"Being decisive in killing is not a bad thing, but leave a way out for others so you can meet again in the future. Being too sharp makes it easy to snap."

This was not a reprimand, but rather like a retired veteran's kind advice to a younger generation.

"I understand." Lin Ye nodded slightly, neither humble nor arrogant.

Xiao Qingwu, standing aside, quietly watched this scene.

Her clear eyes remained fixed on Lin Ye, and the doubts in her heart grew increasingly heavy.

If an ordinary person were judged innocent, they would certainly breathe a sigh of relief and show joy on their face.

Yet Lin Ye's emotions did not fluctuate in the slightest from beginning to end, as if crushing someone else's divine core and clearing his guilt were merely trivial matters.

This person's state of mind was far too profound, and his scheming was terrifyingly extreme.

"Alright, both of you can go out too."

Principal Zhao Qing rubbed his brow, looking slightly fatigued: "Today's matter ends here; you are not allowed to create any more troubles in private."

Lin Ye and Xiao Qingwu acknowledged and turned around, walking out of the office.

Outside the door, Ye Feng, who had been waiting all along, saw the two of them come out safe and sound.

He clenched his teeth tightly, and the anger in his chest was about to gush out.

He had not received any substantive punishment, yet he was publicly reprimanded and lost all face; whereas Lin Ye crushed someone else's divine core and walked away completely clean and scot-free.

This wasn't fair!

The moment they brushed past each other, Lin Ye's peripheral vision calmly swept over the distorted face of Ye Feng.

His footsteps did not stop, and his expression had no ripples.

He merely lifted his eyelids slightly, a trace of extremely faint contempt flashing through his pitch-black eyes, and silently mouthed: "I am waiting for you to come and kill me!!!"

There were no direct provocative actions, only arrogant lip movements, and just a fleeting, indifferent cold glance.

But this silent contempt stung Ye Feng's self-esteem far more than any verbal abuse.

Ye Feng clenched his fists until they cracked, and the hostility in his chest surged.

He almost couldn't help acting up on the spot, but constrained by the school rules and the passing faculty and staff around him, he could only swallow this foul breath forcefully.

He stared fixedly at Lin Ye's back as the hatred in the depths of his eyes grew even deeper.

Lin Ye completely ignored this, his posture upright and his pace composed as he walked straight down toward the lower floor of the teaching building.

His mind was tranquil, and his heart had no ripples.

As a traveler from another land, he had maintained ultimate caution from beginning to end.

In this world with divine lords, divine kingdoms, and tyrannical dependents, unknown dangers were everywhere.

If trump cards were easily exposed, it would be courting self-destruction.

Therefore, he deliberately maintained the persona of a trash deity, intentionally keeping a low profile and lying low.

Even when forced to act today, he tried his best not to reveal his full strength.

Yet, some people refused to let him have peace.

Behind him, light and fragmented footsteps followed closely.

Xiao Qingwu, dressed in white, quickly caught up.

A cool breeze blew up her smooth black hair; the young lady had a graceful figure and an ethereal, cold temperament, walking alongside Lin Ye in just a few steps.

The corridor was sparsely populated, and the surroundings were extremely quiet, leaving only the staggered footsteps of the two people.