77: Chapter 75 Game Theory

Inside the isolated room where Fang Yu was detained.

"Self-defense?" Fang Yu listened to Teacher Jiang Wei's explanation in surprise.

"Mm. That's how it's written in the preliminary report from the Martial Arts Supervision Department," Teacher Jiang Wei said slowly. "In truth, quite a few teachers opposed it. They were all worried that doing this would completely infuriate Xia Kaishan—the consequences would be extremely severe."

"It was Associate Professor Tang who pushed through all objections to pass this report. She took a massive risk," Teacher Jiang Wei said, looking at Fang Yu with a slight touch of emotion. "When this matter is resolved, you must properly express your gratitude to her."

"Mm." Fang Yu nodded heavily.

He hadn't expected Associate Professor Tang to stand up for him either.

After all, they had no personal relationship to speak of. During the vocational-to-undergraduate assessment, she had even directly voiced opposition against granting him an exclusive contract, appearing not to like him very much.

*Perhaps she is a truly good teacher in every sense of the word,* the thought crossed Fang Yu's mind.

Growing up, Fang Yu had met many teachers. Including Teacher Yan Fu, none of these teachers could be called bad; most were dutiful in their teaching, but in the end, they all treated teaching as just a normal job.

But someone with a temperament like Associate Professor Tang's...

It was the first time Fang Yu had ever encountered one.

"Fang Yu, what's been submitted right now is only a preliminary report. Even if Associate Professor Tang explained it separately, whether Xia Kaishan will accept it remains unknown," Teacher Jiang Wei said in a low tone. "You still need to be mentally prepared."

"I understand." Fang Yu nodded.

"Additionally, now that the preliminary report has been submitted, next comes the verdict from the Judgment Department—in a little while, I'll notify your family and Shengchuan Group," Teacher Jiang Wei said.

Only after the preliminary report came out was he certain that what Fang Yu said was true, which made him willing to help inform Fang Yu's family.

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Martial Uncle," Fang Yu said.

Shortly after, Teacher Jiang Wei left.

Inside this enclosed room...

Fang Yu was the only one left.

*It seems my teammates all held up under questioning.* Fang Yu sat cross-legged on the floor. The floor was quite cold, but he seemed completely oblivious to it, quietly contemplating: *That makes sense. Everyone was involved, so we have to grit our teeth and hold firm. Besides—Xia Tao really wasn't ultimately killed by us.*

He had to continuously give himself psychological suggestions to better cope with any possible interrogation to come.

*Now, the first hurdle is passed.*

*Next, let's see what that Earth Martial Artist Xia Kaishan actually thinks.* Fang Yu's thoughts gradually drifted. *When Dad and the others get the news, they'll probably be very worried about me.*

However...

Even if his family would worry, Fang Yu still had to ask Teacher Jiang Wei to notify them—because once Xia Kaishan began his retaliation, he would likely target not just Fang Yu himself, but also his family.

Although Fang Yu didn't think the other party would dare to act within the city,

given his strength and status, retaliation was never limited to physical force alone; there were plenty of insidious methods available.

*With Dad around, and with Siyue and Xiaolong both signed members of Xinghe Group, as long as they know the situation, their personal safety shouldn't be an issue,* Fang Yu thought to himself.

*Hoo!*

Taking a deep breath, Fang Yu tried hard to calm himself down.

"My mind is unsettled," Fang Yu muttered to himself. He had to admit that facing a top Earth Martial Artist like Xia Kaishan, it was difficult for him to stay calm.

*Better Cultivate.*

Fang Yu lay straight down on the cold floor. No longer trying to achieve calm by concentrating his consciousness, he began to relax bit by bit, thoroughly unwinding from head to toe.

This was not rest, but a unique method of cultivation.

He was attempting to relinquish his control over his own body, letting hidden force cease its circulation, allowing Qi and blood to flow without conscious guidance, and gradually giving up his control over his tendons, bones, and muscle fibers.

In reality, this was extremely difficult.

Martial Artists of Micro-consummation were already accustomed to controlling their bodies. Even in sleep, they unconsciously exercised control and modulation, as natural as breathing.

Now, attempting to relax completely made the body even more prone to tensing up.

*Let go, let go, as if I am already dead.* Closing his eyes with a mind as still as water, Fang Yu continuously envisioned himself as a corpse, pursuing that ultimate degree of looseness.

This!

This was precisely a body cultivation technique that Fang Yu had learned about in his school courses: the "Force Relinquishing Origin Returning Method." It was one of the many cultivation methods for Martial Artists attempting to step into the realm of Inner Scenery.

Step one: Relinquishing Force—which was what Fang Yu was attempting now.

Step two: Inner Listening.

Step three: Transitioning from Listening to Vision.

Only upon reaching the third step could one be considered to have touched the edge of Inner Scenery. Time ticked away second by second—one minute,

ten minutes, half an hour...

Under this immense pressure, Fang Yu's inner mind actually returned to peace gradually.

*Everything in the outside world is beyond my control; I can only go with the flow.*

*What I can control is myself—* Fang Yu's body gradually relaxed completely. Unknowingly, he began to hear the gurgling sound of blood flowing, the thumping sound of his beating heart, the creaking sound of micro-movements in his bones, and the humming vibration of his fascia.

*Inner Listening.* Fang Yu relished this feeling.

These subtle sounds of the body had always existed.

But in the past, they were ignored by Fang Yu, filtered out by his brain. Now, he was once again beginning to "hear" them with utmost clarity.

Fang Yu believed that as long as he persisted,

a qualitative transformation would eventually occur within him.

Wuling City, Pingan Supermarket.

"Goods must be checked once every day. Foods that still have some time before their expiration date must be taken off the main shelves according to regulations and placed in the discount section. Also, cooked food must be counted before closing every day—" Fang Pingan was inspecting a newly opened branch store.

As a newly opened branch, many staff members were new hires. Although there was a store manager to manage them, Fang Pingan was still accustomed to hands-on management, coming for an inspection almost every day or two.

Doing business as a boss, if one didn't personally stay on the front line, it was very easy to be deceived by subordinates.

After finishing a round of inspection,

—

*Gulp, gulp~* Fang Pingan came to the storage room and drank water in big gulps, thinking to himself: *Fang Yu hasn't sent any news back for several days either. I wonder how he's doing.*

A child traveling far brings concern to parents.

As a father, he had no less worry in his heart, he just rarely expressed it.

*Beep~* An incoming call from an unknown number arrived.

Fang Pingan answered it.

"Oh? Teacher Jiang? Hello, hello! I heard Xiaoqing mention you back in the day, and Fang Yu has mentioned you many times as well, but I've never had the chance to visit you." Fang Pingan's voice carried a hint of flattering courtesy. "Fang Yu is performing very well?

Thank you so much, Teacher Jiang—"

At first, there was still a smile on Fang Pingan's Face.

When he heard that Fang Yu had already undergone Awakening with an Intermediate Astral Constellation and that his techniques were progressing at lightning speed, a surge of excitement welled up in his heart—but immediately following that, Teacher Jiang Wei's next words...

...were like a bucket of cold water poured over him, chilling his heart through and through.

"Alright."

"Self-defense? Unable to contact him right now? I understand! Alright! I'll handle it immediately." Fang Pingan forcefully suppressed the anxiety in his heart and hung up the phone.

"Boss?" The store manager of the new branch stood to the side, at a total loss.

He hadn't heard much, only vaguely catching that it seemed to involve his boss's eldest son—one had to know that his boss's children were all exceptionally outstanding.

"For the next few days, arrange the store's matters as usual," Fang Pingan said in a deep voice. "But be sure to prioritize safety. Call me anytime if anything comes up."

"Understood." The new store manager nodded repeatedly, guessing that something had happened in his boss's family.

*Hoo!*

Fang Pingan didn't bother to explain much either. He immediately sprinted out of the store, drove toward the municipal branch of Xinghe Group, and made continuous phone calls along the way.

On the other side, Tang Jianxin had once again contacted Xia Kaishan.

"Killed by a Vicious Beast?"

—

"This Chiyan Team, and especially this Fang Yu, you directly ruled it as self-defense?" Xia Kaishan quickly finished reading the entire report.

After reading it, he couldn't suppress the rage in his heart at all. His eyes turned bloodshot, as if he wanted to kill someone: "Tang Jianxin, I gave you Face and endured until now, waiting for your report to come out! But what about you?"

"If this Chiyan Team had obediently handed over the Star Jade, would Xia Tao have died?! They are murderers; it was them who killed my nephew!!" Xia Kaishan almost roared, "And you want to acquit them without charges?"

"Senior Xia,"

"I understand your pain." Hearing this, Tang Jianxin suppressed the anger in her heart and maintained a low posture: "However, I hope you carefully read both reports—Xia Tao plundered fellow students, harmed society Martial Artists, and indirectly caused the deaths of numerous society Martial Artists. This is a severe crime."

"The members of Chiyan Team are indeed connected to Xia Tao's death."

"It's not that I want to acquit them without charges, but rather that they were never the primary responsible party to begin with. I am merely adhering to the facts, and I hope you can understand." Tang Jianxin took a deep breath. "If you accept this report, the school will downplay Xia Tao's prior crimes—but if you do not accept it, then I will have no choice but to initiate a posthumous investigation against Xia Tao."

"Are you threatening me?" Xia Kaishan's eyes turned icy cold.

Once a posthumous investigation was launched,

Xia Tao's posthumous reputation would be tarnished, and it might even affect him, his uncle.

"I wouldn't dare," Tang Jianxin said, shaking her head.

"Hmph! The person is already dead, do you think I care about a posthumous investigation?" Xia Kaishan sneered. "Tang Jianxin, fine. You are the Senior director of Huguang Martial Arts University, and since this incident occurred at the Apprentice Base, you have the authority to submit the preliminary report—however, how the Judgment Department ultimately rules is not up to your Huguang Martial Arts University to decide."

*Clack~*

Xia Kaishan hung up the phone directly.

"Fang Yu?"

"He is the main person responsible." Xia Kaishan's eyes turned sharp and chilling. What kind of person was he? From this report alone, he could directly judge that the one who ultimately caused his nephew's death was this student named Fang Yu.

The others? Their strength was nowhere near enough.

In fact, it wasn't as if Xia Kaishan didn't know the root cause lay with his own nephew, but he was inherently a vindictive person who held grudges over the smallest slight, and his heart full of rage needed an outlet.

Furthermore, he had deeper considerations.

*Regardless of anything,*

"Xiao Tao is dead; someone must be buried along with him." Xia Kaishan murmured to himself. Over all these years, contending for power and profit, fighting to the death for treasures on Primal Star, he had secretly made countless enemies.

It was only through sheer ruthlessness that he kept those hidden enemies intimidated.

Xia Tao was his most valued junior. Now that he had died an unnatural death, if Xia Kaishan made no response whatsoever and allowed Fang Yu and the others to be released acquitted, he would very likely be viewed as "weak and easily bullied" by his hidden enemies.

In that case, the other members of the Xia family would be in danger.

Therefore, even if not for Xia Tao, he had to retaliate. At the very least, he couldn't act as if nothing had happened.

Swiftly,

through Jixing Group's information channels, in less than ten minutes, all information regarding Fang Yu was laid out before Xia Kaishan.

"His younger brother and sister have both awakened Upper Astral Constellations and signed with Xinghe Group?" Xia Kaishan caught the most crucial point.

In his eyes, mere money was not a threat; martial experts who had the potential to grow strong were the true threat.

"Family in Wuling City?"

"Connect me directly with Xinghe Group's Earth Martial Artist, Xing Ye."

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