89: Chapter 89 Wenliang!

Headmaster Wen Yuan hurried down the stairs of the Treasure Pavilion. The scroll in his sleeve was heavy, making his arm ache faintly.

His mind was in a mess.

What on earth was going on with the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

They had arrived so suddenly.

He hadn't been prepared at all.

He also had no idea what kind of order Xia Chen, the Emperor of Great Xia, had issued.

Just as Headmaster Wen Yuan reached the first floor and pushed open the doors of the Treasure Pavilion, he froze in his tracks.

Outside stood a middle-aged man.

He was wearing a Flying Fish Suit.

Behind him was a sea of Embroidered Uniform Guard, surrounding the entire Treasure Pavilion so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through.

The sunlight shone on their Xiuchun Sabers, reflecting a dark red light.

From afar, it looked as if they had just tasted blood.

Commander Lu Bing happened to cast his gaze toward Headmaster Wen Yuan, and Headmaster Wen Yuan happened to see Commander Lu Bing.

The two stared at each other for a few breaths.

"Commander Lu Bing." Headmaster Wen Yuan's face darkened, and he finally couldn't help but speak first.

"My Tianya Academy is the Holy Land for scholars across the world. For a thousand years, no one has dared to use force here."

"Are you not afraid that the scholars of the world will rise up to attack you for leading troops to surround my academy?"

Commander Lu Bing licked his slightly parched lips.

Working under the scorching sun was indeed no easy task.

"Headmaster Wen Yuan, you know very well what you have done."

Headmaster Wen Yuan's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "What have I done?"

Commander Lu Bing gripped his saber with his left hand, walked forward a few steps, and said with a cold expression,

"Headmaster Wen Yuan, stop playing those games with me."

"We, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, do not need evidence to do our work; you only need to know this."

"We know everything you planned to do and everything you wanted to do, so stop putting on an act here."

"You sent people to the capital to contact scholars, intending to gather a crowd to force the palace, demanding that Your Majesty dismiss Minister of Personnel and Senior Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng."

"You also planned to support Fourth Prince Xia Wen to ascend to the throne, attempting to usurp the imperial position."

"Heh, Headmaster Wen Yuan."

"They all say that scholars are the most loyal to the monarch and patriotic, and filial to their parents."

"But what is the difference between the actions of Headmaster Wen Yuan and those ungrateful, treacherous villains?"

When Headmaster Wen Yuan heard what Commander Lu Bing said, his face turned green in an instant.

The matter of forcing the palace, and the matter of supporting Fourth Prince Xia Wen—only three people knew about these things: himself, Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong, and Fourth Prince Xia Wen. It was absolutely impossible for a fourth person to know.

But how did Commander Lu Bing know about these things?

Headmaster Wen Yuan's scalp went numb.

Fourth Prince Xia Wen had been under his nose the whole time and could not have betrayed him.

Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong was his own brother, who had guarded the Tianya Academy with him for decades, so he could not have betrayed him either.

Then how did Commander Lu Bing know?

Headmaster Wen Yuan's gaze involuntarily swept toward the distance.

Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong was standing not far away with some Disciples, looking bewildered.

That expression definitely did not look fake.

As a prince, if Fourth Prince Xia Wen succeeded, he would definitely be able to ascend to the throne. How could he do something detrimental to himself?

Could it be... that he had informed on himself?

What the hell was this?

Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Commander Lu Bing continued,

"Headmaster Wen Yuan, you don't need to pretend anymore."

"Your Majesty already knows your entire plan."

"Over in the capital, the people you sent to contact the scholars have already been arrested."

"Those leading student representatives have also been arrested."

"All the secret strongholds of the Tianya Academy in the capital have been uprooted."

"Now, only you are left."

Headmaster Wen Yuan's brain buzzed.

It had only been a single day; how could it be so fast?

Everything he had painstakingly built up, and even his Disciple Han Bao, had been captured!

Headmaster Wen Yuan's face looked as ugly as if he had eaten dog shit.

He couldn't figure out for the life of him how the matter of supporting Fourth Prince Xia Wen had been leaked.

He repeatedly recalled the scene that day. Him, Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong, Fourth Prince Xia Wen—the three of them. The three of them were playing chess, and he was certain there was no one else around.

Fourth Prince Xia Wen couldn't have betrayed him, and he certainly wouldn't have said anything himself.

And for this matter to be known by others, it must have been leaked by one of the three of them.

Then there was only one possibility left.

Headmaster Wen Yuan slowly turned his head to look at Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong.

Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong's previously bewildered expression instantly became shrewd.

When their eyes met, Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong slowly walked toward him.

"Brother."

Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong walked in front of him and stopped.

"Don't look at me like that."

Headmaster Wen Yuan's eyes were wide open, bloodshot.

"Was it really you?"

Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong didn't speak, but the smile on his face deepened.

"Did you tell the Embroidered Uniform Guard the news?"

Headmaster Wen Yuan asked in a trembling voice!

Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong sighed and patted Headmaster Wen Yuan's shoulder.

"Brother, don't blame me."

"As the Vice Headmaster of the Tianya Academy, I naturally must be loyal to the monarch and patriotic."

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, the master of all people. How can we, as subjects, think about replacing the Emperor? Isn't that treason?"

Headmaster Wen Yuan's mind went blank instantly.

His own brother, the brother who had guarded the Tianya Academy with him for decades, had actually betrayed him.

"You... you..." Headmaster Wen Yuan pointed at Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong, unable to speak for a moment.

He held his breath, nearly fainting from the shock.

Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong withdrew his hand, stepped back two paces, retracted the smile on his face, and replaced it with a solemn, earnest expression.

"Brother, wake up."

"Your Majesty is the True Dragon Son of Heaven, and he has so many experts under his command; you cannot fight him."

"Stop now! The outside is full of Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"It's still not too late; otherwise, if you make a move, everything will be over."

Headmaster Wen Yuan was completely broken by Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong's few words.

His chest felt blocked by something, and he couldn't breathe.

He wanted to curse, wanted to slap Vice Headmaster Wen Zhong, but he lifted his hand and then put it down.

It wasn't that he couldn't bear to, but that he felt it was meaningless.

What would cursing achieve? What would hitting him achieve? Things were already like this.

"Commander Lu Bing, I concede."

"But the thousand-year reputation of my Tianya Academy cannot be destroyed."

"Whatever I, Headmaster Wen Yuan, have done, I will bear it alone."

"The Disciples of the academy are innocent; please show mercy."

Commander Lu Bing shook his head and smiled.

"Headmaster Wen Yuan, I think you have misunderstood. If it were just me coming alone, it wouldn't be very serious."

"Since we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, have all come, there is no reason for us to go back."

"Your Majesty said that the Tianya Academy's upper beam is crooked, so the lower beams are askew. Since the headmaster has committed such evil deeds, then everyone in the academy, all those who have a heart of rebellion and defy the imperial court, must die!"

As soon as Commander Lu Bing finished speaking, all the Embroidered Uniform Guard behind him drew their sabers.

Headmaster Wen Yuan's heart sank abruptly.

"Xia Chen!" He roared, his voice echoing over the academy.

"You are going too far!"

He suddenly reached into his sleeve, pulled out the scroll, held it with both hands, and raised it above his head.

"Do you think you have won? Do you think the Peak Heaven-Human Realm makes you invincible?"

Headmaster Wen Yuan's voice became abnormally frantic.

"Today, I will show you what a Land Immortal is!"

He bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the scroll.

The moment the blood touched the surface of the scroll, it was quickly absorbed.

Then, the scroll began to vibrate. It emitted a low hum, as if something inside was waking up.

Subsequently, the vibration of the scroll became more and more intense, and Headmaster Wen Yuan's hands were numbed by the vibration, but he gripped it tightly, refusing to let go.

Cracks spread from the surface of the scroll, covering the entire scroll like a spider web.

"Bang!" The scroll exploded.

Like a flower blooming, it peeled open layer by layer.

Each layer that peeled open shot out a beam of light. Gold light, silver light, white light. The three kinds of light intertwined, piercing people's eyes so they couldn't open them.

Suddenly. A huge pressure surged from the scroll, spreading in all directions.

The few Embroidered Uniform Guard nearby were directly pressed to the ground.

The Disciples in the distance were also pressed until they were swaying, and one by one, they knelt down and fainted.

Headmaster Wen Yuan stood in the center of the pressure, but he was completely unaffected.

His eyes were fixed on the scroll, filled with anticipation and madness.

Commander Lu Bing stood in the pressure, motionless. That pressure had no effect on him at all.

As the scroll fully unfolded, a huge figure slowly stood up from the light.

That figure was several zhang tall, even taller than the Treasure Pavilion.

He was wearing an ancient scholar's robe, with a silk headband on his head, and his face was gaunt.

Three long wisps of beard floated under his chin, and between his brows, there was an indescribable majesty.

That majestic and solemn Dharma image was looking down at the people at its feet.

Great-Grandfather Wen Liang. The first-generation headmaster of the Tianya Academy, the last Land Immortal from a thousand years ago.

Headmaster Wen Yuan looked up at that Dharma image, tears streaming down his face.

He knelt down and kowtowed three times, his forehead hitting the bluestone slab and drawing blood.

"Great-Grandfather... your unfilial descendant, Headmaster Wen Yuan, has disturbed your rest."

"But the Tianya Academy has reached a moment of life and death, and your descendant has no other choice but to ask for your intervention."