The Attack of the Wastrel

Faced with such an unexpected situation, Rong Yuan quickly sobered up and ordered a few students who had not been burned to help put out the flames.

Only then did the other people react, using balls of dirt to smother out the flames in the air.

Those who did not have Spiritual Roots that countered the fire element went around helping those students who were still burning, using various items to put out the flames.

However…

“Ah! What are you looking at?” A girl who was almost completely bare shrieked, ducking behind another girl. Her eyes reddened.

For someone of her social status, when had she ever experienced embarrassment like this?

She was not the only one. Following her, many other girls who had their bodies exposed also shrieked and ducked down, trying to shield themselves from prying eyes by hiding behind other students. In their panic, they even forgot to take out new clothes from their Storage Rings to change into.

“Oh my god, how could this happen?” Mu Wanyue moaned. She was among the few who suffered the worst burns. Earlier, she was also one of those who had been bad mouthing Gu Lingzhi. At this moment, her once-lustrous hair had been burnt completely, leaving her bald. The fright and embarrassment she had just experienced left her infuriated, and she turned on Gu Lingzhi, accusing, “It’s you! It’s definitely you! Your Highness, it must be Gu Lingzhi who burned our hair!”

“Oh? What proof do you have?” Rong Yuan asked, unconcerned. At this moment, his gaze was turned to the ground. He had no choice, because there were few girls who had escaped the flames, and no matter where he looked, there were girls with their flesh exposed all around. In order not to give Gu Lingzhi excuse to chastise him in the future, he could only make sure his eyes didn’t wander around.

Faced with Rong Yuan’s unconcerned attitude, Mu Wanyue shouted in her piercing voice, “Do you still need proof? It has got to be her, the timing is too coincidental! She must have overheard our conversation, as we were just saying some things about her, and then she attacked us! How else can you explain …”

Towards the end of her tirade, she suddenly lowered her voice, as she recalled the relationship between the Third Prince and Gu Lingzhi.

As expected, listening to her accusations, Rong Yuan coldly responded, “Talking badly about my fiancée is as good as criticizing me. Frankly, you ought to be thankful for Lingzhi’s magnanimity, she only burnt your hair and clothes.”

Gu Lingzhi did not know what to say. Initially, when the fire balls first appeared, it really had nothing to do with her. However, amidst all the chaos, she could not resist adding in a few of her own fireballs to teach a lesson to those who had been gossiping about her earlier. In this situation, she really could not deny her involvement in the matter. Gu Lingzhi could only put on a look of innocence, as she denied the accusation, “Do you really think that I could do such a thing to everyone here without anyone knowing, with my level of cultivation?”

By now, someone had apparently reminded Mu Wanyue to put on some new clothes. Listening to Gu Lingzhi’s reasoning, she realized that it actually made sense. The fireballs which attacked them were at least half the size of a fist, which was something difficult for a mere Level Five Martial Student to pull off.

Still, the girls who had been attacked were all those who had been bad mouthing Gu Lingzhi the most vigorously. Even if she was beaten to death, she would not believe that it had nothing to do with Gu Lingzhi.

“Even if the fireballs weren’t done by her, she must still have something to do with it. Your Highness, I know that you have a relationship with Gu Lingzhi, but at the same time, you are also an instructor in the Royal School. As a teacher, you have the responsibility to be fair and just towards the students. You cannot cover up for her! We won’t stand for it!” Mu Wanyue argued.

Seeing Mu Wanyue stop, another girl who had also been burnt badly decided to add on. Facing Rong Yuan with a sincere and respectful look, she said, “Your Highness, I believe you aren’t someone who mixes your personal interests with the public good, abusing public power for your own ends.”

“Unfortunately, I am just such a person,” Rong Yuan shamelessly responded. His words left the girl who had just spoken stutter, choking on her own words.

Not far away, Rong Zhisheng smiled helplessly as he turned away. It wasn’t easy to get Rong Yuan to agree to teach at the Royal School, and he was not going to ruin it by losing his cool over a small incident.

“It wasn’t her, the one who burnt you people is me.”

As the students were preparing to bring the matter up to the principal, a female voice sounded out.

“Mo Bingyi? What are you doing here? Don’t tell me that because your brother is wooing her, you’re here to help her bully others?” Mu Wanyue asked, in disbelief. As a Level Six Martial Student, she did not believe that Mo Bingyi who was the same level as her could pull off that earlier attack so easily.

“What my brother does with Gu Lingzhi is his own business, as for me burning you, what has that got to do with them?” Mo Bingyi haughtily replied, lifting her chin. She continued, “You’re just a bunch of losers who are only capable of gossiping about other people. If you’re so free, why don’t you people go reflect on yourselves, and figure out why you can’t catch the Third Prince’s eye no matter what you try?”

Instantly, her words made the entire class’ faces turn red.

In fact, among the students in this class, there were a number of female students who had other motives, besides improving their own skills. Mo Bingyi’s insult had directly hit them where they were sore.

“If you say that we’re losers, what about yourself? I seem to remember that you don’t even belong in this class,” Mu Wanyue retorted, unable to stand being looked down on by Mo Bingyi.

“Indeed, I don’t belong in this class,” Mo Bingyi nodded as she continued, “I’m only here to find out what kind of lass has made my brother so infatuated.”

Hearing this, Rong Yuan immediately walked forward to position himself between Gu Lingzhi and Mo Bingyi, saying, “If you’re done looking, you can go back and tell your brother that no matter how good Gu Lingzhi is, she’s mine. He has no chance.”

“That’s not necessarily the case,” Mo Bingyi laughed ambiguously. “Wasn’t Tianfeng Wei also your fiancée? Wasn’t she still booted out just because you didn’t want her anymore? Should I narrate to Lingzhi how heartbroken and pitiful Tianfeng Wei was after you dumped her?”

“… No!” Rong Yuan shouted, grinding his teeth. He immediately began scolding Yan Liang internally for being despicable, sending his sister when he stood no chance.

Rong Yuan would never admit that he was jealous of Yanliang for having a sister to help him act as a wingman.

“Mo Bingyi, since you admitted that the fireballs were released by you, naturally, you have to accept the punishment,” Rong Yuan said, suddenly changing the topic. While his tone was light and casual, the words that he said somehow seemed sinister, and somewhat vengeful.

He announced, “The culprit has been found. How do you propose she be punished? As long as it is not too overboard, I will do my best to agree to your requests.”

With this, he had successfully redirected the anger of the class towards a new target.