Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Recently advanced?"

Fu Qian's logic had clearly exceeded the expectations—and perhaps even the hopes—of most people present.

Meaning there was no explosive secret, and he was just keeping a low profile?

Disappointed, the audience instinctively looked toward Li Weixuan, whose own brow was tightly furrowed.

"Dean Casi?"

As Li Weixuan directed his question across the venue, the crowd suddenly realized something. The dean of the Apocalypse Branch—a man who had nearly come to blows over this exact issue earlier—had been uncharacteristically quiet today. He hadn't spoken a single word during the entire assembly.

"Heh, heh!"

Even when addressed by Li Weixuan, Casi first let out a strange chuckle. His snake-like, brown slitted eyes stared fixedly at Fu Qian for several seconds.

"When we recruited Professor Fu into Apocalypse, it was because we recognized his extraordinary talent and astonishing potential. His only flaw, perhaps, was that he kept too low a profile."

He was blatantly taking a stand for his own. This was still the same fiercely protective Casi as always.

The audience silently grumbled.

Leaving everything else aside, how could anyone look at this guy's actions and consider him a low-profile character?

"I see."

Li Weixuan, however, did not offer much of an objection.

Although it was somewhat unbelievable, he had arrived at a similar conclusion himself.

He had nearly fought the man previously, and back then, Fu Qian had genuinely shown no trace of divinity.

Hiding his true strength might not have been purely out of a desire to stay low-key, but it clearly had little direct connection to his original motives for joining the Academy.

"In that case, Professor Fu, I have one final question. Why did you leave after killing Yi'an? You must have known the misunderstanding such an action would cause."

"I haven't been with the Academy for very long. Even though I had a clear conscience, I wasn't certain how the Academy would react, so I stepped away to observe the situation first."

This question posed absolutely no difficulty for Fu Qian.

"...Professor Fu is truly candid!"

Fu Qian's response was a stark departure from his earlier righteous tone, yet upon closer reflection, it held an indescribable honesty.

Li Weixuan was caught off guard for a moment.

"Given the current situation, I really have no way to refute you. Today's events are more complicated than I imagined."

Taking a deep breath, Li Weixuan glanced over the audience, who looked somewhat drained from the ordeal.

"Fortunately, I believe we have at least confirmed one point: Professor Fu's previous actions were indeed carried out in strict devotion to his duty."

"This shows that when a member of the Academy committed an error, we managed to correct it ourselves, minimizing the spread of the damage to the greatest possible extent."

"I believe this point is entirely sufficient to explain the situation to the Night Watchers."

"Thank you for your hard work, Professor Fu. Once the aftermath is thoroughly investigated, I will give you a proper accounting."

Having given Fu Qian a direct official endorsement, Li Weixuan turned to look the other way.

"Furthermore, throughout this incident, I was very pleased to see the restraint shown by Apocalypse. In contrast, it's clear that Linghui has some rather significant issues. Wouldn't you agree, Professor Yang?"

Bypassing Ni Huayuan and Weilong, the two individuals directly involved, Li Weixuan directed his question straight to Linghui's last remaining demigod.

"Hmph..."

With the situation having taken such a bizarre turn, the latter offered a vague snort. Indignant as he was, he had nothing to say.

"Once everything is completely brought to light, I will assemble a group to separately discuss the specific disciplinary actions for Linghui."

Seeing this, Li Weixuan exchanged a look with the other two, signaling that Weilong and Ni Huayuan were to stay behind while everyone else could leave. With that, the Public Trial Assembly drew to a close.

As Fu Qian left early at Li Weixuan's gesture, a thunderous cheer erupted behind him. Many from Apocalypse couldn't even be bothered to hide it.

Meanwhile, as the head of the Disciplinary Department, Lanaya was undoubtedly drafted for the cleanup work. It looked like her nightlife plans for the evening had been ruined yet again.

...

Unsurprisingly, the sky outside had already gone dark.

Transitioning from a murderer who killed a colleague to a decisive and ruthless elite of the Disciplinary Department, Fu Qian had undergone a complete change in identity in a short span of time. After leaving the venue, he took a leisurely stroll, not wandering too far.

It wasn't long before a figure silently appeared at his side.

Boasting an extraordinary bone structure and a bizarre posture, it was none other than Dean Casi—the demigod who had maintained his composure better than anyone else during the entire Public Trial Assembly.

Sizing Fu Qian up with a half-smile, he gave a slight nod.

"Satisfactory?"

"Indeed."

Fu Qian nodded.

...

"Heh heh heh!"

"Heh heh!"

"Actually, I also have a specialized identity for walking around outside. I'll let you see it sometime."

After a highly unrefined exchange of chuckles, Casi was the first to speak.

It was obvious the old man was in incredibly high spirits, so much so that his phrasing was a little undignified.

"I've forgotten exactly why I brought you in back then, but there's no doubt it was the right decision."

"Want to know how I guessed?"

"Because I proactively asked about myself?"

Fu Qian recalled their interaction from back then.

"That was indeed part of it. But the most important clue was classmate Ji Liushuang."

"Oh? How so?"

"Even though it was supposedly your first time meeting, her attitude toward you was quite unusual."

"Others might interpret it as yearning and respect for a senior on the sword path, but to my eyes, her trust in you far exceeded that concept. So, in the end, I paid a little extra attention..."

Casi looked Fu Qian up and down.

"After you left, she also disappeared for a period of time. I imagine she went looking for you, didn't she?"

"That is true."

Fu Qian didn't deny it.

"But was it really just because of that?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Logically, it makes sense. The problem is that you aren't like Ni Huayuan or the rest. Do you really have the free time to constantly monitor a young girl's shifting expressions? I don't buy it."

Fu Qian gave him a look that clearly said he wasn't falling for it.

"So you saw through it?"

Shooting him a mildly surprised look, Casi actually laughed even more heartily.

"You're right. What I just said was indeed the truth, but I left out one precondition—I was the one who deliberately assigned Ji Liushuang to the investigation team to begin with."

"After Yi'an died, since you vanished without a trace, I made a serious effort to look into your activities during that period."

"Based on the information I gathered, it was obvious that your relationship with that little girl was anything but ordinary. So, I figured bringing her along might serve as decent bait."

"Just based on such a groundless theory? Did you even calculate the odds?"

Even though he had already guessed as much, Fu Qian couldn't help but criticize the idea.

The reason he had questioned Casi's explanation was because, back on Ye Island, Fu Qian had already felt that the team's composition was far too bizarre.

For an investigative operation, on top of various professional mentors, they had forcefully shoved in a student who had only just reached Mid Tier. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought a group of experts was escorting a rich young miss on a sightseeing trip.

No matter what excuse Casi had given the Sword Comprehension Institute, Fu Qian was certain this guy had an ulterior motive.

Even so, using this kind of method to fish for him was entirely too absurd.

"Heh heh... So what if the odds were low? Do you think I need to calculate probabilities for things like this?"

Faced with his sharp retort, Casi's voice might have sounded a bit sleazy, but his answer practically overflowed with a domineering aura.

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