Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 91 - 11: This Is Real Combat!

Chapter 91: Chapter 11: This Is Real Combat!

Xu Yi was carried out of the classroom.

For years, the Chess Institute’s eldest senior brother had finally faced his first defeat. His opponent had broken his masterful chess strategies by forcefully hitting him on the forehead with a chess board.

It was from this moment that the students of the Chess Institute truly understood the depth of the "Defense Against Evil Spirits" course.

However, after a brief period of shock and confusion, the students of Yunhai Academy felt rejuvenated. When they carefully reviewed the match between Yang Ping and the eldest senior brother, they suddenly realized that junior brother Yang Ping hadn’t used any offensive methods beyond their own abilities—each one of them was capable of grabbing the chess board and striking the eldest senior brother on the forehead!

The eldest senior brother indeed had an exceptional command of chess strategy, having explored the boundaries of "momentum" early on, but in the realm of actual combat, they all returned to the same starting line.

The students of the Chess Institute had an epiphany.

This is what real combat is!

Seeing the students’ enlightenment, a gratified smile appeared on Duan Mingyuan’s face.

With this, the purpose of his first lesson was achieved.

The first lesson of the "Defense Against Evil Spirits" course was to push the fragile scholars out of their comfort zones and to deeply understand the truth of "anything can happen in a real combat environment."

Combat is not merely a competition of numbers; with appropriate tactics, the weak can defeat the strong.

Duan Mingyuan’s philosophy had achieved great success in Yunhai Academy. Students from all institutes finally stepped out of the greenhouse on this day, and beyond that door was a world reminiscent of the end of an era.

The Yunhai Academy at the end of the century.

The students shed their long robes and gowns, donning jackets and tight leather pants, with Mohawk hairstyles becoming widespread across campus. Now, the students had only one creed—when eyes meet, battle ensues.

Chess boards were used as bricks, chess pieces as hidden weapons, brushes as daggers piercing straight to the heart, even leaving blue and red marks on the enemy’s face...

Regrettably, this vigorous campaign of actual combat lasted only a morning and ended when several students involved in armed fights inadvertently knocked down a teacher who had come to break up the fight in the cafeteria.

After the first victimized teacher appeared, the leadership of the Academy immediately convened an emergency meeting, prohibiting any form of armed fighting outside of the actual combat classes.

After lunch, the four deans gathered together.

Ever since the appearance of the first injured student, they had convened more than once, and the establishment of the "Defense Against Evil Spirits" course was one of the approved agenda items.

And today, there had been new developments.

The death of the Messenger indicated that the traitor sent by the Imperial Court had long infiltrated the Academy.

Thus, as the leaders of Yunhai Academy, they had to anticipate the spy’s next move.

If they were the traitor, what should they do now?

Wait for the right moment to incite chaos within the Academy; the murkier the waters, the better for their subsequent actions.

With this thought, the three institute teachers exchanged looks, having reached a mutual understanding.

Based on the above information, analyze the identity of the traitor within the Academy and explain why it is Duan Mingyuan.

"Chancellor, this new "Defense Against Evil Spirits" teacher is completely out of line!"

The head of the Chess Institute was the first to express difficulty; his most valued disciple was still lying in the infirmary with a large bump on his head.

Was this appropriate?

When they saw the students transform the elegant art into a weapon for brawling, they couldn’t hold back any longer. The skills that had been studied and passed down through generations from the founding of the Academy were not meant to be used for brawling like street thugs!

Mo Song, however, spoke leisurely, "Perhaps this is the spirit that the Academy has been lacking all along."

Especially in these chaotic times, the Academy was no longer able to protect the students like flowers in a greenhouse.

"Spirit? You mean street fighting?"

The dean of the Painting Institute also began his critique, "You should really come to see the Painting Institute. The walls there have been painted over, and, not to mention, the teacher who was body slammed in the cafeteria at noon is from our Painting Institute."

"Mingyuan’s teaching method is indeed somewhat aggressive."

Mo Song nodded but immediately shifted the tone, "However, do you all think that if those assassins broke through the Barrier, how would they treat the students on the mountain? And how would they treat the knowledge we have always cherished?"

Faced with the dean’s question, the three of them remained silent.

The atmosphere in the room dropped to freezing point; whenever the topic reached this stage, the room would fall into silence.

Although those of this era had never dealt with the Yin Die, the handwritten manuscripts in the library recorded events from before the academy was established.

Back then, the four first deans led people who had gathered together, evading the pursuit of Yin Die. By the time they reached Qing Chi Peak, most were gone, barely one in ten remained.

The Imperial Court would neither sympathize with them nor did it need the knowledge passed down through generations by the academy.

What they needed was absolute subjugation, allowing them to look up to the heavens like slaves, planning to take over the academy after clearing out the remnants and turning it into the second cradle for training Yin Die Dead Soldiers.

"But how can you be sure he can be trusted?"

The usually silent dean of the Chess Institute suddenly asked, unlike the other two, she did not directly express her dissatisfaction.

This "he" naturally referred to Duan Mingyuan, who had caused chaos in the academy just one day after his arrival.

The dean of the Chess Institute continued, "It’s possible that the ambush halfway was set on purpose, and then deliberately let Yun Lin return to the academy as part of Yin Die’s scheme. This way, the new ’Evil Spirit Defense’ teacher would be able to clear himself of suspicion and infiltrate the academy seamlessly."

After a long time, Mo Song finally spoke up, "I cannot confirm, only time can prove whether he is worthy of the academy’s trust... However, the academy is at a critical juncture concerning its survival. If we wish to get through this crisis, we must make changes. If it turns out that I have wrongly trusted a betrayer, then I’ll trouble you all to record my name in the library."

His tone was calm, but his attitude was unquestionable, "Let Mo Song’s infamy be recorded in history, ensuring that future generations know there was such a stubborn criminal who sent the entire academy to its demise."

"Since you are willing to vouch for him, we will not inquire further."

The dean of the Chess Institute’s eyes showed a glint of something unusual, but she quickly controlled her emotions.

Seeing the Chess Institute’s dean speaking up, the other two nodded and added, "But we must ensure that outside the ’Evil Spirit Defense’ class, private fights are prohibited; it’s simply unseemly."

"Naturally."

Mo Song also agreed, "Moreover, I will pass down the word that Mohawk hairstyles are no longer permitted either."

After reaching a consensus, the other three deans gradually left the room, leaving only Mo Song sitting at the table, carefully examining an old manuscript spread out on the table, its cover already yellowed with age.

He had found this manuscript by chance in the library in his youth and had kept it to this day.

This manuscript was written by the first dean.

In his later years, the first dean pondered over Universe Company, the Extraterrestrials, and the war they lost.

From the outcome, the Company had seized the planet in a devastating manner, and only later did they realize that the force that had come to the planet was just the tip of Universe Company’s iceberg.

It was a battle that had never been equal.

However...

The Extraterrestrials spared no expense in trying to erase the Strange Gates and Devious Techniques they had created from the world, not out of a superior being’s disdain for ants but out of some kind of fear.

They seemed to understand this energy better than the people of this world, as if they could sense the changes hundreds of years in advance. It was their wariness that made the Company show its tough diplomacy the moment they made contact, even willing to wage war to erase their existence.

But where did this fear come from?

Mo Song steadied himself and turned the manuscript’s pages once more.

The first dean had raised questions in his manuscript; regrettably, even until the day he died, he never found the answer.