Chapter 94: Worst Situation!
Translator: Ash Editor: Geoffrey
Head instructor Hei Mianshen unsteadily charged his way into the office and had even failed to knock on the door as he crashed right through the door.
"Bastard!"
Zhao Shude, who had been holding in his anger for the past hour, finally erupted. The blue veins at the back of his hand were completely visible as he forcefully smacked his palm on the table, causing the huge office desk carved in redwood to break into pieces.
Zhao Shude jumped right out of the chair, grabbed Hei Mianshen's collar, and angrily shouted, "Of all the time you could’ve done this, why are you doing this now!? Can the situation even get any worse!? The worst of all has already occurred, or is there still something left!?"
Although Zhao Shude was not a battle-type cultivator and had suffered serious injuries in his youth, in the end, he was still a fierce cultivator at the peak level of the Refinement Stage. As he stared at Hei Mianshen, the temperature in the office suddenly dropped by a few dozen degrees.
Everyone's face went blue; they all started shivering as a layer of white frost had seemingly covered their entire body.
And Hei Mianshen, whose collar were tightly gripped by him, was so scared that he wanted to cry. Only after shivering for a good while was he able to speak and that too with a crying look, "Principal, something big has truly happened. You... you need to quickly take a look. Some people have surrounded our school!"
"What? Who is so bold that they would even dare to surround our Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School? Don't they know that our school is a division of the Crimson Nimbus Sect!?"
Zhao Shude was fuming in anger; his pair of eyebrows interlocked as he frowned in anger. It appeared as if some aura surged forth from every one of his 36,000 pores and lingered around his body!
Hei Mianshen stammered, "It's... it's a whole crowd of soldiers..."
"The military?"
Zhao Shude's anger had reached its maximum. "We only kicked out a student, is there a need for the military to intervene? Our Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School is a private school. How we deal with our students is our private matter, so why is the military stepping in? Is there any justice left in this world? What happened to all the laws? Do they think that our Crimson Nimbus Sect doesn’t have anyone in the army?"
Hei Mianshen swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty and said, "Principal, I didn’t finish speaking. They’re not active duty soldiers… All of them are veterans—all of them are members of the Disabled Servicemen Association!"
"What!"
Zhao Shude was frightened out of his wits. He immediately sent Hei Mianshen flying into a corner with a kick and stumbled his way to the window. As he opened the window, he saw a dense crowd of over a thousand soldiers dressed in black military uniforms standing at the entrance of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. A chilling terror crept over the entire campus.
Looking carefully at these soldiers...
These soldiers didn't have epaulets on their uniforms. Furthermore, the color of their uniforms had faded due to having been washed over a long time. There were some soldiers whose uniforms were dated back to a few decades ago and had been worn out from the washing. A few holes could even be seen on the uniforms which had been subsequently patched up; the uniforms were completely shabby. Occasionally, one would be able to find a young soldier amongst the group of soldiers.
No matter if they were an old soldier with white hair or a young soldier, they all had one thing in common—they were either missing an arm, or a leg, or were blind, or some other part of their body. Every single one of them was fitted with spiritual prosthetics. They leaned on crutches, sat in wheelchairs, and many even had to cough for a long time just to take a few steps; they looked as if even a light sneeze could blow them away.
However, when they were not coughing, they would stand straight like the pines that grew on the cliffs and precipices!
The group of over a thousand disabled veterans did not speak a single word. Like over a thousand ghosts, like over a thousand tombstones, they quietly stood at the entrance of the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School as a strong stench of blood lingered around them.
A murderous air had enveloped the entirety of the huge campus, causing many students and their parents to shudder in fear. Those who were more timid didn’t even dare to make the least bit of noise!
The number of disabled soldiers was constantly increasing. After receiving the notification from the Disabled Servicemen Association, thousands of ordinary-looking, middle-aged men and old men with missing body parts stretched out their trembling hands and rummaged through their drawers, looking for their black military uniform which they had once worn in the past to some campaign before putting it on with difficulty
Once they were dressed in the military uniform, they no longer trembled nor were there any instability in their movements. On the contrary, they raised their head high, stuck out their chest, walked out of the house in large strides with a fierce glint in their eyes. Step by step, they neatly marched their way to Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School as if they have once again returned to the battlefield—as if they were not marching to some school but advancing to some hill which had been occupied by Demon Beasts!
It seemed as if no one would be able to stop their advance.
In just half an hour, over three thousand disable veterans had already gathered at the entrance of the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. And yet, thousands of disabled veterans were still firmly advancing towards the entrance like black streams that eventually converged into the sea. They seemed as if they wanted to completely swallow Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School.
The denizens of Floating Spear City soon discovered this anomaly.
From the bottom of their hearts, the Federation citizens held these disabled veterans in high regards. Very soon, a passerby on the road asked, "Sir, where are you going?"
The disabled veteran who was asked was already 130 years old. His head was full of white hair and wrinkles upon wrinkles covered his face to the point where his facial features could hardly be discerned.
The military uniform he donned was once in fashion a long time ago in the past; however, it was now covered in patches upon patches. His chest was adorned with three shining medals while his left sleeve was dancing along the rhythm of the wind.
This elderly man also had some problem hearing. Only after identifying the source of the voice and carefully listening to the passerby as he asked the question again did he understood.
The elderly slightly smiled. As a majority of his teeth had already fallen out due to his age, the air seemed to be leaking when he spoke, making it difficult to discern what he was saying. Yet, the passerby could not help but shudder due to the bloody aura lingering around him. "I want to help out a little brother from the association—to seek justice for him," the elderly brushed his black military uniform and calmly said.
"What?" All the onlookers were shocked to the extreme.
Disabled veterans were the most respected bunch in the federation, and the Disabled Servicemen Association was the most close-knit organization. It is one of the organizations in the federation on whose bad side you don't want to get on. Many in the association had done meritorious deeds and had even bled for the federation, and many in the association were strange and powerful old fogies who had suffered serious injuries to do so. Whether it was in the military, among the civilians, or even in various sects, they had some very deep connections. All kinds of social and political figures were involved. One could say that they had a direct connection to the heavens.
Much to everyone's surprise, there was actually someone so audacious that he even dared to provoke the Disabled Servicemen Association?
"Who is so bold that they even dare to provoke the Disabled Servicemen Association?"
"Yea, the federation’s army is busting their asses off in the front lines to fight against the Demon Beasts, shedding blood and laying down their lives. They had to pay a steep price to maintain peace for the entire federation. Who would be so blind that he even dares to bully the disabled soldiers?"
"Everybody, let's go take a look. Perhaps something big is about to happen!"
Dialogues similar to these could be heard in the streets and alleys of Floating Spear City.
In just a moment, every single disabled soldier was followed by a long tail of civilians. And when they arrived at the entrance of Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School, the huge campus had already been completely surrounded. The gathered people were no less than seventy to eighty thousand.
Zhao Shude stood dumbfounded in front of the window like a wooden chicken as he watched the dense crowd of people garbed in black uniforms.
Even if he was an expert at the peak level of the Refinement Stage, he was still deeply terrified of the cold, murderous aura emitted by the group of over ten thousand disabled veterans. All 36,000 pores on his body were blocked, and his spiritual energy was completely frozen.
"Why? W-why is this happening?"
Zhao Shude wracked his brain, yet he still couldn't understand. What had he actually done to offend the Disabled Servicemen Association? What had he done to cause them to create such a big scene?'
At this moment, an extremely sturdy beam of light shot out from the black crowd before it took the form of a dozen meter tall transparent human figure in the sky. The figure took the form of a middle-aged soldier with a scar on his face. He was the president of Floating Spear City's Disabled Servicemen Association—Zhao Xinglang. He was also the soldier who Li Yao had seen in the First Hospital when he woke up.
Like a war machine purely driven by spiritual energy, the expression in the eyes of Zhao Xinglang was extremely cold, much like the way he spoke. "To the management of the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School, listen clearly. We are the members of Floating Spear City’s branch of the federation’s Disabled Servicemen Association. We have gathered here today because we all want to ask your school one question."
"Student Li Yao is a member of our Disable Servicemen Association who was granted the status of Class 1 Disabled Federation Serviceman. We wanted to ask: why was a disabled soldier forced to leave your school? Or do you not care about all 63 million disabled soldiers in the federation?"
"We have long wanted to ask this question, but us people from the Disabled Servicemen Association are reasonable people. We are convinced with reason—If the reason you have suspended Li Yao from school or made him quit was due to his body truly not being suitable for learning and cultivation, then we have nothing to say."
"However, Student Li Yao had just obtained the title of 'Floating Spear City's Champion of the College Entrance Examination'. In other words, his injuries weren't serious to the extent that he was unable to cultivate. We can't help but want to ask: for what reason did you force him to drop out of school? Or is it really as the news says? Did the school management intentionally target him?"
"All of us, the 13,255 disabled veterans of Floating Spear City’s branch, have gathered solely for this. We are waiting for your school's reply. Don't worry, we won't rush inside or break any laws. We will just stand here as we wait for you to give a reasonable explanation!"
Once these words were spoken, the public bursted into an outcry.
Along the way, no matter how much the onlookers asked, the veterans kept their mouths shut. Only at this moment did the onlookers understand that this was related to Li Yao.
Much to everyone's surprise, the "Fleeting Fiend Star", Li Yao, had unexpectedly been granted the status of Class 1 Disabled Federation Serviceman!
"This is too much! A Class 1 Disabled Federation Serviceman was actually forced to quit school!"
"That's right, no matter whether Li Yao was a genius or not, even if he was crippled, he is still a Class 1 Disabled Federation Serviceman. Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School should really not have done this!"
"Serves them right!"
The reverence the civilians of the federation held for the disabled soldiers was something that was very difficult for others to imagine. In an instant, the public vehemently supported Li Yao from the bottom of their hearts as they started to loudly curse Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School.
As if he was struck by lightning, Zhao Shude began to sway a bit before falling flat on his ass on the ground.
Class 1 Disabled Serviceman? That bastard, Li Yao, was actually a Class 1 Disabled Federation Serviceman? How is this possible? How! Is ! This ! Possible!?
Zhao Shude's face was completely distorted. He could only silently ask the heaven!
By heaven and hell, if he had known earlier that Li Yao had received the status of Class 1 Disabled Federation Serviceman, he would still not dare to force Li Yao to quit school even if he had all the courage in the world!
But why did that little bastard not say anything? How could such an important thing remain hidden?
Zhao Shude pounded his chest as he regretted his mistake.
It could not be said that he was ill-informed or ignorant; it was truly not his fault. The status of Class 1 Disabled Serviceman was the highest glory. Each time a disabled soldier was granted this status, a grand ceremony would be held. It was propagandized on such a large scale that even a beggar in the city would know about it.
But when it came to Li Yao, it was a completely different matter.
In the final investigation, the reason why Li Yao was injured was even concealed from the eyes of the military. Some stimulant was secretly brought to Devil Flood Dragon Island. This could more or less be considered as a scandal for the military.
Not to mention that Li Yao was not exactly a regular soldier. Such a status was granted to him with the intention of giving him some kind of compensation. Naturally, the military would not propagandize this on a large scale; hence, the entire procedure was done very discretely.
Certainly, if someone wanted to check Li Yao's Class 1 Disabled Serviceman status, it could be easily checked. But, Zhao Shude was not some kind of prophet. Once he came to know that Li Yao's spiritual root had been ruptured and he had become a cripple, for all he knew, Li Yao had become a bag of waste which could only be thrown out. He put this matter at the back of his mind and had forgotten it completely.
Only someone who had nothing better to do would go and check up on this kind of thing!
Until this very moment, only under the pressure of over ten thousand disabled veterans did Zhao Shude come to realize that he had fallen into a pit of his own digging!
"Helian Ba, I, Zhao Shude, have no grievances with you nor do we share hatred. Why did you wish for me to bring my own destruction? If you just wanted to hang yourself, you should have just jumped into the river or lay down on the crystal rail track. Why did you have to go and provoke a member of the Disabled Servicemen Association? If you want to court death, then why did you drag me, Zhao Shude, with you? Why did you bring misery upon me, you f***ing bastard!?"
The Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School principal, Zhao Shude, wanted to cry but had no tears. Just as he was cursing, his mini crystal processor started to shake wildly.