Chapter 180: Coercion
"Heh!" Yu Chou stared at Lin Feng with a sinister expression, seething with rage. His fury was so intense that it inverted into laughter, but his killing intent became even more pronounced.
"Shameless? Disgraceful? Today, no matter what you say, I will kill you. There is no other reason—simply because I am stronger than you, and my Yu Clan is powerful."
Yu Chou declared loudly, his voice brimming with arrogance. "Killing you requires only one reason: I am stronger than you. My Yu Clan is mighty. We can suppress any words, any arguments."
"Why haven't you made a move yet? What are you standing there for?"
Lin Feng looked at Yu Chou and spoke indifferently, causing the crowd's eyes to narrow once more. Was this guy... actually seeking death?
Yu Chou's squinting eyes shifted slightly, his brows raised lightly, and his killing intent surged outward, fully exposed. At this moment, Yu Chou finally shed all pretense. He wanted to kill Lin Feng, to use Lin Feng's blood to tell everyone how powerful the Yu Clan was and how domineering he, Yu Chou, could be.
"You seek death. I will grant it."
As Yu Chou's words fell, Lin Feng immediately felt a bone-chilling cold envelop him, as if he were trapped by a vast and overwhelming force. Under this power, he had no ability to resist—he was utterly insignificant.
Yet even so, Lin Feng's gaze remained steady, as if he had cast aside all thoughts of life and death.
"Die!"
"Crack!"
Two sounds rang out almost simultaneously, one after the other. The word "die" naturally came from Yu Chou's mouth—he intended to kill Lin Feng.
However, Yu Chou ultimately did not make a move, because the second sound came from the main seat beside him, from beneath Second Prince Duan Wuya. At that moment, the stone chair Duan Wuya sat on shattered into powder, and Duan Wuya himself stood up, his robes fluttering. But now, he no longer wore that calm and gentle demeanor; instead, he became exceptionally sharp, his heroic aura pressing down on all.
"Third Uncle Yu, today's matter is originally a matter for the Heavenly One Academy. Let it end here, how about it?" Duan Wuya glanced at Yu Chou beside him and spoke calmly, his voice very steady. Yet within those words, there was an inherent authority that was hard to resist.
But Yu Chou was, after all, Yu Chou. His purpose in coming here today was to establish his authority.
He wanted everyone to know the majesty of the Yu Clan and to make those who were wavering see just how domineering and formidable the Yu Clan truly was.
"Your Highness, you heard it yourself just now. This brat insulted my Yu Clan. How could I, Yu Chou, let him off? If I let him go, where would the Yu Clan's face be placed?"
Yu Chou looked directly at Duan Wuya, neither humble nor arrogant, causing the crowd's eyes to narrow.
What was going on? Today's events seemed somewhat off, very strange. How had Yu Chou ended up opposing the Second Prince?
First, Yu Chou wanted to kill Lin Feng, and then the Second Prince tried to stop him. Just as everyone thought Yu Chou would show some respect to the Second Prince, Yu Chou insisted on killing Lin Feng, leaving everyone baffled.
At this moment, Lin Feng watched the confrontation between Yu Chou and the Second Prince, and the breath he had been holding slightly eased.
From the moment Yu Chou appeared, he had been displaying his dominance and authority before the crowd, clashing with Long Ding, confronting the vice dean of the Heavenly One Academy, and looking down on everything. Although Lin Feng had not witnessed these earlier scenes, after his arrival, he still noticed that Yu Chou showed no respect for the Heavenly One Academy, even threatening to destroy it.
Moreover, Yu Chou had no taboos in his heart; he dared to do anything, including interfering during Lin Feng's challenge against the Black Demon. Yu Chou seemed to be proving the might of the Yu Clan.
Why was Yu Chou acting like this?
Given the domineering attitude Yu Chou had displayed today, he would certainly not let Lin Feng go. He intended to use Lin Feng's life to establish his authority.
As for Long Ding, the vice dean of the Heavenly One Academy, he remained very silent. Even when Yu Chou threatened to destroy the academy, he stayed quiet, as if he didn't need to make a decision.
As for Second Prince Duan Wuya, anyone with discerning eyes could see that his relationship with Long Ding was very good. And although Duan Wuya and Yu Chou were polite on the surface, their actual relationship seemed somewhat delicate.
Adding to that, Lin Feng had previously met Duan Wuya, who had acted as his witness. The result was that the Yu Clan youth from the Snow Moon Holy Academy lost face and also lost the Blazing Flame Demon Lion.
This gave Lin Feng a very bold guess: Duan Wuya and the Yu Clan were at odds.
By now, this point had become completely clear.
Duan Wuya wanted to protect Lin Feng, but Yu Chou insisted on taking Lin Feng's life, not even giving face to the Second Prince. He wanted to display the Yu Clan's authority before everyone. Lin Feng was not entirely clear on the underlying purpose behind this.
But Lin Feng had another even bolder guess: the power backing the Heavenly One Academy was none other than Second Prince Duan Wuya—the dean who had never appeared.
Everyone understood that the founder of the Heavenly One Academy must have been someone with immense power, likely even from the imperial family. And Duan Wuya's appearance today, along with Long Ding's timely silence, led Lin Feng to this bold speculation: the true controller behind the Heavenly One Academy was Duan Wuya.
Yu Chou must have known this, yet he still threatened to destroy the academy in front of Duan Wuya.
So Lin Feng was gambling. He provoked Yu Chou, forcing Yu Chou to make a move to kill him. But in reality, Lin Feng was also forcing Duan Wuya's hand. He wanted to see if Duan Wuya would watch Yu Chou kill him. He was betting his own life, betting that the conflict between Duan Wuya and Yu Chou would escalate because of him, and that they could no longer maintain that delicate balance.
If his guess was correct and Duan Wuya was the true controller of the Heavenly One Academy, then if Lin Feng were killed by Yu Chou, the Yu Clan would achieve their goal of establishing authority and would win this confrontation against Duan Wuya. Therefore, based on outside evaluations of Duan Wuya, he absolutely could not allow Lin Feng to die.
And indeed, Duan Wuya did stand up, smashing his stone chair. But Yu Chou still showed no sign of backing down.
Hearing Yu Chou's words, Duan Wuya remained expressionless. Then, without saying another word, he slowly turned around, walked down from the viewing platform, and left. At the same time, an extremely authoritative voice rang out through the space.
"Yu Chou, go ahead and kill him today. Try it."
As he spoke, Duan Wuya's steps did not stop. He drifted away, paying no further attention to the matter.
"Try killing him. Go ahead."
A very simple sentence. After saying it, Duan Wuya left. But it was precisely because of his departure that his words carried even more deterrent force. I've said my piece, and I've left. But if you kill him, just try it.
"What a formidable tactic."
Lin Feng watched Duan Wuya's disappearing figure and thought to himself. His departure was perfectly timed, leaving all the difficult decisions to Yu Chou. The choice—to kill or not to kill—was now Yu Chou's to make.
At this moment, Yu Chou stood frozen in place. If Duan Wuya had stayed, he could have argued his case. But with Duan Wuya gone, he had no one to argue with. He only had the power to choose: kill or not kill.
Duan Wuya, drifting away, soon arrived at a private estate within the Heavenly One Academy. At this time, a figure appeared behind him—a black-clad figure. This person was someone Lin Feng had met once before, the black-clad man he had seen at the Qingxin Tavern when he first arrived at the outer city of the Imperial Capital.
"Nan Shan, what do you think?" Duan Wuya's voice had returned to that calm, indifferent tone.
"Your Highness, Yu Chou's move kills three birds with one stone: establishing authority, damaging the Heavenly One Academy, and winning people over." Nan Shan said flatly. Winning people over naturally referred to the Nie family. It could be said that Yu Chou not only won over the Nie family but also drove a wedge between Duan Wuya and them. His methods were very shrewd.
"I know. I'm asking you about Lin Feng. What do you think of him?"
Duan Wuya said lightly, causing Nan Shan's eyes to narrow, his gaze flickering uncertainly.
"Extraordinary talent." Nan Shan said flatly, his eyes shifting as if in thought. After a long pause, he finally spoke: "If today, he questioned Yu Chou out of anger, then there's nothing special about it. But if he did it deliberately, then this kid is somewhat terrifying."
"Heh, it's the latter, of course. If he were merely angry and reckless, that would be too disappointing."
Duan Wuya said softly: "Has that matter been confirmed?"
"Yes, it should have been the woman beside Lin Feng who killed him." Nan Shan nodded.
"A Mysterious Martial Realm cultivator. What a pity. From now on, don't have anyone tail Lin Feng anymore."
Duan Wuya said, quickening his pace, and soon his figure vanished without a trace.