"What are you so afraid of?"
The voice was hoarse, loud enough to deafen and stun.
The entire place fell silent.
For an intermediate practitioner of the Imperial Qi Realm and a lower-rank Tongyou Realm practitioner to perish together, especially when one was already battered and had lost an arm, was truly beyond comprehension and astonishment.
Especially after Tang Fei was injured, he used his life as a bargaining chip, slashing at Shen Qingping over and over, desperately carving out a sliver of opportunity for himself...
If he hadn’t done that, he would have been the only one to die.
By doing so, he evened the score.
Such harsh, resolute character, such fearless and valiant spirit, left everyone present feeling deeply shocked and overwhelmed.
If it were you in that situation, could you have done better than Tang Fei?
Or to be more precise, could you have performed as well as he did?
Clearly, the answer was no.
Most of those present were students of the Ancient Martial Department of the Imperial First Military Academy, the proud and arrogant crème de la crème, who believed they were unrivaled heroes. Once their learning was complete, they thought the world was theirs for the taking.
However, when they saw Tang Fei and Little Fatty, their confidence was severely shaken.
These prospective students who wished to join the school had already achieved so much.
After studying for two or three years, were they truly stronger than these newcomers? If everyone stood on the same starting line, who would the school choose, them or these newcomers?
At that moment, they had their answer.
"The match is over," Chen Bing announced.
For both parties to perish...
It was indeed beyond her expectations.
Such a thing had never happened before, since most assessment officers would go easy, allowing those who were assessed to pass as long as their strength wasn’t too weak.
Blocking someone’s path to wealth was akin to slaying their parents, and the same was true for blocking someone’s path to advancement.
It was rare to see an assessment officer like Shen Qingping, who hid his strength and used ruthless measures to obstruct others from entering the school.
As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a gust of wind stir beside her.
Phoenix had already flown towards the virtual combat room, and Chen Bing, worried about further complications, quickly followed.
Remembering the current physical and mental state of Tang Fei and Shen Qingping, she didn’t forget to add, "Medical team, come with me."
Inside the virtual pod, Tang Fei’s face was pale as paper; his whole body was drenched in sweat, soaking his clothes through.
Clearly, the severe pain from the virtual world was also transmitted to his physical body.
His eyes were tightly shut, seemingly having fallen into a coma.
"Tang Fei..." Phoenix called out.
Phoenix grew anxious, grabbing Tang Fei’s hand and shaking it, "Tang Fei, wake up... wake up..."
She felt a tingling, itchy sensation in the palm of her hand.
Tang Fei was secretly drawing circles on her palm with one of his fingers.
Phoenix looked at his face, and he still appeared to be unconscious.
"What an idiot!" Phoenix cursed inwardly.
That scared her to death.
Chen Bing patted Phoenix’s shoulder and said, "Don’t panic, let’s have the doctor take a look first."
Phoenix stepped aside, and the medics rushed over to lift Tang Fei out of the virtual pod, then performed various checks with their equipment.
"How is he?" Phoenix asked urgently.
The doctor looked at Phoenix and said, "Just like that chubby student before, he fainted from exhaustion... We’re not ruling out the possibility of temporary coma due to intense brain stimulation, further examination is needed."
"Then check quickly," Chen Bing said.
"Yes, Director," the medical staff replied, hurriedly carrying Tang Fei towards the infirmary, where more comprehensive diagnostic tools were available.
Shen Qingping still lay inside the virtual pod, his face deathly pale, his gaze vacant.
Clearly, this was not the outcome he desired.
And it differed from what he had anticipated. How had things come to this?
"Qingping, are you alright?"
"Qingping, wake up..."
"Qingping, can you get up? I’ll help you..."
With Shen Qingping’s family background, even if his character was deplorable, there would still be a crowd of ’friends’ who would never abandon him.
Chen Bing glanced at Shen Qingping and said in a deep voice, "You should get up as well, we’ll wait for you outside."
At this point, avoidance and concealment were no longer realistic.
Dean Shang was outside; let him handle it fully.
This matter had already exceeded her responsibility as the Director of the Martial Arts Hall.
After saying this, she turned and walked outside.
Phoenix’s eyes swept coldly over Shen Qingping before following Chen Bing out.
This score would be settled later.
In the great hall of the Martial Arts Hall, everyone waited in anxious yet excited anticipation.
They all wanted to see how Dean Shang Xiulin would handle the situation, given that the mistake was made by a member of the Shen Family, the foremost among the nine great families of the Phoenix Empire...
"Why hasn’t Shen Qingping come out yet? Knows he’s in trouble, so he’s scared to show his face?"
"What’s there for him to fear? He didn’t actually kill anyone... and he’s from the Shen Family..."
"Do you think Shen Qingping will be punished this time? Dean Shang is right there watching, and he cheated right in front of the dean..."
"Hard to say, maybe Dean Shang will consider the Shen Family’s face and just punishment is a few drinks... it’s not like it hasn’t happened before?"