Li Tianhao lowered his head and shot a meaningful glance at the three Heaven Institute disciples beside him.
The three immediately understood and chimed in, "That’s right! This all started because of Long Chen. We saw everything and can testify to it!"
Tang Le, speaking up against the injustice, said, "Sister Chu, don’t listen to their nonsense. They’re making baseless accusations!"
"How dare you!" Li Tianhao glared fiercely at Tang Le. "I am a disciple of the Heaven Institute. Do you think I need to slander a mere Human Institute Disciple like you?"
"I will determine the truth of the matter myself," Chu Lingjun said slowly, her gaze fixed on Li Tianhao and his cronies. "As disciples of the Heaven Institute, your words and actions represent the entire institute. I hope you don’t disappoint me. If I discover you were the ones at fault, don’t blame me for canceling your assessment."
At these words, the expressions on Li Tianhao and the others tensed. Within the Martial Ancestor Sect, opportunities for promotion assessments were exceedingly rare. If one’s assessment was canceled due to misconduct, advancing to a Second-class Disciple afterward would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
Just as Li Tianhao’s expression soured, the three terrified Heaven Institute disciples behind him collapsed to their knees in fear.
"Sister Chu, we were wrong!"
"We shouldn’t have falsely accused Long Chen and his friends. We were the ones who twisted the truth!"
"This all started because Senior Brother Li was deliberately targeting Long Chen!"
The three confessed one after another, revealing everything that had just occurred.
"You... you..." Hearing their words, the corners of Li Tianhao’s mouth twitched violently.
He never imagined these three would stab him in the back. Dammit! Those bastards have no morals!
In the next second, a chill shot up his spine, making him shudder. He looked up and saw Chu Lingjun’s cold, autumn-like eyes fixed on him.
His heart trembled violently. His legs gave out, and with a thud, he too knelt on the ground.
"Sister Chu, I know I was wrong!" Li Tianhao’s voice trembled as cold sweat poured down his forehead. "Please, Sister Chu, have mercy! I truly know my mistake. Please give me one more chance to make amends!"
Seeing them in this state, Tang Le felt a surge of satisfaction. Serves them right!
"The four of you have completely disgraced the Heaven Institute!" Chu Lingjun said sternly.
"You are right to scold us, Sister Chu! We have brought shame to the Heaven Institute! Please, give us another chance!" Fear seized Li Tianhao and the others. With their hearts in their throats, they kowtowed repeatedly, begging Chu Lingjun for mercy.
Chu Lingjun struck out with her palm.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Li Tianhao and his three companions were sent flying, landing heavily on the ground. Their faces were bruised and swollen, with blood trickling from the corners of their mouths. Their cheeks, swollen like pig heads, throbbed with a burning, stinging pain.
Despite the pain, they didn’t dare make a sound in front of Chu Lingjun, let alone show any anger.
Knowing just how terrifying Chu Lingjun’s coldness could be, Li Tianhao could only turn his gaze to Long Chen. He scrambled over to Long Chen on his knees and began to beg for forgiveness.
"Big Brother Long, I was foul-mouthed just now. I shouldn’t have offended you," he pleaded. "Please forgive us. Don’t lower yourself to the level of ignorant people like us."
Seeing this, the other three instantly understood and also scrambled over to beg Long Chen for mercy.
Long Chen simply gave a faint smile at the sight. They were all from the Heaven Institute, and out of respect for Chu Lingjun, he couldn’t push the matter any further. Besides, they had already kowtowed and admitted their mistake, and they had received the punishment they deserved.
He waved his hand, signaling for them to get up and leave.
"Thank you, Brother Long!"
"Brother Long, you are truly magnanimous!"
Seeing that Long Chen had no intention of pursuing the matter, Li Tianhao and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief and hurriedly thanked him.
"Sister Chu, Brother Long has already forgiven us! Please spare us and don’t cancel our assessment!" The four of them put on innocent expressions and pleaded weakly.
They were filled with immense regret. If they had known this would be the outcome, they never would have provoked that jinx in the first place.