Jiang Mingqing's heart jolted. If Qin Yan really cut off those supplies, the impact on the Capital Martial Arts Academy would be catastrophic. Everyone would be affected—student resources would be slashed by at least half.
Their rate of progress would plummet. It might even cripple the entire current student body.
The college years were the golden period of growth. Nothing could go wrong.
And that wasn't even the most urgent problem. The real issue was timing. In three days, all the families were scheduled to deliver this round of resources. Five days after that, the academy was supposed to distribute the next month's allocation to the students.
This wasn't something that could be delayed.
Jiang Mingqing stared at Qin Yan, gritting his teeth.
"Qin Yan, your father personally signed an agreement with the Council of Elders to provide resources to the Capital Martial Arts Academy for thirty years. You don't have the authority to make this decision."
"Whether I have the authority doesn't stop me from not giving you anything."
Qin Yan casually lifted his leg and rested his foot on the table.
"My grandfather and my father are both stationed at the border. In two days, my uncle will be heading back as well. By then, the Qin family will be under my command."
"If I say the Capital Martial Arts Academy doesn't get resources, who would dare disobey me?"
As he spoke, Qin Yan looked around at the others.
"The Qin family is cutting off the academy's supplies. What about you?"
Yun Lei was the first to respond.
"The Yun family will cut them off too."
"Our Dongfang family will also terminate all resource support to the Capital Martial Arts Academy."
"The Zhu family as well."
"The Ming family too."
"Y-you all…"
Hearing their words, Jiang Mingqing felt his chest tighten, as if something heavy were lodged there.
At that moment, Qin Yan's voice rang out again.
"Jiang Mingqing, make your choice. Leave on your own, or watch the Capital Martial Arts Academy decline right before your eyes."
"Qin Yan!"
Jiang Mingqing finally snapped. He growled through clenched teeth.
"Do you even know what consequences your actions will bring? You'll ruin tens of thousands of students at the academy. You'll weaken the very foundation of Great Xia."
"Your Qin family has fought for Great Xia for generations. What you're doing now will only tarnish the Qin family's reputation."
"Can you really face the blood your ancestors spilled for this country?"
His words ignited a blaze of fury in Qin Yan's chest.
Because Jiang Mingqing wasn't wrong.
The Qin family had shed blood and made sacrifices for Great Xia for generations. For the so-called greater good, they had yielded time and time again.
And what was the result?
Total annihilation. Not a single drop of bloodline left behind.
Qin Yan yanked off his shoe and hurled it straight at Jiang Mingqing's head.
Then he roared,
"Jiang Mingqing, you know how much blood the Qin family has paid for Great Xia. You know that every man of the Qin family is destined for the battlefield."
"We've given so much—so why did Gao Wei still dare to humiliate the Qin family?"
"And you—since you know what we've sacrificed, why did you still shield Gao Wei?"
"Is this how you treat meritorious families? Tell me, Jiang Mingqing—did you do this on purpose?"
"Were you trying to make every family that's shed blood for Great Xia lose heart?"
"What difference is there between what you're doing and treason?"
The shoe struck Jiang Mingqing squarely on the head. He froze for a moment, then anger surged through him. He was just about to stand up and explode when Qin Yan's words made his blood run cold.
He had wanted to suppress the Qin family—but he never imagined such a massive accusation would be pinned on him.
He pointed at his own nose in disbelief, his voice trembling.
"Qin Yan… you dare call me a traitor?"
"Yes."
Qin Yan stood up, staring at him with savage intensity.
"The Qin family is a meritorious clan. Yesterday, we were wantonly insulted and trampled on. Not only did you do nothing, you even shielded the perpetrator."
"You're trying to sow division within Great Xia."
"You are a traitor."
The charge had come to Qin Yan in a flash of anger. At first, he'd only planned to use the Qin family's influence to drive Jiang Mingqing out of the academy.
But once the word "traitor" was on the table, he was determined to peel a layer of skin off Jiang Mingqing.
"N-no… that's impossible. You're slandering me!"
Jiang Mingqing leapt to his feet, roaring.
"I, Jiang Mingqing, have never done anything like that!"
At that moment, Yun Lei spoke leisurely,
"I also think Jiang Mingqing is a spy."
"Everyone here is the descendant of a meritorious family. Think back—how were you treated at the academy?"
"I'll start with myself. When I was still studying there a couple of years ago, Jiang Mingqing targeted me at every turn."
"Whenever I had a conflict with commoner students, most of the time I clearly wasn't at fault—but he still pinned all the blame on me."
Qin Yan nodded slightly.
He was also a student of the Capital Martial Arts Academy, and the same thing had happened to him.
Whenever he clashed with commoner students, he was always the one at fault. It had gotten to the point where those commoners were now even more arrogant than the children of great clans.
Qin Yan had no issue with commoner students themselves.
What he despised were people who deliberately favored one side and incited confrontation.
Yun Lei's words immediately drew support from the others.
"Exactly. I went through the same thing. These days I don't even dare run into commoner students. The moment we meet, they target us and loudly accuse noble heirs of bullying."
"Hmph. This is all Jiang Mingqing's doing. He's deliberately stirring up hostility between commoner students and our meritorious families."
"Report him. I'm taking this straight to the Council of Elders."
A chill crept into Jiang Mingqing's heart.
He knew these people truly dared to do it. Every one of them was the offspring of a great clan—little devils who feared neither heaven nor earth.
At this point, Qin Yan felt utterly satisfied.
He'd originally planned to force Jiang Mingqing to resign on his own. He hadn't expected such an enormous bonus.
He looked at Jiang Mingqing unhurriedly.
"You're no longer fit to remain as dean."
"Starting tomorrow, someone else will temporarily take over. You can go home and wait for the investigation."
Jiang Mingqing's eyes were bloodshot.
"I already told you—you have no authority to remove me."
"If you don't leave, the Capital Martial Arts Academy won't receive so much as a single hair's worth of resources."
A vicious glint flashed in Qin Yan's eyes.
"That's a promise from me, Qin Yan. If you don't believe it, try me."
"Let me be clear today—I came here specifically to target you."
"Don't try to morally blackmail me with bullshit about the students' futures. I don't care."
"What I want is for you to be finished."
Qin Yan dropped back into his seat.
The others stared at him with open admiration.
"Holy shit, Qin Shao is incredible."
"An idol. This is my idol."
"This should've been done ages ago. We've been living like cowards for far too long."
Jiang Mingqing was shaking with rage, his fists clenched so tightly they creaked. He wanted nothing more than to slap these heirs to death.
But after a long time, he gave up.
He didn't dare.
Because Qin Zhan was watching him from the side.
In the end, Jiang Mingqing could only lower his head in defeat.
"I'll submit my resignation today."
"Starting tomorrow, I will never appear at the Capital Martial Arts Academy again."