554: Chapter 554 Committing a Crime

After some questioning, Liu Xuan found that An Haoran didn't know the exact reason either; he had only heard others say that Lady Yaoguang had verbally praised Liu Xuan.

Why did she praise Liu Xuan? And why did she break protocol to appoint him as the Academy Head? He didn't know any of this.

"Her Ladyship's cultivation is heaven-defying. Since I can remember, she has been at the Peak Middle Stage Soul Transformation Realm, second only to the Sect Leader in the Beast Taming Sect."

"Most importantly, Her Ladyship is the Demon Saint who loves promoting juniors the most in the sect. Being favored by her is a massive Opportunity; you must work hard!"

An Haoran held the Yaoguang Demon Saint in extremely high regard. According to him, his promotion to Nascent Soul True Lord and his former position as the Head of the South Courtyard were all due to the support of the Gentlemans Academy.

"Father-in-law, do you think there might be a problem with this?" Liu Xuan interrupted An Haoran, looking puzzled. "I've seen your academy's teaching materials and rules. It's not hard to see that the academy rejects lecherous people. With my current reputation..."

Liu Xuan paused awkwardly. "How could Her Ladyship possibly praise me? It's more likely she would loathe me."

"Hmm!" An Haoran stroked his beard and looked at Liu Xuan, a look of deep confusion also appearing on his face.

His son-in-law's reputation could be said to be completely rotten: lecherous, cowardly, living off women, pleasure-seeking, social-climbing... Although most were rumors and slander, the news reaching Her Ladyship's ears should be exactly that. How could she possibly praise Liu Xuan?

"Forget it!" An Haoran waved his sleeve. "Why care about the reason? Just do a good job. Even if there's some misunderstanding, strive to do things well. Perhaps Her Ladyship will let you off the hook when she learns the truth in the future."

"Father-in-law, what kind of talk is that?" Liu Xuan's face darkened. "Your son-in-law is upright and honorable. Those rumors are just the jealousy of others. What do you mean by 'let me off the hook' when she knows the truth?"

"Perhaps Her Ladyship saw through the rumors to my true essence and genuinely appreciates me as a person?"

"Now is not the time for jokes!" An Haoran said in a serious tone. "If you can enter the core of the academy, it will help clear many obstacles on your path. Regardless of whether there's a misunderstanding, try to restrain yourself in the future."

"Your son-in-law will follow your teachings!" Liu Xuan bowed respectfully.

"Don't misunderstand; I am considering my two daughters. If they are mistreated in your Liu Family, we will settle all our old and new scores together!"

"Father-in-law, you're being too serious!" Liu Xuan said with a forced smile. "We're all family; what old and new scores could there be? You should tell me more about setting up the academy."

An Haoran snorted coldly but didn't press the issue. He patiently explained the specific details of opening the academy and the various matters Liu Xuan needed to pay attention to as the Academy Head.

...

A few days later.

The academy's location was set next to the City Lord's Manor of the Star Hall. Many people from the academy had already gathered, including an Early Nascent Soul Stage True Lord.

Opening an academy was something Liu Xuan originally thought would be a chore, but once he started, he realized it was a very lucrative position.

First, all the academy's expenses weren't paid by him as the Academy Head but were deducted from the Star Academy's taxes. As long as he recorded the reasonable uses clearly, he had the final say on how much money was spent.

Secondly, the academy was to collect tuition fees. Although the fees weren't for him, as the Branch Academy Head, he also received a handsome salary.

Furthermore, the academy possessed a secret technique called 'Righteous Qi' that could assist in cultivation. Liu Xuan could learn it for free and had the authority to directly view the high-level sections.

He briefly looked over the introduction; this 'Righteous Qi' and 'True Qi' had similar qualities, both being variants of magical power.

The difference was that True Qi required the consumption of lifespan, whereas Righteous Qi was entirely an auxiliary secret technique. Its effect wasn't as strong as True Qi, but it had no side effects.

The salary and Righteous Qi didn't mean much to Liu Xuan, but the tax deduction was extremely practical.

The Star Academy also had to pay taxes under a tax-farming system. Nominally, An Haoran collected them and handed them over to True Lord Guanxin, who oversaw Southern Border affairs, and then True Lord Guanxin would submit them to the Main Mountain Academy.

Now, the taxes directly offset the early construction costs of the academy. Not only would it not cost the Liu Family money, but with some maneuvering, he could even make a profit from it.

Of course! This couldn't be done too excessively; it was best to reasonably avoid taxes within the scope of the rules.

The power of a Branch Academy Head was very great. From internal personnel appointments to various expenditures, he could decide most situations with a single word. If it developed well, it would be no different from being a local tyrant, except for being constrained by a set of academy rules.

'Lady Yaoguang places great importance on the opening of the academy!'

After understanding the specific situation of opening the academy, Liu Xuan confirmed that Lady Yaoguang hadn't just given a random order but was extremely serious about it. Perhaps her purpose in helping Daoist Lord Lihuo attack the Endless Demon Court was to open academies.

If she were merely after taxes and Spirit Stones, she wouldn't have spent so much to build the academy. In the early stages, she was essentially losing money, and there might not be much profit even later on.

"What exactly does the academy mean to her?"

Liu Xuan couldn't figure it out, so he didn't think too much about it. For him, regardless of why Lady Yaoguang was opening the academy, as long as she valued it, that was enough!

"Once the academy is open, I'll be the Branch Academy Head of the Gentlemans Academy. With this status, even if Daoist Lord Lihuo comes, he'll have reservations about moving against me."

Having realized this, Liu Xuan became much more proactive about the academy's construction. Not only did he set aside a large area as the academy's grounds, but he also modified the Formation to divert a branch of a 4th-grade Low Grade Spiritual Vein there, all of which was counted as construction costs.

To get the academy running as quickly as possible, he also deployed a group of people from his own Merchant Alliance to handle the academy's design and the completion of various infrastructure projects.

In just one month, a massive complex of buildings was established next to the City Lord's Manor.

Just as Liu Xuan was planning to announce the official opening of the academy and hold a grand opening ceremony, an accident occurred.

One of the Great Scholars of the Main Mountain Gentlemans Academy, Ji Bingzheng—a Named Disciple of Lady Yaoguang known as True Lord Jingshan—led a group of academy students to move into the academy. Brushing Liu Xuan aside and ignoring the opening ceremony, he began giving lectures on his own.

Liu Xuan received news from Song Shulian and extended his Divine Sense through the grand Formation to check. It was indeed true; someone actually dared to steal the fruits of his labor on his own turf.

With a thought, all the Spiritual Qi in the academy vanished, and starlight descended, forming a barrier that sealed everything off.

Only then did Liu Xuan bring Wen Zhihua, Lu Jingshu, Luo Xin, and dozens of other academy Concubines, along with Song Shulian and other academy subordinates, to fly slowly toward the academy.

The great sun warship flew directly over the academy. Surrounded by a group of stunning women and escorted by a crowd of lackeys, Liu Xuan stepped off the battleship and arrived at the academy's largest square.

"True Lord Jingshan, is it?"

"Without this Head's order, who gave you permission to trespass?!"

He glanced at the many academy students standing behind Ji Bingzheng and said coldly, "You've committed an offense, do you know?"