Since reaching the pinnacle, he had rarely seen such an expression devoid of self-interest on any cultivator or ancient sage in the Primordial Era.
How complex are the minds of cultivators? They primarily exist for gain. Instances like this, where one impulsively lashes out in childish anger due to ordinary emotions, are rare in the cultivation world.
In the cultivation world, it's often a matter of life and death, filled with endless schemes.
Upon entering the Divine Realm, Fang Ming had indeed felt a sense of ordinary mortal life. However, due to the advantages his appearance afforded him, he rarely found himself in opposition to individuals like Sima Feibai within the academy.
This was, in essence, his first time facing such a situation.
With Fang Ming's intelligence, he instantly conceived of numerous solutions. For instance, he could leverage others. Among the observing students were those with considerable strength and a fondness for him. With a bit of strategizing, feigning vulnerability, he could easily enlist their help.
This was the advantage of good looks, the power that came with it.
Just as Sima Feibai was enraged at him for his girlfriend's sake, Fang Ming could just as easily find more individuals to act as his protectors.
As for Sima Feibai's background?
That was not a difficult matter. His father was merely a third-rank general. Fang Ming knew students with higher status and influence within the academy, and he could seek them out later to deal with Sima Feibai.
Of course.
Fang Ming had an even simpler method.
That was to crush Sima Feibai head-on.
Sima Feibai had always assumed that Fang Ming, having been in the academy for less than a year, could not possibly possess great strength, certainly not as much as someone who grew up in a prominent family.
However, in reality, Fang Ming's cultivation and strength far exceeded Sima Feibai's expectations, by a considerable margin.
Coupled with Fang Ming's numerous combat skills, he was already capable of defeating Sima Feibai in a direct confrontation.
If Sima Feibai were at the sixteenth stage of Qi Yuan, or even at the Great Perfection of the thirtieth stage, or had advanced to the Palace Opening realm, Fang Ming would certainly not confront him directly. He would absolutely leverage "influence," feign weakness, and have those protectors act, while simultaneously using words to stall for time until his acquaintances arrived.
But Sima Feibai was not in the Palace Opening realm. Within the range Fang Ming could handle, the situation was entirely different.
His thoughts flashed by in an instant, yet in reality, not much time had passed.
Sima Feibai's face turned pale with anger as he heard Fang Ming completely disregard his girlfriend's name.
What is the most insulting thing in the world?
It is to abandon one's girlfriend to pursue another, only to be directly rejected by that person, who doesn't even remember their name, while the girlfriend remains infatuated with the former!
This situation sounded absurd, yet Sima Feibai had personally experienced it. The humiliation Sima Feibai felt can only be imagined.
"Go! You two, go and take care of him."
Sima Feibai was furious. His first command after his rage was to have his two followers deal with Fang Ming.
With his family's influence and background, he naturally had students who acted as his followers within the academy.
These two students also possessed the cultivation strength of the thirteenth stage of Qi Yuan.
Since Fang Ming had not recently displayed his strength, Sima Feibai believed that these two students alone would be enough to defeat Fang Ming.
The two follower students, upon hearing Sima Feibai's command, showed signs of hesitation.
Defeating Fang Ming was absolutely impossible. The so-called "defeat" was merely Sima Feibai's angry outburst. Actually killing a student within the academy would mean their own demise, and they would have to be buried with him.
The Sima family's influence could not protect them if they casually killed someone in the academy. If something went wrong, they would be the ones responsible. It was obvious to anyone with common sense that Sima Feibai would not take responsibility for them.
If the intention was not to kill Fang Ming, but merely to teach him a lesson, then the severity of the matter would be significantly reduced.
However, even just teaching Fang Ming a lesson would have considerable negative repercussions for the two of them.
Frankly speaking, they did not want to act against Fang Ming.
They were well aware of Fang Ming's popularity within the academy.
If they truly taught Fang Ming a lesson, whether Sima Feibai would face consequences was unknown, but they would certainly incur the wrath of Fang Ming's many admirers.
At that point, the more severely Fang Ming was beaten, the hundredfold they would suffer in return.
Even if they could easily defeat Fang Ming, what good would it do?
They dared not strike.
But as Sima Feibai's followers, their refusal to act would be difficult to explain to Sima Feibai, and the relationship they had painstakingly cultivated would be completely shattered.
This dilemma placed the two followers in a peculiar state.
The aura of the thirteenth stage of Qi Yuan erupted from them, surging continuously. The wisps of Qi Yuan that danced emitted strong fluctuations, signifying the strength and cultivation of these two followers.
They had surpassed many students of the same age, otherwise, they would not have been qualified to be Sima Feibai's followers.
However, while they maintained an imposing stance, ready to act, they dared not truly strike Fang Ming. Thus, the two followers remained in this peculiar posture, locked in a stalemate with Fang Ming.
"Attack!"
"What are you two still doing?"
"Hurry up and attack!"
Sima Feibai roared from the side.
He felt his face being utterly disgraced, almost completely trampled underfoot by Fang Ming.
He ordered his followers to attack, and they didn't dare to, merely standing there in a stalemate. How could he maintain his dignity?
Laughter echoed from nearby.
The laughter came from the surrounding students who had gathered to watch. Many of them chuckled as they saw Sima Feibai blustering while his followers dared not act.
In situations like this, they indeed had reason to laugh.
Sima Feibai, sensing the amusement of those around him, felt even more that he was being mocked. His face became increasingly unable to bear it.
He couldn't help but angrily scold his followers, "Useless! What are you afraid of? You don't even dare to attack."
"I'll deal with you later."
"Now, I order you to attack immediately!"
The two followers were also helpless. They had no intention of acting, but with Sima Feibai using such a tone, they could no longer maintain their stalemate.
One of the followers first spoke to Fang Ming, "Forgive me."
Then, he condensed his Qi Yuan, stomped on the ground, and erupted with considerable speed, charging towards Fang Ming.
The two followers finally made their move.
But their actions were of little consequence. Such a long period of time was enough for Fang Ming to react.
Fang Ming sidestepped, evading several incoming Qi Yuan attacks. His entire body moved with the fluidity of flowing water, his form incredibly ethereal, and his speed astonishingly fast.