Chapter 2986: If You Don't Understand, You Don't Understand

Despite taking different paths, Classmate Su Gao's ultimate style was clearly the same as Professor Fu's. Neither of them was easily swayed by the atmosphere.

Even when facing this ruthless panel of experts, the grief and indignation plainly visible on the Old Lady's face failed to extract a single ounce of emotional value from them.

"It isn't as you claim."

After pronouncing that death sentence again in a perfectly calm tone, Su Gao actually followed Professor Fu's request. She pointed at the head over there and began her professional critique.

"While the arrangement here could indeed be interpreted as the cultivation you just mentioned, to me, it barely scratches the surface.

"You are far from achieving a state where one thought serves and another nurtures. Aside from its rather peculiar posture, this head possesses no fundamental difference from you."

Compared to Professor Fu's commanding perspective, her viewpoint as an assistant wasn't quite as elevated, but it made up for it by staying strictly on topic.

But precisely because of this, she came across as excessively sharp.

"That doesn't seem to be up to you to decide," the Old Lady retorted. "And what is your proof?"

After staring fixedly for a long moment, she looked thoroughly driven to despair and chose to clash head-on.

"Mind our image as members of Apocalypse," Professor Fu said. "Assistant Su is only offering criticism for your own good."

Ultimately, Professor Fu was forced to give a dry cough from the sidelines to ease the tension. As everyone knew, honorifics during a defense were just like punctuation marks in a thesis—a fundamental prerequisite.

"Heh..."

Unfortunately, his painstaking efforts didn't do much good. The party involved merely sneered, and beside her, the other head with both eyes fully open rapidly contorted into an extreme expression.

To be specific, it was a wrath far beyond human capacity.

Every lump of flesh and every single contour illustrated this to the absolute limit. It was a pure rage, untainted by a single impurity.

Being stared down by a face like that would undoubtedly bring immense pressure.

"Even these current changes seem to match your earlier description," Su Gao said. "After all, transcendence doesn't mean an absence of joy or sorrow."

But as someone who had fought her way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Classmate Su Gao treated the horrific sight like a slideshow advancing to the next image. Pointing at the head, she naturally continued her lecture.

"But no matter how it looks on the surface, this transcendence is actually incredibly clumsy. It's like you traced over an imagined answer.

"Cultivation is indeed miraculous, but the biggest problem is that if you don't understand, you just don't understand. And this story you're telling happens to be the hardest kind to fake your way through."

...

Brilliant. The framework was right, and the end result looked the part, but at its core, it was nothing more than a tracing...

In Professor Fu's experience, anyone who wrote a thesis review like that would have to start worrying about their personal safety.

Watching Classmate Su Gao speak with such calm assurance, Fu Qian marveled from the sidelines.

"If that really is the issue, then the situation is indeed quite serious," Professor Fu said.

With things having suddenly grown so tense, as the resident authority, Professor Fu naturally stepped up to say a fair word.

"However, we can't be dictatorial about this," he continued. "For example, regarding the question this senior just raised—where is the basis for your challenge?"

He didn't blindly take his assistant's side. Relying on his signature logical perspective, Professor Fu still found an angle favorable to the Old Lady, emphasizing that these claims were still just arguments lacking supporting evidence.

In short, he would never let a fraud off the hook, but he also wouldn't let a hardworking person suffer unjust grievances.

He maintained this fairness regardless of the fact that his own body was in mortal peril, being torn further to shreds with every passing second.

"Of course I do," Su Gao said.

Still showing zero emotional fluctuation, Su Gao glanced at the completely unbothered Professor Fu. She had clearly decided to thoroughly convince the opposition. As for the specific method—

"Use it to attack me." Turning back, she gestured directly to the resentful Old Lady.

...

Excellent. Classmate Su Gao might not have been a true swordswoman, but her killing intent had absolutely reached the pinnacle.

The person who questioned your hard work and dismissed your achievements as utterly worthless was standing right in front of you, inviting an attack. Did you have the courage to actually strike? And to do it using the very achievement they mocked?

There was no greater catharsis in life than this. Surely she wouldn't chicken out now?

Furthermore, the method of proof Classmate Su Gao chose perfectly suited her identity as a non-professional.

Evidence? Since she was neither an academic nor a cultivator, trying to convince the opposition from a professional standpoint would easily devolve into pointless, metaphysical bickering.

It was better to pivot to a far simpler and more brutal logic: if you've truly achieved enlightenment, prove it to me.

"Heh... I know your strength is astonishing. Are you trying to bait me into attacking?" the Old Lady said.

Unfortunately, given her advanced age, she didn't seem quite so eager to fight. With a low chuckle, she merely questioned her opponent's ulterior motives.

"I won't fight back," Su Gao replied.

"...This cultivation does not emphasize slaughter," the Old Lady countered.

"That doesn't matter," Su Gao said. "You can try to affect me in any way you choose."

With that accommodating guarantee, all of the Old Lady's concerns were rapidly dispelled.

Yet, despite the generous invitation, she remained noticeably hesitant.

...

It looked like there was no need to test it anymore.

Actions always spoke louder than words. The Old Lady's reaction already said more than enough.

By exposing a case of academic fraud with just a few words, Classmate Su Gao had once again demonstrated her prowess.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without Professor Fu's keen eye for talent and holistic orchestration.

As for why he was able to recognize Classmate Su Gao's potential?

Tier 2 Resonance Power was no joke. In Fu Qian's view, it would be extremely difficult for such a twisted arrangement to completely fail to trigger an Echo.

And considering Classmate Su Gao's track record, even if she claimed the Old Lady was actually a man, Fu Qian wouldn't doubt her for a second.

As for why Professor Fu hadn't made a move himself, insisting on knowing people and assigning them well?

That was also simple. Compared to the acute sensitivity of Tier 2 Resonance Power, Professor Fu—currently devoid of all perception—was functionally illiterate.

Even though he had never fully trusted the moral character of the ancient sages, all he could do right now was provide strategic guidance.

"If you're going to put it that way, I find it quite strange," the Old Lady said. "If I'm deceiving you, what would be the point?"

After all, she was a veteran of the jianghu. Even in such a highly unfavorable situation, she didn't give up after her brief silence.

Instead, she changed her angle, attempting to claw back an advantage.

The point?

Her rhetorical question actually seemed to strike a chord with Su Gao.

Rather than rushing to answer, the younger woman specifically turned to look at Fu Qian.

"It's fine," Professor Fu said. "Even as a professor of Apocalypse, I would never show favoritism on such a serious issue."

In response, he simply let out a long, heavy sigh. Feigning deep heartache, he perfectly embodied the noble integrity of an old-school intellectual.

"The point of lying is perhaps as simple as what you're doing right now—" Having received the Sword of Imperial Authority, Su Gao dropped all remaining politeness and directly answered the Old Lady's question.

"Stalling for time to feed us to this thing."

As she spoke, she grasped at the empty air. When she pulled her hand back, a thin strand of mycelium rested plainly in her palm.