Chapter 315

Chapter 315: Time Waits For No One, Now Is The Best Chance
On the martial practice field.

Li Da tilted his head back to look at the sky and could not help but suck in a sharp breath.

Even knowing that the vine was formed from illusion art did nothing to lessen the shock in his heart.

He looked around but still could not see Yu Zhao anywhere.

He forced down his fear, clenched his right hand into a fist, and slammed it against his chest.

“Pu!”

A mouthful of blood sprayed out and was fully absorbed by the Azure Chant Seal floating above his head.

The faint lines carved into the bottom of the Azure Chant Seal began to squirm like living things.

Li Da’s face twisted, and he shouted loudly: “Wind and Thunder Surge!”

The clear sky above them suddenly filled with roaring winds, and heavy dark clouds rolled in.

At that moment, a bolt of lightning split the clouds apart and struck the Azure Chant Seal dead on.

At once, a ring of silver light spread around the outside of the Azure Chant Seal, crackling with the sound of electricity.

“Fall!”

At his command, the lightning-charged Azure Chant Seal crashed down toward the vine like a falling star.

Yu Zhao did not even stop to think. Her hands flew through a series of seals.

Four vines quietly split off from the thick main body of the Vine King, each less than one fifth the original thickness. The four clone vines connected with each other to form a large net in the shape of the character for “well”.

The Azure Chant Seal landed right in the center of the net.

Crack crack crack!

Under the thunder and lightning of the Azure Chant Seal, the clone vines exploded, fragments flying everywhere.

But there was not a trace of joy on Li Da’s face. Instead, there was a faint look of fear in his eyes.

In the next moment, the vine’s real body, hidden behind the clones, struck without warning. Its thick trunk lashed out with a casual swing, cutting the air with a shrill whistle sharp enough to tear space.

Bang!

The Azure Chant Seal, its lightning exhausted, was flung away by the vine. It spun several times in midair as it shrank, finally returning to its palm-sized original form and drifting back down in front of Li Da.

Li Da looked at the dim Azure Chant Seal, then at the Vine King still whipping through the air with undiminished force. He swallowed and said with difficulty: “I admit defeat.”

With a soft pop, the Vine King’s body shrank rapidly and vanished in a single breath. Only a round, plump seed was left where it had been.

Yu Zhao picked up the seed and smiled lightly.

“Thank you for letting me win.”

“Ah!!!”

The crowd fell silent for one heartbeat, then erupted into thunderous cheers.

Ji Han Zhou stood among them, his heart surging, his eyes bright.

Senior Sister Yu had become even stronger.

He had to work harder, or he would be left behind halfway.

Li Da walked off the martial practice field one step at a time, his shoulders slumped. Besides the frustration of losing, his heart was full of doubt about himself and fear for his future.

He was too weak.

Did he really deserve to be a disciple of Tai Bai Academy?

“Uncle Master Li.”

Li Da looked up a beat late.

Wei Ying, Junior Sister Ning, and the others were all looking at him with open admiration, as if he were the true winner of the match.

“You all…”

Li Da felt the warmth of his fellow disciples and was a little moved. He wiped his face with a bitter smile and said: “You don’t have to…”

He had not finished saying “comfort me” when Junior Brother Sha already stuck out a thumb and praised him: “Uncle Master Li, I did not expect you to last so long against Yu Zhao. That was amazing!”

Li Da: “?”

“The few of us were just betting on how long you could hold out. We all guessed wrong.”

“Uncle Master Li lasted longer than we thought.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Li Da: “Hehe.”

[Now I feel even worse. What am I supposed to do with that?]

“Senior Sister Yu, where are you going?”

Someone suddenly noticed that Yu Zhao was walking away alone and quickly called out.

“Dean Mo Xin asked me to go see him.”

Yu Zhao answered once, then sped up her steps.

The disciples of Tai Bai Academy all looked at each other.

“Is the dean going to give Senior Sister Yu trouble… ow! Senior Sister Wei, why did you hit me?”

A disciple covered his head and complained.

Wei Ying wanted to knock him again. “Do you still not know what kind of person the dean is? How could he blame Senior Sister Yu? He will probably reward her instead.”

The disciples thought about it and found that very reasonable. Lately, whenever the dean looked at them, his eyes were full of impatience. Only when he saw the disciples of Heavenly Sword Sect or Yu Zhao did he show a pleasant face.

With that in mind, they stopped worrying. They broke off into small groups and began to excitedly discuss the match just now.

Yu Zhao, meanwhile, entered the bamboo lodge and was called straight inside by Dean Mo Xin.

The elders had all left. There was only Dean Mo Xin in the lodge.

“Dean Mo Xin.”

“Yu Zhao, come, sit and talk.”

Before seeing him, Yu Zhao had felt a faint trace of unease. But once she stood before him, that unease disappeared, leaving only calm.

She did as he said and sat down, her back straight, a natural sharpness in her bearing.

Dean Mo Xin nodded slightly and sighed in his heart. A seedling as good as Yu Zhao, and yet she was not from Tai Bai Academy.

Their academy would never suppress its own disciples like some other places.

That old fellow Ji Yuan was truly blessed.

As for Master Qing Yan…

Tsk. Better not mention him.

What bad luck.

“Yu Zhao.” Dean Mo Xin’s voice was as gentle as it could be, as if speaking too harshly would scare her. “You did the right thing. Li Da is not a bad person at his core, but his view is a bit narrow. This time, you have helped him.”

“Dean, you give me too much credit.”

“Hahaha, you don’t need to be so modest. You know what I mean.” Dean Mo Xin said with a smile. “Li Da’s words were out of line before. I will give you something as compensation. Let’s call it even between you two. What do you think?”

“Dean.”

Yu Zhao stood up and gave him a formal bow.

Dean Mo Xin froze. “What are you doing?”

He had only wanted to give Yu Zhao a small gift. Even if she did not want to accept it, there was no need for such a big salute.

“There is something this junior wishes to ask the dean. I hope Senior will not hold back his guidance.”

Dean Mo Xin’s heart gave a small jump. He straightened his back and sat properly.

Yu Zhao suddenly looked up. Her eyes met Dean Mo Xin’s directly, and she spoke each word clearly: “May I ask if the dean knows about the change in the Heavenly Ladder?”

Before her voice even faded, Yu Zhao felt a terrifying pressure crash down on her. She let out a muffled sound and staggered back several steps.

Dean Mo Xin snapped out of it, pulled his pressure back at once, and his face grew as dark as water.

Yu Zhao steadied herself again. She did not rush him, only stood there with her hands at her sides.

She did not know how much time passed before Dean Mo Xin’s sharp gaze finally fell fully on her. Every inch of Yu Zhao’s skin prickled with pain, like tiny needles.

“Do you understand what you just said?”

“I understand.”

“And you still dare to ask?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?”

After that question and answer, silence fell over the bamboo lodge once more.

“Yu Zhao, this is not a question you should be asking.” Dean Mo Xin said slowly. “At least, not yet.”

“Dean, you are wrong.”

“Oh?”

“Time waits for no one. Right now is the best time.”

Now that she knew the Heavenly Ladder had undergone a shocking change, to ignore it and only start thinking of ways to fix things at the last moment would be the lowest grade of strategy.

Yu Zhao preferred to prepare as much as possible first. Only then would she take action. Even if she failed, she would still have time to start over.

Her gaze was steady and firm. She had clearly made up her mind and would not be shaken.

Dean Mo Xin suddenly asked: “If I refuse to tell you, what will you do?”

“If you will not tell me, I can still ask Sect Master Bai Lian, Sect Master Chong Yang, Abbot Jie Tan, or Valley Master Flying Leaf.”

She believed that at least one of them would be willing to tell her the truth.