Chapter 49

Chapter 49: The Blood Phoenix Wan Tang

Above ten thousand mountains, immortal palaces rose amid swirling clouds.

On a railing of black-gold sandalwood sat a red figure.

A maiden in crimson robes narrowed her phoenix eyes as she read the messages on her Heavenlink Mirror.

She was gorgeous and dignified, sharp and commanding. Her skin was white as jade, her lips red as blood. Even sitting with long legs crossed, she radiated dominance—an empress’s presence, with a faint blood-soaked obsession beneath it.

If Lin Zhao was like a cold maiden from the Moon Palace, yet carried a vibrant life that gave people hope…

Then this maiden was something else entirely: a ruler beyond the world, burning and absolute.

“So you killed Chen Luo Luo and took back Phoenix Fortune.” Wan Tang closed the mirror. For the first time in a long while, a ripple stirred in her emotionless phoenix eyes. “Lin Zhao… you’re not so easily crushed after all.”

Her lips curved, sharp and hungry.

“Blood Phoenix and Ancient Phoenix—kings do not share the same sky. You want to take back the Ancient Phoenix Fortune on me.”

Her voice softened, almost tender.

“Then come find me. Lin Zhao… I’ve wanted to devour you for a long time.”

—

After Lin Zhao verified her identity, she received a jade token to participate in the New Student Grand Tournament and a White Belt.

The token was green, and a faint “3” could be seen inside.

“This is your Points Token and your official disciple belt,” the registrar elder said. “Official disciples start the tournament with three points. Non-official participants start with only one.”

Lin Zhao nodded. “Thank you, Senior.”

It was rare to see an officially enrolled newcomer treat an old registrar so politely. The elder couldn’t help glancing at her again.

“Little girl,” he said, squinting, “you look pretty good.”

Lin Zhao froze.

The face created by Disguise Art was ordinary at best.

Could this old man see through her disguise?

Along the way, even Nascent Soul cultivators rarely saw through it. Only a few had.

Cold sweat prickled at her temples. Her respect for the South Sea Academy deepened.

This place truly hid tigers and dragons.

When Lin Zhao reached the area designated for the New Student Grand Tournament, she looked around. Aside from her, most competitors had formed groups already.

She considered the layout, deciding whether to observe first—

When a wave of killing intent slammed toward her.

“You’re the bitch who hurt my brother?!”

A fire-red python whip snapped toward Lin Zhao’s face.

Lin Zhao’s gaze turned cold. She lifted a hand, caught the whip, and stared at the attacker.

A woman in tight red clothes glared viciously. She had an average face but a curvy figure, and the White Belt at her waist proved she wasn’t weak.

Lin Zhao understood instantly.

Chen Wei Wei.

Lin Zhao held the whip’s end and mocked, “No wonder he can’t control his foul mouth. It runs in the family.”

Her arrogance stunned the onlookers.

“Does this country girl even know who she’s offending? That’s Chen Wei Wei, the Sacred Light Empire prime minister’s legitimate eldest daughter—and Newcomer King Jia Lan’s fiancée.”

“This country girl is at first level Enlightenment? I haven’t heard of her on the newcomer ranking.”

“Heh. Either way, Chen Wei Wei is truly at the fourth layer of Enlightenment. Early and mid Enlightenment aren’t so easy to cross.”

“And Chen Wei Wei is vicious. That girl is as good as dead.”

Chen Wei Wei sensed Lin Zhao’s cultivation too, and any caution vanished. Her eyes filled with venom. “Bitch, if you won’t take the hint, don’t blame me for killing you here today!”

Real killing intent seeped from her words. She tried to yank the whip back.

Nothing.

No matter how she pulled, the end of the whip stayed firmly in Lin Zhao’s hand.

Chen Wei Wei’s face flushed with humiliation. “Insolent! Let go!” She spat, eyes bulging. “Bitch, I’ll make you beg for life and fail, beg for death and fail! Once you’re in my hands, I’ll throw you into the Sacred Light Empire’s number one brothel—let you be used by ten thousand men and trampled by a thousand!”

Lin Zhao didn’t react. She still held the whip with one hand, steady as stone. With the other, she pinched the bridge of her nose like she had a headache.

Chen Wei Wei and Chen Luo Luo really were both Chens.

Same hollow cultivation. Same unstable foundation.

Their physiques were so weak they weren’t even as strong as a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator.

Without strange techniques forcing them upward, they would be trapped in Enlightenment for the rest of their lives.

“I don’t know what the Sacred Light Empire is like,” Lin Zhao said calmly, “but the prime minister’s residence sure raised two filthy dogs that can only spit shit from their mouths.”

Chen Wei Wei’s eyes went red. She yanked again, harder.

Lin Zhao loosened her grip.

Chen Wei Wei had been pulling with all her strength. The whip snapped back from its own elasticity and lashed Chen Wei Wei across the face.

She wasn’t prepared.

Skin split. Blood sprayed.

The face that had been merely average turned into something twisted and ugly.

A black-clad maiden nearby snorted with laughter. She leaned toward her companion. “A mid-Enlightenment cultivator getting smacked by her own weapon? With a body that weak, how did she get an official disciple slot at the South Sea Academy?”

Her companion’s amusement was open. Their faction opposed the Sacred Light Empire; they already disliked its people. “She’s all bark. They look down on Lin Zhao, but Lin Zhao at least killed plenty of Demon Clan in the Mortal Domain. If Phoenix Fortune hadn’t been stolen—if she hadn’t been held back by feelings—she might have truly become someone.”

The black-clad maiden was about to speak again when her expression changed. “But this clown just brought trouble.”

Lin Zhao sensed it too.

A sword flashing with icy light skimmed past her and struck the ground beside her.

Lin Zhao’s expression turned serious.

A tall figure emerged slowly, surrounded by a crowd. His presence pressed outward, arrogant and bright.

“May I ask who your excellency is?” the man said, voice controlled but edged. “To strike so harshly over a few words is a bit excessive, isn’t it?”

Lin Zhao’s gaze locked onto him.

Jia Lan.

He really knew how to twist right and wrong. Chen Wei Wei and Chen De Le had started with insults, then turned murderous the moment she talked back.

Now he was painting her as the brutal, arrogant one.

Before the tournament even began, being branded that way would make her a target.

Lin Zhao refused to be anyone’s scapegoat.

“Crown Prince Jia Lan,” she said evenly, “you jest. If your fiancée and her brother hadn’t insulted the Lin Family and attacked first, I wouldn’t have needed to strike back to protect myself.”

Jia Lan looked at Chen Wei Wei’s shredded, bloody face. He fought down disgust, handed her a healing elixir, then turned back with an increasingly hostile stare.

“Oh?” he said. “Are you saying my fiancée is the one at fault?”

His tone carried the clear intent to bully her with power.

It was unfair.

And to Jia Lan, it was natural.

Strength ruled this world. Those born ordinary deserved to be crushed.

“According to what I’ve heard,” Jia Lan continued, “De Le was only speaking about the Lin Family, and your excellency provoked him first. What exactly are you plotting?”

Lin Zhao snorted. “So Chen De Le’s filthy insults count as ‘just talking,’ but when I respond, it’s ‘provoking’?” She tilted her head slightly, eyes cold. “Crown Prince of the Sacred Light Empire… what are you plotting?”

Then she lifted a hand and lightly tapped her cheek.

Under the shocked gazes of the crowd, Disguise Art peeled away from her plain features.

Her true face emerged—fair and stunning, beautiful enough to make breaths catch.

Someone recognized her and blurted, voice cracking with disbelief.

“Lin Zhao?!”