Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Delivering Points

Faced with that crushing silver gleam, Lin Zhao recognized danger immediately.

She liked meeting force with force. But she wasn’t stupid.

She retreated.

The spear point slammed into the ground where she’d been standing. The earth exploded. Trees shattered outward like kindling. The shockwave rolled through the forest in a violent ring.

Even Lin Zhao felt her scalp tighten as the debris rained.

If she’d taken that head-on, she wouldn’t have died—but she would’ve paid for it in flesh.

Ling He’s body swayed after the strike. While his ruined hand quietly recovered, he lifted the spear again, eyes murderous.

Lin Zhao’s smile sharpened. “Spear after spear—do you think I’m scared of you?”

She sheathed her sword in one smooth motion, clenched her fists, spread her Phoenix wings, and vanished.

A boom cracked in Ling He’s ears as the air itself exploded.

Then Lin Zhao was right in front of him.

Her fist drove into his stomach.

“Bang!”

The impact was deep, heavy. Inside his body, faint cracking pops rippled—explosive force detonating along his meridians.

Explosive Fist.

He was still an Enlightenment cultivator. The chain of internal blasts made him stagger and choke, but it didn’t leave him helpless.

It did leave him off-balance.

That was enough.

Lin Zhao’s second punch smashed into his face.

Stars burst behind Ling He’s eyes.

Before he could recover, a rope flashed out from Lin Zhao’s hand, snapping around him like a living serpent.

Immortal Binding Rope.

It tightened until he couldn’t move.

Ling He’s vision swam. When he finally managed to steady his head through the dizziness, he felt Lin Zhao’s hands searching over him.

His face changed instantly. “What are you doing?! Shameless!”

Lin Zhao stared at him acting like a chaste young man being violated and felt briefly speechless.

Then she pried the storage device off his belt, erased his soul imprint with a flick of will, and tossed it into her palm.

Ling He’s eyes widened. “Your soul power…”

How could someone at early Enlightenment have a stronger soul than his?

Lin Zhao didn’t bother answering. Granny had trained her soul relentlessly so she could refine pills smoothly once she reached Golden Core. Her soul strength had already reached the limit for cultivators below Golden Core.

Lin Zhao found Ling He’s jade token. Three points.

Satisfied, she smiled. “What a generous delivery.”

“The tournament hasn’t even started!” Ling He roared, struggling against the rope. “You can’t hand in my token! That’s against the rules!”

Lin Zhao looked at him. Her gaze was calm.

Ling He’s whole body prickled. His voice faltered. “What are you going to do? You…”

Lin Zhao knocked him out with a single punch.

“Finally,” she muttered, “some quiet.”

She nudged him with her foot, checked what was inside his storage device, and then tossed the entire thing into her Spatial Ring.

If people don’t offend me, I don’t offend them. If they do, I rob them.

Lin Zhao was very satisfied with this haul.

Granny’s voice drifted in, amused. “His clothes are good quality too.”

Lin Zhao went still for a beat. “Dirty.”

Because the tournament hadn’t truly started yet, Lin Zhao couldn’t hand in Ling He’s token and eliminate him on the spot. So she dragged the Immortal Binding Rope like a leash and hauled his unconscious body deep into the forest.

That night, Ling He woke to the rich smell of roasted meat.

His whole body ached. Instinctively, he reached for the storage device on his belt—and found nothing.

His stomach tightened at the scent. Shame flared hot. He snapped, “A dignified Young Lord of the Noble Houses doing petty theft?! People honor you as Immortal Maiden Wang Shu—what a joke!”

Lin Zhao tore off a piece of roasted meat, tossed it into her mouth, and chewed with lazy elegance. “That’s funny. If I weren’t stronger than you, I’d be dead. So the Sacred Light Empire is allowed to kill and rob, but I’m not allowed to rob you back?”

Ling He choked.

It was true.

If Lin Zhao had fallen into the hands of anyone from the Sacred Light Empire, they would never have spared her. Accusing her now was shameless beyond words.

“And your ambush gave me severe mental trauma,” Lin Zhao went on, taking another bite.

She looked so relaxed it was almost convincing.

“As for ‘Immortal Maiden Wang Shu,’” she added, wiping her fingers with a silk cloth, “I stopped wanting that name a long time ago. If you like it so much, you can have it.”

Ling He’s face turned the color of pig liver.

What kind of Immortal Maiden Wang Shu was this?

A complete scoundrel!

Where did she get that good reputation? Where?!

After she ate her fill, Lin Zhao pulled a spirit couch from her Spatial Ring and lay down as if she were home.

Ling He looked around.

They were inside a cave—wide, deep. He’d been thrown into an inner chamber. Vines blocked the mouth, and faint ripples of spiritual power shimmered over the entrance.

A Restriction Seal.

Once he calmed down, Ling He realized the problem.

Lin Zhao could’ve killed him already, but she hadn’t—because the tournament hadn’t begun.

Once it started, with his things stolen and no way to contact Jia Lan’s team, wouldn’t he be completely at Lin Zhao’s mercy?

The thought turned his blood cold. Sweat slicked his skin. When the night breeze slid through the cave, he shivered as if he’d been dunked in ice.

Early the next morning, Lin Zhao opened her eyes and sat up. Ling He looked worse than when she’d knocked him out—like he’d spent the night drowning in his own fear.

Lin Zhao glanced at him. “Do you want to live?”

Ling He swallowed hard and nodded.

Who wanted to die if they could live? Especially someone with talent like his.

“Then tell me,” Lin Zhao said, voice calm, “how many people the Sacred Light Empire has in this tournament. Besides the Chen siblings and Jia Lan, what are their cultivations? Do they have allies?”

Ling He hesitated.

Then he spoke.

He wasn’t like the Chen siblings. He wasn’t from the Sacred Light Empire. He’d attached himself to Jia Lan because Jia Lan was strong.

He’d expected benefits.

Instead, he’d found trouble—and a female demon.

He regretted it to death.

“The Sacred Light Empire has only five of its own people,” Ling He said. “Besides the Chen siblings, there’s Crown Prince Jia Lan and his twin brother.”

“Jia Lan is at the ninth layer of Enlightenment,” he continued. “The Chen siblings aren’t worth fearing. The twins are both at the fourth layer of Enlightenment, and they cultivated a combined spirit technique together. Even if I faced them, I wouldn’t have the advantage.”

Then, after a quick glance at Lin Zhao, he added, “The people who attached themselves to Jia Lan… more than 100 at peak Foundation Establishment, over 20 at the first to third layers of Enlightenment, and more than 10 at the fourth to sixth. Above that, there are four at the seventh layer, three at the eighth, and two at the ninth.”

Lin Zhao’s expression finally tightened.

That was nearly one sixth of all the tournament disciples.

Partly, it was because the other four Newcomer Kings weren’t interested in gathering followers. But it also proved Jia Lan’s ability—his method of winning people over was formidable.

Ling He hesitated, then added, “Also… I heard Blood Madman Ji Xiao has hostility toward you.”

Lin Zhao froze. “Ji Xiao? I’ve never even crossed paths with him.”

“I heard it’s because after your rise, people started comparing you to Ji Wan Tang again.”

Lin Zhao almost laughed.

The Ji family was truly overbearing. They’d plundered her Phoenix Fortune—and now they couldn’t even stand people mentioning her in the same breath as Ji Wan Tang.

“And he’s gathered quite a few people too,” Ling He said. “I don’t know the details. But even if you have help from Moon Inviting Sect and Penglai Sacred Land, no one is optimistic about you.”

Lin Zhao listened, eyes growing brighter with every word.

Then she said, delighted, “Doesn’t that mean I can get points from nearly a third of the tournament disciples?!”

Ling He gaped at her.

Where did she get that confidence?