Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Yao Nian, Lu Yuan

Lin Zhao looked at herself in the scene and answered calmly, “I seek the Dao and follow it. The Dao I cultivate is simple: the world saves me, I save the world. If people offend me, I pay them back to the last penny. By your logic, if every Buddhist Sect disciple sacrifices the self to fulfill enemies, then all Demons under heaven would become the Buddhist Sect’s gods.”

The voice didn’t respond at once.

Then it said, “Then we’ll see whether your Dao can carry you down your road.”

Darkness swallowed Lin Zhao.

In that darkness, curses and mockery swarmed her. Familiar cries echoed—pleading, laughing, dying.

Pale faces emerged at her feet, crowding close.

Lin Zhao formed seals with both hands and tapped the void.

A streak of white light burst forth.

It drew itself into runes, illuminating everything around her. She found the faint thread of golden light in her Sea of Consciousness and exhaled.

So the voice had been testing whether she would chase both the Dao and a spotless reputation.

Too bad the Lin Zhao who had already died once didn’t care about spotless reputation.

She guided the golden light into her body.

The moment it touched her flesh, Lin Zhao’s eyes snapped open.

Her awareness returned to her body. Her skin prickled with fine tremors, as if something crawled through her blood and bone. It was like being reshaped from the inside.

Lin Zhao clenched her teeth and circulated spiritual energy according to Indestructible Golden Body, letting the golden light roam through her meridians.

After one full circulation, exhaustion hit like a hammer. Still holding the egg, she fell backward into Spirit Sparrow Pond.

This kind of training continued for another seven or eight days.

While Lin Zhao suffered through body-tempering and spirit techniques, the New Student Grand Tournament in the outer and mid areas of the forest burned just as fiercely.

—

Under the blazing sun, in a clearing near the forest’s edge that could hold a hundred people, a fiery red whip carrying rolling heat snapped across the cheek of a powerless girl of eight or nine who had fallen to the ground.

Her cheek split open at once.

But she didn’t dare cry out. Afraid of dragging her companions down, she clutched her arm and retreated, inch by inch.

The group ahead realized she’d fallen behind and hurried back. One person raised a sword and blocked the next whip strike.

“Chen Wei Wei, don’t go too far!” the boy snarled, veins bulging at his temple. “Princess Nian Nian is Yong Hui Emperor Lord’s most beloved youngest daughter! If you dare touch her, are you trying to spark a war between the two Empires?”

The maiden holding the whip—Chen Wei Wei—tilted her head and smiled.

Her face had already recovered. But remembering Lin Zhao’s humiliation made her anger burn without end.

So over the past half month, while robbing jade tokens from weaker teams, she’d also taken pleasure in ruining the faces of the girls she encountered.

Only when prettier faces turned ugly did her fury feel soothed.

Now, she’d set her sights on the Yong Hui Empire team—especially Yao Nian.

At nine, Yao Nian was already at peak Foundation Establishment, delicate as carved jade and snow.

Looking at a child whose talent and beauty both surpassed hers, Chen Wei Wei’s jealousy turned her eyes red.

Yong Hui Empire had originally chosen to attach themselves to the number one Newcomer King, Zhao Ji Xing. But Chen Wei Wei had egged Jia Lan into “negotiating.” Zhao Ji Xing gave Jia Lan some face—and kicked Yong Hui’s people out of his team.

Without Zhao Ji Xing’s protection, Yong Hui had no chance against the experts under Jia Lan’s command.

If not for Lu Yuan—third layer of Enlightenment—holding Yao Nian and shielding her, they would’ve been eliminated long ago.

Chen Wei Wei’s lips curled. “Heh. So what if it’s too far? So what if it sparks a conflict? You’re the weakest of the four Empires. What can you do? Trash is trash. Go back to where trash belongs and stop dreaming of things that don’t belong to you!”

She flicked her whip again, eyes gleaming with malice at the Yong Hui disciples who looked like stray dogs.

“Beat them hard for this young lady!”

Lu Yuan felt vicious intent closing in from all directions. This wasn’t just about points. They wanted humiliation—maybe even death.

Yong Hui Empire already had few people. After repeated eliminations, only he and Yao Nian remained, along with three first-layer Enlightenment cultivators.

There was no way to win.

Lu Yuan clenched his teeth. “In a moment, I’ll self-detonate. Take care of the little princess for me. She is our Empire’s future hope. Nothing can happen to her.”

Yao Nian was only nine, yet her talent was said to rival the legends—second in the last 100 years only to Lin Zhao and Ji Wan Tang of back then.

The fading Yong Hui Empire had poured everything into her, gambling their future on her entering the academy.

The other three exchanged glances. “Brother Yuan, we’ll self-detonate instead. You take the little princess and go!”

Chen Wei Wei covered her mouth and giggled. “How touching.”

Then her eyes narrowed, and her voice sharpened. “This young lady will tell you right now—none of you are running away today. You will all die here!”

She finally stopped pretending.

“You’re probably the last of Yong Hui’s young foundation, aren’t you?” she said, sweetness dripping like poison. “Once you die, Yong Hui will eventually be swallowed by the Sacred Light Empire.”

Among the cultivators closing in, the leader at the fifth layer of Enlightenment looked at the little girl in Lu Yuan’s arms and shook his head with false pity.

“Sorry, little princess,” he said. “But this world is like this—the strong prey on the weak. I’m just taking orders. When you reach hell, don’t blame us.”

Yao Nian clutched Lu Yuan’s hand, trying to soothe him with the fragile courage of a child. “Brother Yuan, don’t be afraid. If they kill us, Sister Zhao Zhao will definitely avenge us.”

At that name, admiration flashed across Lu Yuan’s eyes before he forced it down. “Commandery Princess cares about the little princess most,” he said hoarsely. “She will.”

Chen Wei Wei burst into loud laughter. “That Lin Zhao only beat a fifth-layer Enlightenment Ling He. You actually think she’s your savior? In front of the real elites of the Sacred Light Empire, if she dares show her face, she’ll end up just like you.”

She lifted her whip. “Kill them!”

The fifth-layer Enlightenment cultivator swung his blade toward Yao Nian. Lu Yuan hugged her tight, about to ignite his spiritual energy and self-detonate—

A surge of green spirit energy swept in like a tidal wave.

It blasted the blade aside and hurled the attacker backward several meters.

The cultivators around him were caught in it too. More than 10 disciples below the fifth layer of Enlightenment were smashed into dizziness and sent sprawling, unable to rise.

One strike.

More than 10 people down.

Chen Wei Wei’s face drained. For the first time, her sharp voice shook. “Who is your excellency? This is Newcomer King Jia Lan’s team handling matters. Please give your excellency some face.”

She spun, searching—but saw no one.

Just as she started to breathe again, thinking the other side had been scared off by Jia Lan’s name, a voice dropped from above, chilling the air like poured ice.

“You dared touch my Sister. Are you tired of living?”