Chapter 73

Chapter 73: The Battle Begins

Lin Zhao nodded once. “Then bring your people with me. We’ll prepare together.”

Liu Wen Dong blinked. “Prepare for what?”

“Tomorrow.”

Even after everything they had seen, the word stunned them.

“The sooner the better,” Lin Zhao said. “Now that we have the strength to strike back, it’s time to answer them in kind.”

Humiliation flashed through Xu Cheng Feng’s eyes—weeks of it, swallowed until it turned bitter. Liu Wen Dong’s fists clenched.

Their fighting spirit surged like wildfire.

When Lin Zhao brought the two squads back to her main force, the entire camp erupted.

Cheers rolled through the trees, shaking leaves loose.

Before, Lin Zhao’s side had been weaker than Zhao Ji Xing’s in combat power above Third-Layer Enlightenment. But in Liu Wen Dong and Xu Cheng Feng’s teams, even the weakest member was Third-Layer Enlightenment.

The gap nearly vanished in one night.

Lin Zhao stood before the gathered crowd, expression solemn.

“Tomorrow,” she said, voice carrying, “we launch the final battle.”

The camp fell silent.

“I will fight Zhao Ji Xing.” Her gaze swept the crowd. “Holy Son Qu Shu and Ming Yue will hold off the other two. The rest is up to you.”

She didn’t soften the truth.

“If we win, we split their points and enter the academy in glory. If we lose, our points—and our lives—will be in other people’s hands.”

Her grip tightened around Bone Sword.

“Are you willing to fight with me?”

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

More than 300 people raised their arms, voices roaring into the sky.

That same day, Lu Yuan posted the declaration of war on Heavenlink Mirror’s South Sea Plaza.

The message set the entire plaza ablaze.

It wasn’t only teachers and higher-ups watching the New Student Grand Tournament now. Even senior students couldn’t resist commenting on a clash involving more than two-thirds of this year’s freshmen.

“Heh. This batch can really stir things up. They actually split into two factions.”

“Both leaders reached Great Perfection of Enlightenment, right? That’s almost on par with some fourth-year seniors. Terrifying.”

“They say it’s the best class in nearly a hundred years.”

As the discussion heated, it drifted into betting.

“Come on, place your bets! Fifty low-grade spirit stones to start. Which team?”

“To show my love for Immortal Maiden Wang Shu, I’m backing Zhao Ji Xing’s team.”

“Do you have to be that honest? Love? You’re worse than Turtle Wretch Shen.”

“Life leaves me no choice. Even if my love for Immortal Maiden Wang Shu flows like an endless river, I’m broke lately. My goddess probably doesn’t want me to starve, then go to the underworld and burn paper money to prove my devotion, right?”

“…”

The next day, Lin Zhao opened Heavenlink Mirror and saw the odds.

One to ten.

She stared at the numbers in silence.

Lu Yuan rubbed his nose. “Even though our top fighters aren’t much worse than theirs, we’re still behind.”

Lin Zhao waved him off. “Don’t comfort me. They think I’m not a match for Zhao Ji Xing. That’s why they’re betting against us.”

She paused. “Can we bet too?”

Lu Yuan’s mouth twitched. “Only teachers and students inside the South Sea Academy can place bets. We’re still outside.”

Then, with a faint grin, he asked, “Captain, are you short on money?”

Lin Zhao gave him a slow look and shook her head with deliberate mystery.

In truth, after buying ingredients for pills and everything Granny demanded, she was broke too.

Holy Son Qu Shu spoke up. “I know someone inside the academy. I can ask him to place a bet for us.”

Lin Zhao’s eyes lit.

“Bet 100,000 low-grade spirit stones for me,” she said at once. “On me.”

With odds of one to ten, that meant—

1,000,000 low-grade spirit stones.

Just imagining it made her feel rich.

Holy Son Qu Shu nodded calmly, as if she had asked him to borrow a cup of water.

When the final betting window closed, Lin Zhao raised her arm and led her forces toward Zhao Ji Xing’s camp.

Unlike Lin Zhao’s side, which had stayed hidden behind formations, Zhao Ji Xing’s trio kept their camp exposed. They never used concealment formations, always ready to screen for talent—or weakness.

It didn’t take long to find them.

Zhao Ji Xing stood at the front, arms crossed, expression amused as he watched Lin Zhao’s group approach.

When he saw Lin Zhao leading them, a mocking laugh spilled from his throat.

“A stray dog that ran away a month ago,” he said, voice loud enough for everyone, “now dares to come bark in my face?”

Lin Zhao didn’t flare. She smiled instead, cold and bright. “The person hasn’t even spoken, but the dog is already barking because its bone is about to be stolen.”

Zhao Ji Xing’s gaze swept over her people, then flicked to Holy Son Qu Shu and Ming Yue at her sides. His smile sharpened. “If you formal students quit Lin Zhao’s team right now, I can still spare you.”

Not a single person moved.

Not a single voice answered him.

Zhao Ji Xing’s grin widened, predatory. “Good. Very good. So you lowborn disciples have decided to treat her like some rebel hero?”

Lin Zhao’s smile vanished. Bone Sword slid free with a clean whisper of steel. “Then let me make it clear. During this fight, anyone who quits Zhao Ji Xing’s team—” her voice cut through the air like a blade “—I, Lin Zhao, will not pursue them.”

The moment she finished, wavering flickered through Zhao Ji Xing’s ranks.

He could feel it.

Used to being number one, Zhao Ji Xing couldn’t tolerate anyone’s influence outshining his.

His eyes darkened. “What are you staring at? Move!”

Jia Lan stepped forward, face cold, and went straight for Holy Son Qu Shu.

Ji Xiao, carrying a massive saber, swung a single slash at Ming Yue.

The instant the three Newcomer Kings moved, the battle erupted.

Cultivators on both sides found opponents and crashed together, blade light and spiritual energy tearing through the forest like storms.

But everyone knew the true battlegrounds.

Holy Son Qu Shu versus Jia Lan.

Ming Yue versus Ji Xiao.

And Zhao Ji Xing versus Lin Zhao.

Especially the last duel.

Whichever side won that fight would take the tournament.

Lin Zhao faced Zhao Ji Xing, exhaled once, and steadied her grip.

“This will be a tough fight,” she said quietly.

Zhao Ji Xing sneered. “A tough fight? Are you insulting me?”