Chapter 77

Chapter 77: The Tournament Ends

Wrathless Aspect unfolded fully.

Golden lotuses and Buddhist light flowed around Lin Zhao, her spiritual energy drained thin—but the momentum she carried now only grew heavier, purer, terrifying in its steadiness.

Ji Xiao stared.

Even then, his confidence didn’t crack. His cultivation was nearly two layers above hers, and he had unleashed Blood God Sacrifice.

“What crooked trick is this?” he snarled. “I’ll tear it apart!”

The Blood Eye between his brows had gathered enough power.

A terrifying beam erupted.

It shot straight at Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao stepped into the light.

No dodge.

No block.

She let the beam—one that could obliterate most Great Perfection Enlightenment cultivators—slam into her head-on.

Ji Xiao sneered. “Courting death!”

The beam carved a straight line through the forest. The ground shattered. Trees exploded one after another. Dust and smoke swallowed the battlefield.

When the Blood Eye could no longer sense Lin Zhao’s aura, it began to close.

Slowly.

Confidently.

Then—

A sky-blue figure tore through the smoke.

Huge azure Phoenix Wings spread behind Lin Zhao.

She appeared in front of Ji Xiao and slammed a punch into his smiling face.

“You’re the one courting death!”

Ji Xiao’s eyes went wide.

He didn’t have time to gather the pitiful spiritual energy left for defense before Lin Zhao kicked him to the ground and fell on him like a storm.

Her strikes came mercilessly.

Front.

Back.

Side.

Again.

Again.

Again.

If Ji Xiao hadn’t clawed back a shred of reason—guarding his vitals against her most vicious blows—she would have crippled him first and killed him after.

“I concede!” he screamed, voice cracking. “Teacher! Save me!”

Lin Zhao seized his throat and hurled him into the nearest tree.

Ji Xiao slammed into bark and spat blood, clutching his chest. His once devilishly handsome face was swollen beyond recognition. Worse, Lin Zhao had driven spiritual force into his inner organs—now even the slightest attempt to circulate spiritual power sent tearing pain through him.

Then, as he collapsed beneath the tree, the smoke vanished in an instant.

The world returned to stillness, as if the battle had never happened.

An aged voice sounded, dry with amusement. “Little girl. Done beating him?”

Something in heaven and earth shifted.

An old man in academy uniform stood where the voice came from.

Beside him were all the disciples who had taken part in the final clash—including Zhao Ji Xing, pale and stiff, newly returned.

When Lin Zhao saw the disciples who had seemed to vanish inside Ji Xiao’s Core Aspect reappear, she didn’t look surprised.

If the South Sea Academy couldn’t restrain someone like Ji Xiao, it wouldn’t deserve to stand at the top of the Heavenly Phoenix Continent.

The old man’s eyes narrowed, catching the calm understanding in her gaze. He smiled faintly. “Such a clever little girl. When did you figure it out?”

Lin Zhao’s voice was steady. “When I realized his Core Aspect couldn’t hurt me.”

The old man nodded, approval flickering. “Then listen carefully.”

His voice rang across the quiet forest.

“I announce that Lin Zhao is first place in this tournament. Every member of her team, no matter who, may enter the South Sea Academy.”

A tremor of disbelief passed through the crowd.

“Other higher-cultivation disciples will receive their opponents’ full points and obtain their belts according to the points they currently have.” His gaze turned cold. “As for Ji Xiao’s team—besides the original official disciples—everyone else is eliminated.”

His eyes flicked to Lin Zhao. “Are you satisfied with this plan?”

Lin Zhao asked without hesitation, “If I’m first, what color belt do I get?”

The old man’s smile twitched, and for the first time, he broke into a faint cold sweat.

[No wonder they dumped this job on me.]

“You,” he said carefully, “Holy Son Qu Shu, and Ming Yue will all receive green belts. How about that?”

Lin Zhao’s lips curved. “Thank you, Teacher.”

The old man huffed a laugh and shook his head. “Good. This tournament is over.”

He lifted his hand.

“I announce the top five: Lin Zhao, Ji Xiao, Zhao Ji Xing, Holy Son Qu Shu, and Ming Yue.”

His gaze sharpened again. “Ji Xiao and Zhao Ji Xing will receive only white belts.”

White belt was the lowest tier.

Since the tournament began, this was the first time two people in the freshmen top five had been given only white belts.

But neither could complain.

If they hadn’t already been official disciples, their ending would have been to slink home in disgrace.

Strangely, the disciples who had followed Ji Xiao didn’t radiate dark hatred toward Lin Zhao.

When fear had swallowed the battlefield, it was Lin Zhao who had carved out space and forced people to safety.

No matter her motive, she had saved them.

Lin Zhao sensed it and said nothing.

She had acted mainly to protect her own people. The others had been collateral.

In the end, she had no life-or-death grudges with most of them. On the battlefield against the Demon Clan, they would all be comrades.

She wasn’t so narrow-minded that she would deny that.

With the belt color she wanted secured, Lin Zhao finally let her body go limp.

Her eyes closed.

The next moment, she fell into an embrace scented faintly with orchids.

“Rest well,” Holy Son Qu Shu murmured near her ear. “Leave the rest to me.”

Yao Nian took a step forward, unable to help herself.

Ming Yue caught her hand and smiled. “What are you trying to do?”

Yao Nian pouted. “I could carry her too.”

Ming Yue rubbed her head. “Sister Zhao Zhao is exhausted. Let’s take her to rest first. Tomorrow we report to the academy and receive awards. We still have one night to recover.”

Once it was confirmed that Lin Zhao, Holy Son Qu Shu, and Ming Yue had received green belts, the tournament ended for good.

Eliminated disciples left in embarrassment or were escorted away by the academy’s hidden teachers.

Those who hadn’t done well but still managed to enter the South Sea Academy drifted away in small groups, full of regret.

The disciples who remained—Lin Zhao’s people—wanted to thank her, to shout, to celebrate.

But when they saw her asleep in Holy Son Qu Shu’s arms, they swallowed their excitement and left it for later.

In the time it took an incense stick to burn, the freshmen scattered and went their separate ways.

Holy Son Qu Shu gave orders for tents and resting places. Ming Yue sat nearby, chin propped on her hand, watching quietly.

All of it was displayed in a crystal image inside an elegant room within the South Sea Academy.

But everyone in that room had their eyes fixed on the sleeping young woman.

After a long silence, Vice Dean Mo Ya closed her eyes and spoke softly. “Tournament matters are handled. I will personally go to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect and ask Immortal Venerable Yun Ding about the rules.”

The academy higher-ups exchanged looks.

No one spoke against it.

Two months—First-Layer Enlightenment to Great Perfection.

A white-browed elder couldn’t help sighing. “This Lin Zhao… give her time, and she may become even more terrifying than Ji Wan Tang.”