Chapter 80

Chapter 80: The Lin Family in Trouble

The moment Mo Ya raised her hand, the murmurs below died out in a handful of breaths.

After a brief self-introduction and a short welcome, she smiled. “You probably didn’t come here to listen to empty pleasantries, so we’ll get straight to it. We’ll begin handing out the belts your teams earned in the New Student Grand Tournament. When I call your name, go to Instructor Han Yan and collect your White Belt.”

A petite woman with an icy face—Instructor Han Yan—lifted her fingers. In an instant, a long staircase of frost formed in midair. She stepped down it as if she were walking a familiar path, descending from the high platform with effortless grace.

Spirit Qi Conjuration. Those in the Enlightenment Realm could manage it too, but not like this—not so clean, so smooth, so casual.

Her cultivation… early Spirit Transformation, most likely.

The South Sea Academy truly had deep roots.

Official instructors were almost all at Spirit Transformation. No wonder the academy could stand as one of the three great powers on the Heavenly Phoenix Continent.

Han Yan landed at the front, about ten steps away from the first row of freshmen. With a flick of her hand, a table and two chairs appeared out of thin air. She said nothing. She pulled a thick stack of White Belts from her Spatial Ring, set them neatly on the table, then curled two fingers in a beckoning gesture.

It looked less like “come collect your rewards” and more like “come here and let me beat you.”

Paired with Han Yan’s expression—like the entire crowd owed her eight million—every freshman glanced at the others. Not one of them dared step forward.

Han Yan slapped the tabletop. “Are you coming to take them or not? Do I need to invite you?”

Lin Zhao gave the nearest group a helpless wave.

Only then did the freshmen finally shuffle forward, trembling as they collected their belts.

On the platform, Vice Dean Mo Ya’s mouth twitched. Beside her, Xiao Yuan Tian kept his gaze lowered as if he hadn’t seen a thing. “Han Yan only looks cold. She’s warm-hearted. These disciples will understand her good intentions sooner or later.”

Mo Ya’s smile didn’t change. “Next, when I call your name, go to Discipline Director Xiao Yuan Tian and collect your Red Belt.”

Xiao Yuan Tian rose and dropped to the ground in a plain, unshowy arc. With a Spirit Qi Conjuration, he formed a table and chairs beside his wife’s, then took the Red Belts from his Spatial Ring.

“Next batch,” Mo Ya continued, voice steady. “Orange Belts. When I call your name, go to the Moral Education Director—Director Bai.”

The white-browed elder drifted down at an unhurried pace, formed his own table and chairs, and laid the Orange Belts on the surface.

“Yellow Belts,” Mo Ya said. “Go to the Finance Director—Director Wu.”

Director Wu was a slightly pudgy middle-aged man who jogged over with the air of someone rushing to catch a bus, not a cultivator. Yet when he raised his hand, he conjured an elegant set of table and chairs so refined it made Lin Zhao glance twice.

“And finally.” Mo Ya’s tone warmed. She produced two shimmering Green Belts and held them up to the light. “I’m pleased to see that in this New Student Grand Tournament, there were disciples who obtained the Green Belt. Qu Shu, Ming Yue—come up and receive them.”

For a beat, the entire venue froze.

Hadn’t they said Lin Zhao also had a Green Belt?

Lin Zhao was puzzled too, but she steadied herself quickly.

What she’d done in the tournament was plain for all to see. She didn’t believe the South Sea Academy would lower her honor beneath Qu Shu and Ming Yue.

Mo Ya looked out over the sea of faces. “Next—considering the special nature of this tournament, everyone’s performance, and at the Venerable Elders’ request—one disciple has obtained a Green Belt no freshman has ever received before.”

She paused, then called clearly, “Lin Zhao, come up!”

The venue erupted.

More than three hundred disciples present were from Lin Zhao’s team. The moment they heard her name, they broke into thunderous cheers.

“Newcomer King Lin Zhao!”

“Newcomer King Lin Zhao!”

“Newcomer King Lin Zhao!”

Lin Zhao hadn’t expected this one-of-a-kind Green Belt. Curiosity flared—especially at the mention of a Venerable Elder—but she kept her expression composed. She flew onto the stage on her sword, then saluted properly. “This student thanks the vice dean.”

Mo Ya’s gaze softened. “Everything you put into this tournament—we all saw it. This Green Belt is recognition of your strength, but it’s also a push. At the South Sea Academy, the minimum requirement to hold a Green Belt is Golden Core cultivation.”

She lifted her hand, palm open, as if weighing the future. “A belt’s color can rise—but it can also drop. Lin Zhao, and all of you: the South Sea has no shortage of geniuses. Everyone who enters here was the pride of their hometown. Whether you can reclaim the crown of heavenly prodigy—though the road is long—will be decided by the days ahead.”

The crowd listened with blood boiling.

Lin Zhao, however, felt a strange tightness in her chest.

So it really wouldn’t be easy to keep.

With her current strength, wouldn’t any random Golden Core cultivator be able to beat her and force her belt down a rank?

Mo Ya’s eyes flicked toward her, and a voice transmission slipped into Lin Zhao’s ears. “Green Belts are hard to earn, but a disciple who holds one can accept Earth-Grade Missions. Complete an Earth-Grade Mission, and you’ll be allowed to cultivate in the academy’s Spirit Qi Pool. By then, breaking through to Golden Core won’t be difficult.”

Lin Zhao’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Vice Dean.”

Mo Ya smiled and nodded.

Lin Zhao fastened the Green Belt around her waist.

From the crowd, Ji Xiao—wrapped in bandages like a rice dumpling—let out a vicious snort through the wrappings. “Let’s see how long she can stay smug.”

Ever since Lin Zhao had scared him into retreat, Zhao Ji Xing no longer had any of his old swagger. The former first-place Newcomer King wore defeat like a second robe. Hearing Ji Xiao, he asked dully, “You’ve been beaten into that state and you’re still acting tough?”

Ji Xiao snorted. “If she’s got the guts, let her kill me.”

Zhao Ji Xing stared at him for a moment, then wordlessly edged farther away.

Ji Xiao’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing?”

Zhao Ji Xing folded his arms and glanced at the belt Ji Xiao had received—the same color as the bandages covering him. “I’m afraid stupidity is contagious. I’m staying away from you.”

He didn’t want to be beaten into a thousand-year mummy like Ji Xiao. It was too humiliating. Ji Xiao could endure people’s strange looks. He couldn’t. He still needed his dignity.

Since the New Student Grand Tournament, Jia Lan had been kicked out of their little circle.

Now, watching the two of them talk as if no one else existed, he curled his lip in a cold sneer.

Dead dogs beaten flat by Lin Zhao. What was there to be proud of?

A thought surfaced. Holding his White Belt, he slipped out of the hall while everyone was still buzzing over enrollment.

He didn’t notice the streak of blue that followed at a distance.

Jia Lan walked all the way to a quiet hillside on campus and opened his Heavenlink Mirror.

“Envoy Chen,” he whispered, “did you succeed on your end?”

From the mirror came a voice Lin Zhao would not have found unfamiliar.

“The Lin Family Old Ancestor is tied down by Immortal Venerable Yun Ding. The Lin Family are all stubborn bones—they’d rather be beaten to death than open their mouths and call Lin Zhao back. But we’ve already taken the Lin Family Matriarch. If she dares do anything even slightly disloyal to the Holy Son, then she can wait for her mother’s memorial day!”

A young woman’s voice—thick with murderous fury—cut through the quiet like a blade.

“You dogs of Yao Chi… what did you just say?!”