Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Undercurrents

Jia Lan jolted so hard the Heavenlink Mirror slipped from his hand and struck the ground.

Before he could even turn toward the voice, Lin Zhao flashed in front of him and clamped a hand around his throat.

His eyes bulged. Air vanished.

With his neck crushed in her grip, Jia Lan could only force out broken sounds, trying to shape them into a threat. “Lin Zhao… if you dare kill me in the academy…”

He never finished.

Lin Zhao snapped his neck with a clean twist.

A small flame landed on the corpse. Flesh and cloth blackened and curled, swallowed by fire until there was nothing left worth calling a body.

Lin Zhao stooped, picked up the fallen Heavenlink Mirror, and stared at the figure on its surface. Her fist tightened, knuckles whitening. “Yao Chi Sacred Land—if you dare touch anyone in the Lin Family, one day I, Lin Zhao, will repay you a hundredfold.”

The young woman on the other side lifted her chin, arrogant and cruel. “Lin Zhao, since you know, come back obediently. Otherwise it won’t just be your mother—the entire Lin Family will fall into endless ruin because of you!”

Lin Zhao answered by punching the mirror to pieces.

The call ended in glittering shards.

“Girl.” Granny Hong Hu’s voice sounded in Lin Zhao’s mind, instinctively urgent. “What are you going to do?”

After spending so long together, Granny understood how much family meant to Lin Zhao. And now they had targeted Lin Zhao’s mother. The fact Lin Zhao hadn’t already gone mad meant she was forcing herself to stay rational.

Lin Zhao’s throat tightened. After a short silence, she said, “I’m going back to the Lin Family. Master—please help your disciple.”

With her current strength, returning to face Yao Chi Sacred Land was walking into death. But with Granny Hong Hu, she at least had a way to fight.

“All right,” Granny said. “Master will go with you. You must stay calm. We still don’t know the Lin Family’s full situation. It might not be as bad as you fear.”

Lin Zhao tugged her lips into something that wasn’t quite a smile. Comfort didn’t reach her eyes.

“Shen Yu Han…” She rolled the name across her tongue like a bitter pill. Her eyes reddened, and her teeth ground together. “If anything happens to my mother, I will fight you to the death.”

She didn’t waste a moment after that.

Lin Zhao went straight to Instructor Han Yan—the mentor overseeing this year’s freshmen—and requested a three-month leave.

Han Yan’s brows furrowed. “You just enrolled, and you want three months of leave? That’s unreasonable.”

Lin Zhao had come prepared. “I can guarantee that when I return, I’ll be at the Golden Core Realm.”

Three months—from tenth level of Enlightenment to Golden Core?

Han Yan studied her, as if deciding whether the girl understood the distance between those two realms at all. After a brief hesitation, she said, “Even though I’m the head mentor, approving three months of personal leave isn’t something I can decide alone. I need to ask my superior.”

“How long?” Lin Zhao asked, unable to keep the edge out of her voice.

“The vice dean is away,” Han Yan said. “At least three days.”

Three days.

Lin Zhao’s face went pale in an instant.

Han Yan was about to speak again when her expression shifted—subtle, as if she’d heard something that made even her pause. When her face settled, her gaze turned heavier. “A Venerable Elder has specially approved your three-month leave. Lin Zhao. Come.”

Lin Zhao froze. “A Venerable Elder?”

“The South Sea has four Venerable Elders,” Han Yan said. “Their status is above the dean. The dean is rarely at the academy; major matters are handled by the vice deans and the Venerable Elders. Two of the Venerable Elders think highly of you.”

Lin Zhao didn’t understand why elders she’d never met would favor her, or why they’d stepped in for her more than once. She still bowed toward the direction Han Yan had been facing. “This junior thanks the Venerable Elders.”

She turned to leave.

“Wait.” Han Yan stopped her. “You’re planning to go alone?”

Lin Zhao paused. “Instructor, what do you mean?”

“You’re a student of the South Sea now.” Han Yan’s tone didn’t soften, but something firm settled beneath it. “The South Sea Academy won’t let a student face danger alone. This time, I’m going with you.”

Lin Zhao hesitated. This time, she would be facing Yao Chi Sacred Land.

“I know what you’re worried about,” Han Yan said, reading it cleanly. “But a mere Yao Chi Sacred Land isn’t enough to make the South Sea Academy afraid.”

The weight in Lin Zhao’s chest eased—only a little, but enough that she could breathe again. “This student thanks you, Instructor.”

Han Yan shook her head. “Your talent has drawn the attention of the Venerable Elders. The academy will naturally train you as a Seed Student. Lin Zhao—wherever you go, your strength is what matters most.”

Lin Zhao nodded hard. The frantic pressure that had driven her through the tournament tightened into something steadier, colder.

If she hadn’t taken first place, even if the academy was willing to protect her, it wouldn’t value her like this.

“To save time, we’ll go straight to the academy’s Teleportation Array,” Han Yan said. “Stay close. The array tears at space. Your current strength isn’t enough to withstand it alone.”

…

After Han Yan finished reporting what she’d heard on the Heavenlink Mirror, Discipline Director Xiao Yuan Tian’s brows drew together.

The white-browed elder, Director Bai, glanced at him. “What—can’t bear to let your Han Yan go?”

Xiao Yuan Tian shook his head. “It’s not that. This is strange. We’ve already announced that Lin Zhao is the South Sea Academy’s first-place winner in the New Student Grand Tournament. The world knows how the South Sea operates. Why would Yao Chi Sacred Land dare cause trouble for the Lin Family at a time like this?”

Finance Director Wu clicked his golden abacus thoughtfully. “Could they be backed by the Yin Yang Palace or Thunder Hall?”

“If it really is those two,” Xiao Yuan Tian said, eyes narrowing, “that would actually be fine.”

The South Sea Academy competed with the Yin Yang Palace and Thunder Hall, but their relationship was decent.

But neither of those forces felt like the kind that would pull a move like this.

“I’m telling you, Old Xiao, you’re overthinking it.” Director Wu waved lazily. “Yao Chi Sacred Land’s lead representative, Immortal Venerable Ling Yao, treats Shen Yu Han like her life. And Shen Yu Han is a madman. It’s not strange for them to do something like this.”

The argument was… plausible. Xiao Yuan Tian’s shoulders loosened a fraction, but the wrongness remained.

“No.” He stood. “Even if Immortal Venerable Ling Yao is crazy, she doesn’t have the nerve to challenge the South Sea Academy outright. Something’s off.”

He turned to Director Bai. “Leave the freshmen to you. I’ll follow in secret. Just to be safe.”

The white-browed elder nodded. “Better safe than sorry. Go.”

…

In the northeast of the Heavenly Phoenix Continent, in Lin Family City.

The once-bustling city was surrounded by layers of guards. The Lin Family’s direct line—once honored within the city—was trapped inside the Lin Family estate, forced to kneel in the main hall in a posture of humiliation.

“Let them stand.” Chen Ling Han, draped in white palace robes, swept a contemptuous gaze over the kneeling Lin Family members. “You’re stubborn. You’re practically at death’s door and you still won’t call that so-called fated Phoenix Maiden back.”

A young man pinned to his knees under Yao Chi’s pressure lifted his head, mockery sharp in his eyes. “Even if we die, we won’t call her back. Yao Chi Sacred Land—so long as the Young Lord lives, she will swallow this humiliation back one day!”