Chapter Twenty-Seven: Striking Back

A glint of coldness flashed in Lian Yangxia’s eyes, but he suppressed it, deftly flicking his wrist to weave a flurry of sword flowers, shattering every shard of icy blade. Yet at the final moment, he raised his left arm to block the last piece of ice. The chill pierced his sturdy arm, and bright red blood dripped steadily from his trembling limb.

Jiang Wangshu frowned, unable to fathom why Lian Yangxia would act this way; she had seen clearly that he possessed the skill to evade entirely. She was about to step forward, but a hand stopped her. Following the arm, she saw Lian Yangxia’s handsome profile, his head bowed, stormy eyes settling into calm. His lips parted slightly, his voice soft enough to slip past the ear unnoticed.

“The Sword Cultivation Department has long been dissatisfied, and now faces imminent cancellation. If this escalates, they’ll cancel it early, and there’ll be no classes left.”
“The teachers of the Sword Cultivation Department would lose their jobs too.”
He hated to see those teachers, still toiling to perfect their swordsmanship, forced by age to roam the streets for work.

He finished, hiding his bloodied left hand behind his back, urgently gesturing for them to retreat. “Gu Xiu, truly a prodigy of the Magic Cultivation Department, this ice is quite something…”

Gu Xiu’s eyes were like frozen pools, cold radiance swirling about him. “Do you take me for a fool? None of you are leaving today.”
With that, he chanted an incantation, and frost spread in all directions. “Today, I’ll see the true strength of Lian Yangxia.”

“Get out of the way!”
Lian Yangxia unleashed his spiritual power, flinging the freshmen behind him aside, his spirit sword tracing a semicircular arc of light to block the onslaught of ice shards.

Thud, thud, thud!
Jiang Wangshu steadied herself, watching the ice shards sink deep into the earth behind Lian Yangxia. Clearly, the opponent held nothing back; had those shards struck a person, they would be pierced like a sieve.

She had just regained her footing when You Jie waved at the nearby magic cultivators. “Come on, everyone! The Sword Cultivation students are kindly helping us practice our spells—don’t miss out!”

Dozens of magic cultivators gathered, laughing merrily.
“Thank you, Sword Cultivation students.”
“Such harmonious and selfless help from the Sword Cultivation Department—we’ll treat you to our finest spells in return.”

The magic cultivators had always looked down on those who only practiced swordsmanship. In their eyes, sword cultivators were nothing but lowly bugs: weak spiritual power, few sword techniques, poverty-stricken, wasting the school’s resources—utterly beneath their dignity.

The rumor had spread that the Sword Cultivation Department would soon be abolished; even the school had little regard for them, so the magic cultivators cared even less. Conflict was commonplace.

Now, with a legitimate excuse and someone leading the charge, they were all too happy to join in. Especially Jiang Wangshu, who had offended Jiang Ningguang and then Zhang Lingyin, stirring up the hearts of their idols—against her, they showed no mercy.

Every formidable spell was unleashed.
In an instant, nine Sword Cultivation students were forced apart, while the magic cultivators toyed with them, chasing the sword cultivators across the grounds like monkeys.

“Please, let me go. I’m not with them!”
“Why are you doing this to me? I’m just a freshman…”

Jiang Wangshu, lacking experience, barely dodged under the system’s guidance as a dozen people beset her.
She remembered Lian Yangxia’s words and didn’t retaliate immediately. Instead, she took out her communication jade and started a live broadcast.

“This isn’t practice—it’s murder!” she shouted, feigning indignation.

The magic cultivators laughed. “Who’s dying? You’re exaggerating! Sword cultivators are nothing but a bunch of monkeys.”

“Look at your classmates—how they jump! Like monkey kings reborn.”

Scattered comments appeared on the stream.
[What the hell, this is infuriating.]
[Who are these people!]
[Sword cultivators, serves them right!]

She swept her jade around to capture the scene of the group beating, ensuring the audience saw it all.

She shouted, “We came to the training grounds first, but if you need it, we’ll leave. Why treat us sword cultivators like this?”

Zhang Lingyin, watching Jiang Wangshu’s unhappy face, laughed gleefully, her voice like silver bells. “Jiang Wangshu, don’t say that! We’re just helping you practice spells. Since you sword cultivators are tough-skinned, you’re perfect for it.”

Jiang Wangshu dodged a blast of flame, half her face blackened by smoke. “A bunch of sophomores picking on freshmen—aren’t you going too far… ah…”

She let out a theatrical scream, closed the live stream, and quickly processed the recording for monetization and promotion.

The dozen viewers who remained exploded instantly.
[Where is she! Did she get killed?]

[Dozens of magic cultivators against a few sword cultivators—someone could die!]
[Report, report. Cultivation is meant to protect, not bully classmates.]

Terrified, the viewers forwarded the video, drawing a crowd and quietly brewing a storm.

In reality, Jiang Wangshu had secured her evidence. Changing from evasive to resolute, she stood straight as a pillar, green spiritual power erupting gloriously.

“A contest of spells, is it? Then come witness the sword cultivators’ magic.”

“First move: Willow Leaves as Blades.”

Green spiritual power gathered into slender willow leaves, translucent and encircling Jiang Wangshu, like jade sculptures refracting gentle light in the sun, swiftly advancing toward the magic cultivators.

“Bragging without shame!” Zhang Lingyin sneered. “Go ahead, do your worst. If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility.”

The magic cultivators drew their golden talismans, smirking as they formed their incantations.

Mid-spell, they realized the willow leaves pierced right through the golden shields, slicing into their bodies.

Their hearts raced with shock—how could this be!

A flash of light protected them, their magical robes absorbing the attack, but the willow leaves vanished.
Meanwhile, their robes faded to ashen gray, ruined and useless.

The magic cultivators' hearts bled; their expensive robes, bought at great cost, were now destroyed.

They raised their heads, spiritual power fueled by rage, unleashing it recklessly.

Fire, wood, earth—multicolored spiritual light engulfed Jiang Wangshu.

Zhang Lingyin’s eyes flashed coldly, arms crossed, waiting to see Jiang Wangshu’s miserable state to soothe her resentment.

She was already calculating which healer to call, what medicines to use, how to torment Jiang Wangshu with pain beyond life and death.

“Second move: Prison of the Painted Earth.”

Towering vines sprang up, swiftly binding all the magic cultivators before her.

Before they could react, another cool voice rang out.

“Third move: Ultimate Judgment.”