Chapter Thirty-One: Principal Yu Hanyi’s Quiet Schemes

Jiang Wangshu reached out her hand, unwilling to give up, and asked, “Principal, are you sure you don’t want to consider buying my other books?”

The principal’s face was as expressionless as a dead fish. “Show me your full strength, and I’ll think about it.”

What a joke. For someone so young, to possess even this much sword cultivation skill was already impressive enough. How could the rest of her books compare to the treasures in his own Hawk Academy’s library? He didn’t take her seriously, and to keep Jiang Wangshu from holding back, he gave a perfunctory answer.

But in Jiang Wangshu’s ears, this sounded promising.

She couldn’t help but curve her lips into a brilliant smile. For the sake of her next deal, she was determined to give it her all.

Green spiritual energy gathered in the air, forming a long sword shimmering with emerald light. She lowered her eyes, spiritual power surging within her.

Suddenly, the wind rose and clouds billowed. Everyone around felt the gale whipped up by spiritual energy—much stronger than they had expected. Caught off guard, some even got slapped across the face by the wind.

At once, protective barriers sprang up one after another, blocking the roaring wind outside.

But at the center of the storm, Jiang Wangshu stood rooted to the ground, utterly unmoved. Only her hair danced wildly in the wind. She stared straight ahead, guiding the spiritual sword. The sword’s light arced like a rainbow, and the sharpness of her sword intent swept through everyone present, a blade of brilliance flashing across their hearts.

This sword intent pressed forward relentlessly, as if no obstacle was worth mentioning.

What shocked the crowd even more was that in the over two hundred years since Hawk Academy’s founding, the training grounds—untouched by a single scratch—now bore a ten-meter-long fissure.

The upperclassmen who had been clamoring for a fight fell silent, swallowing all their harsh words, their eyes filled with awe and fear.

The sword cultivators stood as if lost in a fog, understanding a little, yet the realization slipped through their minds like a fleeting current, leaving only a blurred trace.

Amateurs marveled at the spectacle; insiders saw the true essence.

Yu Jianyi trembled with excitement. He had actually experienced sword intent from a first-year student.

For a sword cultivator, sword intent was paramount, for it was indestructible.

But since the great war five centuries ago, when countless sword cultivators perished on the battlefield, those who remained had lost the means to cultivate sword intent. From then on, all sword cultivators had relied solely on spiritual energy to brute-force their way to higher realms.

The days of being invincible among their peers and defeating stronger foes were long gone.

Though the principal himself was not a sword cultivator, as a high-level practitioner, he sensed even more.

As the old saying goes, a person is reflected in their words—as a sword cultivator, one’s sword reflects their soul.

Such iron-willed resolve, brought to the battlefield, was far more formidable than any pampered spellcaster.

Their students had spread throughout the business and political worlds; it had been a long time since a master had emerged from the academy to fight on the front lines.

Staring at Jiang Wangshu, the principal’s eyes shone. His original purpose in founding the academy had been to supply talent for the battlefield.

Who could have imagined that, as the school grew wealthier, it would stray so far from its original mission? He had been on the verge of giving up, but fate had brought this rare prodigy right to his door.

He made up his mind—he would not let her slip away.

Yu Jianyi and the principal approached her together, brimming with enthusiasm.

Yu Jianyi said, "Jiang, I am ashamed to call myself your teacher. I wish to take you as my master instead."

The principal said, “Jiang, come, let’s talk about those other books you have.” Money was no object! Yu Hanyi had plenty of it, more than enough to secure this promising talent.

No one could stop him—he would use money to tie her to the academy for good.

Jiang Wangshu paid no mind to Yu Jianyi and happily followed the principal. “Teacher, let’s skip the whole master-disciple thing. I don’t know much anyway, so I’ll just go with the principal!”

Money, money! She was so happy!

She was just a secondhand merchant, buying from the system and selling to others. That shouldn’t count as easy money, right?

Who cared, anyway? Luck or not, she still had debts to pay!

Once her debts were cleared, she would save up to buy a house and a car.

Jiang Wangshu laid out her life plan in her mind, entirely unaware of the shock she had brought to everyone else.

By that afternoon, the school forum was in an uproar.

“A Discussion on How Amazing the New Sword Cultivator Is”—the thread had become so popular, it was glowing red at the top.

First floor: I was wrong. Yesterday I said she was arrogant, but now I realize I was the arrogant one.

Second floor: If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d have thought I was dreaming.

Third floor: She’s like the heroine out of a novel, while I’m just a soulless NPC.

Fourth floor: Hahaha, Jiang Ningguang and Zhang Lingyin totally hit a wall, serves them right!

Fifth floor: I officially declare her my idol. Who cares about that so-called invincible sword cultivator Zhao Haoran from the First Academy? Why not worship our own?

…

Meanwhile, Jiang Wangshu, under the principal’s warm hospitality, happily dined with a bulging storage pouch at her side.

The principal had intended to pay her by card, but she found it troublesome and preferred shiny spirit stones—after all, her system didn’t accept banknotes.

She set aside thirty thousand for the ghost general Hanshuang, another thirty thousand as food money for Little Black, ten thousand for her own cultivation, ten thousand for daily expenses, and dumped the remaining thirty-four million spirit stones straight into the system.

The pay-to-win system barely contained its delight as it calmly announced, “Congratulations, host, your repayment is successful. You still owe two hundred and fifty million.”

Jiang Wangshu’s chopsticks moved even faster. She might not get to eat such delicious spiritual food again for a while, so she had to make the most of it.

Yu Hanyi quickly saw through her—this girl was both greedy for money and food. He smiled like a benevolent Buddha, his mind full of schemes.

Being greedy for food and money was perfect! Weaknesses made people easier to tempt.

He praised her, “The Star Spirit Fleet will be recruiting next year. With your manuals, our academy’s strength will surely rise to new heights.”

Honestly, he hadn’t even looked at those manuals. He was simply trying to keep this talented seedling happy, to ensure she stayed.

Little did he know, although he had spent a fortune in spirit stones, he had actually acquired extraordinarily rare and valuable manuals.

But that was a matter for another time. For now, all he could think about was steering Jiang Wangshu toward a military career.

Jiang Wangshu recalled what she knew about the Star Spirit Fleet.

The Star Spirit Fleet was a special force that guarded the nine interstellar gates of Blue Star against demonic invasions.

Rumor had it that everyone on board was truly the best of the best.

She thought for a moment, then nodded firmly. “Absolutely.” Everything from the system was top-notch—the principal was getting a huge bargain.

If she weren’t so lazy, selling them to somewhere like Misty Rain Pavilion would have fetched an even higher price.

But that would be so much trouble! Better to take less and save herself the hassle.

She slurped her noodles and fell silent.

Yu Hanyi went on, “My cousin’s distant relative’s nephew is also in the Star Spirit Fleet. I heard their monthly salary is ten million top-grade spirit stones, after a year you get a car, and after three years, the fleet gives you an apartment.”

When Jiang Wangshu heard “house” and “car,” her movements paused. She chewed and swallowed quickly. “Really? No way! What kind of job is that good?”