CHAPTER 387: CHAPTER 387: YOU CANNOT WIN

In the Fifth Academy.

The sunlight was just right, bright and enchanting.

Guang Xiaoyu lay lazily on her chair, enjoying the sunbath, a blade of grass dangling from the corner of her mouth, humming tunes from time to time.

She appeared completely at ease.

If the former three Peak Masters were here, they would surely twitch at the corners of their mouths. One Chen Pingping leaves, and another Guang Xiaoyu arrives.

Indeed!

The Chen Pingping of old had also been this way—extremely languid.

Because the Sword Saint had been in seclusion, Guang Xiaoyu hadn’t had the chance to meet him. Thus, since entering the Fifth Academy, she had been lying low—oh, no... waiting all along.

After all, she was a Demon cultivator. The cultivation in Fairy Valley did not suit her, and Zi Ji, a Qi Refiner, was even less compatible.

Just then, Bai Yisheng came over. "Where’s Zi Ji?"

"I sent her to help out," Guang Xiaoyu replied leisurely without looking up.

"Didn’t you tell her not to take action?" Bai Yisheng was astonished.

"The people in the Second Academy are too much. I sent our junior sister to dampen their morale a bit..."

"This...?"

"Don’t worry, I’ve instructed our junior sister thoroughly to keep a low profile. She knows what to do," Guang Xiaoyu smiled.

Sigh!

Bai Yisheng felt helpless.

Ever since his mentor chose the path of Cultivating Demon, the relations between the five academies of Fairy Valley had changed.

Now that his mentor had been in seclusion for such a long time, nearly all the burden had fallen on Bai Yisheng’s shoulders. However, he was a person without desires or disputes, not fond of competing with others or arguing.

He always felt that bickering was not true cultivation.

Yet often, non-contention and a refusal to argue were met with their escalating bullying and unrestrained oppression.

"I’m curious, aren’t all five academies part of Fairy Valley? Why do they target the Fifth Academy?" Guang Xiaoyu asked. "Is there something hidden beneath this?"

"Because my mentor is the next designated Sect Leader. But he chose Cultivating Demon, which is akin to falling into the Demon Tao. If he becomes the Sect Leader of Fairy Valley, how would the other sects view us?" Bai Yisheng replied helplessly.

"How strong are the leaders of the other four academies?" Guang Xiaoyu inquired.

"Comparable to my mentor," Bai Yisheng answered.

"If that’s the case, they could directly make a move against the Sword Saint and kill him. Why do they need to suppress the Fifth Academy?" Guang Xiaoyu didn’t understand.

"They can’t beat him," Bai Yisheng stated. "Although the five academy leaders are on par with each other in strength, my mentor’s Sword Dao is far superior. If he were to fight back desperately, he could kill one or two. Therefore, they don’t dare to act rashly. Instead, they indulge in suppressing the Fifth Academy, hoping to break the Sword Saint’s Dao heart through this."

Understood! It’s another battle of wits and deceit, a game of internal strife. What Cultivating Demon? What Fairy Valley’s reputation? All nonsense. They’re just coveting the position of Sect Leader.

Guang Xiaoyu shrugged, curling her lips. "So, what do you plan to do?"

Bai Yisheng shook his head. "I can’t compete with them."

How could a cultivator who had not even reached the Lord State face the might of the Saint Realm? The title of sole disciple under the Sword Saint couldn’t guarantee anything; at most, it allowed him to briefly control the Fifth Academy. Over time, problems would still arise.

Guang Xiaoyu spoke, "This problem is complex."

Indeed! Therefore, she planned not to intervene. Once she learned from the Sword Saint about the possibility of dual cultivation, she would take Zi Ji and leave this place far behind.

But she didn’t know that Zi Ji had already caught the eye of certain people. The likelihood of her exiting Fairy Valley’s game was almost zero.

...

It really was Zi Ji. AHHHHH! Why?

Liu Changqing stared wide-eyed, nearly spitting blood. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Despite his best efforts to flee the Heaven Martial continent, he had reached the Nine Heavens only to encounter Zi Ji again.

"Calm down. It’s only the little princess here on her own. Her senior sister is no longer here, neither is Chen Pingping. This is a good sign," Alan said.

...

"No more fighting!" Zhang RuoLing’s eyes were wide as he protested angrily.

What’s the point of fighting anymore? A Divine Weapon of the Emperor Tao, several eighth-grade Spirit Pills... Actually, those are still okay; my cultivation realm is higher, so I do have an advantage. But then Zi Ji pulls out a piece of armor, saying even those below a Lord can’t damage it!

Fuck me! I’m only at the late stage of King Tao! What does this mean? If you don’t want to fight, just say so! Zhang RuoLing was shattered.

Zi Ji’s move truly shocked everyone.

Even the disciples from the Fifth Academy couldn’t stand it anymore, muttering under their breath, "Our little junior sister is really rich."

She’s yelling about staying low-key while pulling out Sacred Soldiers, Spirit Pills, and powerful armor... You call this low-key? Does she even know what low-key means?

The disciples watching from the other three academies didn’t know what to say for a while and could only look at Zhang RuoLing with pity. Poor kid.

"Not fighting anymore?" Zi Ji frowned. "Why not fight?"

Everyone: "..."

Yan Bei wiped cold sweat from his brow and asked cautiously, "Little junior sister, where did you get these things?"

Zi Ji answered, "My brother gave them to me."

"Who’s your brother?" Yan Bei asked.

"My brother is my brother, and I am my brother’s sister," she said quite seriously.

"..."

"Since we’re not fighting, let’s go hunt some ferocious beasts!" Zi Ji suggested.

HEH!

Upon hearing these words, Zhang RuoLing’s anger dissipated immediately. He coldly looked at Yan Bei. "It’s been three or four days, and your Fifth Academy has only hunted three to five sixth-tier ferocious beasts. Our Second Academy has hunted over thirty, all of high rank, including seventh-tier ferocious beasts. Yan Bei... how are you going to win?"

This speech also carried a hidden meaning: the bet between Zhang RuoLing and Yan Bei, between the Second and Fifth Academies.

Over thirty? The cultivators all clamored in surprise.

The disciples from the First, Third, and Fourth Academies stared at Zhang RuoLing with incredulous faces.

Only four days have passed! And they have such amazing achievements, including hunting a seventh-tier ferocious beast!

At this moment, a pale-faced young disciple from the First Academy said, "We only have twenty-seven sixth-tier and one seventh-tier ferocious beast, and they have over thirty? This... How is this possible?"

The gap was huge.

Keep in mind that for them as new disciples, their top combat power was the peak of King Tao, equivalent to the peak of a fifth-tier ferocious beast.

If ten people worked together, they had a chance to kill a sixth-tier beast. With a good performance, they might even hunt a seventh-tier ferocious beast. However, such battles required their full effort every time, with meticulous attention to every detail. If anyone fell behind or performed poorly, it could lead to a failed hunt and possibly even harm teammates. So, each time they hunted a sixth-tier ferocious beast, it was a tough battle that required significant time and energy to have a chance at success.

Four days, twenty-seven sixth-tier beasts, one seventh-tier... That was already an incredible achievement. And to think the Second Academy hunted over thirty, with more than one seventh-tier ferocious beast among them!

This...? Everyone was dumbfounded.

Upon hearing this, the disciples from the Fifth Academy turned pale.

Yan Bei clenched his fists, staring hard at Zhang RuoLing.

Over thirty compared to five. This is the gap.

The team leader of the First Academy whispered, "Let’s rest for a while."

The Third Academy’s leader also spoke, "Ten minutes."

The Fourth Academy’s leader said, "You guys should also take a break."

The number of ferocious beasts we’ve hunted is mostly over twenty, not far behind the Second Academy. We can catch up with a little more effort. But the Fifth Academy... they have no chance.