“When Lin You jumped, Mo Yanfan’s heartbeat had never been so intense,” Bai Changyue, finally back to normal, recalled the recent scene. “I don’t know what their relationship is, but these two must be very familiar with each other.”
Bai Lige was still confused: “What were you talking about earlier? Nightmare techniques? Lei Xiuyuan? What’s going on? Was Lin You trying to harm Lei Xiuyuan? Did she steal the nightmare technique? Why would she want to harm Lei Xiuyuan? And how is she a fake Lin You now? I’m so confused!”
Ye Ye explained, “I noticed Lin You’s attitude towards Mo Yanfan was very unusual. She probably disguised herself as a teacher to come to the academy for Mo Yanfan’s sake. Earlier, her words contained more resentment than anger. It seems these two might have had some ambiguous relationship. We don’t know her identity, but Zhen Yunzi called her a demon woman, so she’s likely from one of those unorthodox sects. I guess Mo Yanfan taught her Xingzheng Hall’s immortal techniques like the Celestial Sound Spirit Language, but she wanted to harm Lei Xiuyuan. The reasons are unclear; perhaps we should ask Lei Xiuyuan to understand.”
Bai Lige frowned in disgust: “Ask him? We’d be lucky to get one true word out of his mouth!”
Li Fei silently nodded in agreement. There was still something she couldn’t figure out. The identity of the culprit who harmed Lei Xiuyuan had been revealed, but he had once told her that the incident was because of her. Yet she had no impression of this Lin You. She wondered how it could be “because of her.”
She turned back to look at Lei Xiuyuan. His expression was calm as he leaned quietly against the doorframe, lost in thought. The person who harmed him had been exposed, yet he showed no signs of joy. It was quite strange.
Ye Ye looked at Bai Changyue: “What do you think of Zhen Yunzi?”
Bai Changyue frowned slightly, pondering for a long time before saying, “His words might not be entirely truthful, but he is after all an elder of a major sect. I… I really can’t fathom him.”
She shook her head and fell into deep thought again.
As they spoke, all the disciples who had been stunned by the Celestial Sound Spirit Language began to wake up. Master Zuo Qiu offered a few words of encouragement before leaving. Hu Jiaping looked at them with a wry smile and finally held up one finger: “You’re impressive. You set out to impeach a teacher and ended up exposing a fake one. Now the test will be postponed. Are you little rascals happy?”
The children were still dazed at first, but upon hearing that the test would be postponed, they all became excited.
Miao Lanxin said gently, “They’ve been learning much faster than disciples in previous years anyway. Postponing for a month or two won’t hurt. A more solid foundation will help them better learn advanced immortal techniques in the future.”
Only Luo Chengji was still in shock, mumbling in disbelief: “Master Lin was fake? Where’s the real Master Lin? And who was the fake one?”
Hu Jiaping sighed and patted him: “Since that demon woman impersonated Master Lin You, the real Master Lin You must have been harmed by her. Earlier, when she was affected by the Celestial Sound Spirit Language, although she didn’t finish speaking, we can guess she’s from the East Sea Ten Thousand Immortals Association.”
“East Sea Ten Thousand Immortals Association?” None of the others had heard this name before, and they all looked puzzled.
Hu Jiaping explained, “I heard about it from my master. In this vast world, there are countless strange ways to cultivate and become an immortal. Those sects near the sea have cultivation methods very different from mountain-based ones. They seem to be divided into ‘mountain schools’ and ‘sea schools.’ We’re considered a mountain school, while the East Sea Ten Thousand Immortals Association is probably a sea school. Being close to the sea, they likely have access to unheard-of cultivation methods from overseas… They walk their plank bridge, and we walk our sunny road. We’ve always kept to ourselves, so it’s puzzling why they would provoke the academy.”
Seeing the children excited about the postponed test, chattering loudly, he put on a stern face and said, “The morning cultivation isn’t over yet, and you’re all making such a racket! Quickly go to the training ground and practice on your own! Where’s that enthusiasm from earlier gone?”
The children all agreed and left, chatting and laughing.
Oh right, where’s that child who was under the nightmare technique? Hu Jiaping looked around. His name was Lei Xiuyuan, wasn’t it? First, he was sick, then under a nightmare technique. He sure has a lot going on. Hu Jiaping knew nothing about the nightmare technique; he wondered how Mo Yanfan discovered it and even invited Zhen Yunzi.
“Lei Xiuyuan,” he called out loudly. The nightmare technique incident still needed to be explained to Master Zuo Qiu.
The courtyard was silent. Had he already left? He sure left quickly!
Li Fei and the others followed the disciples, flying on their swords towards the western training ground. Bai Lige kept chattering along the way: “Li Fei, what’s this about Lei Xiuyuan being under a nightmare technique and jumping off a cliff? When did this happen?”
Just as Li Fei was about to respond, she suddenly saw Lei Xiuyuan dart up from below on his sword. Had his illness improved? Perhaps now that the person behind his troubles had been caught, he finally felt relieved.
Lei Xiuyuan was flying extremely fast. Li Fei saw that his trajectory seemed to be heading straight for her. She quickly moved aside, angrily shouting, “What are you doing?!”
His shoulder barely brushed her clothes as he passed. In the rush of wind, she heard him urgently say, “Get out of the way quickly!”
Li Fei watched in astonishment as his sword shot towards the sky like lightning. He had never flown so fast before. No, it should be said that no one could fly that fast. In the blink of an eye, his figure disappeared into the clouds high above, leaving the other disciples marveling for a long time.
As they were watching, Bai Lige suddenly cried out, “Sister! Where are you flying to?!”
Was something wrong with Changyue too? Li Fei quickly turned her head to see Bai Changyue’s stone sword beneath her feet jumping and swaying wildly like a mad horse, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Bai Changyue’s forehead was covered in sweat as she struggled to control the sword.
Ye Ye urgently called out, “Changyue! Steady yourself! Don’t move! I’ll come get you!”
He flew quickly towards Bai Changyue, but suddenly her sword tilted upwards, shooting straight up like lightning. After a short burst, it stopped abruptly and continued to sway left and right. Bai Changyue’s figure became increasingly unstable, and it looked like she was about to fall off at any moment.
Ye Ye missed her and was about to chase after her again when he saw her sword shoot like a meteor toward the cliff face of the island. At this speed, even if she didn’t fall to her death, she would still be seriously injured by the impact. It was too late to reach her now. Bai Changyue’s body, like a helpless and soft little bird, slammed hard into the unyielding cliff. The stone sword beneath her feet, no longer wrapped in spiritual energy, fell into the abyss, and she slumped down softly.
“Sister!” Bai Lige screamed, jumping down without hesitation. Li Fei quickly reached out to grab her but missed. Suddenly, Ye Ye leaped from his stone sword opposite them, catching the falling Bai Changyue in mid-air. With no sword to support them, he held her tightly as the three of them fell. Several nearby disciples couldn’t avoid them in time and were struck, causing two or three to lose balance and fall from their swords toward the abyss.
The sudden turn of events left Li Fei completely frozen. By the time she reacted, she saw three figures dart like lightning towards the abyss, disappearing into the clouds and mist. Moments later, they shot back up – it was Hu Jiaping and the other two teachers. Each of them held a disciple in their hands, all pale with fright.
“What are you little brats doing?!” Hu Jiaping cursed loudly. “How many days have you been practicing sword riding? How could you fall off?!”
The children were all too shocked to speak. Miao Lanxin looked at Bai Changyue in her arms and sighed, “She’s seriously injured and needs immediate treatment.”
Hu Jiaping asked urgently, “Seriously injured? How is she seriously injured if she didn’t hit the ground? You little rascals, don’t be stupid! Quickly tell me what just happened!”
Li Fei rushed over. Seeing Bai Lige, Bai Changyue, and Ye Ye suddenly almost fall into the abyss, she couldn’t catch her breath and nearly impulsively jumped down after them. Now, seeing her friends temporarily safe, she suddenly couldn’t hold back her tears. Much of her usual maturity and steadiness was forced, and now tears streamed down her face as her mind went blank.
“Why are you crying? What happened just now?” Hu Jiaping, who feared crying little girls the most, said, “Stop crying! Just now… Watch out! Get out of the way quickly!”
Before Li Fei could react, she felt a gust of wind above her head and a shadow falling. She quickly looked up, only to feel her body struck by a powerful force. The stone sword beneath her feet was flung far away, and she was knocked flying. In that split second, she felt her back collide hard with another person. Amidst a chorus of screams, she couldn’t see anything clearly before being swallowed by thick clouds and mist.
“Damn it!” Hu Jiaping quickly flew down on his sword to chase after them. However, the three teachers already had disciples in their hands and hadn’t had time to put them down. By the time they could give chase, it was already too late!
“All disciples gather at the training ground! No one is allowed to move!” he ordered sternly, then turned back and said, “Master Miao, Master Luo, please take these children to the disciple quarters and ask Master Zuo Qiu to come and see them!”
These successive incidents were too much to bear! What was wrong with the academy this year?
The children gathered at the training ground in terror, with some of the more timid girls even crying from fear. No one could have imagined falling while riding a sword. What had just happened was too frightening, and now no one dared to ride their swords anymore, all huddling far away from the edge of the island.
Hu Jiaping took out the disciple register and started calling names. After checking three times and confirming that no disciples were left in the quarters or other places, he finally confirmed that three disciples had fallen. These three… this was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.
Although he hadn’t personally witnessed Bai Changyue and the others falling, he had seen Li Fei’s fall. Lei Xiuyuan had plummeted from high in the sky, colliding with her. This small, thin girl was immediately knocked flying, coincidentally crashing into Ji Tongzhou who was just passing by on his sword. All three of them fell together. What made it worse was that these three were all rare single-attribute spirit root possessors. Even one of them having an accident would be enough to make one beat their chest in distress, let alone all three together.
The question now was, why did Lei Xiuyuan fall? And what about Bai Changyue? How did she get seriously injured?
Hu Jiaping couldn’t figure it out. As a result of so many people falling, the disciples were too scared to ride their swords back to their quarters. He decided not to bother with them and instructed them to wait at the training ground while he flew to the disciple quarters.
Master Zuo Qiu was already examining Bai Changyue’s injuries. Her clothes were stained red with blood as if she had crashed into something hard, with most of her bones shattered.
Hu Jiaping walked over silently, not knowing what to say. So many things had happened just as Master Zuo Qiu returned – if it was a coincidence, it was too much of one.
Wood-attribute spiritual energy quickly enveloped Bai Changyue’s entire body, and an ice-blue healing net was cast over her, with strands of water-attribute spiritual energy healing her damaged body. Master Zuo Qiu turned to look at the other unconscious children and said, “Only she was injured, thankfully. Master Miao, please hold onto this child’s sword?”
Miao Lanxin silently handed over three stone swords, looking somewhat ashamed: “I don’t know which one is hers. I only managed to grab these.”
Master Zuo Qiu took the swords and infused them with spiritual energy, testing two of them. When he came to the third one, his expression finally changed slightly.
“The internal channels for spiritual energy flow in this stone sword have been damaged,” he said, holding the sword and examining it carefully. “Whoever did this has extremely precise and subtle control over spiritual energy. Even elite disciples couldn’t accomplish this. It seems this was deliberate.”
Hu Jiaping’s face changed immediately: “Who did it? Are they targeting the academy?”
Master Zuo Qiu didn’t answer, only saying, “This little girl’s injuries are from crashing into the cliff face. The spiritual energy channels in the stone sword were damaged, preventing her from controlling it, leading to this tragedy… Three other disciples fell as well?”
Hu Jiaping quickly recounted what he had seen. Master Zuo Qiu pondered for a while before speaking: “It seems that Lei Xiuyuan’s sword channels were similarly damaged, causing him to fall. At first glance, this incident appears to be a provocation, but upon closer consideration, it’s not so. Wasn’t Lei Xiuyuan under a nightmare technique earlier? This must be targeting him again.”
Hu Jiaping asked curiously, “But wasn’t the culprit that woman from the East Sea Ten Thousand Immortals Association? She fell into the forbidden area too, she couldn’t have come out so quickly, right? Could they have more people backing them up? Is the East Sea Ten Thousand Immortals Association provoking us? Or do they have a grudge against that Lei Xiuyuan kid?”
Master Zuo Qiu smiled slightly and said calmly, “The East Sea Ten Thousand Immortals Association always acts discreetly. With the Sea Calamity approaching, they’re too busy with their affairs to provoke us mountain sects. Lei Xiuyuan is just a small child with a clear background, how could he be connected to the sea sects? That woman from the East Sea Ten Thousand Immortals Association doesn’t have profound cultivation; she couldn’t have cut the stone sword’s channels. Moreover, although she only spoke a few words, she’s an impatient and rough person, incapable of such delicate work, let alone using nightmare techniques. The person who damaged the sword is cautious. This small channel cut, if not extremely meticulous, would be hard to notice. The one who used the nightmare technique and cut the stone sword channels should be the same person.”
Seeing his reasoning was sound and clear, Hu Jiaping couldn’t help but ask, “Has Master already guessed who it might be? What’s their purpose?”
Master Zuo Qiu didn’t answer, only lowering his head and silently stroking the sword.
Hu Jiaping thought carefully and suddenly turned pale with shock: “Could it be… could it be that person from earlier…”
It was already strange that an immortal of Zhen Yunzi’s status would suddenly come to the academy. Xingzheng Hall, as a prestigious major sect, had always been aloof. Even if the academy had several extraordinary talents this year, they wouldn’t be so petty as to send someone to check. Moreover, after Zhen Yunzi’s unexplained arrival, he swiftly exposed Lin You and brought up the matter of Lei Xiuyuan being under a nightmare technique. While it all seemed like natural coincidences, upon closer inspection, there were many unnatural aspects.
Furthermore, the act of cutting the stone sword’s spiritual channels was something Hu Jiaping knew he couldn’t do, and probably none of the other teachers could either. Apart from Master Zuo Qiu, only Zhen Yunzi remained as a possibility.
But why? What benefit would Xingzheng Hall gain from targeting the academy?
Master Zuo Qiu’s face was as calm as water as he spoke in a low voice, “Without evidence, everything is mere speculation. You should not make unfounded claims. In my opinion, this is likely a matter of personal grudges… The academy should not be the first to provoke discord. This individual’s sect holds immense power; it would be pointless to stir up internal strife among the sects. Starting today, the academy will establish a spiritual energy barrier. No bird or insect shall be allowed to enter or exit. I will immediately use my methods to call the other founders to discuss this matter. As for the three disciples who fell into the forbidden ground, they should be safe, especially with Young Master Mo and Ah Mu down there. Jia Ping, after you return the disciples to their quarters with the transport boat, go down and search for them yourself. You will go alone.”