Qiu Fei’s face was expressionless, but in reality, she was so shocked she didn’t know what expression to make. This was a waste? When Lin Jinyu had asked her to give Wen Yuncheng a chance, saying she’d reach the 2nd Layer of Star Apostle in a year, Qiu Fei hadn’t really taken it to heart. And the result? Not only did she not reach the 2nd Layer of Star Apostle in a year, but she reached the 1st Layer of Star Practitioner. Her methods were bizarre, but the problem was, her combat ability wasn’t weak at all!

Now, hearing the hot-tempered Yan Ling—who had never seen eye-to-eye with her and had even competed with her in late-night drinking contests on multiple occasions—actually say such things, Qiu Fei’s expression finally broke. She looked at Yan Ling as if she’d seen a ghost. “Be normal.”

“I know you’re embarrassed, but since you’ve already taken a step back, I won’t hold it against you for swooping in and killing the demonic beast I’d already crippled during last year’s Beast Tide.”

“?” Qiu Fei sneered. “How could you hold it against me? How long would it have taken you to kill that demonic beast if it weren’t for me? I helped you, and you have the nerve to turn around and blame me!”

Yan Ling’s previously amicable expression changed in an instant. She shot to her feet, pointed at Qiu Fei’s nose, and roared, “If I hadn’t severely wounded it, do you think you would have gotten it so easily? You make it sound so nice, but you didn’t even share a single Star Stone with me. You have the gall to say you helped me?”

“Hah, the demonic beast I killed is my spoils of war. Why should I share any Star Stones with you?” Qiu Fei rolled her eyes and said in a saccharine, high-pitched voice, “Oh, Big Sis Yan, don’t be so angry. You’ll scare the little students down below~ Acting like this will only make it harder for you to get married~” The moment those deliberately cloying words left her mouth, Yan Ling grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up. Yan Ling stared straight at her, then suddenly raised an eyebrow, let out a “tch,” and threw her back into her seat.

“What was that sound for? Did you just ‘tch’ at me?!”

“It’s nothing. In any case, I’ll let what happened last year slide, on account of you giving me a student. As for this year’s Beast Tide, I hope you remember the words you just said,” Yan Ling stated.

Strength reigns supreme—this was a consensus on the Starry Sky Continent. She and Qiu Fei were of similar age and had been rivals their entire lives. They fought often as students, and they still couldn’t stand each other now. But it was limited to just that; they were teachers now, so they wouldn’t resort to physical fights like they used to. Qiu Fei’s words had given Yan Ling a new idea.

She might not be able to fight her, but she could intercept the demonic beasts Qiu Fei was hunting and snatch her spoils! Even the headmaster couldn’t easily intervene in something like this. After all, Qiu Fei had been in the wrong first last year, so she couldn’t blame Yan Ling for being ruthless this year.

Qiu Fei suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She gave the expressionless Yan Ling a strange look, completely unable to understand why this hot-tempered woman had let her off the hook so easily this time.

Could it be… that taking on a student had awakened Yan Ling’s maternal instincts, and she had turned over a new leaf?

“She just advanced to Star Practitioner, so why…” would she have new techniques? Did she comprehend them right after leveling up, or had Wen Yuncheng been hiding her strength all along? No, that couldn’t be right. Wen Yuncheng had looked so battered during the fight; how could she have been holding back? Though utterly shocked, the female student was quick to react, whipping the pursuer off the stage and avoiding the explosion’s blast wave. She had no desire to find out how powerful the green explosion was, so she didn’t approach Wen Yuncheng right away.

However, as she kept her distance, Wen Yuncheng actually smiled. A red metal cube appeared in her hand as if by magic. Wen Yuncheng twisted the cube and threw it at the girl. The moment the sword-whip touched the cube, a massive wave of explosive heat erupted! That wasn’t even the main point. The main point was that a sea of fire had appeared on the dueling stage, where flames should have been impossible! The girl was caught off guard and found herself in the middle of the inferno, her clothes even catching fire!—

“Stop!” Teacher Jin waved his hand, instantly extinguishing the flames. “Wen Yuncheng wins.”

The girl stood there, still in a daze. She raised a hand to touch the ends of her smooth hair, which had been singed by the flames.

Wen Yuncheng hadn’t expected the flame exploder to be so effective either. She walked forward, wringing her hands. “Um, I’m sorry. It was my first time using that ability, I didn’t know…”

“Waaah! Wuuuuu—”

Watching the girl run off the stage in tears, surrounded and comforted by her friends, Wen Yuncheng slowly retracted her hand… She really hadn’t meant to do it. The added effect of creating fire out of thin air just looked too powerful. But if Teacher Jin had been a second slower, the fire would have gone out on its own, and the girl wouldn’t have lost. Although it came with a big fire special effect, it wasn’t actually that powerful. She wouldn’t have been burned to death even if she’d tanked it. This sudden intervention… was probably because he was afraid a student would get hurt. After all, no one had ever seen an ability like Wen Yuncheng’s before.

Having won a match under such strange circumstances, Wen Yuncheng felt a bit wistful, as if she had taken a huge advantage.

She stood on the stage, hesitating. She felt that if she told him the fire only lasted for five seconds, Teacher Jin would be very embarrassed. But if she didn’t say anything, this victory was too… “Um, you can fight me again,” Wen Yuncheng said, looking at the poor girl below who was stroking her hair and crying miserably. “I’m sorry, I won’t use that skill again. Actually, that fire…”

“Don’t talk to me! I admit defeat, and I’ll never fight you again!” This guy was definitely trying to trick her back onto the stage to burn her bald!

Wen Yuncheng: …

[Your flirting techniques are too low-level,] 1947 couldn’t help but roast her. [You should have said: “Woman, you’ve successfully caught my attention.”]

Wen Yuncheng: ? Isn’t that a line from a domineering CEO novel?

[Oh, my apologies, I misremembered the line.] 1947’s electronic voice hesitated for a moment before continuing: [But the data tells me a Long Aotian can also say that. You could give it a try.]

[Or you could say this: You must remember, my name is Wen Yuncheng. If anyone bullies you in the future, just mention my name.]

Wen Yuncheng slowly typed out a “?” and added 1947 to her blocklist.

The five-minute break passed quickly.

“Continuous challenge, one random person from A-Class.” As soon as Wen Yuncheng finished speaking, a male student from A-Class shouted loudly:

“Wen Yuncheng, do you dare to fight me! I’m ranked 18th in A-Class, just middle of the pack!”

For this kind of challenge, Wen Yuncheng didn’t know anyone and didn’t want to make enemies, so she naturally wouldn’t specify a person. But for this stranger to suddenly jump out…?

“Who are you?”

“I am Lin Jue! I was adopted by Sect Master Lin of the Flowing Cloud Sect as a child…”

Alright, she got it. This guy was probably one of Lin Jinyu’s secret admirers from the Flowing Cloud Sect and saw her as a love rival. He was jealous that she had an engagement with Lin Jinyu—but the engagement had already been broken, and she and Lin Jinyu had nothing to do with each other anymore. Why did she still have to deal with Lin Jinyu’s rotten peach blossoms?!

“Buddy, if you like Lin Jinyu, go pursue her. Why are you making trouble for me?” Wen Yuncheng said earnestly. “Even if you beat me, it’s not like Lin Jinyu will fall for you.”

[Kid, stop taunting him. The hatred is already high enough. He already despises you.]

Wen Yuncheng was stunned. What the hell? She had given such a brilliant suggestion, spoken such sincere words, and this guy actually despised her for it?! Ungrateful! A heart of a wolf and lungs of a dog! “But, since you insist on fighting me, then come on.”

At least she’d get two more points.

“Wen Yuncheng!” he gritted out. “You’ll regret provoking me like this!”

“One of your suitors?”

“A fellow disciple.” Lin Jinyu looked at the boy standing on the stage, frowning imperceptibly. She still couldn’t recall if she had ever met this person. Lin Jue? She had no impression of him. Standing up for her? But there was clearly nothing between her and Wen Yuncheng.

With Lin Jue jumping up like that and Wen Yuncheng saying what she did, she had been needlessly dragged into it.

Lin Jinyu touched the hilt of her sword. Even if she was dragged into it, it didn’t matter. She never cared about these things anyway.

From Star Apostle to Star Practitioner in one year, after a Star Power Mutation… was cultivation this easy? Lin Jinyu thought about how she was still stuck before the 3rd Layer of Star Practitioner and silently resolved to train even harder.

Wen Yuncheng didn’t think she had provoked Lin Jue, so there was naturally nothing to regret.

She could only lament that there were always people in this world who would misinterpret your meaning. You could offer them your sincere heart, and they would still think it was coated in poison, that you were trying to kill them. If you comforted them, they’d think you were being insincere, mocking them and looking down on them. If you didn’t comfort them, then in their eyes, you were even worse.

1947: Why don’t you try learning the art of conversation?

Perhaps it was because everyone in the Flowing Cloud Sect liked to use swords, or perhaps it was because Lin Jinyu used a sword. In any case, Lin Jue’s weapon was also a sword.

The scabbard shone with a golden light, and the hilt was inlaid with glittering diamonds. The moment he took the weapon out of his storage ring, it instantly captured everyone’s attention.

Wen Yuncheng: “Is… is this the legendary ‘Blind Your Dog Eyes with My Invincible Rich-Flex Sword’?”

A crack appeared in Lin Jue’s faintly smug expression. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Ah, I’m just a poor boy who’s never seen the world. When I see such a valuable weapon, I can’t help but give it a ridiculously cool name to satisfy my inner fantasies.” Wen Yuncheng wore a sincere expression, but she couldn’t help but clutch her heart, frantically estimating the sword’s value. It was probably more expensive than the hundred thousand Star Stones she got from breaking the engagement! Was the Flowing Cloud Sect that rich? If she had known, she would have asked for more Star Stones back then! But! But at the time, a hundred thousand was already an astronomical sum in her mind!

[Wipe your drool. Mind your image.]

Lin Jue clearly didn’t believe a word of it, becoming even more convinced that Wen Yuncheng was deliberately mocking him. 1947 watched as his favorability value continued to plummet into the negatives.

—This young man has the potential to be the first to reach negative three points!

“Stop. Be serious. Don’t waste time. Both of you, get ready.” Teacher Jin, at the end of his rope, stepped forward to interrupt their friendly exchange, which was like a chicken talking to a duck. “The match begins!”

“Heh, Wen—” Lin Jue was about to say, “Wen Yuncheng, I’m going to show you what I’m made of,” but he only got two words out before the strange gadget Wen Yuncheng had used to eliminate the B-Class girl appeared in her hand!

She was starting the fight just like that? What about the trash talk???

Wen Yuncheng: I’m Big Bro (Sis) Wen of the streets. A person of action, not words.

He could only instinctively draw his longsword to try and bat the object away. This reflex made him forget the fact that in the previous match, the small device had exploded the moment it was struck by the sword-whip. And his longsword was obviously not as long as a sword-whip.

The result was that he swatted an explosion, was blasted by the heatwave, and in the next second, found himself engulfed in a sea of fire. Terrified, Lin Jue shouted repeatedly, “I don’t surrender! I’m fine! Don’t stop the match!”

Lin Jue: That Teacher Jin must be in cahoots with Wen Yuncheng! He definitely wants me to lose without a fight! I won’t give him the chance to come up and stop me!

Teacher Jin, who was chatting with the A-Class instructor and had absolutely no intention of rescuing the tough guy: ?