Chapter 94
Yu Sui didn't necessarily need Li Jin Shuang to make a choice right now.
She only needed Li Jin Shuang to waver in her heart. Based on Xun Zhiya and Shu Chujun's way of doing things, it was only a matter of time before Li Jin Shuang developed rebellious thoughts.
The ruler of Nanjing Kingdom wanted Floating Pagoda fragments. If Xun Zhiya brought them back, she could prove her capabilities and earn the ruler's favor.
If Li Jin Shuang brought them back, the Li family would receive renewed attention, with power held in her own hands. This was always more reliable than making wedding clothes for others and believing in empty promises.
When that time came, it would only be Xun Zhiya who needed her more, not the other way around.
Although Li Jin Shuang didn't tell Yu Sui why the Li family was targeted, Yu Sui had previously asked Old Yan about it. It had just been a casual question, but unexpectedly she learned the truth from Old Yan.
Yu Sui and Xun Zhiya both valued Li Jin Shuang's Sword Spirit ability, but she wouldn't treat Li Jin Shuang the way Xun Zhiya did.
After all, what Yu Sui wanted was only the Heavenly Character Text within the Floating Pagoda fragments. She had no interest in the Floating Pagoda itself, so their interests didn't conflict.
Li Jin Shuang closed the ointment and put it back on the desk. As she withdrew her hand, she said: "What do you plan to do?"
"I won't cause trouble now either. Instead, I'll do my best to help retrieve the Floating Pagoda fragments from Inverted Moon Cave." Yu Sui spread her hands. "I just want the fragments to be in my hands."
Li Jin Shuang lowered her eyebrows and thought for a moment, then said: "I'll consider it."
"Sure." Yu Sui smiled gently. "Could you not consider it too long? How about tomorrow morning?"
Li Jin Shuang felt her heart soften at her words. She looked away without immediately answering, only instructing her to rest well before turning to leave.
Yu Sui called after her: "Are you hungry? Want to go to the dining hall together?"
Li Jin Shuang hesitated for a moment.
Yu Sui added: "After you finish bathing. I don't want to eat alone either."
"......Alright." Li Jin Shuang agreed.
Yu Sui looked at the closed door, her shoulders relaxing as she leaned back against the desk chair, one hand resting on the table edge, her fingers unconsciously tapping the surface.
Her power fighting alone was limited now. When necessary, she needed to have mutual benefit and cooperation with those around her.
Yu Sui quite liked this kind of simple, straightforward relationship. She understood when it should begin and when it should end. Everyone had clear goals, cooperating when cooperation was needed, and able to withdraw at any time.
If anything happened later, they would just be people who had once briefly cooperated due to common interests.
As for Senior Brother learning about her Strange Fire, Yu Sui had already recovered from that shock.
She couldn't allow herself to wallow in fear. Rather than being afraid, it was better to face it. When they truly reached the point of mutual hostility, she might be the one with the advantage in the end.
Because no one could defeat Strange Fire.
Not even Saints.
As long as she could control it.
Yu Sui glanced sideways at herself in the mirror. Although she probably couldn't control it, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, she wouldn't give up easily.
Making the worst-case preparations while continuing to live wasn't much different from her previous days.
Compared to Senior Brother learning about Strange Fire, her experience in "Three Thousand Divergent Paths" had actually affected her more.
Just thinking about how those warm memories had Lady Su and Nangong Ming's faces behind them made Yu Sui feel nauseous disgust surge straight to her heart. The skin on her hands and hair that had been touched were screaming in rejection.
She stood up and went back to take another bath, as if she needed to wash away that malice.
Yu Sui curled back into the bathtub, wrapped in spring water, with sweat and steam appearing on her neck and forehead. The freshly applied ointment dissolved away under the spring water's consumption.
Under her Second Layer Soul Control consciousness, she saw another disciple emerge from the Legalist plaza who had reached Ye Pool and obtained Heavenly Mechanism Arts. Golden light transformed into a dragon roaming heaven and earth, once again stirring up cries throughout the venue.
Yu Sui emerged from the water, her face covered with water traces, showing some surprise.
The first to come out was Yan Xiaochuan.
Yan Xiaochuan looked up with others to admire the golden light dragon flying out from his body. Facing others' shocked or envious gazes, he excitedly grabbed Sheng Hao's hand beside him: "Thank you, Senior Brother Sheng, for giving me this opportunity. Having you along this journey was my fortune. Being able to be your fellow disciple is also fortune I cultivated in my past life. In our next lives, we must still be Senior and Junior Brothers. You'll be the Junior Brother, I'll be the Senior Brother, and I'll definitely be just like this time......"
Before he could finish, Sheng Hao shook him off in disgust.
Yan Xiaochuan was flung aside and happened to see Mei Liangyu and others coming out. His eyes lit up again. Without even looking at the golden light dragons emerging from Zhongli Shan and Xing Chun, he strode forward to grab Mei Liangyu's hand, but was nimbly dodged.
Mei Liangyu's eyelid twitched: "What are you doing?"
Seeing he wouldn't shake hands, Yan Xiaochuan held his own black stone Little Flower, looking like he was respectfully bowing while saying with complete sincerity: "If not for Senior Brother Liangyu working hard to clear the path, how could I have reached the dragon head so smoothly! Having you along this journey was my fortune. Being able to be your Junior Brother is also fortune I cultivated in my past life. In our next lives, we must still be Senior and Junior Brothers. You'll be the Junior Brother, I'll be the Senior Brother, and I'll definitely be just like this time——"
Sheng Hao heard something was wrong and turned back with a sinister look: "Yan Xiaochuan."
Yan Xiaochuan giggled foolishly, clearly extremely happy, just short of rolling on the ground or running around the field crazily to express his inner excitement.
Mu Mengbai gathered with Yan Xiaochuan, both grinning. The two who had successfully obtained Heavenly Mechanism Arts from the dragon head went to the side, ignoring others' gazes and laughing arrogantly.
Brother Gu had just returned to the Legalist field when he encountered this group coming out. Seeing how lively and enviable it was, his expression was extremely poor.
Mei Liangyu scanned the outer edges of the lively crowd, looking for Yu Sui's figure. She couldn't still be inside.
He hadn't found Yu Sui yet when Kong Yiyi nudged him with her elbow, signaling him to look ahead: "There."
Mei Liangyu followed her gaze and saw Wenyang Hui standing under a tree at the plaza's edge. He made an "oh" sound, the rising tone carrying some ill intent, and also raised his elbow to nudge Zhongli Shan beside him.
Zhongli Shan looked over and chuckled softly, placing one hand on his sword hilt.
Wenyang Hui had been observing Mei Liangyu and the others in the crowd. Seeing them all look his way, his heart sank. His body, which had been leaning against a table and chair, straightened just as he felt Five Elements Energy shriek out.
The three people in front simultaneously used Military School Nine Schools Arts: Weapon Control. Three sword energies flew toward him from different directions. Wenyang Hui reacted quickly, flinging three golden talismans from his sleeves, creating three golden barriers to block them.
This sudden battle startled many people. The disciples who had been gathered at the field's edge scattered quickly. A disciple who got a face full of sword energy wailed: "Say something before attacking!"
This kind of grudge from elimination in Dragon Slaying Cave leading to fights afterward happened every so often, but they were usually one-on-one and didn't cause major disturbances, so the instructors turned a blind eye. If the number exceeded three people, they wouldn't just watch.
A Thirteenth Realm instructor responsible for maintaining order had already noticed Wenyang Hui's side.
Mei Liangyu and the others all wanted to end the battle before the instructor intervened. But Wenyang Hui wasn't alone either. The moment one sword energy broke through the barrier, Brother Gu instantly appeared in front of Wenyang Hui, flinging several black pieces to intercept it.
The sword energy charged again, faster and stronger than the first time, accompanied by Taoist School's Heavenly Gang Five Thunder. Between lightning and sword flashes, it killed toward Wenyang Hui with lightning speed.
As Golden Thunder flashed four times, the battle range inevitably expanded. Disciples standing at the edges wailed and dodged again, attracting more and more spectators.
Wenyang Hui was now in a healed state and used his own Golden Thunder to clash back.
Brother Gu flicked out black and white chess pieces, not actively attacking but drawing defensive barriers, blocking and neutralizing both Zhongli Shan and Kong Yiyi's sword energies.
Sheng Hao standing nearby coldly used Nine Schools Arts, shattering Brother Gu's barrier and earning a frowning glance from him.
Seeing Sheng Hao deploy fiercely aggressive chess pieces, Qian Ying flashed forward, raising her hand as her five fingers transformed into black claws with hard scales, grasping and crushing the materialized Five Elements Energy chess pieces.
"It's you people again." Qian Ying pressed her eyebrows, looking coldly at Mei Liangyu and the others before turning back to Sheng Hao. "Never heard of people showing off by attacking others outside after eliminating them in Dragon Slaying Cave."
Sheng Hao sneered: "Being eliminated in Dragon Slaying Cave only means your skills are inferior. You deserve it."
Qian Ying mocked back equally: "Then Nangong Sui being hit by Golden Thunder in Dragon Slaying Cave also means her skills were inferior and she deserved it. Why is everyone rushing to get revenge for her?"
Those who were eliminated hadn't even started seeking revenge yet.
Yu Sui watched this with thoughtful expression, emerging from the water to dress.
She hadn't expected Mei Liangyu to actually attack Wenyang Hui, and in front of so many people. She had thought Senior Brother's words in the Dragon Fish Military Formation were just to comfort her, but thinking about it again, it was normal, since their relationship had never been good anyway.
Just like Third Brother and Brother Gu, except Senior Brother and Wenyang Hui hadn't torn their faces so openly in public.
After hearing Qian Ying's words, Sheng Hao flew into a rage. He already disliked Qian Ying, and this was the first time Qian Ying had openly mocked Yu Sui to his face, making it more effective than any previous mockery. It made his temple throb as he decided he didn't care about getting points deducted for acting again.
As Sheng Hao attacked again and Qian Ying blocked, six people were now fighting, with many others eager to join.
Thirteenth Realm Military School instructor Mu Wu and Agricultural School instructor Zhu Rong watched helplessly, mentally cursing their students for fighting privately in places without people if they wanted to fight. Just as they were about to intervene, they saw a crimson figure act first.
Thirteenth Realm Legalist School instructor, Song Xixiao.
Though this woman was petite and delicate in appearance, her eyebrows and aura were very fierce. Song Xixiao, dressed in crimson, flashed between Brother Gu and Mei Liangyu's groups, her pale hand quickly grabbing the black-gold whip at her waist and spinning it. Without using any Nine Schools Arts, this single move gathered all the Five Elements Energy from both sides into the whip, dispersing their techniques.
"Private fighting among disciples is forbidden on academy grounds." Song Xixiao looked coldly at Mei Liangyu and the others. "You openly ignore academy rules and all the instructors present in front of so many people?"
The battle that was just beginning was forcefully suppressed. Sheng Hao held his breath with nowhere to vent and was about to curse when Mu Mengbai and Yan Xiaochuan covered his mouth and dragged him away.
Kong Yiyi snorted in dissatisfaction. Nian Qiuyan quickly pulled her behind him, facing the instructor's stern gaze with a smile.
Su Tong gently tugged Zhongli Shan's sleeve, lowering her voice: "Forget it. I hit back before too. Let's not bother with him for now."
Only then did Zhongli Shan remove his hand from his sword hilt.
The surrounding people's fighting spirit dispersed, restoring brief peace. But Mei Liangyu looked thoughtful, his cool gaze pointing at Wenyang Hui behind Song Xixiao.
When he looked up, Mei Liangyu curved his lips in a smile.
Golden Thunder instantly appeared, bypassing Song Xixiao. When Song Xixiao gripped her whip, her heart shook because she realized she couldn't stop it.
Under Wenyang Hui's disbelieving gaze, the Golden Thunder struck him flying, slamming him into a tree. Brother Gu turned to look at Mei Liangyu, equally unable to believe it.
How dare he?!
This Golden Thunder was extremely fast, able to bypass the Thirteenth Realm instructor without giving her a chance to immediately intervene. Could Mei Liangyu's realm have improved?
Yu Sui, who was sitting back at her desk retying her hair, was also stunned.
Senior Brother really dared.
Striking someone with Golden Thunder in front of an instructor, Song Xixiao's already stern and cold expression became even icier. As a Legalist instructor, no one would dare say anything if she whipped Mei Liangyu twice on the spot for violating academy rules.
Wenyang Hui was helped up by Ji Meng and Qian Ying. This unexpected Golden Thunder strike left his eyes bloodshot, his face slightly twisted in pain, and his vision somewhat blurred.
His hands clenched tightly in his sleeves as he developed murderous intent toward Mei Liangyu.
"Mei Liangyu." Song Xixiao called sternly, about to take disciplinary action when she glimpsed a figure hurrying over, saying as he ran, "Little Mei, Mei Mei! Ah, Instructor Song, thank you for your hard work maintaining order."
Ghost Way School instructor Zhang Yuxuan wiped sweat from his forehead, came before Mei Liangyu, and politely greeted Song Xixiao with a gentle smile: "Students just came out of Dragon Slaying Cave with fighting spirit still high, so they had some friction. Good thing you stopped it in time."
Song Xixiao said coldly: "Instructor Zhang, your intention to shield your own disciple is too obvious."
Zhang Yuxuan laughed: "Instructor Song saying this makes me ashamed. Since he's my own disciple, I have to protect him somewhat, but violating academy rules is undeniable. I won't lie with my eyes open. However it should be handled, handle it accordingly."
He came over to intervene only to prevent Mei Liangyu from being whipped twice more by Song Xixiao.
If Mei Liangyu fought with Song Xixiao, that would be a different matter entirely.
Though Zhang Yuxuan was polite, his words were clever: "Most disciples coming out of Dragon Slaying Cave still have lingering anger. Fighting and scuffling to vent is normal. Like the previous fighters, it was just playful banter. Just now it wasn't only Mei Mei who acted. Both sides were using Taoist Golden Thunder, and Medical School's Qilin Hand also counts as an offensive Nine Schools Art. If we punish everyone, it might be too harsh."
"Too harsh?" Song Xixiao sneered. "After I had already given a verbal warning, he still acted——"
Before she could finish, Zhang Yuxuan cut her off: "Right, right, so his offense is most serious. Punishing just him is fine. Since he just came out of Dragon Slaying Cave, he has to be sent to Mechanism Island for punishment again. You better go quickly, right?"
Mei Liangyu casually glanced at Wenyang Hui, who was firmly protected by Brother Gu's group, then turned and walked away.