Apology

The Cold Moon Fox let out a piercing, mournful cry, its four limbs thrashing wildly, but it could not break free in the slightest.

Just as Bai Chen was about to extend another tentacle and wrap up Jiang Ruoxue, who had mercilessly mocked him and Xiao Luoluo earlier, the experts from the Jiang Family finally could no longer hold back.

"How dare you hurt the young miss!"

The furious shout rang out like a great bell, making everyone's eardrums tingle.

A powerful aura erupted from the middle-aged man in close-fitting clothes at the head of the Jiang Family group. His figure flashed, and he ignored the rules of the duel entirely, forcing his way into the arena.

The man was none other than Jiang Chutian.

He ranked among the top three experts of the Lower City's Jiang Family, a Star Vault Contract Spirit Master whose Contract Spirit had reached level thirty-nine!

He had also been a genius of the Jiang Family's previous generation. It was said that, back then, he had been only one step away from entering Dawnlight Academy, a place countless people dreamed of joining, just like Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chutian's Contract Spirit was similar to Kalina's: a rare weapon-type Contract Spirit.

He held a silver-white longsword, its blade shimmering with flowing light and radiating a chilling aura.

He used no flashy Life Skill, merely swinging his sword in a plain, unadorned slash at Bai Chen's cage of tentacles.

A streak of intensely concentrated sword light flashed!

"Sssh!"

The black tentacles Jiang Ruoxue had been unable to budge despite giving her all were easily severed by the sword light!

The severed tentacles fell to the ground, turning into a pool of black liquid that quickly dispersed into the air.

Yet losing a tentacle did not hurt Bai Chen in the slightest.

Jiang Chutian evidently realized this as well. After landing his strike, he did not pause, but turned his wrist and unleashed another arc of sword qi!

This time, the sword qi was no longer aimed at Bai Chen's tentacles. It headed straight for Lin Luoluo, who sat on the throne, protected by countless layers of tentacles!

He was going for the kill!

The strike was swift and fierce, carrying the force of a killing blow. It was about to pierce Bai Chen's defenses and strike the girl who seemed utterly unable to resist.

"How dare you!"

An angry cry rang out.

At that critical moment, a figure rushed in front of Lin Luoluo at even greater speed.

It was Kalina, who had placed her own body directly in the path of the deadly sword qi!

She's gone mad!

Jiang Chutian's eyes nearly split with rage at the sight.

He had never imagined Kalina would go this far for a commoner girl!

If he injured her, let alone a mere member of the Lower City's Jiang Family like him, even the Upper City's Jiang Family could not possibly protect him if they intervened personally!

The family behind Kalina was not a whit weaker than the Upper City's Jiang Family!

Its foundations were even stronger!

In his alarm, the Star Energy inside him surged wildly, and he forced himself to unleash another slash in midair. Though fired later, it arrived first and forcibly scattered the sword qi he had unleashed earlier!

"Boom!"

The two arcs of sword qi collided in the air, erupting in a blinding flash and a tremendous shockwave of energy.

Meanwhile, Bai Chen's attack had not stopped because of the sudden turn of events.

Someone had merely severed one of his tentacles; it hardly counted as an injury to him.

Seeing Kalina block the sword qi aimed at Xiao Luoluo, Bai Chen let go of all his concerns about defense.

He raised another tentacle and lashed it hard against Jiang Ruoxue.

"Smack!"

The crisp, resounding slap echoed across the clearing.

Everyone froze.

The tentacle sent Jiang Ruoxue flying. She tumbled through the air several times like a rag doll before landing in a sorry heap on the ground several meters away.

Her expensive clothes, once clean and beautiful, were now covered in dust and bits of grass.

A red mark from the tip of the tentacle visibly appeared on her once fair, delicate cheek. It quickly swelled up, burning with pain.

Jiang Ruoxue lay on the ground, feeling as though heaven and earth were spinning,

The fierce pain in her cheek and the humiliation in her heart intertwined, and her vision went black. She fainted on the spot.

Or perhaps she simply did not want to wake up.

She had disgraced herself far too badly today, not only in front of her own family members, but also in front of Jiang Chen, who was always on her mind.

She had been defeated so effortlessly by a commoner she despised most, using the most useless Slime.

This humiliation was worse than killing her.

"Xue!"

"Young miss!"

Several members of the Jiang Family cried out and rushed over, hurriedly carrying the unconscious Jiang Ruoxue to the side.

For a time, only the two opposing groups remained facing each other in the clearing.

Only after confirming that Lin Luoluo was unharmed did Kalina turn around, fixing her icy gaze on Jiang Chen a short distance away.

Bai Chen also released his combat form, returning to the harmless-looking black Slime and hopping back into Lin Luoluo's arms.

"Jiang Chen, is this how your Jiang Family does things?"

Kalina sneered and mocked him without mercy:

"When the young one can't win, you send in the old one? Have you no shame?"

"If that's how it is, then for the Time Academy assessment in the Lower City soon, I don't think you should bother sending the younger generation. Just have your Jiang Family's ancestor take the field personally. Wouldn't that be a safer bet?"

Kalina's words were full of sarcasm, making the Jiang Family members present turn alternately pale and livid.

Between her remarks, she quickly checked Lin Luoluo's condition.

Only after seeing that Lin Luoluo was indeed completely unharmed and merely a little frightened did Kalina breathe a deep inward sigh of relief.

She was the one who had urged Lin Luoluo to duel Jiang Ruoxue, hoping to use the opportunity to curb the Jiang Family's arrogance.

If Luoluo had been hurt because of her decision, she would have felt guilty for the rest of her life.

On the other side, Jiang Chen's expression was as ugly as could be.

The moment he saw Jiang Chutian brazenly disregard the rules and intervene, he had clenched his fists in anger.

This idiot!

His icy gaze swept toward Jiang Chutian. Suppressing his fury, he spoke as though squeezing the words through his teeth:

"Jiang Chutian, who told you to interfere? Didn't you hear what I said?"

Jiang Chutian's heart trembled under Jiang Chen's murderous gaze. Not daring to talk back in the slightest, he broke out in a cold sweat and bowed his head deeply before someone of the younger generation.

"Young Master Jiang... I... I was too worried about Xue's safety just now. I panicked, so... so I couldn't hold back..."

Jiang Chutian explained in a voice full of fear.

Kalina, however, clearly had no intention of letting the matter go.

She folded her arms and lifted her chin slightly, speaking coldly to Jiang Chutian:

"Worried? Does being worried mean you can ignore the rules and bully someone younger? Apologize to Luoluo, right now!"

Apologize?

Jiang Chutian froze at the command, his face full of shock and disbelief.

Is this some kind of joke?!

He was the Jiang Family's third-strongest expert, a level thirty-nine Star Vault Contract Spirit Master and an important figure known throughout the Lower City. And they wanted him to admit fault to a green little girl from the Poor District who was not even a Contract Spirit Master?

That was worse than killing him!

His face strained, he looked to Jiang Chen beside him for help and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Young Master Jiang, this..."

Jiang Chen could barely contain the anger in his heart by now.

He felt that these good-for-nothings from the Lower City's Jiang Family had already disgraced him more than enough today!

It was not that he truly thought Jiang Chutian had been wrong to interfere in the fight.

In the eyes of scions of great families like theirs, so-called rules and respect were reserved for those of equal standing.

When dealing with a commoner, no method was beyond the pale.

Jiang Chutian's mistake was not that he had interfered in the fight between Jiang Ruoxue and Lin Luoluo.

His mistake was doing it in front of Kalina!

That was no different from publicly admitting that the Jiang Family could not afford to lose. He had ground the entire Jiang Family's face into the dirt!

At the thought, Jiang Chen's face turned livid. He could not even be bothered to look at Jiang Chutian again, merely squeezing out a word through his teeth.

"Apologize."

Jiang Chen's command shattered Jiang Chutian's last trace of hope.

All the blood in his body seemed to rush to his head at that moment, and his face instantly turned livid.

He, Jiang Chutian, the Jiang Family's third-strongest expert, a level thirty-nine Star Vault Contract Spirit Master, a man who could strut anywhere in the Lower City—when had he ever suffered such a disgrace?

They wanted him to apologize to a commoner girl who was not even a Contract Spirit Master?

That was a hundred times worse than making him kill himself on the spot!

But Jiang Chen's gaze kept him from even entertaining the slightest thought of defiance.

In the end, with great difficulty,

he lowered the head he had held high for half his life before the girl who was no more than an ant in his eyes.

"I... am... sorry."

With that, he abruptly raised his head and glared fixedly at Lin Luoluo with bloodshot eyes.

Yet before Lin Luoluo could react to his behavior, Kalina, standing beside her, took offense.

"Hey, are you apologizing, or have you been constipated for three days and three nights without being able to go?"

Kalina mocked him mercilessly.

"Just look at you, gritting your teeth and looking so resentful. Anyone who didn't know better would think Xiao Luoluo had stolen your wife.

There's no sincerity in it at all. What kind of apology is that?"

"No, I'm not satisfied with that apology, and Luoluo surely isn't either.

Do it again!

This time, speak louder and smile more sincerely. Let us feel your remorse, understand?"

"You!"

Jiang Chutian had already been on the verge of exploding, and Kalina's provocation made the anger in his chest erupt with a roar.

Apologize again? And smile while doing it?

This was no longer humiliation. She was throwing his dignity, Jiang Chutian's dignity, on the ground and grinding it to pieces underfoot!

His face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He abruptly turned and looked to Jiang Chen for help once again.

Yet Jiang Chen stood there expressionless, as though he had not seen his look, gazing coldly into the distance and completely ignoring his plea.

Jiang Chen's indifference was the last straw that broke Jiang Chutian.

The last trace of hope in his eyes went out.

Just as Jiang Chutian gritted his teeth and prepared to cast aside his dignity entirely—

"Kalina, let it go."

Lin Luoluo spoke up.

"One apology is enough."

Kalina looked at her in surprise and was about to say something, but saw Lin Luoluo shake her head.

In truth, it was not that one apology was enough.

Lin Luoluo knew better than anyone that an apology forced out of him like this meant nothing.

Everything Jiang Chutian was doing now was not because he had realized his mistake, but because Kalina was here and Jiang Chen's order was bearing down on him.

His apology had never been directed at her, but at the power behind Kalina and Jiang Chen's authority.

Once Kalina was gone, once nothing restrained him, this man would tear her to pieces without hesitation.

In the eyes of these lofty figures, crushing a Contract Spirit Master from the Poor District like her was probably easier than stepping on an ant, requiring even less effort.

So making him apologize was meaningless.

The most important thing was to increase her strength as quickly as possible, until she possessed enough power to speak to them as an equal, or even make them afraid.

True respect had never come from others' charity. It had to be won with one's own fists.

It was a principle she had heard from Bai Chen and also come to understand for herself.

Meanwhile, Bai Chen was also shouting angrily in her mind.

Damn it! That guy actually cut off one of my tentacles! This is an outrageous humiliation!

Once we get back, let's keep going to the Mine Tunnel to grind monsters whenever we have time! Grind like crazy! Get our levels up! Sooner or later, I'll personally pay him back for that sword strike!!

Hearing Bai Chen's indignant complaints, Lin Luoluo hurried to soothe him in her heart.

On the other side, seeing Lin Luoluo's firm attitude, Kalina watched her for a moment and confirmed that the girl truly did not want to pursue the matter. She could only purse her lips in some regret and say:

"All right, since you've said so."

She let the wavering Jiang Chutian off and turned her gaze to Jiang Chen, whose expression had remained ugly all along.

"All right, the apology is settled. Now, shouldn't we discuss our wager?"

Kalina stretched lazily and said with a smile:

"Young Master Jiang, you haven't forgotten, have you? When are you handing over that shop on Dawnlight Academy's commercial street?"

Jiang Chen's eye twitched involuntarily at her words.

The shop they had been competing for was in an excellent location and brought in gold by the day.

It brought the family over a million silver coins in net income every year—a veritable money tree!

Even though he was a young master of the Upper City Jiang Family's direct line, the Jiang Family was still an emerging family, and what it lacked most was precisely the sort of foundation that could steadily produce resources.

Now, because of that good-for-nothing Jiang Ruoxue's stupidity, he had handed over such a money tree with his own hands.

At the thought, Jiang Chen's heart bled, and waves of pain at the loss washed over him.

He gritted his teeth, practically squeezing the words out between them:

"Don't worry. I, Jiang Chen, naturally stand by my word.

Once I return to the Upper City, I'll immediately explain the matter to my family and handle the transfer procedures."

With that, the resentment in his eyes grew even stronger as he looked at Lin Luoluo and Kalina.

In his eyes, one of these two women had made him lose face in public, and the other had caused his family enormous losses. They both deserved to die!