When Lin Xiao's calm voice, without the slightest ripple, rang clearly through the deathly silent mission hall, time itself seemed to freeze completely at that instant.
Every expression, whether mocking or sneering, whether watching the show or looking down in disdain, froze on everyone's faces, forming a series of absurd and comical portraits of humanity.
They... had heard what?
After Zhao Wuji, the Chief Instructor of Heaven Class Three and vice president of the top outer academy force, the Heavenly Martial Society, had openly declared that he had "reserved" this mission, this unknown brat from Yellow Class Nine actually... actually still dared to openly apply to accept it in front of everyone?!
He was... completely disregarding Zhao Wuji and the entire Heavenly Martial Society!
Madness!
This fellow named Lin Xiao was absolutely a madman who did not know the difference between life and death!
After that brief dead silence, the entire hall was instantly drowned beneath sharp gasps of breath!
Everyone's gazes instinctively shifted from Lin Xiao to the Heaven Class genius whom he had utterly ignored—Zhao Wuji.
Sure enough.
At that moment, Zhao Wuji's face, which had previously worn an arrogant and mocking smile, had completely darkened, so gloomy it seemed as though water could drip from it!
A wave of Killing Intent more terrifying and violent than ever before surged skyward from his body!
The powerful pressure of a mid-stage Body Refinement Seventh Level cultivator no longer held back in the slightest, sweeping madly toward Lin Xiao's back like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam!
"Brat!"
His voice, squeezed out word by word through clenched teeth, was filled with endless chill and murderous cold.
"Did you... not hear what I just said?!"
Under that terrifying pressure, enough to split even mountains and rocks, the deacon elder behind the counter could not help letting out a muffled groan, his face instantly turning pale.
Yet Lin Xiao, who bore the brunt of that pressure, remained with his back to Zhao Wuji, his body standing as straight as a spear without swaying in the slightest!
It was as if that terrifying aura, enough to make countless people lose their nerve, truly was no more than a breeze brushing past his clothes.
He did not turn around.
He could not even be bothered to spare an extra glance for Zhao Wuji behind him, who had already flown into a rage like a mad lion.
His gaze remained calmly fixed on the deacon elder behind the counter, whose expression kept changing and whose eyes were filled with shock and hesitation.
"Elder."
He spoke calmly again.
"According to academy rules, missions in the mission hall are claimed on a first-come, first-served basis. No individual or force has the privilege of 'reserving' a mission."
"Now, Yellow Class Nine is the first to formally submit an application to accept this mission."
"You only need to register us according to the rules."
"As for certain people's 'verbal reservation' and... their disgraceful conduct of openly using pressure to threaten fellow disciples in the mission hall, I believe that is not something you need to take into consideration, is it?"
Lin Xiao's words were neither servile nor overbearing, logical and well-founded!
Every word was like a razor-sharp blade, viciously stabbing into the arrogant faces of Zhao Wuji and the entire Heavenly Martial Society!
He had also kicked this dilemma, along with everyone's attention, right back to the deacon elder!
A layer of fine cold sweat instantly appeared on the deacon elder's forehead.
He... he truly felt as though one head had become two!
By the rules, Lin Xiao was completely right! The mission hall had always recognized mission tokens, not personal favors! Whoever registered first got the mission!
But in terms of strength and backing, even if he had a hundred times the courage, he would not dare offend the behemoth known as the Heavenly Martial Society!
Who was Zhao Wuji? The Chief Instructor of Heaven Class Three! And the Heavenly Martial Society behind him was a top force established by Wu Tianxiong, the Chief Instructor of Heaven Class One and the true number one figure of the outer academy! Its power had long permeated every corner of the outer academy. Even deacon elders like them sometimes had to give it some face!
On one side stood the academy's ironclad rules.
On the other stood a powerful force that absolutely could not be offended.
This... this was practically a death trap of a question!
"Brat! You're courting death!"
Just as the deacon elder was caught between two fires and drenched in cold sweat, Zhao Wuji, publicly rebuffed by Lin Xiao and unable to save face, finally erupted completely!
With an angry roar, he no longer cared about academy rules. His right hand, already filled with surging Spiritual Energy, transformed into a sharp claw blazing with raging flames and viciously raked toward Lin Xiao's back!
"Blazing Sun Claw!"
The claw strike was powerful and heavy, swift as lightning! Wherever its wind passed, the air let out sizzling sounds of scorching heat!
He actually intended to cripple Lin Xiao in full view of everyone!
"Stop!"
The deacon elder's expression changed drastically in horror, and he was just about to intervene.
But it was already too late!
At the instant that flaming claw was about to touch Lin Xiao's back.
Lin Xiao, who had been facing away from him all this time, finally moved.
He did not turn around, nor did he shift his feet even half an inch.
Only, the twenty-nine Yellow Class Nine members behind him, who had stood motionless like statues all this time, took a step forward in perfect unison!
"Boom—!"
Twenty-nine streams of iron-blooded Killing Intent, not particularly powerful on their own but sharing the same origin and condensed into one, erupted at that instant!
They rapidly converged and fused in midair, ultimately transforming into a savage black wolf's head formed from pure Killing Intent and battle spirit!
"Awoo—!"
A soundless wolf howl, yet one that could shake the soul, exploded from the mouth of that black wolf's head!
The flaming claw rushing toward them, upon touching that savage wolf's head, seemed to encounter its natural nemesis. The blazing fire covering it was instantly extinguished by that cold, iron-blooded Killing Intent!
Immediately afterward, an irresistible, terrifying impact filled with brute force and tyranny came crashing from the wolf's head!
"Bang!"
A dull thud!
Zhao Wuji felt as though he had not struck a person, but had instead slammed viciously into an iron rampart built from mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
The terrifying combined force sent his entire body staggering back a full three steps!
Every step left a deep, shocking footprint on the mission hall's hard bluestone floor!
When he finally managed to steady himself, his attacking right arm was numb in waves, while the blood and energy within his body churned without end!
He... a dignified mid-stage Body Refinement Seventh Level Chief Instructor of Heaven Class... had actually... actually been forced back by a joint attack from a group of Yellow Class trash whose average cultivation had not even reached the Body Refinement Fifth Level?!
How... how was that possible?!
Dead silence.
The entire mission hall fell into deathly silence once more.
If Lin Xiao's arrogance earlier had merely left everyone shocked and bewildered.
Then the terrifying, military-formation-like combined strength displayed by these twenty-nine Yellow Class Nine students now stirred a stormy sea of horror in every heart!
Were they... were they really that legendary Yellow Class Nine, supposedly made up of nothing but trash?!
That iron-blooded Killing Intent, nearly condensed into tangible form!
That coordination without even the slightest hesitation, as though they had rehearsed it thousands upon thousands of times!
And those twenty-nine pairs of wolf-like eyes, cold and devoid of any emotion, all fixed squarely upon Zhao Wuji at that moment!
Everything about it completely overturned the understanding of everyone present!
Even the deacon elder's cloudy old eyes were filled with incomprehensible shock as he looked at this group that seemed to have shed its sheep's skin and become vicious wolves in an instant!
"You... you lot..."
Zhao Wuji's face alternated between green and white. He pointed at the twenty-nine hard, cold faces behind Lin Xiao, trembling with rage yet unable to say a single word.
Humiliation!
This was the greatest humiliation he had suffered since entering Cloud Creek Academy!
"Senior Zhao."
At that moment, Lin Xiao finally turned around slowly.
He calmly regarded the Heaven Class genius before him, who had become frantic with anger, and a cold curve appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Do you still think we are trash?"
"You...!" Zhao Wuji nearly failed to catch his breath from the retort.
"According to academy rules, openly attacking fellow disciples in the mission hall is a grave offense. At best, one's cultivation is abolished and one is expelled from the academy; at worst, one is executed on the spot as a warning to others."
Lin Xiao's tone remained calm, yet every word was like a towering mountain pressing heavily onto Zhao Wuji's heart.
"If my companions had not reacted quickly just now, I, Lin Xiao, would likely already be crippled."
"Then, Deacon Elder."
Lin Xiao slowly turned his gaze back toward the elder behind the counter, who had already been frightened senseless.
"How does the academy intend to deal with this matter?"
It was over.
When Lin Xiao spoke that question brimming with murderous intent, only those two words remained in the deacon elder's heart.
He knew that today's enmity was set in stone!
On one side was the Heavenly Martial Society, which he could not afford to offend.
On the other was a fierce dragon crossing the river, whose own strength was unfathomable and whose background was mysterious, while his subordinates were a pack of "wolves"!
When weighing two harms, choose the lesser one!
Almost instantly, the deacon elder had made his decision!
Rules were dead!
But people were alive!
He suddenly slammed his palm on the table, righteous fury appearing on his face as he pointed at Zhao Wuji, whose expression had already changed drastically, and shouted sternly, "Zhao Wuji! What nerve you have! You actually dared to commit violence openly in the mission hall! Do you still have any academy rules in your eyes?! Do you still have any respect for me, a deacon elder?!"
This sudden rebuke directly left Zhao Wuji and the group of Heaven Class lackeys behind him utterly dumbfounded.
They never would have dreamed that this old fellow, who normally turned a blind eye to their Heavenly Martial Society, would today... have taken the wrong medicine?!
"You..." Zhao Wuji was shocked and furious, just about to argue.
But the deacon elder gave him no chance to speak at all!
He strode out from behind the counter and quickly approached Lin Xiao, his face instantly piling up with a kindly smile as blooming as a chrysanthemum.
"Student Lin Xiao, you... you have been frightened. Rest assured, this old man will definitely report this to the Discipline Hall and give you and Yellow Class Nine a satisfactory explanation!"
After saying that, he turned back toward Zhao Wuji, his expression becoming stern again as he continued to rebuke him, "As for you! Take your people and get out of the mission hall immediately! Otherwise, do not blame this old man for personally taking you down!"
This smooth, flowing display, practically a masterclass in changing faces, left everyone present staring in stunned silence.
Zhao Wuji's lungs were about to explode with rage!
He clenched his fists tightly, his bloodshot eyes glaring venomously at Lin Xiao.
That gaze seemed to say: Brat, just wait for me!
In the end, he still chose to swallow his anger.
After all, he was the one in the wrong. If they truly made this matter reach the Discipline Hall today, then even with the Heavenly Martial Society behind him, he would probably have to shed a layer of skin!
"Let's go!"
He squeezed out those three words through clenched teeth, then led his equally bedraggled lackeys out of the mission hall under the gazes of the crowd, filled with schadenfreude and amusement.
A top-tier conflict capable of shaking the entire outer academy had actually ended in such a dramatic way that no one had expected.
From beginning to end, Lin Xiao had not even spared that overbearing Zhao Wuji a proper glance.
"Cough, cough..."
Only after driving Zhao Wuji away did the deacon elder clear his throat and return behind the counter.
As he looked at Lin Xiao, not a trace of disdain remained in his eyes, replaced instead by deep wariness.
"Student Lin Xiao, regarding your application to accept the 'Clear Black Wind Mountain Range' mission..." He hesitated before still speaking in a cautionary tone. "This old man must remind you that this mission is no trivial matter. Its level of danger far exceeds your imagination. Are you... truly not going to reconsider?"
"No need."
Lin Xiao's answer remained as clean and decisive as ever.
"Our minds are made up."
Seeing Lin Xiao's unquestionable gaze, along with the twenty-nine pairs of eyes behind him equally filled with resolve and battle spirit, the deacon elder finally let out a long sigh.
He knew he could no longer persuade this group of madmen.
"So be it."
He no longer hesitated. Taking Lin Xiao's mission token, he swiftly operated the light screen before him.
"Ding!"
A soft chime rang out.
The blood-red mission that had hung at the top of the B-rank mission area for three full months, long regarded as a "taboo" by everyone, finally dimmed.
In its place appeared a fresh line of gilded words, enough to make the hearts of all who saw them stop beating.
[Mission Accepted] [Accepting Team: Yellow Class Nine]
The instant those words appeared upon the mission hall's light wall.
The entire outer academy lost its voice.
Then came an earth-shattering uproar, enough to blow the roof off Cloud Creek Academy!
Lin Xiao ignored the tsunami-like waves of discussion erupting behind him.
He merely retrieved his mission token calmly and gave the deacon elder a slight bow.
"Thank you, Elder."
Then he turned toward his companions behind him, whose blood was already boiling and whose battle intent surged to the heavens, and calmly issued his command.
"Destination: Black Wind Mountain Range."
"Move out."
"Yes!"
Twenty-nine perfectly synchronized roars shook the heavens!
Immediately afterward, beneath the hundreds and thousands of complex gazes throughout the Mission Hall—filled with shock, incomprehension, fanaticism, and pity.
This team, formed by a group of boys and girls whom everyone had still regarded as "trash" not long ago.
Was like a black sword that had finally broken free of all shackles and was about to drink blood.
With heads held high and strides bold, they walked out of the Mission Hall.
Before you continue