Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing secretly rejoiced.
Dai Mubai slowly raised his head and looked at the gray-clad figure by the door. His lips moved, but no words came out. He lowered his head again.
The tall student from Canghui Academy struggled to get up from the floor. One side of his face was smeared with blood, his lips trembled, and he glared at Ji Ye, but couldn't say a word.
Just then, footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Someone came down from the shadows on the second floor.
He looked to be around forty, dressed in a dark green robe. His gray-white hair was combed neatly, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose.
The badge on his chest was engraved with the character "Cang," with four stars beneath it.
He was the teacher leading Canghui Academy's group.
He walked slowly, each step steady.
He glanced at the students sprawled across the doorway, then at the tall student's scraped face. Finally, he lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Ji Ye.
He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. His face showed little emotion, and his voice was calm, but a suppressed anger underlay his words.
"Little friend, aren't you being a bit too arrogant?"
Ji Ye turned to look at him, the same faint smile still on his lips.
"Your people made the first move."
"What I saw was you beating up my students."
"Then you should've come down sooner."
The teacher's mouth twitched. He drew a deep breath and walked slowly to the doorway.
He took off his dark green robe and tossed it aside, revealing a close-fitting dark green outfit.
Five Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
White, yellow, yellow, purple, purple.
Five rings. A Soul King.
Dark green armor grew from beneath his skin, covering his whole body from his shoulders to his fingers, from his chest to his knees. Every plate gleamed with a cold, hard sheen.
A massive tortoiseshell rose from his back, dark green and covered in irregular patterns.
His abdomen bulged too, the shell plating over his chest.
He looked just like a tortoise standing upright.
"Even a Soul Emperor would have to put in a great deal of effort to break through my defenses." The teacher's voice came from behind the shell, deep and muffled.
"Boy, do you have the strength of a Soul Emperor?"
Ji Ye looked at him, the smile on his lips growing a little wider.
He reached into the empty air with his right hand, as if plunging it into an invisible pool. Space rippled outward in a circle.
He slowly drew his hand back, pulling a translucent long sword from the void. The blade looked as if it had been carved from solidified air, while space warped faintly along its edges. Fine black cracks appeared in its wake.
"Soul Emperor-level defenses?"
Ji Ye held the sword across his body. Its edge gleamed with a faint, cold light beneath the sun.
"Too bad. I ignore defenses."
The instant the words left his mouth, he vanished.
His First Soul Ring lit up.
Void: Traceless!
In the next moment, he appeared before the teacher and thrust the Void Sword straight at him.
The teacher didn't dodge. He raised the arm covered in tortoiseshell to block, a disdainful smile on his face.
His shell could only be broken through with great effort even by a Soul Emperor. What could a little brat do?
The sword's tip touched the shell.
There was no clang of metal striking metal.
The Void Sword passed through the tortoiseshell like it was passing through a thin mist, piercing straight into the teacher's arm.
Blood gushed from the wound at once, trickling down through the gaps between the armor plates and leaving a striking red streak across the dark green shell.
The teacher's smile froze on his face.
He looked down at the wound on his arm, then up at the long sword that had pierced his defenses. His mouth hung open, but not a word came out.
Ji Ye didn't pause.
He pulled out the sword, spun around, and slashed the teacher's shoulder with his second strike.
A crack split the shell, and blood seeped from the fissure.
The third strike pierced beneath his ribs, the fourth slashed the outside of his thigh, and the fifth stabbed through a gap in the tortoiseshell on his back—
Every strike pierced his defenses. Every strike drew blood.
The whole thing took less than three breaths.
After sheathing the sword, Ji Ye retreated, flashing back to the inn's entrance, three zhang from the teacher.
He flicked his wrist. Spatial power shook the beads of blood from the Void Sword, leaving not a drop behind.
The teacher stood rooted to the spot, trembling all over.
His shoulder, arm, ribs, thigh, and back were bleeding from five wounds. Crisscrossed bloodstains covered his dark green shell.
His face was deathly pale, and his lips quivered. His knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground with a thud.
"Ahhhhh!"
"What did you do to me?!"
"How is this possible?!"
"How could you hurt me?!"
He braced both hands against the ground as blood dripped into the dirt, one drop at a time.
The inn and its surroundings fell utterly silent.
The tall student from Canghui Academy stood in the dirt, not even bothering to wipe the blood from his face. His eyes bulged like copper bells as he stared at the wounds on his teacher, his lips trembling like a sieve.
The other students were no better. They were all terrified.
Ma Hongjun swallowed. His voice was as dry as sandpaper.
"A Soul... a Soul King... couldn't stop him?"
Oscar was dumbstruck too.
"Just how strong is Ji Ye...?"
Tang San stared at the sword in Ji Ye's hand, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints.
He had seen all sorts of weapons, but never anything like this.
This sword didn't look like metal...
It was tangible, yet intangible.
Ji Ye looked down at the teacher kneeling on the ground. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard him clearly.
"What are you standing around for?"
He put away the Void Sword and returned to his seat.
"If you keep standing around, your teacher will die."
Only then did the people from Canghui Academy seem to have a basin of ice water dumped over them. They jolted back to their senses.
The tall student was the first to rush over. He grabbed the teacher by the shoulder and called back to the others, "Someone, quick! Help! Lift him! Get him back!"
"Quick, get the teacher back!"
The other students also rushed over, stumbling as they hurried to help the teacher up. Some tried to stop the bleeding, while others took off their clothes to wrap his wounds.
No one dared look at Ji Ye.
The seven of them hurriedly carried the teacher away, not even bothering to finish their meal.
Ji Ye sat in his seat and took a sip of tea.
The tea had gone cold again. He frowned, set down the cup, and picked up his chopsticks to grab some food.
Ning Rongrong darted back to sit beside him and picked up the teapot to refill his cup with hot water.
Zhu Zhuqing returned to her seat too, sitting very close, close enough that her chest almost touched Ji Ye's shoulder.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar stood nearby, looking at each other in confusion, unsure where to sit.
Tang San helped Dai Mubai back into his seat. Dai Mubai kept his head lowered, leaned against the back of the chair, and shut his eyes, breathing heavily.
Zhao Wuji came down the stairs.
He had watched everything from the second floor, taking in every detail.
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