Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Today was the first day of the team tournament, and Shuang Yun still had not returned.

Wei said she would never come back.

Because of Shuang Yun's absence, Mo Ying's team now consisted of only her and Xiya, whereas the opposing team had five members.

"So these are Dreamscape Academy's best students, huh? They look impressive."

In a lavishly decorated room inside the training grounds, Li Shihe stood beside the Rainfall Master, watching Mo Ying in the arena wielding two long blades—one black, one white.

"Light and dark dual affinity... That physique reminds me of someone."

Rainfall Master asked.

"A not-so-close friend. She's also born of light and dark,"

Li Shihe replied with a smile.

Mo Ying took out one of her opponents.

Now it was a two versus four situation in the arena.

"Both her swordsmanship and movements are quite impressive—she's clearly had training, and her talent is outstanding, truly a child favored by the heavens."

Li Shihe opened a bottle of milk and inserted a straw.

With Xiya's help using spatial magic, Mo Ying swiftly flitted to every corner of the arena, her every move a flash of instant teleportation.

"The other girl is also a genius. She understands space magic deeply; to command this level of spatial magic at her age is already remarkable."

"Even if these two girls attended Celestial Blossom Academy, they'd be 'Blossom' level students."

"It's rare for anyone to receive such high praise from you,"

Rainfall Master remarked to Li Shihe.

Li Shihe said, tossing his finished milk bottle into a distant trash bin.

Li Shihe turned to Rainfall Master, wondering if such impressive students as Mo Ying and Xiya would put any pressure on her.

Rainfall Master replied with a relaxed smile.

"Don't worry. They're not surpassing you anytime soon."

Li Shihe leaned against the wall and dozed off, seeming uninterested in the match anymore.

"Well, I do have the world's strongest teacher guiding me."

Rainfall Master looked at Li Shihe with reverence, as if a devout believer gazing at her deity.

"World's strongest, huh? I could never live up to that title,"

Li Shihe said dismissively.

Suddenly, wild cheers erupted from the training grounds.

Mo Ying and Xiya had won. The two of them, outnumbered two to five, had defeated their opponents.

The battle left the students from other schools and the attending nobles keenly aware of just how strong the two girls were.

After leaving the arena, Mo Ying collapsed onto the ground without caring about her appearance.

Xiya quietly sat down next to her and took a deep breath.

It was clear both girls were exhausted.

Understandably so—after all, it was a two versus five. Winning was already unbelievable.

"A spectacular match. Good work."

Liushu tossed Mo Ying a bottle of cold drink he'd just bought from a vending machine.

Now, vending machines sold cold drinks directly—it was super convenient.

"Xiya, you want some orange juice? This is all that's left."

Liushu tossed a box of iced orange juice to Xiya.

"Thank you, I'm not picky with these,"

Xiya replied gratefully.

"Phew, fully revived!"

Finishing her drink, Mo Ying exclaimed loudly.

"Well? Am I awesome or what!"

Mo Ying boasted to Liushu.

"Yes, yes, you're top of your class,"

Liushu responded perfunctorily.

"What's with that patronizing tone?"

Mo Ying grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Mo Ying didn't ask further about Shuang Yun's whereabouts. Although she was innocent and a bit slow on the uptake, she sensed something was off.

She didn't want to put Liushu in a difficult spot.

"You have two excellent students."

From a distance, Li Shihe approached, with Rainfall Master by her side.

"Mm, no matter how many times I see her, she's still so handsome..."

Mo Ying muttered quietly upon seeing Li Shihe.

She quickly sensed Rainfall Master's somewhat hostile gaze.

Mo Ying didn't understand where that hostility was coming from.

"Is it Teacher Liushu instructing these two?"

Rainfall Master stepped forward and addressed Liushu.

"Ah, you could say that."

Liushu shrugged. Even facing this imperial princess exuding such an aura of nobility, he remained unruffled.

"To produce such outstanding students, teacher Liushu must have some amazing teaching methods."

Rainfall Master spoke politely.

Amazing teaching methods?

Right, that was absolutely true.

Playing card games, monopoly, ludo, and Mahjong every day... How could that not be effective?

In fact, Liushu hadn't taught Mo Ying or Xiya anything—they were both natural-born geniuses, beloved of the heavens; there wasn't much to teach.

Moreover, Liushu didn't know any magic.

Yes, in this magic-centric world, Liushu couldn't use any magic.

You wanted him to teach others? What a joke—he couldn't even do it himself.

He was just a salaryman, biding his time each day, eating, drinking, and waiting for life to pass.

"You flatter me. I'm a far cry from your own teachers,"

Li Shihe choked on her water.

"I vaguely recall the last time you praised me, the sun hadn't even risen in this world yet,"

"I once heard there's a well-known legend in Anzelona."

Rainfall Master raised her eyes and met Liushu's gaze.

"Thousands of years ago, there was a Godslayer in Anzelona."

"With a single strike, he shattered mountains; with a second, he split the sea."

"He saved Anzelona, which had been driven to the brink by war, killed the Goddess of Calamity, and rescued the world."

"In each of the Three Great Battles, his legend remains."

A smile curled at the corners of Rainfall Master's mouth as she kept her gaze fixed on Liushu.

"Most people in the world know that story,"

The story of the Godslayer was widely told in Yggdonia; many had heard it.

"Yes, but in the royal library of Lixiya, there's a much more detailed record."

"I still remember how shocked I was reading that story."

"And I remember—within those chapters, the Godslayer's true name was written."

"His name was... Jiu—"

Rainfall Master clutched her head as Li Shihe hit her with a tossed apple.

That interrupted her speech.

"There are many records of the Godslayer, so maybe the name you saw was just added at random. In other versions, other names appear. Unless you travel back in time and ask the Godslayer herself, it's better not to make assumptions,"

Li Shihe said, walking over to Rainfall Master and stooping to pick up the fallen apple.

Rainfall Master quietly retreated behind Li Shihe.

"Let's go. The sun's so strong, are we making steamed buns here?"

Rainfall Master said nothing more, following Li Shihe away.

At Li Shihe's side, she displayed none of the airs of a first imperial princess—she was instead exceptionally obedient.

"Unrequited love indeed,"

Liushu said with an impish grin.

Li Shihe was right—there were many versions of the Godslayer legend passed down over time. In some, the Godslayer's name appeared, but it differed every time.

No one really knew what the Godslayer's true name was.

However, the book Rainfall Master read was different.

That one was kept in Lixiya's royal library.

Could even that be a fake?

"I'm heading back. What about you two?"

Liushu looked at them.

"I want to stay and watch the afternoon matches,"

"If Xiya's staying, then I'll stay too!"

Mo Ying raised her hand.

"Suit yourselves. I'm going back for some air conditioning. See you."

Liushu waved as he left.

Mo Ying and Xiya stayed behind to watch the afternoon matches.

The first match of the afternoon.

Once again, a two-person team appeared.

"A student from the Support Department and one from the Medical Department?" Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs N0velFire.ɴet

Mo Ying said in surprise.

Xiya still remembered their names.

During the practice matches, the two had been eliminated in the first round.

Yinlin was from the Support Department, yiwei from the Medical Department.

In a team tournament that allowed for free-form combinations, these two students had virtually no hope.

Not even two minutes into the match, yinlin raised her hand and conceded.

The student charging at her with a weapon stumbled and nearly fell, clearly not expecting Yinlin to just give up.

The audience let out a chorus of disappointed boos.

This was Dreamscape Academy's ladder tournament—never before had a student surrendered.

With Prism Shields, there was no real risk of injury even if attacked—hardly any, virtually no student would ever concede .

Everyone would at least put up some resistance—there was nothing to lose, after all.

"Hey! Can't you take this seriously?!"

The student facing Yinlin was annoyed, stepping right up to her.

The sudden surrender left her opponent completely at a loss.

"I am taking this seriously—ah, yawn..."

Yinlin replied, then yawned drowsily.

Mo Ying felt that Yinlin looked like someone who'd been up all night gaming.

The nun named Yiwei said nothing, simply standing quietly beside Yinlin.

"What are you doing?!"

The opposing team seemed even more upset; Yinlin's surrender had clearly provoked their ire.

Naturally, they'd wanted to show off in front of so many people—now the chance was lost.

They'd prepared so much, but never got to put any of it to use—their expectations dashed.

One of the female students reached out toward Yinlin.

A figure grabbed her hand.

"The match is over. She has surrendered."

Wei's voice was ice-cold and instantly extinguished the girl's anger.

This elven head teacher commanded authority among both students and teachers.

"If you act again, you'll be violating the rules."

Wei released the girl's hand.

The girl still seemed unwilling.

"Announce the result,"

Wei said to the referee.

Even the referee was cowed by Wei's forceful manner.

"Since Team A has chosen to surrender, team B is declared the winner," the referee announced.

Unlike other matches, this one ended in total silence.

Only the murmurs of the audience remained.

Many had expected this pair, like Mo Ying and Xiya, to be remarkable; they watched with anticipation.

Instead, these two girls surrendered right away, as if the outcome of the tournament was of no concern to them.

Were they looking to get summoned by the Principal? This was damaging to Dreamscape's reputation.

"Principal... this..."

On the dais, teacher Zhi Ying looked at Principal Alitos.

The principal seemed unconcerned.

"Wow, Wei's skin is so fair—I wonder what brand of cosmetics she uses?"

The principal's attention was, bizarrely, on that.

"Director Wei is an elf—perhaps she uses things from the Sea of Elves?"

Yes, Wei's complexion was indeed enviable.

This teacher's observation point was just as odd.

"We'll have to ask her to get us some next time," the principal suggested.

"Absolutely, absolutely!"

Zhi Ying agreed enthusiastically.

Clearly, there isn't a single woman who doesn't care about her skin.

"Well, goodbye then."

Yinlin waved lightly, taking her leave of her opponents.

Only Team B remained on the arena, gripping their weapons in silent frustration.

"Those people, they're just wherever they go,"

Li Shihe said with a helpless smile.