Dividing the Tai Ling Lotus

“Give up.”

Luo Jin’s uninterrupted string of victories had inflated his confidence to the bursting point, convincing him he could effortlessly best Shangguan Xue. The moment he stepped onto the stage, he urged her to surrender.

Shangguan Xue, however, paid him no mind, adopting an expression that eloquently conveyed, ‘A dog is barking at me, but I am far too indifferent to acknowledge its existence.’

‘How detestable! To dare disregard me! I will kill you!’

Roaring inwardly, Luo Jin sprang forward the instant he heard the word “Begin,” his fist arcing menacingly towards her head.

The “Maha Art” he cultivated was inherently overbearing, and his “Sacred Devil Body” spiritual seal was renowned for its fierce body-tempering properties. Consequently, his punch descended with such formidable force that any ordinary person struck by it would undoubtedly have their head burst open.

Yet, his opponent was Shangguan Xue.

‘Qin Yueyan possessed a physique bonus, her bodily strength far surpassing the Body Tempering Realm, which is why I dared not directly confront her. But you, you possess no such special physique…’

Muttering this private thought, her delicate hand gripped Luo Jin’s wrist with unerring precision. Exploiting the momentum of his forward charge, she flung him effortlessly towards the shimmering lake.

‘This is bad!’ Luo Jin’s face paled with alarm.

Fortunately, his toes managed to hook onto the very edge of the ground, granting him a crucial, fleeting moment to regain control of his body.

‘Hmph, such annoying luck…’ Shangguan Xue pouted, a hint of disdain crossing her features.

‘That was close, so incredibly close! I almost plunged in…’ Luo Jin released a shaky breath of relief, yet his anger surged immediately thereafter, a fervent desire to cleave Shangguan Xue into a thousand pieces consuming him.

His burgeoning fury ignited his Merfolk bloodline. The lake water churned in response, and the latent spiritual energy hidden within flowed into Luo Jin’s body, empowering him as if he had suddenly grown wings.

‘Alright, your luck has expended itself; it cannot bring you any closer to the opportunity of the Grand Spirit Lotus.’

Shangguan Xue sneered inwardly, still refusing to grant Luo Jin the courtesy of her gaze.

Predictably, this dismissive attitude deeply wounded Luo Jin’s pride. He erupted in a fit of uncontrollable rage, channeling all his spiritual energy to charge at Shangguan Xue, unleashing a relentless barrage of heavy punches.

Shangguan Xue met his assault with a single, decisive palm strike.

Though this palm strike appeared utterly unremarkable, its precision, acute force, fierce palm wind, formidable power, commanding posture, and profound skill were such that they utterly nullified Luo Jin’s continuous flurry of punches, causing them to dissipate into nothingness.

It was akin to a torrential downpour rendered entirely harmless by the simple act of opening an umbrella.

‘This, how is this even possible…?’ Luo Jin’s mind threatened to shut down entirely.

What he failed to notice, however, was Shangguan Xue’s right arm hanging limply at her side. The explosive force she had unleashed in that fleeting instant had fractured her own bones.

‘Indeed, attempting to employ such advanced techniques with this current body proves far too much for it to endure…’

Shangguan Xue remained entirely unsurprised by this inevitable outcome.

Luo Jin intended to continue his assault, but a sudden, searing pain flared within him, a burning sensation accompanied by countless needle-like pricks.

‘I used too much spiritual energy just now; I’ve injured myself…’ Luo Jin blinked, then belatedly realized what had occurred.

‘Ha, if you cultivated the “Yin-Yang Wood Art,” your spiritual energy would be peaceful, and you wouldn’t sustain such injuries.’

‘But since you insist on cultivating the overbearing “Maha Art,” your spiritual energy is inherently difficult to control, so of course you’ll end up hurting yourself.’

Having keenly observed the turn of events, Shangguan Xue shrewdly seized the opportunity to add insult to injury, delivering a final, decisive blow.

She abruptly executed an outward swing kick, her left leg lashing out from in front of her to the left, the sole of her shoe striking Luo Jin squarely in the face.

*Smack!* With a sharp, resounding crack, Luo Jin lost his footing completely, sliding off the arena stage and plunging into the water below.

“They won!” The disciples lining the shore cheered thunderously, each one dancing with unbridled excitement.

It was not that their relationship with Shangguan Xue was particularly strong; rather, their collective dislike for Luo Jin was profound.

“The victor is Shangguan Xue!” the Instructor declared, a gentle smile gracing her lips as she addressed the girl. “Go and pluck the Grand Spirit Lotus.”

Shangguan Xue nodded, then stepped onto a luminous path conjured from the Instructor’s spiritual energy, making her way towards the Grand Spirit Lotus.

As she inhaled the lotus’s intoxicating fragrance, Shangguan Xue felt the spiritual energy within her body suddenly surge and boil, a powerful impulse urging her to quickly pluck the lotus and consume it whole.

Just then, a violent splash erupted from the lake behind her.

“I’ll kill you!”

Accompanied by a furious roar, Luo Jin leaped from the spray, a bone-shaped dagger clutched tightly in his right hand, thrusting it with murderous intent towards Shangguan Xue’s back.

‘This must be the short blade his mother left him, forged from the bones of a Kunpeng, isn’t it?’

‘The Kunpeng is revered as the supreme ruler among aquatic demonic beasts, wielding Yin water with inherent powers of erosion and assimilation. To be stabbed by this blade would surely mean death or crippling injury.’

Shangguan Xue, who knew Luo Jin’s every weakness and strength, murmured these thoughts to herself inwardly, completely disregarding his treacherous sneak attack. She trusted implicitly that she would not be harmed.

Indeed, halfway through his desperate charge, the water spray behind Luo Jin suddenly froze solid.

The ice transformed into a massive, grasping hand, seizing his lower body with an iron grip, then slammed him forcefully into the muddy earth.

“How utterly audacious!” The Instructor’s face contorted with fury, her ice-blue eyes blazing with righteous indignation. “To dare commit such an act of violence in broad daylight, within the very halls of the academy!”

“Instructor, Instructor, I was wrong.” Luo Jin suddenly came to his senses and hastily admitted his mistake, his voice laced with panic. “It was merely a momentary impulse; please, just let me off this once.”

The Instructor, however, ignored his pleas, leaving him precisely where he was, embedded in the ground.

‘A mere Body Tempering Realm cultivator, attempting murder in front of a Death Comprehension Realm expert, with a Nirvana Realm master watching nearby? Who, pray tell, granted you such unparalleled courage?’

Shangguan Xue scoffed softly, then plucked the vibrant pink Grand Spirit Lotus before returning to the safety of the shore.

Resisting the overwhelming urge to consume the Grand Spirit Lotus through sheer willpower, she turned to the Instructor and inquired:

“Instructor, am I permitted to dispose of this Grand Spirit Lotus as I see fit?”

“Certainly, it is now entirely yours,” the Instructor affirmed with a decisive nod.

“Good.” Shangguan Xue turned to face her fellow students. “This Grand Spirit Lotus has seventy-two petals; each of you shall take one. And please, don’t be shy; I, myself, will take three.”

Her careful calculation implicitly included Luo Jin among the recipients.

Shangguan Xue was subtly conveying a message to the old dean, who was observing them intently: she wanted Luo Jin to remain within the academy.

Within her mind, the Martial Saint muttered contemplatively:

‘Luo Jin cannot be expelled… I need him to follow a path similar to his original one, so that I can intercept and seize his opportunities in advance.’

‘If he’s driven out of the academy, and he encounters some opportunity unknown to me, that would truly be disastrous.’

‘My foresight stems only from my reincarnation; I am not omniscient.’

The Instructor, utterly astonished, couldn’t help but interject, “Are you truly going to divide the Grand Spirit Lotus?”

“Yes,” Shangguan Xue replied with a simple nod.

Shangguan Xue nodded, her internal thoughts centered on the idea that ‘These children later fought valiantly against the Yan and Merfolk; it’s beneficial for them to mature earlier.’

The Instructor sighed, ultimately choosing to respect her decision. “…The Grand Spirit Lotus belongs to you; the final decision is yours alone.”

Once all the disciples, with the exception of Luo Jin, had received a petal, Shangguan Xue plucked one herself and casually tossed it onto Luo Jin’s face, where he remained humiliatingly embedded in the earth.

In Luo Jin’s heart, this act was undeniably a profound humiliation. However, he dared not express his anger in the Instructor’s imposing presence, so he could only swallow his indignation and endure.

Shangguan Xue, having accurately divined his thoughts, maintained an impassive expression as she casually put away the Grand Spirit Lotus, a cold sneer forming deep within her heart:

‘You ungrateful wretch. If Xiang Yu had you, he would never have been defeated, for you are ‘Chu’s Victory’.’