Chapter 26: The Legal Cultivator Stirs Up Trouble

Lian Yangxia immediately perked up at the mention of gossip.

“Teacher Jiang Ningguang is from the renowned Jiang family, famous for their expertise in formations—that goes without saying. As for Zhang Lingyin, her grandfather is a big shot over in the capital.”

“A big shot? How big? Is he more influential than Shen Bozhi?” She recalled that, aside from the Jiang family, the Shen family was the most extravagant.

Lian Yangxia shook his head. “It’s not the same. The Shen family is wealthy, but the Zhang family holds power.”

He hinted without elaborating, kindly reminding her, “In any case, you’d best be careful from now on.”

Jiang Wangshu stroked her chin, finally understanding why those people were so reluctant to associate with her!

“Aren’t you afraid? I’ve offended some pretty impressive people!”

Truth be told, Jiang Wangshu was rather proud—she’d managed to cross the wealthy Shen family, the powerful Zhang family, and the Jiang family, who were both rich and influential.

Lian Yangxia spread his hands. “I just didn’t want you to feel hurt, junior! What can I say, I’m a good person!”

His inner monologue: You’re loaded. If I keep you happy, even a casual handout is enough for me, a penniless guy, to support my sword.

The class bell rang.

Lian Yangxia shouted, “Hurry, hurry, hurry—this period is the practical lesson on sword flight! We need to get to the field.”

The two of them rushed over, arriving just as the teacher did.

Jiang Wangshu glanced several times at the teacher, feeling a nagging sense of familiarity.

Dai Anrong remembered Jiang Wangshu well—surviving at Linyang Third High was rare, and this one had once managed to break through a formation with only first-level Qi refinement.

While explaining the precautions, Dai Anrong watched Jiang Wangshu; seeing her still at first-level strength, she shook her head inwardly. Such astonishing talent, yet not a hint of progress!

Unaware of any of this, Jiang Wangshu listened to the practical lesson, quietly relieved—thank goodness, she could actually follow these instructions.

When it was time for practice, Dai Anrong handed each student a wooden sword for training. “Focus your energy in your dantian, calm your mind, and steadily channel your spiritual power…”

Some students immediately manipulated the wooden sword; others sweated profusely, barely moving it a few inches.

Lian Yangxia skillfully controlled his spiritual sword, showing off as he made it roll and trace arcs in the air. “Junior, how’s this? If you’re struggling, your senior can teach you—just a little bit of your spir—”

Jiang Wangshu concentrated, her sword tip rhythmically tapping the air, wobbling left and right like a dancing chick. She hadn’t caught his words. “Huh? Senior, what did you say?”

Lian Yangxia watched the wooden sword, more agile than his own, and swallowed the rest of his sentence, grinning sheepishly. “Nothing.”

“All right, the rest of the time is yours for free practice. I’ll come back in an hour to check your progress.”

While Jiang Wangshu and the others practiced, a large crowd descended upon the field.

They gathered in small groups, dressed elegantly; the women’s makeup was impeccable, the men sported two deliberately stylish mustaches, their hands occasionally sparking with light—a clear sign they were mages.

Lian Yangxia rolled his eyes silently, muttering under his breath, “What a bunch of show-offs.”

Mage cultivation was the hottest specialty in this world—every year, applicants exceeded the quota, and only those with exceptional talent or illustrious backgrounds made it in.

Whenever they went out, they paraded their status, eager for everyone to know they were the rising stars of the cultivation world.

Jiang Wangshu had never seen a scene like this. F City had mages, but they were all adults, discreet and reserved.

She’d never encountered people who practically wanted the word “mage” carved onto their faces.

She was baffled, amazed.

“What bad luck! Why are there sword cultivators here?”

“Hey! You few, move to the other side. This field is now reserved for the mage department!”

Two boys strode over, heads held high, nostrils flared, voices arrogant, waving their hands as if shooing livestock.

“Why should we?” a girl with a cold expression retorted. “We were here first.”

One boy sized up the girl. “You look pretty good. If you beg us, maybe we’ll let you stay.”

The other boy swept his gaze over all the sword cultivators present. “The rest of you, get lost! Don’t waste our spell practice time.”

“Yujie, Gu Xiu,” Zhang Lingyin’s gentle voice sounded. She smiled at Jiang Wangshu, her eyes sparkling with malice.

“We’re all classmates—no need for tension! The field’s big enough. Let them stay, it won’t be a problem.”

The two boys followed Zhang Lingyin’s gaze to Jiang Wangshu, recognizing the face that had become popular on the forums. Suddenly, their attitude shifted from expulsion to retention; they subtly blocked the exit.

Yujie said, “Classmate Zhang is thoughtful. You can stay.”

Gu Xiu conjured a shard of ice in his hand, his tone threatening. “You lot better stay put—don’t go anywhere.”

The sword cultivators felt the hostility, anxiety rising in their hearts.

“You can’t do this. We’re free to go where we please,” a shy girl stammered.

Gu Xiu sneered, “If you stutter, just keep quiet. You dirty my ears.”

The shy girl’s face flushed, lips tightly pressed. She glared angrily at Jiang Wangshu. “It’s all your fault. If you weren’t here, they wouldn’t be bothering us.”

Jiang Wangshu shrugged. “Yes, yes, it’s all my fault. Sword cultivators are looked down upon—my fault.”

The girl realized she was being unreasonable, fell silent, and hung her head in defeat, sobbing. “I just thought the sword cultivation department was cheap. First day of school and we’re already getting beaten up…”

Sword cultivation was an unpopular major; most who came here had poor backgrounds. They knew the specialty wasn’t ideal, but to attend a decent university, they gritted their teeth and applied.

Most aimed simply to finish their sword training and find an ordinary job, living out their lives.

Watching the crying girl, the others empathized, yet felt powerless to resist the mages.

After all, mages were destined to guard the astral gates and fight demons; if anything happened, the school would surely favor them.

Everyone accepted this.

Jiang Wangshu possessed the original host’s memories, but the original was a pampered heiress, so she didn’t understand much of this. She simply found it baffling.

Why were they bullied and still acted like quails?

Lian Yangxia took a deep breath, forcing a smile. “We’re all sophomores—no need to hassle the freshmen. Please, give me a little face and I’ll take them away, give you the whole field.”

“Face? Who do you think you are?” Gu Xiu sneered, raising his eyelids in contempt. “A loser who can’t even fly with a sword—don’t bother me.”

With that, he hurled the shard of ice.

The shattered ice glimmered in the sunlight, sparkling and cold as it hurtled toward them, utterly indifferent to whether these freshmen might be injured.