Chapter 135: How could someone be so foolish!

The whole place was dead silent.

Everyone from Jifa stood in a daze, doubting what they’d just seen with their own eyes.

Clearly, Ling Zhou had the absolute advantage just a moment ago. How did he suddenly lose?

Unbelievable.

The folks from Tiantong were also caught off guard.

They never thought Li Yunxian would lose, but they also never expected him to win so quickly, so effortlessly.

They were all among the top 500 on the arena ranking, and they knew just how hard it was to move up.

They had an idea of just how strong the top student of the Academy’s arena was.

But still, after just over two minutes, the battle was over.

Only now did the Tiantong crowd have a vague sense of Li Yunxian’s strength.

But they were only stunned for a moment before joy bloomed across their faces.

Li Yunxian had defeated Jifa’s number one.

Tiantong had triumphed over Jifa!

Delight rippled through everyone’s eyes. They were just about to cheer for Li Yunxian on the stage when—just as the shout escaped their lips—Li Yunxian’s figure on the stage abruptly vanished.

All that remained were the crimson stares of the Jifa crowd, turning in their direction at the sound.

The Tiantong group:

Huh, being Li Yunxian’s teammate doesn’t seem all that safe either.

The referee swiftly cleared away all the spell creations from the stage, and only then did Ling Zhou come back to his senses about having lost.

He glanced at the Tiantong group, who were being claimed one by one by his classmates and led off for some “in-depth exchanges,” then stepped down from the stage.

Someone immediately rushed over, supporting Ling Zhou with a worried expression and softly calling, “Ling Zhou, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Ling Zhou replied absentmindedly, his expression a bit vacant, and muttered to himself, “I’ve got some thoughts…”

Those who had gathered out of concern for Ling Zhou’s condition listened as he began formulating new combinations of spells, and black lines appeared all over their faces.

Well, that was a waste of worry.

Someone couldn’t help but complain, “I was worried you’d lost your balance after being in the lead and suddenly suffering a cliff-like defeat.”

Ling Zhou looked up at them in confusion.

“When was I ever in the lead?”

Everyone nearby was stunned.

“You weren’t? But weren’t you always chasing her down with your branches?”

Ling Zhou didn’t deny that, but…

“I was waiting for her to slip up. She was stepping on my branches, using her sense of my spiritual energy to judge my position.”

Otherwise, everyone knows Floating Technique. She didn’t need to land on my creations.

And I used Mist Technique, too.” Ling Zhou didn’t bother explaining further.

They were all from the same academy—everyone had seen Ling Zhou use this killer move before.

“She’s got excellent body control. Her inner energy is smooth and flawless. I couldn’t find a single gap to invade from her surface. And she was already about to find my position. That’s why I released Qingshe.”

Qingshe was the name of his long whip.

“Besides, Li Yunxian didn’t go all out. Her sword could still stop on a dime at the last moment.”

That said it all about the ease with which the other party fought.

“The gap is too big. Nothing more to say.” Ling Zhou had always won, but his focus was on cultivation. As for losing this time, though he felt a little regretful, he’d given it his all and didn’t find it unacceptable.

Only…

Ling Zhou looked at everyone with an apologetic expression.

“Sorry, I lost.”

Everyone from Jifa felt unwilling and humiliated, but hearing Ling Zhou say that, one by one they sheepishly scratched their heads.

“Lost is lost. Didn’t Lan Weiyu and Gu Qingmei lose too?”

“I couldn’t have won if I was up there anyway.”

“Honestly, seeing you finally lose, I’m kind of happy.”

That last remark sent everyone into knowing laughter.

Of course, it would’ve been even more harmonious if the background noise wasn’t filled with Tiantong students like Ying Qian, howling and yelling.

The classmates surrounding Ling Zhou gradually dispersed, leaving only the person who’d first helped support him.

She was the one who’d messaged Ling Zhou at the start, telling him about the arena and asking him to come over.

“Ling Zhou, is that Li Yunxian really that amazing?” she asked curiously. “If you could compete against her again, do you have confidence you could win?”

Ling Zhou thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m confident I wouldn’t lose so quickly.”

She looked at him with envy and longing. “Her luck’s even better than yours.”

Ling Zhou turned to look at her and said earnestly, “Lang Xuan, focus on yourself. Don’t think about these things. If something is meant for you, it’ll be yours naturally. If not, don’t force it.”

Lang Xuan felt as if Ling Zhou could see right through her thoughts.

In a fit of embarrassment and anger, she yanked her hand away and huffed, “Easy for you to say, you have everything. If I had what you have, I could focus on myself too. Even more than you!”

Ling Zhou watched Lang Xuan’s retreating figure and let out a long sigh.

Having finished her task, Li Yunxian used a spell to leave the arena and calmly returned to her own dormitory.

Jifa had arranged decent dorms for the exchange students, but compared to the villa given to the Qingteng class, it was still lacking.

No private villa, not even a solo room.

This was a twin room, barely over twenty square meters, with only a wall separating it from the next room.

Having lived in much worse conditions in the world of cultivation, Li Yunxian didn’t feel this was hard to accept.

On the contrary, she found the prospect of a month in a communal dorm rather novel.

Alright.

There’s a certain…flavor to this.

Only…

She wondered if her roommate, the neighbors, and even the boys’ dorm would be able to come back tonight.

Li Yunxian was well aware what would happen after she left her classmates behind.

If she didn’t leave on her own and stayed put, whatever she said or did would only make the Jifa crowd even angrier.

Leaving was definitely the best move.

So, from the very beginning, she’d only planned to go alone…

Ahem.

She should buy some things and visit them at the infirmary later.

Li Yunxian patted her conscience at the thought.

After tidying up her dorm a little, Li Yunxian recalled the area Su Wenjing had shown her and headed toward Jifa’s recreation area.

All food and entertainment—Li Yunxian had been to Tiantong, and to Wenwu, and now she was here at Jifa. Each place truly had its own specialties.

She sampled some of Jifa’s signature snacks, picked a few she liked, and bought extra to stash away in her storage artifact.

After a happy stroll, Li Yunxian suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Someone was heading straight for her.

A completely unfamiliar ninth-level Qi Practitioner. She vaguely recalled seeing her among the people at the arena earlier.

Li Yunxian sifted through her memory of the arena scene.

This person seemed to have a good relationship with the number one, Ling Zhou.

Was she coming to avenge Ling Zhou?

Li Yunxian considered a few possibilities, but pretended not to notice, continuing her shopping as usual.

So, as she walked out of a shop, even though she sensed where the other person was, she kept going without pausing.

“Ah!!” The other girl widened her eyes in alarm as soup and broth splashed from her hands, spilling onto Li Yunxian’s clothes.

“Sorry!!” she blurted, fumbling around on herself, then hurriedly handed something to Li Yunxian. “Here, wipe it!”

When Li Yunxian saw what she was being handed, even her heart—unmoved by all sorts of storms—couldn’t help but stir.

No words could fully describe her feelings in that moment.

All her emotions condensed into a massive question mark over her head.

Although it had only been about a year and a half since her return, Li Yunxian had slain more than her fair share of foreign races.

She’d acquired plenty of supplies from them.

When it came to recognizing foreign items, Li Yunxian was leagues ahead of any other student.

The thing in the girl’s hand had been altered in appearance, but while it might fool others, it couldn’t fool Li Yunxian, who had studied under Li Tiansuo and could torment him to no end.

This was a Transfer Luck Token.

With the Mother-Child Token, the holders could swap their luck. The Child Token forcibly binds with just a touch.

Though its effect period isn’t great—a resistant party could only swap for three to five days or up to a week, and if not resisting, at most two to three months.

But this was still a luck swap!

Even if the girl pulled out a knife and stabbed her right now, Li Yunxian wouldn’t have been as shocked and baffled as she was at this moment.

This person…was she serious?

She wanted to swap luck with her??

With Li Yunxian’s luck?

Never mind the cultivation world—just look at what’s happened since she came back.

Getting into trouble with the Liu family in Jin City could be chalked up to her own actions.

But when she went to the Jin City test center, just trying to get tested, she stumbled into a robbery by powerful foreigners.

On her way to the capital for the exam, she got on a bus in Kui City and immediately ran into another batch of foreign highway robbers—far stronger than her, out for blood.

During the selection test, the rules were suddenly changed, and the difficulty spiked.

After the test, while pretending to be injured and wanting to go out for a walk, she got caught red-handed and brought back.

At Tiantong Academy, running into the Du family could be blamed on herself too.

But then there was the substitute teaching.

What was supposed to be an easy job turned into exhausting, thankless work.

Then came the Xuanwen Secret Realm.

Which decent person gets dropped right in front of a Hunter a whole major realm higher at the start—a “death trap” right off the bat!

She didn’t even want to think about all the things that happened since.

Whether in the cultivation world or here, her luck had always been like this—never changing.

Maybe her sudden journey to the cultivation world in the first place was just another piece of her lousy luck.

And now!

Someone wanted to swap luck with her!

Li Yunxian’s eyes widened.

But the other girl obviously misunderstood Li Yunxian’s reaction, thinking she’d noticed that what she’d handed over wasn’t a packet of wipes.

She quickly turned her head, pretended to realize her mistake, then awkwardly and hurriedly shoved the Child Token into Li Yunxian’s hand.

After fumbling around in her storage artifact, she finally fished out the real thing.

She sighed in relief and hastily tore open the wipes, holding them out to Li Yunxian.

“Here, wipe up.”

Li Yunxian, still holding the Child Token, looked at her oddly. “No need, I’ll just use a Cleaning Technique.”

With that, Li Yunxian cast Cleaning Technique, and her already-clean spellrobe was immediately spotless, not a speck of dirt left.

She finished and handed the Child Token back.

“What’s your name?” Li Yunxian asked.

The girl’s movement froze slightly as she took the token, looking anxious. “I’m…Lang Xuan….”

Li Yunxian looked at Lang Xuan with meaning. “You’d better be careful these days.”

Lang Xuan:

Judging by the words alone, it sounded like a threat.

But by the tone, it sounded like sincere concern.

Unsure how to respond, Lang Xuan bowed her head, clenching the Child Token tightly.

She felt like something was off, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

***

In the end, she chose to do nothing.

“O-okay.” Lang Xuan answered awkwardly, and scurried away.

Li Yunxian didn’t chase after her.

She watched Lang Xuan’s figure recede into the distance, and just before she disappeared from view, Lang Xuan seemed to trip on something and nearly fell.

Li Yunxian:

Uh…

Her luck…wasn’t great, but it wasn’t that bad…right?

A ninth-level Qi Practitioner…

Back in Jin City, that could put someone in a high position in the official agency, and now she’s tripping over nothing?

Surely not…

Li Yunxian was silent for a long while before pulling out her phone and dialing as she walked.

When Su Wenjing saw Li Yunxian’s name flash on the screen—

He’d just handed out his number to the students hours ago, and already Li Yunxian was calling.

What on earth needed his attention this soon?

Su Wenjing had watched every single “drama” Li Yunxian stirred up at Tiantong.

He was silent for a few seconds before answering.

Li Yunxian’s voice drifted from the phone.

“I got my luck swapped,” she said bluntly, stunning Su Wenjing.

He thought he’d misheard.

“Who the heck would want to swap luck with you?” Su Wenjing was flabbergasted, leaping to his feet.

How much do you have to hate yourself!

Su Wenjing’s tone immediately rubbed Li Yunxian the wrong way. “It’s not that bad, okay?”

Su Wenjing snorted, finally returning the words he’d been itching to say. “Try re-cultivating from the Qi Refining stage all over again, facing Tribulation.”

As someone who had to start over from the Divided Spirit stage, Su Wenjing knew how bad his own luck was, let alone Li Yunxian’s, which was even worse.

Li Yunxian:

The two of them might not be familiar with each other’s stories, but when it came to sore spots, they knew each other too well.

Li Yunxian’s lips twitched, and for once, she found herself unable to argue, so she ignored that and got to the point.

“It was a ninth-level Qi Practitioner named Lang Xuan. Keep an eye on her for the next few days. Don’t let her die from bad luck.”

Su Wenjing was speechless.

Li Yunxian, weren’t you well aware of your own luck?

But he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

As the supervising teacher, it was his duty to clean up after his students.

“You’ve only been at Jifa a few hours. How did she already set her sights on you?” Su Wenjing was baffled.

Li Yunxian, however, was calm.

“I’m used to it. I always become a target for no reason.”

Like that time she went out into the wild from Jin City, she was immediately targeted by two Hunters.

Su Wenjing:

Why did her words sound so simple and yet so tragic?

He sighed and agreed.

“Alright, leave it to me.”