Duan Rong sneered darkly upon hearing Li Yunxian’s confident words. “Yeah, it’ll be over soon.”
With those words, the long whip in Duan Rong’s hand rose like a venomous snake, drawing a sharp and fierce arc through the air, accompanied by a piercing, tearing sound.
The very air above the Practice Arena seemed to be sliced by the whip’s movement, transforming into swirling blades that rained down on Li Yunxian from all directions.
Li Yunxian’s expression remained calm and indifferent.
She thought to herself, everyone here was trying to warn her—how formidable could this Duan Rong really be
Not even close to Shen Bofeng.
The Spirit Sword gave a faint hum as Li Yunxian’s wrist subtly twisted the hilt, instantly summoning a pool of cold, silver radiance.
The chilling sword qi sliced through the threatening momentum of the long whip like a solid blade.
In the blink of an eye, Li Yunxian shifted her stance and closed in on Duan Rong.
Her body tilted slightly, and her sword’s intent abruptly changed.
Before Duan Rong’s long whip could strike the ground, Li Yunxian’s second sword stroke had already landed.
It struck the right hand holding the whip.
The arm was severed cleanly, blood spraying outward.
Too slow.
Staring at the stunned Duan Rong, Li Yunxian’s gaze was cold and indifferent.
Before Duan Rong’s right hand could fall, Li Yunxian had already pulled the long whip from it.
Without the connection to its former wielder, the whip’s energy vanished, leaving only residual momentum.
Li Yunxian’s figure twisted, using the whip’s momentum to launch it into the air.
At its peak, it seemed to be pulled by an invisible force into a straight line.
No longer a whip—it resembled another long sword.
But this “sword” descended with a flexible yet powerful force.
Before anyone could react, it struck Duan Rong’s face with a vicious crack.
The crowd below was completely stunned and bewildered, watching as Duan Rong was abruptly flung away.
In their memories just moments ago, it was still the overwhelming whip barrage from Duan Rong.
Duan Rong was almost like a Shen Bofeng from over half a month ago, while Li Yunxian was no longer the same Li Yunxian from that time.
With the physical constitution of someone at the Foundation Establishment Stage, combined with Li Yunxian’s combat experience, her reflexes were far beyond those of ordinary students.
Duan Rong crashed heavily onto the ground, blood spurting instantly from his mouth and nose, his whole body aching in pain.
After a few seconds, Duan Rong finally realized what had happened.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he instinctively tried to support himself—but his hand reached out and grasped only empty air.
His body collapsed back onto the ground.
He had forgotten he’d already lost his right hand.
His face felt warm, as if liquid was constantly flowing down his cheek.
That was the steady stream of blood.
Seeing Li Yunxian slowly approaching with one hand holding the sword and the other the whip, her expression calm and unyielding, terror finally filled Duan Rong’s eyes.
He opened his mouth, fiercely shouting at Li Yunxian, “Do you know who my father is?”
Li Yunxian didn’t even pause.
Duan Rong’s voice sharpened, his body staggering backward, “You can’t kill me! My father is a Nascent Soul!”
Duan Rong shouted loudly, playing his most valuable card against Li Yunxian.
But Li Yunxian’s slow, deathlike footsteps kept coming.
Duan Rong’s body trembled involuntarily.
Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted the referee teacher sitting high above the arena and recalled something.
“I… I admit…” Duan Rong only managed to utter two rushed syllables.
A heavy blow, like a massive steel hammer, suddenly struck his chest, sending his body flying like a broken leaf in the air.
Blood surged from his throat—he didn’t even have the chance to finish his words.
And Duan Rong himself had lost all awareness to speak.
The final blow darkened his vision; he fainted completely.
Before Duan Rong’s limp body fell, Li Yunxian raised her right hand.
The Spirit Sword flashed like lightning across the sky, piercing through Duan Rong’s chest and pinning his body high against the wall of the Practice Arena.
Like a freshly cured piece of dried meat.
The victory was decided.
It took less than a minute.
***
Just as Li Yunxian said, it ended quickly.
The crowd below fell silent for a moment before erupting into noise again.
There were exclamations, cheers, frowns, and angry shouts.
Li Yunxian lowered her eyes and glanced at the angry figure shouting, “Professor Duan won’t let you get away with this!”
She replied in a calm voice, “Don’t wait for any ‘Professor Duan.’ Why don’t you come up and face him yourself, just like before?”
The angry person’s voice suddenly choked off, abruptly stopping.
Looking at Duan Rong, now displayed like a warning hanging from above, they couldn’t help but shiver.
They didn’t dare answer but forced themselves to glare at Li Yunxian and yell, “You’re an Assistant Instructor! You can’t step into the arena and fight students!”
“This death match was never legitimate from the start!”
“An Assistant Instructor at the lowest Golden Core level, hiding your cultivation and attacking a student—this is against all reason!”
The people nearby whispered to one another, asking if the person who just stepped onto the arena was indeed Assistant Instructor Hua Shunyu.
Hearing this, the other hesitant students who were uncertain slowly spoke up to Li Yunxian.
“You’re Assistant Instructor Hua Shunyu, right?”
“I’ve… attended your classes outside the classroom.”
“I’ve heard your voice…”
“I’ve seen your sword…”
Li Yunxian glanced briefly at those who recognized her and then at the one still trembling with fear and anger, accusing her.
She sighed lightly, not responding to that person.
With a faint tone, she said, “You should find someone better to like.”
Knowing full well the other person wouldn’t accept that, Li Yunxian ignored these insignificant voices.
She turned and looked toward the referee teacher descending from the high platform, who was cautiously watching her.
The referee, weapon already in hand, asked warily, “You’re an Assistant Instructor?”
Li Yunxian didn’t waste time with lengthy explanations.
She pulled out her phone from her Storage Bracelet, walked up to the referee, and showed him the task acceptance information from the Mission Center.
Once the referee saw clearly, Li Yunxian pointed and swiped again, showing him her chat with Hua Shunyu.
Finally, she displayed her student information.
The referee muttered, “……”
His mouth twitched, unsure how to react to Li Yunxian.
He was mid Foundation Establishment Stage and only able to serve as a rotating judge at the arena.
Li Yunxian, a mere Qi Refining Third Layer cultivator, was already a well-known figure among Golden Core Assistant Instructors.
And not just among Golden Core Assistant Instructors.
Though the referee hadn’t attended the recent high-level teachers’ conference, he had heard of the assistant instructor who challenged the Vice Principal at Combined Stage during the meeting.
That assistant instructor’s name was Hua Shunyu.
The referee recalled the chat records Li Yunxian showed him.
Hua Shunyu’s message about being away from the academy for two months…
The referee looked deeply at Li Yunxian, the one who had pinned the professor’s son to the wall.
He had no idea how she had taken on this substitute teaching assignment.
But… he hoped that when Hua Shunyu returned to the academy, he would still recognize this world.
The referee lowered his weapon, refraining from further objections.
Since she was already here, he gave her a complicated look and softly asked, “So… is the match over?”
Li Yunxian shook her head, noticing the referee’s troubled expression.
“I won’t continue.”
The referee turned to look at Duan Rong, hanging above.
At Qi Refining Eighth Layer, with a strong body, he wouldn’t die anytime soon.
This was enough to give some explanation to Professor Duan…
Thinking this, the referee sighed again.
What on earth was going on…
Before he could finish his thought, the referee suddenly sensed something amiss in the surrounding aura.
Looking up alertly, he noticed where Li Yunxian was looking.
A figure approached.
She wore a soft blue, elegant long dress, graceful like a celestial being.
The referee’s expression brightened.
“Professor Chen!” he called out.
But then he realized something wasn’t right.
Why did Li Yunxian seem to have noticed Professor Chen Bujian’s arrival even earlier than he had?
Professor Chen stood beside Yu Qiyao’s Villa, looking up at Duan Rong hanging above and then along the Spirit Sword’s aura to Li Yunxian.
When she recognized Li Yunxian, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Hua Shunyu?” Chen Bujian said uncertainly.
The referee hurried forward to explain the situation to Chen Bujian.
Her expression softened, and she nodded slightly at Li Yunxian before bending down gently to pick up Yu Qiyao.
“This whole matter is my fault for not handling it properly.”
“I saw Duan Rong in the cultivation zone a few months ago.”
“He’s reckless by nature.”
“From the start, I had no intention of taking him as a student.”
“There’s no such thing as snatching opportunities here.”
“I never explained this clearly before; today’s events are my responsibility.”
As she spoke, Li Yunxian felt a force come through her Spirit Sword.
The long sword pinning Duan Rong transformed back into its original whip form and returned to Li Yunxian’s hand.
But Duan Rong did not fall—he seemed held up by an invisible force.
This was Chen Bujian’s doing.
“I will use my personal resources to heal both of them.”
“This matter will be settled accordingly,” Chen Bujian said gently.
“If you have any other opinions, feel free to bring them to me.”
Li Yunxian looked at Yu Qiyao in Chen Bujian’s arms and nodded slightly, showing she had no objections.
She understood that Chen Bujian was not defending Duan Rong with these words.
Instead, she was protecting him.
The implied meaning was clear: Chen Bujian was taking responsibility for the entire matter.
She would handle the aftermath and ensure Duan Rong returned whole.
If that Nascent Soul with the surname Dù had any complaints, he should not bother students or referees like Li Yunxian—he should come straight to her!
With a gentle tone, through speaking to Li Yunxian, she delivered a harsh threat to the Nascent Soul Dù.
Chen Bujian smiled faintly at Li Yunxian.
Then the three figures vanished from the Practice Arena, leaving only patches of blood behind.