Zhang Changyu, Yan Jingxuan, and Huang Qibing surrounded Li Qiye.
âClank!â Zhang Changyu unsheathed his sword. Its glint erupted like a vast ocean. The sword seemed to be containing a torrential power.
Yan Jingxuan summoned a violet sledgehammer, seemingly made from lightning. It had currents surging along with the occasional thunderous explosions.
Huang Qibing chose dual-wielding short halberds made from high earth-level dao bones. It had runes depicting dragons and phoenixes. Thus, one halberd was draconic and the other of the phoenix affinity; it consisted of both offense and defense.
âToday is your last day! I will decapitate you!â Zhang Changyu gritted his teeth and threatened. Killing Li Qiye was the only way to wash away the previous humiliation.
The other students began commenting. One of them murmured: âThereâs a clear difference in power, not to mention three on one. Senior Brother Jingxuan is far stronger too. The outcome is obvious to anyone.â
âNot necessarily, their foe is Li Qiye, the son of miracles. His cultivation doesnât prevent him from beating stronger people, donât forget about the hammer.â Another shook his head.
The students took a moment to think. In history, only dao lords and top sovereigns were able to lift the hammer off the anvil.
Generations of students in Duality have tried and failed. This was definitely a miracle.
âTrue, donât use common sense to judge Li Qiye.â One more added: âTeacher Du said that he is extremely devilish, no one else can match him in this regard. The impossible becomes possible with him around.â
âYou can attribute the hammer thing to luck, he might not be that strong. This is an actual fight, luck isnât enough. Just losing one move can result in death.â Someone else didnât buy it.
âSenior Brother Yan, teach him a good lesson!â One spectator shouted.
âLet him know that the academyâs prestige isnât to be trifled with!â His friends did the same.
The majority was annoyed by Li Qiyeâs attitude so they hoped that the three would be able to take him down a notch. They became quite excited at the prospect.
âLi, since itâs three against one, you start first with whatever moves you want.â Changyu pointed his sword at Li Qiye.
âSeems like thereâs a misunderstanding.â Li Qiye shook his head and smiled: âI wonât be the one fighting. She is.â He slowly stepped back and revealed Fan Bai who was hiding behind him.
Fan Bai didnât know what to do after hearing that she would be up to fight these three.
âI⦠Iâ¦â She stammered and stared at him: âYoung Masterâ¦â
Just facing the crowd was an ordeal to her, let alone actually fighting. She trembled with fear.
âWhat?!â Yang Ling became startled and stopped Li Qiye: âNo, she has only cultivated for a few days, how can you let her fight? She has no chance.â
The rest didnât expect Fan Bai to fight instead of Li Qiye either. The whole thing made little sense.
âIs this a joke? One finger is enough to crush someone of her cultivation. This isnât a fight.â One student loudly said.
âIs the brat crazy? Letting a new cultivator fight against those three? Ridiculous.â Everyone stared at Li Qiye and Fan Bai.
âHe must be trying to kill her.â A student with a darker mindset speculated: âHmph, maybe he knows that he canât win, thatâs why heâs letting her die instead. This coincidentally ends the whole debacle with him not doing anything.â
âSo despicable and shameless, he wants to use Zhang Changyuâs group to eliminate the Foredoomed Star. Heâs selling her and betraying her trust.â Some began looking down on Li Qiye.
âScummy traitor.â Another insulted him.
âIs this a joke?â Zhang Changyu didnât expect this development either.
âNo need to use a butcher blade to kill chickens, this young miss here will do. Just one move is enough.â Li Qiye smiled and confirmed.
âWhat did he just say?â Both Yan Jingxuan and Huang Qibing couldnât believe their own ears.
âShe will kill us with one move? More like the opposite.â Jingxuan stared at her and said.
âHahaha, Iâve never heard something funnier than this!â Huang Qibing laughed and said: âA new cultivator wants to kill us with one move? You must be dreaming.â
Other students certainly agreed with this statement.
âThis Li guy is crazy, to even say something like thisâ¦â One student said.
Everyone could tell that Fan Bai had only started cultivating recently. Her cultivation was shallow and insignificant. Even the weakest student in Duality could beat her in one move.
âYoung Masterâ¦â Fan Bai didnât know how to deal with this and was about to cry.
âYou canât let her go to her death!â Yang Ling shouted.
Li Qiye ignored her and stared at Fan Bai: âIf you canât take the next step today, you will never be able to. Youâll always be branded as an unlucky star. Remember, your life is in your hand, no one else. You donât need charity or pity from anyone.â
Each word of his had a special rhythm striking deep into her mind. They kept on echoing inside - reaching her dao heart and ocean of consciousness. The words washed away her unnecessary emotions such as fear and self-abasementâ¦
She became affected by his rhythm and began to calm down. This put her into a magical state.
âGo now.â He ordered. These two words alone instilled endless courage into Fan Bai.
She had unconditional trust in him so she walked towards her three opponents. Her cute and frail appearance has disappeared; she became an entirely new person.
Negative emotions were nowhere to be found. She threw away the past in order to face this tribulation and welcome her new life. She wanted to use actions to prove it, that her fate was her own. She didnât need pity and charity from anyone else.
She closed her eyes and relaxed, looking dignified. This wasnât because she was afraid of looking at others. No, it was because she didnât need to look at them anymore. She only needed to look at herself and truly reflect.
âBuddha Bowing.â His voice echoed in her head: âAll Buddhas shall bow before my supremacyâ¦â
The mantra began affecting her vitality.