Chapter 21: Battle! Exhilarating!
"Boom—!!!!!"
In the deafening roar, dust mixed with fine stone chips soared into the sky!
The entire Soul Dueling Platform seemed to vibrate.
The dust slowly dispersed.
In the center of the Soul Dueling Platform, a shallow crater appeared.
Wu Feng lay face down at the bottom of the crater, motionless, clearly completely unconscious.
Lin Xuan landed lightly on the edge of the crater, not even a corner of his clothes was disarrayed.
He patted off non-existent dust from his hands, his calm gaze swept across the silent Soul Dueling Arena, finally landing on the few remaining people, including a pale-faced Ning Tian and Dugu Qing.
Inside the Soul Dueling Arena, there was dead silence.
"I... My god... Is this even human?" After a long while, Dugu Qing couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.
Hearing this, Lin Xuan slowly turned his head to look at the remaining three: Ning Tian, Dugu Qing, and Nangong Yuner, walking towards them step by step, flanked by the Giant Serpent and Divine Dog.
Seeing this, everyone who was still conscious went numb. "Wait, brother? You still want to fight? Even such beautiful girls?!"
"Is it really just about the thrill of battle? No sense of chivalry at all?"
"Student... Student Lin Xuan!"
Teacher saw that Lin Xuan didn't seem to want to stop yet, so she quickly called out to stop him.
"Three minutes have already passed! You've won this match; you can stop now!"
"Yes... Yes, Student Lin Xuan, I admit defeat, I'm not fighting anymore..." Nangong Yuner almost cried, raising her hands high, her voice trembling.
As if if she said it a second too late, Lin Xuan's fist would kiss her delicate cheek.
"Tsk, it's over already?"
Lin Xuan casually relaxed his shoulders, looking like he hadn't had enough.
"Student Ning Tian, do you also admit defeat? Or do you want to continue?"
Ning Tian's face stiffened. Looking at the unconscious Wu Feng, she forced a smile and shook her head. "I admit defeat. You won, Student Lin Xuan."
"I... I also admit defeat!" Dugu Qing hurriedly echoed.
"Well, it seems Shrek Academy's so-called 'magnificence' is nothing more than this."
Lin Xuan glanced at Teacher on the high platform, shrugged indifferently, and then retracted his Soul Rings and all shikigami.
His words were as arrogant as ever, but now that they came from Lin Xuan's mouth, no one present had any objections.
On the Douluo Continent, the strong are respected.
As long as you are strong enough, no matter how unreasonable your words are, no one will object.
If they do, it only means your fist isn't big enough.
The boys' eyes had completely changed from resentment and anger to fear and even admiration.
The girls' gazes became incredibly complex; besides fear, there was an unmistakable sparkle in their eyes.
Supreme talent, terrifying strength, handsome looks, and a uniquely arrogant personality... he was practically a lady-killer!
"Teacher, please help treat Wu Feng."
Ning Tian took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in her heart, and turned to the high platform to request.
Hearing this, the Female Teacher immediately leaped down from the high platform, walked quickly to Wu Feng's side, her hand glowing with a soft green light.
She examined her for a moment, her eyebrows raised slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on her face.
"The injuries aren't too serious."
The Female Teacher looked up and said to Ning Tian, who had walked over.
"They are mostly skin injuries and soft tissue contusions caused by the violent impact. The internal organs were shaken, but there's no serious internal bleeding or broken bones. The brain was also protected, just a slight concussion."
"With her constitution and treatment, she'll be able to move again soon. However..."
She paused, looking at Wu Feng's face, which was originally cold and elegant but was now black and blue and in a sorry state.
"The bruising and swelling on her face will probably take a good week of rest to completely disappear."
Once this conclusion was out, Ning Tian was slightly stunned. She couldn't help but look again at Lin Xuan, who had returned to the edge of the Soul Dueling Platform and was resting with his eyes closed as if everything had nothing to do with him.
He... held back?
This was indeed the case.
It seemed like Lin Xuan was ruthless and heartless, swinging Wu Feng around like a sandbag in an extremely violent scene.
But in reality, his control over Soul Power was precise to an appalling degree.
With every strike, the violent force was precisely controlled to damage muscle tissue and impact nerves, skillfully avoiding vital internal organs and the cranial center.
Otherwise, with his terrifying explosive power, it would be impossible for Wu Feng to only have skin-deep injuries.
The only'serious' consequence was probably that for the next week, the proud Wu Feng would have to go to school with a 'palette' of colors on her face.
For a girl who cared about her image, this was perhaps harder to accept than a severe beating.
Subsequently, the unique first lesson of Freshman Class Nine continued in an extremely eerie atmosphere.
Teacher suppressed the urge to sigh and arranged for students with minor injuries who could still move to have one-on-one sparring sessions, treating it as practical observation.
Looking at the twenty-odd people lying groaning or barely sitting and meditating below the Soul Dueling Platform, and comparing them to the 'combat' scene on the platform with only a few students left, Teacher only felt a wave of headache.
"If I had known he was this strong and ruthless, I wouldn't have agreed to this nonsense no matter what!"
She regretted it in her heart. This show of authority had worked, but she feared Lin Xuan's words would be more effective than hers from now on... After an unknown amount of time, under the continuous nourishment of gentle healing Soul Power, the unconscious Wu Feng let out a faint groan and slowly woke up.
"Hiss—!"
As soon as she regained consciousness, the intense soreness everywhere on her body, especially the burning pain on her face, made her gasp, and tears almost welled up.
"You're awake?" A calm voice sounded nearby.
Wu Feng barely turned her stiff neck and saw Ning Tian sitting on a bench not far from her.
Ning Tian's expression was calm, showing no joy or anger.
Seeing Ning Tian like this, Wu Feng's heart tightened, and the insults and curses directed at Lin Xuan that were on the tip of her tongue were instantly choked back.
She asked cautiously,
"Young Master... are you... angry?"
Ning Tian closed the booklet, sighed softly, and instead of answering directly, asked back,
"Why do you think I'm angry?"
"Is... Is it because I was too impulsive to challenge him and lost, losing... losing face for you and the Sect?" Wu Feng's voice grew lower as she spoke, and her head drooped.
"Not entirely."
Ning Tian shook her head. "I'm angry because from the very beginning, you treated a genius who could be recruited with groundless hostility."
"I'm even angrier that you were the one who provoked him first, and after being outmatched, you still feel wronged."
"Today, Lin Xuan only beat you up in a sparring match at the school Soul Dueling Arena and clearly held back. If it were in another place, in another situation, do you think you'd just be lying here in pain for a few days?"
"You can't fail to see that Lin Xuan has the ability to kill every student present."
Wu Feng was left speechless, her fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of the seat, her face burning.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly looked up, her eyes complex, her voice barely audible,
"I... I was hostile to him because... because I thought you had a crush on him, Young Master. I... I didn't like that."
Ning Tian didn't seem surprised by her words; she just sighed again.
"Wu Feng, you and I both know very well that there's no such possibility between us. Neither the Sect's rules nor my personal ambitions allow it."
She paused, and seeing Wu Feng's eyes dim instantly, her tone softened a bit.
"Have you ever thought that your obsession with me might just be because, since childhood, your World has only consisted of cultivation and accompanying me?"
"The men you've encountered and truly understood are far too few. Try... try to interact with others. Perhaps you'll find that your feelings for me aren't as unshakable as you imagine."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Wu Feng shook her head vigorously, which aggravated her injuries and caused another round of grimacing, but her tone was exceptionally firm.
"No boy can compare to you, Young Master! Not a single one!"
Ning Tian looked at her silently for a few seconds. Suddenly, a name escaped her lips almost without thinking.
"What about Lin Xuan?"
"Is he not qualified either?"
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