"May I ask which noble family you hail from? Would you be willing to tell me?"
Stone Pine asked solemnly as he looked at Lin Xuan, who was leisurely sipping tea. Lin Xuan's bearing had completely subdued him. On the Douluo Continent, the hierarchy is strict and unforgiving. If one lacked discernment, it was easy to offend those who should never be offended—unless one had powerful backing.
"Me? I have no family. Just a commoner and a rogue cultivator."
Lin Xuan was puzzled by the question. He had no noble family behind him, so he didn't understand why Stone Pine thought otherwise. Although he did have some influential figures behind him now, they were just bodyguards.
"No family? Then, how about this—let's split the protection money I collect seventy-thirty. I take seventy, you take thirty. How's that? I'm a commoner too, and I can barely cover my living expenses. That's already my greatest concession. What do you say?"
Stone Pine hesitated, then reluctantly offered Lin Xuan a 30% share. He still didn't believe Lin Xuan was from a noble clan. Besides, he could investigate him secretly later. If Lin Xuan was just pretending, he could make him cough up everything and teach him what cruelty truly meant.
"Seventy-thirty? Not bad. But I think you got it reversed—it should be I take ten, and you get nothing. You, a fellow commoner, should understand how hard-earned money is for these people, and yet you still extort them? Pathetic."
Lin Xuan replied with disdain. What were a few gold soul coins? He could just go rob some bandits if he needed money. Bullying the weak was nothing to be proud of.
"You—!"
Stone Pine could no longer tolerate this. He immediately released his martial spirit—the Coiling Dragon Staff—and struck toward Lin Xuan's head with full force. If the blow landed, Lin Xuan's skull would be shattered.
Lin Xuan had hit a nerve. Stone Pine hadn't always submitted to upperclassmen. He had tried to resist before, only to be beaten so badly that a passing senior girl had to rescue him. If not for her, he might've been beaten to death.
"Hey! Don't break my stuff!"
The room was small. Lin Xuan dodged the attack, but his desk was smashed in the process. Thankfully, his photo frame wasn't broken. He quickly summoned his martial spirit—Zhu Xian Sword—and, after rolling to dodge another blow, snatched the falling photo frame mid-air and stored it in his spatial ring. If that photo had been broken, Stone Pine would've been dead already.
"Emperor's Privilege!"
Dodging another strike, Lin Xuan's thousand-year spirit ring activated. Three icons floated above his head, spinning. Though Stone Pine was startled by Lin Xuan's rare yellow-purple ring configuration, those strange symbols told him he couldn't afford to wait—he had to strike before Lin Xuan's skill activated.
"Shadowless Staff!"
Stone Pine's first spirit ring lit up. His staff's movements turned into blurred shadows, nearly impossible to follow. Lin Xuan could barely track them, relying on his exceptional perception and reflexes to block each blow with his sword. He was biding his time for his second spirit skill to complete.
Lin Xuan's skill wasn't a charged-up type that could be interrupted, but his low spirit power meant it still required time to complete. After thirty seconds, the icon settled on a shield—much to Lin Xuan's frustration.
Stone Pine kept attacking relentlessly. Lin Xuan's skill only enhanced his defense, and against someone with three offensive skills like Stone Pine, it was a disadvantage.
Knowing he'd lose in a direct clash, Lin Xuan chose to gamble—when Stone Pine launched another heavy strike toward his chest, Lin Xuan raised his Zhu Xian Sword and stabbed toward Stone Pine's thigh.
Stone Pine was stunned. Why would Lin Xuan give up defending to exchange blows?
But by now, his rage had taken over. He decided to gamble too—he didn't believe Lin Xuan truly dared to fight to the death.
"Shock!"
Stone Pine's second spirit ring lit up. This support-type ability caused extra internal damage upon impact. With a bloodthirsty grin, he aimed for Lin Xuan's heart. If struck, Lin Xuan's heart would be crushed. Surely, he would abandon the attack and defend.
To his shock, Lin Xuan didn't back down. Instead, Lin Xuan adjusted his sword to aim directly at Stone Pine's heart. If Stone Pine dared to try to kill him, he would return the favor. He didn't even know how effective his defensive skill truly was—he'd never tested it before.
"NO!"
In the end, it was Stone Pine who faltered. Faced with true death, he panicked. He forcefully canceled his skill, dropped his staff, and rolled away to dodge Lin Xuan's strike.
"Pfft!"
The backlash of canceling his skill caused Stone Pine to spit blood. He suffered internal injuries and felt heavy pressure in his chest. Lin Xuan, though also suffering from the rebound of a missed all-out attack, remained standing, albeit fatigued.
Instead of chasing his opponent, Lin Xuan stood firm. Eyes closed, one hand on his sword, the other behind his back.
Stone Pine stared in confusion. Lin Xuan didn't move, but his Zhu Xian Sword began to hum with power. Lin Xuan was channeling sword energy—a unique advantage of his sword-type martial spirit.
"Thousand Staff Strike!"
Knowing he couldn't let Lin Xuan finish charging, Stone Pine suppressed his injuries and launched his third spirit skill.
But this time, his attack was no longer aimed at vital points. He held back, wary of Lin Xuan's suicidal tactics.
Lin Xuan's energy surged. The sword's humming intensified. He only needed twenty more seconds to complete the charge, but Stone Pine's staff struck his chest.
Boom!
Pfft!
The impact sent Lin Xuan flying back, vomiting blood. The charged sword energy almost dispersed, but he gritted his teeth and held it in. Stone Pine, however, wasn't doing much better. The rebound from striking Lin Xuan's enhanced defense worsened his injuries.
Finally, Lin Xuan's sword aura fully condensed. He suddenly felt a strange pang in his heart, but ignored it.
Stone Pine froze. The sword aura vanished—no visible trace remained. This wasn't like any sword energy he'd ever seen. All sword-type spirit masters he'd known had visible sword energy.
How could Lin Xuan be invisible?
Of course, Stone Pine didn't know this was a foreign skill—Invisible Sword Qi, passed down by Xiao Qi and a legacy from Li Yuanying. Only spirit masters above Spirit Elder (soul sect) could barely detect it.
"No way!"
Stone Pine was terrified. He couldn't see Lin Xuan's attack—just a blur, and then a wound opened on his chest.
He ran. But Lin Xuan, enraged and nearly unconscious, wasn't about to let up.
The room was torn apart. Furniture splintered. Wood chips flew. Stone Pine's wounds multiplied. He was done.
"Stop! I give up! Don't kill me! Take all the money! Please, I'm begging you!"
Stone Pine fell to his knees, begging. There was no way to defend against the invisible sword aura. If Lin Xuan kept going, death was guaranteed. He gave up all pride just to live.
Lin Xuan ignored his pleading and kept walking forward, sword in hand. Stone Pine was incredibly unlucky—Lin Xuan's spirit power was nearly depleted. Just a little more, and Stone Pine could've won. But Lin Xuan didn't show any sign of weakness.
"GET OUT!"
Finally, Lin Xuan chose not to kill him. Because of the Pope. If he killed someone recklessly, it would be hard for the Pope to cover for him. So he kicked Stone Pine—man and door—straight out of the room.
The onlookers scrambled aside to avoid the impact.
"What the hell?!"
"Stone Pine looks like a bloodied corpse!"
"How is this possible?"
Even among the crowd, Ning Qin (宁琴) was shocked. He knew Stone Pine's strength. None of the students he'd taught should have been able to defeat him.
He rushed into the dust- and wood-filled room.
After kicking Stone Pine out, Lin Xuan began coughing up blood. His second skill faded, and the previous blow had left serious internal injuries. He was already close to dying and barely managed to sit down cross-legged to circulate his soul power.
"Qibao turns out to be Liuli. The fifth: Soul!"
Ning Qin knew things were dire. He immediately activated his Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, and his fifth (50,000-year) spirit ring lit up.
Lin Xuan suddenly felt a surge of spirit power flood his body. That was the terrifying strength of the Seven Treasures Pagoda—at Spirit Emperor level, Ning Qin could boost another's spirit power by 70%. At Spirit Sage, it would be 80%.
"Go get Lan Luoluo now!"
Ning Qin knew that while he could replenish Lin Xuan's spirit power, it wasn't enough to heal his wounds. If someone didn't arrive soon, Lin Xuan would still die once his boost ran out.
Those outside hurried off to find Lan Luoluo from the senior class.
(End of Chapter)