Chapter 32 - Stepping Up to the Challenge

Translator: Coca5156

Editor: Drea

“Well, you don’t have to worry too much,” Yuan Zheng tried to comfort Gu Lingzhi as he saw her falling deep in thought. “The rules are dead while people are alive; they can be bent. The school knows that you joined midterm and won’t calculate your scores according to the entire year. Also, you have the Third Prince’s support, even if you don’t get enough points, the school will not expel you.”

Yuan Zheng left some things unsaid – even if the Third Prince could help her this year, there was a possibility that she may not be able to get enough points in the following year and she would have no choice but to leave.

She continued to worry as she followed Yuan Zheng to her hostel.

The dorms in the Royal School were all similarly built and consisted of a stand-alone house with 2 stories. The Great Hall was a common area located on the first level, while the second level was split into three separate rooms, allowing for three students to stay in.

Following the numbers on the back of her identity card, Gu Lingzhi located her dorm and entered the common area. She was greeted with the sight of a cool and elegant young lady sitting on a chair.

The young lady wore a soft and white battle gear and was in the midst of cleaning her sword. Her ink-black hair was combed into a ponytail on the back of her head. Her light pink lips were stretched into a thin line and she radiated an intimidating aura.

Seeing Gu Lingzhi come in with Yuan Zheng, she immediately stood up and flicked her delicate hand, pointing her sword that seemed to emanate cold air directly at Gu Lingzhi.

“Are you my new housemate? Take out your sword, weaklings are not fit to stay under the same roof as me.”

“...” Was this a tradition for welcoming new students into the Royal School?

Seeing Gu Lingzhi’s puzzled gaze, the corners of Yuan Zheng’s mouth twitched as he stepped in front of Gu Lingzhi, “Lady Tianfeng, I am afraid that she is not able to accept your challenge.”

“What, why?” Tianfeng Jin frowned, “Turning down a challenge is not the correct attitude of a Martial Artist.”

“She is only a Level Three Martial Student, there is no way she could win against you.”

“A Level Three Martial Student?” The frown lines on Tianfeng Jin’s head deepened, “Since when did the standards of the Royal School drop so much that even a Level Three Martial Student can enrol?”

This sentence sounded like it was meant to humiliate Gu Lingzhi, but from the puzzled expression on Tianfeng Jin, it seemed like she was really confused about how Gu Lingzhi had managed to enter the Royal School. This made Gu Lingzhi wonder if Tianfeng Wei had really meant to humiliate her in the first place.

Yuan Zheng, who had already gotten used to the personality of this battle-crazy young lady from the Tianfeng Clan, merely laughed and said, “Lady Tianfeng, don’t you know? Lady Gu Lingzhi was specially invited by His Highness to study in the Royal School and did not enter by conventional means.”

He had wanted to inform Tianfeng Jin that Gu Lingzhi did not ‘infiltrate’ the Royal School, but was enrolled through her exceptional talent.

“Oh, so you entered by latching on someone else.” Tianfeng Jin completely misunderstood Yuan Zheng’s meaning and looked at Gu Lingzhi with disdain. With her battle-crazy personality and disregard for people who were weak, she decided that people like Gu Lingzhi who had relied on connections to enter the Royal School were not worthy of her time. She then withdrew her sword and resumed her cleaning of the blade’s edge. She treated her sword like a lover, giving it her utmost attention.

“The both of you should leave, I will not stay with a wastrel.”

Initially, Gu Lingzhi was ready to put up with her personality thinking that they were going to be housemates after all. But after what she had just said, Gu Lingzhi could tolerate no further.

After being called a wastrel for so many years, she no longer wanted to hear anyone describe her using this phrase. Her eyes filled with the desire to fight as she marched straight to Tianfeng Jin and looked at her seriously, “It is true that I am just a Level Three Martial Student and was brought in by the Third Prince, but I am not a wastrel! If you want to fight, then let’s fight!”

She then pulled out a fire-attributed Fenglin Sword from her Storage Ring, which was given to her by the Great Elder before she left. With an unwavering look, she stared at the surprised Tianfeng Jin.

“Are you sure you want to fight against me?” Tianfeng Jin was slightly hesitant. After all, she was a Level Eight Martial Student and fighting against Gu Lingzhi would make her a bully.

“I am!” Gu Lingzhi spat out these words with unwavering determination, causing Yuan Zheng to press a palm against his head as if he had a headache.

“Stop! Please don’t be rash ladies, can’t we just talk about this nicely? Lady Tianfeng, Lady Gu did not pull connections to enter but was invited by the Third Prince to enter the Royal School. Just a month ago, she was just an ordinary person with no aptitude for cultivation.”

In order to prevent any misunderstandings this time, Yuan Zheng tried to explain things as clearly as possible.

Alas, as Tianfeng Jin heard what Yuan Zheng said, she was slightly stunned as she turned her gaze to Gu Lingzhi.

“A month ago, you were just an ordinary person who did not have any cultivation?”

“Yes,” Gu Lingzhi confirmed. She detected the change in the way Tianfeng Jin looked at her from a look of disdain to a fiery one and was slightly disturbed.

“That is to say... you went from a Level One Martial Student to a Level Three Martial Student in a single month?”

“Yes.”

To be precise, she was already a Level Four Martial Student.

“Good! Let’s fight then!”

“What?” Yuan Zheng had thought that after he clarified the situation, Tianfeng Jin would understand that Gu Lingzhi was not a wastrel and would stop harassing her. He never thought that it would cause Tianfeng Wei’s urge to fight Gu Lingzhi to surge instead.

Without waiting for Yuan Zheng to persuade them to stop, Tianfeng Jin picked up her sword once again and pointed it at Gu Lingzhi.

“To make things fair, I will limit my cultivation to the level of a Level Three Martial Student to face you. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

“Okay.” Gu Lingzhi laughed weakly.

Receiving Gu Lingzhi’s approval, Tianfeng Jin immediately started heading out.

Outside their dorm was a space that measured about ten square meters wide, built specifically for students to practice. Before they started, Gu Lingzhi looked at Tianfeng Jin with a serious expression.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“If we fight now, is this considered a challenge? I have to warn you beforehand that I don’t have any points. So even if you win, you will not be able to get any points.”

Tianfeng Jin was stunned for a moment as she looked at Gu Lingzhi, causing Gu Lingzhi to wonder if she had said something wrong, “Only battles conducted in the arena use the point system. Private battles do not require points.”

“That’s good then.” Gu Lingzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Yuan Zheng who was standing at the side, she said, “Please be the judge.”

She was normally not a hot-headed person and already thought it through before accepting Tianfeng Jin’s challenge. With Yuan Zheng watching by the side, she would not be gravely injured. Additionally, although she was officially considered a Level Three Martial Student, in terms of her physical cultivation, she was in actual fact, a Level Four Martial Student. Moreover, with the Heaven Level Light Movement Technique that was passed down to her from the Inheritance Space, she was confident that even if she could not defeat Tianfeng Jin, she would not lose too badly.