Who left their last words here?

Chapter 128 "Hurry up, I'm in a rush" (Part 2)

"laugh!"

It was as if the key had been smoothly inserted into the lock, without any apparent effort.

The blade pierces the throat! Then it spins!

There wasn't a trace of smoke or fire throughout the entire process; the art of killing was displayed to its fullest extent.

[Art Club] Those self-proclaimed professional killers are like toddlers learning to speak in front of this principal.

The man wearing a dark blue robe did not bleed from his neck; instead, glistening ice shards flowed out.

"Ka! Ka Ka Ka!"

In the blink of an eye, the man transformed into a lifelike ice sculpture. On his transparent body, a thin line of blood could be clearly seen emanating from the folding knife at his neck, meandering throughout his entire body.

Blood streaks were everywhere, as if the ice sculpture was being destroyed, shattering piece by piece, with dozens of pieces of ice falling to the ground.

"He's dead...?"

Bai Zhou was stunned for a moment, somewhat taken aback.
"So fast?"

The ground was covered in frozen soil, and snowflakes descended as he stepped on it. The special effects were incredibly luxurious. How could this guy shatter into dozens of pieces of ice in the blink of an eye?

"This is impossible!"

[Emerald Flame] turned pale with horror, [Rusty Silver Knight]'s armor trembled.

Although it's hard to admit, the Sword of Winter is indeed the most powerful among them.

Faced with the headmaster, they had no idea what had happened; all they saw was a folding knife suddenly plunged into the neck of the [Winter's Sword]...

Then the Sword of Winter shattered.

It broke in a physical sense!

"...Not a bad approach."

However, the principal turned to look at the Ice Soul Longsword stuck in the ground not far away, his approving gaze as if he were looking at a model student demonstrating their achievements:

"How many more statues like this do you have?"

"Buzz!" A man in a dark blue robe appeared behind the longsword, his face pale.

"Winter! Are you alright?"

[Emerald Flame] let out a soft sigh of relief.

If the Sword of Winter were to die so easily, even if she still had the Black Box on her person, she would not hesitate to leave immediately.

[The Sword of Winter] remained silent, offering no reply, its form swaying slightly as it stood in place.

He didn't die, but he was definitely not alright either.

Fortunately, the frozen ground beneath his feet provided him with spiritual nourishment, allowing him to recover quickly.

"What was that... just now?"

Looking at the principal, [Winter's Sword] gave an irrelevant answer.

"Asking questions when you encounter problems is a good thing that should be encouraged."

The principal smiled slightly with satisfaction:
"But students your age need to learn to find answers through practice themselves."

The principal's earnest admonitions cast a shadow over [Winter's Sword]'s expression, which remained icy while also carrying a hint of gloom.

He simply couldn't understand how his ice puppet could be so easily destroyed, without even seeing what the other party had done...

Despite the relief shown by Emerald Flame and Rusty Silver Knight beside him, Winter's Sword was anything but in a good mood.

Because he knew his own situation well, his ice puppet was a condensation of spiritual essence, and its defensive and offensive capabilities were stronger than his own body.

It's already difficult enough to condense just one of these ice golems... let alone several?

If he could condense three ice golems at the same time, he would have already advanced to level 6 or above, and wouldn't have needed to risk getting involved in this mess!
This is the path to advancement he chose for himself, which is still far ahead of ordinary level 6 titles. The inspiration came from a near-King of Desire that he personally killed three years ago!

It can be said that when the ice golem appears, its true form is the ice golem itself!
Its physical body is hidden in the frozen earth of the Ice Soul Sword, while its spiritual will resides in an ice golem. The shattering of an ice golem means that for the [Sword of Winter], it won't take long for the opponent to kill its physical body either.

—But how could this quasi-king of lust be so strong?

He was certain that the other party was not the King of Lust in his full state, but why would he have such unfathomable and bizarre methods?
This school, shrouded in mist, doesn't seem nearly as ferocious as the little secret realm he experienced last time... so how could it have given birth to such a special quasi-King of Lust?
Now, he has even begun to consider carrying the Ice Soul Longsword and temporarily making a strategic retreat back outside the school.

...But that quasi-king of lust seemed to have no intention of giving him that chance.

"Wow--"

The principal once again flung the folding knife in his hand; the blood-red folding knife's handle was smooth and warm, clearly indicating that it had been frequently rubbed.

In his hands, the exceptionally sharp folding knife moved like a graceful and agile butterfly, its movements dazzling and captivating.

“I know you all have your own methods, and excellent educators always allow students to give full play to their strengths.”

"but……"

The silver-haired gentleman first glanced back at Bai Zhou, then turned to look at the three people standing in three different places, their feet seemingly representing three different seasons, and bowed slightly.

"But I'm sorry, gentlemen."

The silver-haired gentleman elegantly twirled the blade, his movements as gentle as if he were unfolding an invitation to a new student: "I'm in a hurry."

"—So please show it to me as soon as possible."

The last sentence was spoken very softly.

But it sent chills down the spines of all three of them!

Because the voice was clearly right behind them!

"when--"

Confusion and horror are everyone's first reactions.

"call--"

The Rusty Silver Knight, clad in mottled heavy armor, reacted the fastest. His ingrained fighting instincts made him immediately turn around and swing his steel greatsword, his tall figure unusually agile.

However, just as he raised his greatsword, the silver-haired gentleman appeared like a ghost on the knight's left, right, and behind him!
Without any visible movement, as if in an instant, three overlapping reflections appeared in mid-air.

The folding knife is handed out, and three cuts are delivered!

"Buzz!"

The heavy armor hummed, and a silver light shone on the [Rusty Silver Knight], preventing the folding knife from piercing.

The principal let out a soft "hmm".

A red glow immediately appeared on the folding knife.

The red light seemed to have no need to fight against the silver radiance; it simply burrowed into it like an insect, and was about to penetrate the knight's armor.

The Rusty Silver Knight's eyes were bloodshot.

"I'm here!"

Then, the emerald green flames arrived.

Large clusters of emerald-green flames blocked the folding knife and quickly engulfed the principal's figure.

The eerie green flames danced wildly, brimming with vitality, capable of both nurturing and devouring everything!
Pale hair swayed within.

"it turns out?"

[Emerald Flame] paused for a moment, then saw the principal's figure weaving through the flames of [Emerald Flame], as if performing a magnificent dance.

Each time the folding knife is extended, it precisely severs a cluster of flames about to erupt, or it lightly and perfectly places it at the core point where the flame's spiritual flow is concentrated.

"what……"

【Emerald Flame】Feels particularly unpleasant, unlike what I imagined. There's no layered explosion of head-on collisions, only pure crushing at the skill level.

The surging spiritual energy within her was completely unable to erupt; the cycle of her inner and outer spiritual energy was constantly disrupted, and the unstable core of her flame was constantly pierced. She was almost suffocating herself to the point of internal injury!

[Emerald Flame] even had a strange feeling, as if this silver-haired old man was forcibly dragging her to dance!
The surging, eerie green flames clearly enveloped everything around them, leaving no living beings; the world was ablaze with fire.

But the principal strolled around at a leisurely pace, even taking the time to tip his hat to [Emerald Flame].

Mockery—what a shameful mockery!
The ever-proud Emerald Flame took a deep breath. Her mind was in turmoil, and the backlash from the interrupted spiritual circulation finally surged forth uncontrollably.

"puff!"

She spat out a mouthful of bright red blood, and the surging spiritual energy in her body began to wane, her condition deteriorated rapidly, and even the emerald flames dimmed considerably.

"Go for it, Winter!"

Without turning its head, it roared angrily, [Emerald Flame] unaware of what [Winter's Sword] was waiting for.

—Are we just waiting to die?

"Stab!"

Ice crystals spread out in layers in mid-air, and the Sword of Winter arrived wielding its sword.

But the cold air spread much slower than the principal's footsteps.

He casually dodged the chilling blade, his folding knife lightly touching the spine of the "Ice Soul Sword".

"Keng——!"

A crisp, resonant sound echoed.

The extreme cold, attempting to freeze everything, seemed to have encountered something incomprehensible, and the two clashed. Affected by the "sword," the [Sword of Winter], whose eyebrows were covered in frost and whose face was covered in ice shards, showed an incomprehensible astonishment on his eternally frozen expression.

How could... even his sword be dealt with so easily?
Are the two sides truly evenly matched opponents?

[Sword of Winter] suddenly wondered if he had taken the wrong path. In fact, he was not on the path of advancement at all, but his strength had regressed and was even worse than it was three years ago.
But this sword strike only temporarily repelled the principal.

Or perhaps the principal himself stepped back a couple of steps.

In the perception of the three—[Rusty Silver Knight], [Emerald Flame], and [Winter Sword]—everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The old gentleman seemed to have never moved, returning to his original standing position.

Unlike before, the Rusty Silver Knight now has a shallow notch in his chest.

The intense flames surrounding the Emerald Flame dimmed considerably;
[Sword of Winter] Silently holding the Ice Soul Longsword, he was about to freeze himself into a snowman.

Only the principal calmly closed his folding knife and put it back in his suit pocket, his demeanor as elegant as ever.

He raised his hand, straightened his slightly crooked bow tie, and brushed away a few glistening ice shards from his cuff.

While flicking his sleeves, the principal casually commented:
"A person with ample strength but lacking flexibility and overly reliant on their own armor, depending on external resources, how can they achieve great things?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, the Rusty Silver Knight fell silent.

"The other one has plenty of inspiration but lacks practice in skills, which shows that he is arrogant and relies too much on his talent. If he does not change, I'm afraid the heavens will be jealous of his talent, and excessive rigidity will lead to his downfall!"

"..."

The principal's words left Emerald Flame completely stunned.

"As for you..."

A cold wind blew through his silvery hair, and the principal looked up again, gazing at the source of the wind:

"Whether the path is right or wrong is not important, because every step taken is irreversible."

"Once a move is made, there's no going back. The important thing is whether you have the confidence to believe that you are absolutely right."

"You've been doubting your path, haven't you?"

"I guess it's because the source of your path isn't in yourself."

"—But if things continue like this, you won't get promoted even if you spend another ten years!"

The scathing comments left every "big shot" looking bewildered.

However, none of them refuted this.

Because only they truly know that what the principal said is probably entirely true...

To the outside world, they are extraordinary figures with titles that command respect and are revered by thousands. They are powerful and influential, and are undoubtedly important figures in high society, both inside and outside the world!
But here, in this eerie, misty school, before this aged educator—

They were like three naive freshmen, completely overwhelmed by each other's words; they were not even on the same level.

They might even feel that if they could learn from each other, the bottlenecks that were troubling them would no longer be a problem!
"Is he really just a quasi-king of lust...?"

【The Sword of Winter】couldn't help but show a puzzled expression, and even subconsciously stopped using "it" to describe it.

"I can't understand it... but what I understand least is its ability!"

[Emerald Flame] Recalling the frustration of being unable to unleash her full power, she spoke in a deep voice:
"Is it teleportation? Spatial abilities? I don't understand. This should never be a realm that a quasi-King of Lust could touch!"

"You're right, but perhaps... it's even more terrifying!"

Shaking his head solemnly, the [Rust Silver Knight] spoke in a muffled voice:
"When I was fighting it, I felt like my time was slowed down, or even frozen!"

time?

These words resonated with the other two people as well.

I felt that my movements while wielding the greatsword were not fast enough, that the speed at which I transmitted spiritual energy could not keep up, and that the speed at which the chill spread could not keep up...

Not fast enough! Not fast enough! In front of this principal, their key movements were always a little off, a step too slow, and they always felt they weren't fast enough!
"But the problem is, how could a quasi-King of Lust possibly have access to 'Time'!"

【Emerald Flame】 looked around in astonishment, even disbelief, at the surging mist and the dilapidated school buildings that were faintly visible in the mist:

"What exactly happened in this little secret realm?"

There must be something we don't know!

"Impossible...it can't possibly be 'time'!"

However, [Sword of Winter] quickly retorted:
"The E-class black box I carry has the effect of eliminating all external interference affecting myself, and warding off all evil!"

"Even if 'time' has an effect, the black box won't remain completely unresponsive!"

Upon hearing this, the tall [Rusty Silver Knight] slapped his forehead, his gauntlets clanging against his heavy, silver-white helmet.

"Okay, I understand—"

"It's manipulating the ground! His ability must be manipulating the ground, or even manipulating the school, to achieve those teleportation-like visual effects!"

"..."

The Sword of Winter and the Emerald Flame were speechless upon hearing this.

They found the answer quite outrageous, yet it seemed to make perfect sense and they couldn't refute it.

I hope that's really the case...

However, the discussion quickly came to an abrupt end.

Because the principal spoke again:
"Such a cold temperature is perfect for a steaming cup of black tea."

The principal smiled as he looked at the three outsiders, his eyes gentle yet carrying a calm that came from experience and profound understanding.

"So, gentlemen, shall we continue?"

The answer is self-evident.

The battle resumed.

Even those extraordinary individuals who are bestowed with titles have moments when they have nowhere to retreat.

Then the tall knight stood before him like a mountain, emerald flames danced in the air like mad snakes, and the longsword that sealed the winter made the cold wind howl, each swing of the sword summoning a raging blizzard.

—And there was a silver-haired gentleman strolling and dancing among them.

"..."

Bai Zhou stood behind the window, taking in all of this, and was dazzled by what he saw.

Deep within the school, amidst the surging mist, eerie green flames, a giant sword gleaming with silver light, and howling blizzards... the battle between the four altered at least three celestial phenomena in the vicinity!

Despite being in a modern world, in a dilapidated school and amidst the fog, the three are dressed in ancient armor and costumes, fighting against the only gentleman in a suit.

The grand scenes in myths and epics seem to overlap with their figures.

It's as if three heroes stepped out of mythology and descended into modern times to challenge a dragon disguised as a gentleman.

History seems upside down at this moment, like a chaotic and surging fog.

Compared to the minor skirmishes Bai Zhou had encountered in the past, this was a true battle for extraordinary individuals.

Throughout history, extraordinary individuals have roared and fought on the battlefield with swords in hand, and they are doing the same now. They trust the sound of their swords more than the roar of enchanted firearms.

This is also a kind of romance unique to the extraordinary.

But Bai Zhou quickly came to his senses and realized that now was not the time to appreciate the battle.

Watching their battle was also a rare opportunity for Shiraishu.

It was as if I were an auditor, not only listening to the lectures of renowned teachers, but also witnessing them correcting many problems of outstanding students from prestigious schools.

I benefited greatly.

But in reality, Bai Zhou's rational mind clearly tells him that he'd better take advantage of the moment and run away!

Otherwise, no matter who wins later, Bai Zhou, who is caught in the middle, will definitely suffer!
"..."

A blue and white figure flashed by. While the three of them were still gazing out the window, Bai Zhou, dressed in a school uniform, quietly climbed over the corner windowsill.

He tiptoed away from the dilapidated school building, carefully avoiding the fierce battlefield where swords clashed and the earth trembled, attempting to quietly blend into the surging fog in the distance.

"clatter……"

Then Bai Zhou stopped.

Just as he was about to blend into the fog, he bumped into a fully armed group that was walking out of the fog!

"Where did this person come from...?"

Just as the group was about to emerge from the mist, Bai Zhou caught a glimpse of their figures in the distance.

The man in the lead was burly, wearing a custom-made suit with a badge pinned to his chest.

As the two sides closed the distance, the design on the badge gradually became clearer.

—That was a blooming Bauhinia flower.

In Tinghai, most ordinary people and extraordinary individuals are familiar with this pattern.

"Bauhinia...Group?"

Looking at the completely unfamiliar group not far away, Bai Zhou blinked twice, and his heartbeat suddenly slowed down.

(End of this chapter)