Techniques and Dao

Chapter 217 No Room for Maneuver
Klin Magic Academy. A dimly lit corridor in the Attack Campus located in the "Inverted Space" beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Mieying, Jian, and Huasheng, who looked like a girl, hid in a dark corner.

Hua Sheng lowered his voice and asked, "It sounds like there's a real crisis lurking around us. Is it possible for us to negotiate?"

Mieying slapped Huasheng on the back of the head: "What are you cowardly for! Don't be afraid of them, I'm going to give that principal some magic lessons right now!"

As she spoke, she took a step to rush out, but Hua Sheng quickly grabbed her arm: "In my opinion, shouldn't we call Tai Shang Xiao Jun along? Since he's in Paris, it would be good to have another helper."

"He's no good! I think Tai Shang Xiao Jun is just a playboy. Didn't I just tell you that I ran into HOPE on the way and was going to help those girls buy things?"

Mieying doesn't seem to think highly of Taishang Xiaojun as an assistant.

Hua Sheng pondered, "You know what, this time, the defense of Jinling relied heavily on his coordination. Once global computing power is centralized, we'll still need him to use that little strawberry credit card. Since it's a credit card transaction, you can never have too many helpers, so it's not unreasonable for him to drag HOPE along shopping..."

Mieying's tone was clearly tinged with suspicion: "I think he just wants to hang out with Hope. I found out a long time ago. Before the Qiankun Guard War, he was always hanging out with those girls from the human world!"

Hua Sheng shook his head and said, "During the Qiankun Guardian War, wasn't the Supreme Lord Xiaojun here to assist the Immortal Master in teaching the HOPE and BRAVE formations?"

"You men, of course you'll speak up for men!"

Unable to argue with Mieying, Hua Sheng then realized that even if he summoned Taishang Xiaojun, it would not only take time, but he would also have to figure out how to enter this "inverted space". Rather than going through all that trouble, it would be better to have Taishang Xiaojun outside to contain any sudden surges in global computing power, thus providing a safety "insurance" for the Jinling Dragon Vein.

Thinking of this, Hua Sheng said, "Alright then, whatever it is, Madrid or the vice principal, let the three of us go and meet them first. Jane, please take us to the Attack Hall!"

The three had only walked a few steps in the central corridor when suddenly a dozen or so magic students holding wands appeared in front of them as they turned a corner.

Upon seeing the three, the burly male mage leading the group shouted, "Arrêtez! Qui est–ce!"

"Could we have run into a patrol? We couldn't see a single person just now, and now there's a whole group. What a twist of fate! It's a pity I can't understand a word you're saying!" Hua Sheng took a step forward. "Whether we want to negotiate or not, we need to show our strength first to have any bargaining chips!"

Before Jian and Mieying could speak, Hua Sheng rushed forward.

The group of magicians saw a girl in a short skirt walking forward in the dim light opposite them, speaking in a language they couldn't understand. At the same time, the girl swayed her skirt, flicked her right hand through her hair, and then hid it behind her slender waist.

At this moment, an iron rod, dark in the middle and golden at both ends, extended from her left and right sides, gleaming in the darkness.

Before their pupils could even adjust to the sudden flash of light, the girl had already charged straight at them.

It wasn't until the first two were knocked down with a single blow that the other magicians reacted, immediately drawing their wands and pointing them at the girl in the short skirt.

As the magic struck, the girl deflected it with her golden staff, scattering the spells. The golden staff glowed in her hand, illuminating the stone walls wherever it touched. The girl's nimble figure appeared and disappeared in the darkness; wherever the golden staff touched, magicians fell in droves.

She pulled her golden cudgel back and shouted, "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

She pushed them, and the remaining few were also knocked away by an invisible force, crashing into the wall with a muffled groan and falling silent.

Mie Ying quickly caught up, clapping her hands in amazement, "I just realized, you look even more impressive with the Golden Cudgel! How about I borrow it for a few days?"

Hua Sheng was suddenly confronted with a profound question, and was momentarily stunned.

Before anyone could react, Mieying retorted with lightning speed, "Stingy! It was just a joke! You think giving Jian a magic wand is enough, but you hesitate to lend me one?"

"Of course...it's possible in a crisis..."

As Hua Sheng scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out how to answer, he looked up and realized that Mie Ying wasn't going to listen at all and had already run into the depths of the corridor.

Jian Zhui shouted from behind, "Don't wander around!"

Before the words were finished, a loud bang came from the front! It sounded like a heavy wooden door was kicked open, followed by a flash of green light, and then Mieying cried out "Ouch!" as he was thrown back.

Just then, Hua Sheng arrived quickly and caught Mie Ying as she fell.

A large door opened, leading to a large conference hall of several hundred square meters. In the center of the hall was a long wooden table that could seat thirty or forty people, on which sat a huge sand table, with many chess-piece-like stones being moved around.

Seven solemn-looking magicians stood beside the wooden table.

Hua Sheng immediately recognized the shapes of the pagoda, lake, and city buildings on the model; he knew this was Jinling City. However, the model was very large, and the parts far from Xuanwu Lake were indistinguishable.

Behind the sand table stood a middle-aged man in a dark green magic robe, who was none other than Vice Principal Brian, whom we had just seen in the corridor.

The magician Brian held an ancient, dark silver wand in his hand, with emerald green electricity flashing across its surface.

Brian was initially surprised, then coldly looked at Hanamori and the others and demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"

Hua Sheng didn't understand what he was saying and retorted, "To hit a girl so hard, it seems the principal's upbringing is quite ordinary!"

The magician Brian looked Hanamoto up and down with a mixture of surprise and doubt, and said in Chinese, "An Easterner... a student at the magic academy?"

Jian quickly stepped forward and said, "Vice Principal, these two are students from the Academy of Arts and Crafts."

Seeing Jane, Brian was even more puzzled: "Jane, then how come you're with the students from the Academy of Arts and Sciences? If they're from the Academy of Arts and Sciences, how did they get in... wait, did you bring them in?"

"Vice Principal, we misunderstood the Academy of Arts and Sciences regarding the theft of the Star Silk. They may not have stolen it!"

"Wasn't it you, Jian, who led people to the Academy of Arts and Sciences three days ago to demand the Star Silk? Not only that, but wasn't that leftover thread in the treasure vault also from the Academy of Arts and Sciences?"

Jane pointed at Hua Sheng and replied, "I found out where the thread came from; the owner of the clothes with this thread is her!"

A flash of anger suddenly appeared in Brian's eyes, and he was about to raise his wand when Jane quickly stepped in front of Hua Sheng.

"But we checked the aura patterns in the treasure vault where the Jupiter Silk was once stored at the 'Talent Campus,' and this person named Hua Sheng had never been there before!"

“Aura patterns?” Brian asked. “Did you seek confirmation from an angel?”

"Yes!"

Who are you looking for?

“Vice Principal, I’ll answer you later! But the angel confirmed to me that Hanamori never went to the treasure vault. He was another person from the East.”

Brian snorted: "If that's the case, what makes you so sure that the other Easterner didn't come from the Academy of Arts and Sciences?"

Jian argued, "While we can't completely deny it, it's enough to prove that there's uncertainty involved. Therefore, we can't rashly destroy the dragon vein!"

Brian narrowed his eyes and slowly replied, "Jane, are you under some kind of Eastern sorcery, hypnotized by these two? You've been speaking Chinese to me the whole time. We're both French, why are we speaking Chinese to each other?"

Hua Sheng, standing to the side, was also bewildered, but had to admit that Professor Brian's words made perfect sense. He and Mie Ying also looked at Jane with strange expressions.

"Bastard...bastard!"

Jane's face flushed red instantly, and she shouted at Hua Sheng and Mie Ying, "Why are you looking at me like that! If I speak in French right now, you won't understand me, so why should you two trust me!"

She then turned to Vice Principal Brian and said, “Mr. Vice Principal, this is based on trust. I don’t believe the Academy of Arts and Sciences is an enemy, so it’s necessary for our conversations to be open to them as well.”

Brian replied, "But no matter what, as long as the aura is from the East, we did the right thing today."

Jane's hand, holding the Star Rainbow Codex, trembled incessantly, as if she were deeply shaken.

She asked, word by word, "Vice Principal, do you mean that regardless of whether the thief comes from the Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Holy Peace Wonderland, or any place in the East, we can arbitrarily bring great calamity upon all of their people?"

Brian replied expressionlessly, “Once two civilizations are evenly matched, they will inevitably pose a threat to each other, and one side will inevitably want to eliminate or annex the other sooner or later. This action just needs a reason. The theft of such an important treasure as the Jupiter Silk is more than sufficient as possible. After all, if it falls into the hands of the East, it would be like putting a noose around our necks permanently. Perhaps they won't pull it today or tomorrow, but who knows the day after tomorrow? We must not take the risk, not for ourselves, but for the sake of our future children. The threat must be eliminated in our generation!”

Jane stood there trembling: "But...but when we had the Jupiter Silk, the Easterners didn't attack us."

“That’s because they don’t know we have such a thing,” Brian replied.

Jane's eyes were red and swollen, with tears welling up in them.

Watching her retreating figure, Mieying placed his hand on Jane's shoulder and slowly said:
"I knew from the start that I'd have to settle this with my fists. Jane, thank you for saying all that, even if it's all nonsense, I'm still grateful. Not everyone in this world cares about your efforts or what you want to protect; some people will think it's all garbage. As for those people, whether they're seniors or superiors, if they don't know how to respect others, let's just send them to eat shit!"

Having said that, Mie Ying's hair turned from brown to white, and a purple-flaming serpent spear appeared in his hand. His voice was cold and stern:
"Since some people can't understand, let Fourth Sister enlighten them!"

With a flick of his wrist, the white-haired Shadow wielded his Fire-Tipped Spear, which spewed forth a burst of flames, instantly igniting the sand tray on the table. The sand was instantly burned into translucent silica crystals, which then intertwined and twisted, resembling a bizarre piece of modern art glass.

Brian was furious when he saw this. He raised his wand, and a strong wind suddenly swept through the room.

The white-haired figure rushed forward like an arrow, but a girl's figure from behind her rushed in front of her at an even faster speed.

A golden light illuminated the stone walls on all four sides, dazzling as daytime; it was the Ruyi Jingu Bang (the magic staff) being wielded!
(End of this chapter)