Where does that wicked woman get her conscience?

The capital city, Qianshan Academy.

A somber atmosphere permeated the room occupied by the few people seated at the highest positions.

What did you say?!

Bai Liao slammed his palm heavily on the table, rubbing his aching brow with his fingertips. He had only been busy with palace affairs for a few days, and upon arriving at the academy, he was greeted with such a headache-inducing news.

What were these elders and the dean saying again?

Guan Xun was eaten by an eighth-tier demon beast during the competition.

absurd.

The woman was accompanied by a divine beast; not to mention an eighth-tier, even a tenth-tier demon beast couldn't do anything to her.

It was swallowed up so easily; it's clearly a case of self-directed drama.

What a show!

Taking advantage of the Imperial Tutor's absence and the fact that he couldn't spare the time, he brazenly ran away!

Outrageous!

The angrier he got, the more he slammed his hand down, and the table cracked with a loud crack.

Seeing Bai Liao's strong reaction, everyone broke out in a cold sweat. They knew that the student was not simple in his eyes, but they did not expect him to hold such a significant place in their hearts.

"We also sent teachers to search immediately, but several days have passed and we still haven't found any trace of the water toad," the dean said in a deep voice.

He was also deeply saddened by the incident with his student. He had just comforted the Ye family yesterday, and now this competition had gone terribly wrong...

He sighed, clenching his fists: "Lord Bai, please accept my condolences..."

"Condolences? You should be condoling for that rotten toad." Bai Liao sneered, immediately stood up, and left quickly without paying attention to the expressions of those around him.

The people in the hall looked at each other, completely puzzled by what he meant.

Inside the hospital.

The news of the two students' accidents had already spread throughout the entire academy.

"Winter Sun?"

"Winter Sun!"

"Uh, yes, teacher." Dongyang snapped out of his daze and saw that the teacher was staring at the table in front of him. He quickly looked down and then realized that the medicinal herbs he was working on were scattered all over the table.

"I'm sorry, teacher, I'll clean it up."

The teacher shook his head helplessly, stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder: "Concentrate."

"…Yes."

Seeing that the other person was still in a weak state, the teacher did not say anything harsh. He heard that one of the two students who had the accident was Dongyang's younger sister.

It's natural to feel down after losing a loved one. Just a few days ago, when he first heard the news, he insisted on going to the Illusion Forest to look for them, despite everyone's objections.

Isn't this a suicide?

"Sigh." The teacher patted his shoulder gently again, hoping he could get through this soon.

The most powerful comfort comes from those who are sad. The teacher's sigh made Dongyang's heart ache, and he felt his eyes welling up. He quickly lowered his head and sniffled...

His younger sister was lovely and kind, a very smart and courageous girl. He simply couldn't believe this nightmarish news of her death...

-

The inner perimeter of the Illusionary Forest.

Guan Xun took a bite of the fruit in her hand; the juice was sweet and refreshing, and she glanced at the outer perimeter before turning her head away.

For the past few days, those old men from the academy had been wandering around the neighborhood looking for her, which had been incredibly bothersome and made it difficult for her to move around. Now they've finally all left.

If you can't find a dead person after searching for several days, you should have given up long ago.

"Hey, want some?" She looked up at the little fish with its eyes closed and handed it the half-eaten fruit in her hand.

……

Okay, I'm ignoring you.

"Do you have a name?"

……

Okay, I'll still ignore her.

"Then you can be called Little Fish from now on."

Little Fish: ……

"From the moment you met me, you became my fish. We have to get along well from now on."

Guan Xun was not a talkative person to begin with. If Yu'er hadn't been refusing to eat, drink, or speak for the past few days, and the tense relationship hadn't eased at all, she wouldn't have been talking to herself.

Seeing that the little fish still ignored her, she pointlessly finished eating the fruit and jumped down from the branch.

Never mind, there's plenty of time later.

"Chi Rong."

Upon hearing the call, Chi Rong appeared in a flash, his massive body towering high, his enormous head plunging down to stop in front of his master.

Noticing the commotion of monsters hiding and fleeing within a hundred miles, Guan Xun tugged at its root: "Tsk, still half asleep?"

"Your aura has scared away all the demonic beasts. Do you still want your beast core?"

Chi Rong was indeed still half asleep. These past few days, its owner hadn't let it out because it was hiding from those old men.

Its drowsy eyes regained their clarity, and it immediately concealed its presence: "The old men are all gone?"

"Alright, from now on, you are not allowed to release your aura without my order."

Guan Xun's tone was somber. Although the old men were easy to fool, they couldn't fool the divine beast Bai Ze. Once it heard the news of her death, it would definitely come looking for her immediately.

Not only Chi Rong, but even her aura had to be slightly suppressed, and her divine sense could not be relaxed for a moment.

In short, one should not stay here for too long.

"I understand, Master." Chi Rong shook his body and shrank to the size of a palm in the blink of an eye.

It landed on its shoulder, glanced at the little fish, and then drooped down.

Guan Xun lifted her foot and walked straight inside, her divine sense spreading in all directions. Centered on herself, the area within several miles was under her surveillance.

No matter what happens, nothing escapes her eyes.

The aura of the divine beast had only just faded away when the monsters in the forest slowly began to stir again.

Guan Xun's skirt swayed with her movements, and was quickly soaked by the morning dew that had condensed on the grass. She lifted it up and shook it off.

In that instant, a dark figure darted out from the bushes beside her and pounced straight at her.

She loosened her grip and casually brushed it towards the shadowy figure.

"Slap." A slap sent him flying.

The dark figure crashed into the tree trunk again, then bounced back to the ground with a thud, rolling to Guan Xun's feet.

"Puff! Puff puff!" It struggled to get up, its gray-black, oval, and short body bulging upwards, its slit-like eyes glaring upwards, baring its teeth and looking quite ferocious.

Guan Xun stomped on its long, fleshy beak: "It sounds awful, shut up."

Its mouth was throbbing from being stepped on, and the clever beast kept waving its short, round claws. The black spiritual energy between its claws transformed into small blades, which attacked it.

"Bang bang bang..."

The blade was completely blocked by a dark red spiritual energy barrier.

Guan Xun's fingertips intertwined with spiritual energy, quickly conjuring a long sword surrounded by red and white mist. The sharp blade alternated between cold and hot, exuding a menacing aura.

Chi Rong's eyes brightened slightly as he stared intently at the longsword.

As is well known, multi-attribute spirit masters can only use their spiritual power separately. If they want to use two attributes at the same time, they can only use their left and right hands separately.

It is absolutely impossible to simultaneously unleash two or more spiritual powers on one side of the hand.

Even if a spiritual master could perform this, it would likely be the last moment of his life, as chaotic spiritual energy would cause his body to be unable to withstand it, resulting in his body exploding and dying.

However, there are always exceptions, and the realm of the heavens possesses this forbidden technique.

A spiritual attack with mixed attributes is exceptionally powerful.

Chi Rong flicked its tongue. It thought its master had lost everything after being reborn. When did it start cultivating again?

Guan Xun flicked his wrist, raised his sword, and then brought it down.

With a mere flick of the wrist, the movement was swift and silent. The Qiaoguan Beast, which had been struggling to attack just a second ago, was instantly severed in two and fell silent.

Besides obtaining the beast core for Chi Rong, she also plans to test the results of her cultivation.

The competition at that shabby academy didn't allow her to go all out, making her hesitant and leaving her with no room to maneuver.

Her eyes darkened slightly as she swung her longsword horizontally towards the bushes ahead.

"Whoa..."

"Clap clap clap!"

The grass blades were instantly cut and sent flying, mixed with many pieces of monster limbs and flesh. Bright red blood splattered around, staining the green grass and trees.

At the same time, large swathes of bushes were trembling, the sound of monsters fleeing.

"Don't block my way if you're not at the seventh rank," Guan Xun said slowly, raising his sword and continuing to venture deeper.

"I need to find a big one to play with."