Chapter 54: The Underworld, White Impermanence

It has nothing to do with Zhou Wentong. The academy has already made contact with him, and he should be cooperating with the Investigation Bureau at this moment.

Liu Qingzhi said, waving her hand, and continued.

Let us put that aside for now. The academy's communication tokens are strictly controlled and only issued when necessary, with each token bearing a special mark. The ones distributed to the student union make it easy to identify their holders. Triggering a token requires an academy affiliation, so it is very likely that Tang Xiaoyou used the token to lure us here. With a traitor like Zhou Wu in the academy, it is no surprise that unmarked tokens are circulating outside.

Just as her voice trailed off, three crisp claps echoed through the mountain forest.

As expected of the daughter of Liu An, the running dog of the Investigation Bureau. Your deduction was logical and well-founded, but unfortunately... you guessed wrong.

A soft, effeminate male voice rang out, echoing through the woods.

A rat hiding its head and tail, finally daring to show its face?

Liu Qingzhi let out a cold snort, her flying sword spinning around her before shooting like lightning into the depths of the forest.

With a crisp ding, the flying sword seemed to strike something, bouncing high into the air before returning to her side.

Having failed to achieve her goal with a single strike, Liu Qingzhi did not act rashly again, lowering her voice.

Qin Zhe, the situation seems to have grown complicated. Be careful.

Qin Zhe did not utter a word. In his view, the situation was already complicated enough, and now it was even more so; he was struggling to process it all.

The voice echoing through the forest belonged to a man, and it was clearly not Tang Xiaoyou. Who was this person?

Let me introduce myself. I come from the Underworld, subordinate to the Ten Courts of Yama. I have no name, but you may call me White Impermanence.

The male voice sounded again, drawing closer from afar.

The Underworld?

The Ten Courts of Yama?

White Impermanence?

Is this guy suffering from severe chuunibyou?

What on earth is all this nonsense?

Qin Zhe felt highly agitated, completely overwhelmed at the moment.

The appearance of the Abyss Secret Realm had drawn in the Eagle Nation, turning his otherwise peaceful academy life upside down.

Before the issue with the Eagle Nation could be resolved, some fool popped up claiming to be White Impermanence, seemingly representing another faction. Could they not give him a break?

Liu Qingzhi remained as straightforward as ever, murmuring to herself.

The Underworld? I have never heard of this faction, but judging by his accent, he should definitely be from the Dragon Nation...

Do you know where you went wrong?

The male voice came once more, not coming any closer, but laughing smugly.

Zhou Wu never defected to the Eagle Nation; he has been a man of the Underworld from the very beginning. As for the Eagle Nation, we merely utilized them slightly to attract the attention of you and the Dragon Nation's officials.

So?

Qin Zhe raised his head, gazing in the direction of Liu Qingzhi's previous attack.

(...)

The male voice choked, seemingly caught off guard by the question, but he quickly spoke again.

Qin Zhe, I admire you. For a martial artist to reach your level, it is unimaginable what achievements you will attain in the future. We have been observing you; I wonder if you would be willing to join the Underworld?

Apologies, I am currently an ordinary student and am not considering employment issues.

Qin Zhe responded loudly, then asked Liu Qingzhi in a voice audible only to the two of them.

Department Head, what should we do now? Should we leave first?

Before Liu Qingzhi could reply, the male voice laughed.

Want to leave? Not so easily. I went to a lot of trouble to lure the two of you here alone. Since you are ungrateful and reject my invitation, I suppose I have no choice but to use force.

Following the voice, a flash of light streaked through the distant forest at an incredible speed.

Liu Qingzhi had already been on guard and reacted instantly. Her flying sword shot out like lightning, its sword momentum vastly fiercer than before, and pierced straight into the flash of light with a sharp hiss.

Whatever the flying flash of light was, when pierced by the sword, it split in two like tofu. Not only did it not lose its momentum, but it shot toward the two of them even faster.

Seeing this, Qin Zhe decisively took a step forward, shielding Liu Qingzhi with his body.

With two muffled thuds, his entire body shook violently as he stumbled backward, failing to completely absorb the impact.

Knowing that Qin Zhe was tough-skinned and durable, Liu Qingzhi was not worried. She raised a hand to support his back, her red lips parting slightly.

Tier Five.

Understood. That hit hurt a bit.

Qin Zhe rubbed his smoking chest and whispered.

What should we do? Run?

We cannot outrun it.

Liu Qingzhi lowered her gaze to look at the two shattered stones on the ground, her expression grave.

This pebble had merely been split in half by her flying sword, and yet it had not shattered upon striking Qin Zhe, which sufficiently proved that the opponent was no ordinary Tier Five.

Tier Five was inherently the greatest watershed for cultivators.

Once stepped into, regardless of whether it was the path of Immortals, Demons, or Martial Arts, one's strength would undergo a qualitative transformation.

Liu Qingzhi knew she was no freak like Li Zongheng, and against a Tier Five, she could only barely put up resistance.

Since the person hiding in the forest possessed such high cultivation, they could not be blindly fought head-on.

Then we have no choice. We'll just have to beat him up.

As he spoke, Qin Zhe recalled the punch with which his True Self had blasted Chen Yu, and he threw a punch in the exact same manner.

He was not cowardly.

After all, he was not afraid of being beaten to death.

With a sharp crack, Qin Zhe punched into empty air, and a gust of wind instantly roared forth.

A Tier Five attack, even if it was just a pebble, had allowed him to accumulate quite a bit of energy.

Qin Zhe was not in his True Self state, nor was he under the Blood-Burning True Self Art, so the fist wind he successfully unleashed was not immensely powerful, but it was extremely fast.

In the blink of an eye, the fist wind crashed into the forest, destroying an untold number of trees in its wake.

White Impermanence, hiding in the woods, was aware of Qin Zhe's anomalies, so his attack had merely been a probe.

Clearly, however, he had not expected Qin Zhe to use fist wind to inflict damage...

Hearing a muffled groan, a somewhat disheveled figure rose into the air from the depths of the forest, crying out in astonishment and doubt.

What kind of technique is this? A martial skill? What kind of martial arts path are you cultivating?

Care to guess?

Qin Zhe replied, flashing a grin that revealed a row of white teeth.

(...)

White Impermanence's face turned livid with anger, realizing he had been mocked.

Liu Qingzhi stood behind Qin Zhe, pressing her lips into a smile at the sight.

Don't mess around. The president is here, and the two of us will join forces to deal with this person.

With that, her figure flickered as she shot forward alongside her flying sword.

At the same time, Li Zongheng rose into the air from the forest in the distance, slashing out with a sword from afar. The sword Qi transformed into the silent roar of a dragon head, hurtling toward White Impermanence at immense speed.

White Impermanence had already been carelessly caught off guard once; fighting Liu Qingzhi was one thing, but seeing Li Zongheng suddenly appear caused his expression to shift, and he immediately felt the urge to retreat.

Li Zongheng stood at the very peak among the over two thousand students of Sea City University, and Liu Qingzhi was likewise a top-tier genius ranked in the academy's top ten. If he were caught in a pincer attack between the two, he would not have an easy time.

White Impermanence was not afraid of being defeated, but he could not ignore the enigmatic Qin Zhe.

The Underworld had only recently taken note of this suddenly emerged monster, and to this day, they still could not figure out why he was so strong and resilient, nor could they even ascertain his cultivation tier.

Without hesitation, White Impermanence struck out with a palm, forcing back the approaching Liu Qingzhi, and flicked his sleeve, sending a figure flying out.

This female doll is of no use anymore, I'm returning her to you! There will be other days for us to meet!

(End of this chapter)