Chapter 85: Gathering! Furious, Deeply Furious!

Zhang Ruofeng, Jin Huishan, and the others stood with folded arms, watching the spectacle unfold. Jin Huishan, shamelessly, seemed intent on sparring with Gu Leiming, blocking him whenever he tried to help. Meanwhile, Black Bear was roaring with laughter.

Black Bear was the representative sent by the Hengjian Sect—a sword-wielding school whose envoy was built like a mountain, burly and imposing. He handed his sword to Zhang Ruofeng and then stood, barehanded, to fight Lin Tianwen and his companions. Though not as tall as Pang Wudi, Black Bear still stood nearly two meters high, his muscles bulging from years of rigorous training. His face was shrouded in a thick beard, making him look even more intimidating. Now, he laughed with abandon.

Nearby, Lin Yi’s dormitory mates—Lin Tianwen, Ma Si, Bai Qi, and others—were bruised and battered, crying out in pain. Seven of them were besieging Black Bear, but he, towering over them like a mountain, seemed impervious to their efforts. Every punch landed on him was met with indifference, as if they were scratching an itch. Black Bear would simply swing his hand in retaliation, and the blow would knock out teeth and send them reeling.

The crowd on the field shouted feverishly. Only a few, like Pang Wudi, stood aside, clicking their tongues and sneering coldly at the scene, offering sarcastic commentary. Most were shouting with righteous anger, calling for the violence to stop and urging someone to intervene on behalf of Lin Tianwen and his friends.

Zhang Ruofeng and his group remained unmoved, even barring the way of those who wanted to help. Whether it was their identity as immortal disciples or the faint aura emanating from them, it kept others at bay, frustrated and powerless.

Not far away, Lin Yi saw that, since his arrival, An Miaoyi had appeared at the entrance on the opposite side of the field. Her face was flushed with anger as she rushed forward, shouting, "What are you doing? What are you doing? Let them go!"

An Miaoyi had not been present earlier because she had not come to school. Only after receiving a call from her teacher and at her grandfather's urging did she arrive. She had been waiting for Lin Yi outside the Paranormal Investigation Bureau in Shengjing, uninterested in the day’s tests. Even though today's event was the result of a negotiation between Chief Gu Leiming and the ten major sects, there were still numerous unresolved paranormal cases, keeping the field team frantically busy. An Miaoyi had planned to meet Lin Yi and have him accompany her on an assignment, sparing him from languishing in the demon prison. But now, something had happened, and suspecting Lin Yi might be here, she came.

Upon entering the field, An Miaoyi witnessed the chaos. The entire place boiled like a pot of water. She never expected such disorder at school. After all, Chief Gu Leiming was on the verge of becoming a master spiritualist—who would dare provoke him? Today was the day the ten major sects came to Shengjing Academy to select talent, yet someone dared incite trouble!

Staring intently, An Miaoyi was stunned to see Chief Gu Leiming confronting a man clad in a robe speckled with star-like patterns. The two exuded powerful auras, clashing in the center.

An Miaoyi quickly took out the energy meter from her backpack and saw the energy value—over nine thousand—still rising rapidly, about to reach its peak. She hurried toward Gu Leiming.

It wasn’t her grandfather’s reputation that gave An Miaoyi such courage, but her role in the Paranormal Investigation Bureau. The Bureau held responsibility and authority to supervise all cultivators. It was a special department that not only dealt with demons and spirits, but also governed cultivators. If cultivators were police, then Bureau personnel were their inspectors; strength mattered less than official status. Unless dealing with the wicked or in remote areas, all cultivators owed the Bureau a measure of respect.

To put it simply, the Paranormal Investigation Bureau had law enforcement power over cultivators—and over ordinary people as well.

At that moment, An Miaoyi realized something was wrong. Aside from Gu Leiming and Jin Huishan’s standoff, another fight was erupting elsewhere, and she recognized some participants. She had investigated Lin Yi, tracing his lineage and relationships at school. She knew Lin Tianwen, the dormitory leader, Ma Si, and the seven brothers. She had even visited their dormitory, meeting them in person.

Now, seeing Lin Tianwen and his friends beaten by a practitioner—an outright cultivator—An Miaoyi was incensed. Cultivators fighting ordinary people? This was forbidden! Lin Tianwen and his friends stood no chance. Thinking of how furious Lin Yi would be when he learned his brothers were harmed, An Miaoyi’s face hardened, her anger intensifying as she dashed toward them, no longer heading for Chief Gu Leiming.

An Miaoyi was no ordinary person; her presence surged with power, stunning the students around her. She was the school’s goddess, after all, and now it seemed she, too, was a cultivator—her speed astonishing.

"Damn... This is insane! Who would have thought the goddess was a cultivator, just like Lin Yi!"

"Incredible—she’s the real deal. I always thought she was aloof, and now I know it's because she's a cultivator!"

"I want to write a book: 'My Goddess Is a Cultivator.'"

"What kind of title is that? How about, 'My Campus Belle Is a Cultivator!'"

"...You win!"

An Miaoyi had fully revealed her identity as a cultivator. But in these changing times, such exposure hardly mattered. Besides, she felt it was worthwhile, especially as it helped Lin Yi.

With that, An Miaoyi accelerated even more. In the distance, Black Bear’s aura seemed to manifest phantom bears, baring their teeth behind him. He abandoned defense for offense.

"Stop! What are you doing? How can you attack ordinary people? Cultivators harming ordinary people is a grave taboo!" An Miaoyi shouted.

Black Bear, his aura glowing and laughing heartily, glanced at An Miaoyi, his eyes lighting up. "I made a wager with them. I’m not violating the law—I have my reasons, and you can’t stop me. No matter who you are, it won’t matter!"

Despite his words, Black Bear felt intimidated. The faint aura from An Miaoyi suggested considerable strength—at least enough to be a worthy opponent. Gradually, the phantom bears around him faded.

Zhang Ruofeng frowned and nudged the person beside him, whose face was pale and sinister. This was Huang Kuang of the Eight Extremes Sect, famed for its formidable boxing style, and Huang Kuang’s skills were exceptional.

At Zhang Ruofeng’s signal, Huang Kuang grinned maliciously and stepped into An Miaoyi’s path. "I don’t care who you are. You should know that once a wager is agreed, no one can interfere! So please stay here and don’t force me to stop you!"

With a surge of energy, Huang Kuang began to move his palms back and forth, adopting the Eight Extremes stance. The aura he radiated made An Miaoyi feel threatened.

An Miaoyi desperately wanted to help, to stop Black Bear from tormenting Lin Tianwen and his friends, but she was blocked. Huang Kuang’s presence was oppressive, forcing her to grit her teeth and endure. Just as she was about to advance, Huang Kuang struck.

A flurry of boxing shadows flashed around An Miaoyi, encircling her.

Her face reddened. "I am from the Paranormal Investigation Bureau!" she declared, her energy masking the pronouncement so only Huang Kuang could hear.

Huang Kuang’s expression shifted. He glanced at Zhang Ruofeng, who shook his head. Huang Kuang chuckled, "That’s irrelevant. Even Bureau agents must follow the rules! Once a wager’s been made, you can’t interfere!"

The situation on the field changed rapidly.

Lin Yi was furious. His face darkened with rage.

Behind Lin Yi, Xuan Ku had just landed, lamenting his own miserable fate, anticipating humiliation from Zhang Ruofeng and the others. Suddenly, he felt like laughing aloud—no quiet chuckle would do. He realized that, compared to his own minor disgrace (striking Li Chunfeng, embarrassing the old principal and students, being slapped and kicked by Lin Yi, forced to call him grandfather, and preparing to apologize to the academy), Zhang Ruofeng and his group were in much deeper trouble.

Why suffer alone when others can join? Now, Xuan Ku felt like the luckiest person alive. He thought, just wait, Zhang Ruofeng! Lin Yi, the true slayer, stood before him.

At that moment, Lin Yi moved.

He had never been so enraged. His heart burned with fury. A true man knows what must and must not be done. In the past, Lin Yi preferred caution, because he never imagined his friends would be bullied or harmed. Now, he realized that acting on impulse was sometimes right—he was doing just that.

"With my strength, I can crush these people—why bother with caution? They’re not the sinister Evil God, nor the City God of the temple, nor Lady Huang Nine. What am I afraid of? This time, I’ll break through—representatives of the ten major sects or their prodigies, it doesn’t matter. Whoever faces me is finished!"

Lin Yi’s presence surged. Even with his Concealment Technique, those nearby felt his overwhelming aura.

Beside him, Xuan Ku finally sensed the pressure from Lin Yi's aura, realizing the vast gulf between them. Yet, the greater the gap, the more Xuan Ku’s twisted delight grew. The more trouble Zhang Ruofeng and the others would face, the happier he felt. His pain vanished, his spirit soared.

“Hehehe…” Anticipating the scene to come, Xuan Ku’s face was suffused with pure satisfaction.