Chapter 48 A Public Execution: One Shot, One Kill

"You madwoman, I'll see you dead with no grave to call your own!"

Dozens of yards away, Yang Yi spat blood from his mouth, his face twisted into a hideous mask. He could feel a rift tearing through his dantian; from now on, his path of cultivation would be forever impaired. This was a hatred that could not be reconciled. He must kill this madwoman to appease the burning fury in his heart.

"Hmph, so you want more? Fine, today let's settle this once and for all!" Yao Yunya was unafraid, her sword intent surging once again.

"Roar!"

Yang Yi went berserk, unleashing all his true power.

"Enough! Cease this instant!"

A voice, stern and commanding, boomed down from the heavens. The entire square resounded as if struck by thunder. Everyone present, regardless of their cultivation, felt a chill in their hearts.

Next, an elder clad in a robe of azure adorned with mysterious patterns strode forth from afar, hands clasped behind his back, each step spanning a thousand feet. This was none other than Jiang Qingyang, the seventeenth Headmaster of the Supreme Profound Academy.

Accompanying him were the heads of various academies. Jiang Qingyang descended, standing between Yang Yi and Yao Yunya.

"Today is the day the Azure Lotus Sword Institute welcomes new disciples—a joyous occasion. Why are you two at each other's throats, determined to fight to the death?"

With the Headmaster himself present, Yang Yi and Yao Yunya dared not make another move. Both bowed in respect. Yao Yunya was the first to speak, "Headmaster, Teacher Yang Yi, abusing his authority, oppressed the disciple I just accepted, forbidding her to enter."

The muscles on Yang Yi's face twitched. He retorted at once, "Nonsense! Today I am in charge of the Azure Lotus Sword Institute's admissions, and I have done everything by the book!"

Yao Yunya snorted coldly. "By the book, you say? Was it not because of Xia Jiuxuan that you sought to suppress my disciple Xia Ran? You admitted as much before. Do you dare lie before the Headmaster?"

"Silence, both of you."

The head of the Azure Lotus Sword Institute, unable to bear the scene any longer, intervened. In the presence of the Headmaster, Yao Yunya was acting like a shrew, and he felt deeply humiliated.

"Dean Lu, this matter concerns your Azure Lotus Sword Institute. You shall handle it."

"Yes, Headmaster." Dean Lu stepped forward, "Yao Yunya, as a teacher, you disregarded the reputation of the Azure Lotus Sword Institute, causing a scene before so many disciples, and gravely injuring Teacher Yang of the Disciplinary Hall. Do you admit your guilt?"

Yao Yunya was stunned. Dean Lu had not even asked for her side of the story before declaring her guilty? She stammered, "Dean Lu, I..."

"Silence!" Dean Lu had no intention of hearing her out and cut her off. "I hereby dock your salary for half a year and order you to reflect in the Chamber of Penitence for three months. We shall see how you conduct yourself thereafter. Do you accept this punishment?"

Yao Yunya felt hollow inside. She had not even been allowed to speak before being severely punished.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips. Dean Lu ignored her entirely, turning instead to Yang Yi. "Teacher Yang, you have worked hard at the command of the Headmaster to oversee the Azure Lotus Sword Institute's admissions. As for your injuries, the Institute will compensate you. Please do not hold a grudge."

Yang Yi gave a cold snort. "This madwoman shattered my dantian and nearly killed me, but for Dean Lu's sake, I'll let it go this once. However, I want all compensation to come from Yao Yunya personally. The Azure Lotus Sword Institute need not bear the cost!"

"Very well," Dean Lu agreed at once and turned to Yao Yunya. "Do you accept this?"

Yao Yunya's chest heaved with anger. "Why should I accept it? On what grounds?"

"Insolence!" someone beside her barked. "Yao Yunya, don't be ungrateful. Dean Lu is fully aware of what transpired. Would you dare cause a scene before the Headmaster and Dean?"

"What do you know of what happened? Let me tell you—my disciple Xia Ran possesses the Purple Flame Ice—"

Yao Yunya had just begun to reveal the extraordinary nature of Xia Ran's constitution, when a heavy slap cut her off, landing hard across her face.

The assailant was none other than Dean Lu.

"You are out of line," he said coldly, withdrawing his hand. "No matter what constitution she has, the Academy's rules cannot be broken. I hereby declare: that little girl will never be admitted to the Supreme Profound Academy."

With that, he turned to the Headmaster, bowing respectfully. "Headmaster, do you find my handling of this appropriate?"

The Headmaster nodded lightly. "Dean Lu, you have done well."

Then he swept his gaze across the assembled disciples. "The Supreme Profound Academy has stood for thousands of years, and a key reason is our rules. Without rules, there is no order. Anyone who thinks they can act with impunity here has come to the wrong place and will pay a heavy price. Remember—no one is an exception. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, Headmaster!" everyone responded in unison.

Among the crowd, Xia Ran had more or less understood what had been said. She felt deeply dejected. She would not be able to join the academy, and her teacher, for her sake, had been beaten by villains. Xia Ran wanted to cry.

But she clenched her tiny fists, forcing herself not to weep, though her thoughts churned in turmoil.

"Second Uncle, I don't want to join this academy anymore," Xia Ran said pitiably to Xia Jiuxuan.

"Why not?" Xia Jiuxuan asked.

"Because they want to hurt Teacher. Teacher is good to me, and I don't want to see her bullied." Xia Ran tried her utmost to hold back her tears.

Xia Jiuxuan gazed toward the high platform and said calmly, "Don't be afraid, Ranran. Second Uncle will see that your teacher gets justice. I promised you would enter the academy, and I will keep that promise. No one can stop me."

"But..." Xia Ran hesitated. She was now a cultivator herself, and could vaguely sense how powerful those villains were. She feared Second Uncle would be bullied just like her teacher.

"Young master, if a fight breaks out, I'll cover the retreat," Li Luoyan said beside him, already prepared to fight to the death. She only regretted that her sword soul was too badly damaged; otherwise, these petty lackeys would fall to a single stroke.

"That won't be necessary," Xia Jiuxuan replied quietly, leaping onto the high platform once more.

To the onlookers, the deans standing on the platform were like immovable mountains, and the Headmaster's power was so immense as to be unfathomable, beyond description.

Yet in such a situation, the young man still dared step onto the stage? Was he courting death?

"I now announce: Xia Ran is officially a disciple of the Supreme Profound Academy."

The first words Xia Jiuxuan spoke upon reaching the platform stunned everyone present.

"Who is that brat? What nonsense is he spouting?"

"Hilarious! Can't take the blow, lost his mind!"

"Does he think this place is his private land? Even the princes wouldn't dare say such a thing!"

The crowd burst into discussion, convinced that Xia Jiuxuan had lost his mind, that he was utterly irrational—a lunatic.

"You again!"

Yang Yi was livid, grinding his teeth as Xia Jiuxuan dared step forward once more.

Boom!

Without another word, Yang Yi attacked, unleashing a deadly strike at Xia Jiuxuan.

But Xia Jiuxuan's reflexes were lightning fast. Before Yang Yi's palm could even touch him, a pitch-black spear thrust fiercely into his side, plunging along the wound Yao Yunya had already inflicted and piercing into his chest cavity.

"You—!"

Yang Yi's face was drained of color; his lips trembled.

His dantian had already been shattered, and now he was gravely wounded. He could no longer muster the power of the Sealing Spirit Realm—at best, he could wield the strength of a low-level Profound Realm cultivator.

Still, he had believed that his body, tempered to the Sealing Spirit Realm, would be enough to crush Xia Jiuxuan with ease.

But reality proved him woefully mistaken, and the price was dire.

"Stop!" several deans shouted almost simultaneously.

But Xia Jiuxuan did not stop. On the contrary, he unleashed spear intent, shredding Yang Yi's heart to pieces.

Yang Yi's eyes widened in disbelief and resentment as he collapsed to the ground.

A chilling silence fell once more over the square. Everyone felt a wave of dread.

That young man had dared, before the entire academy's leadership, to kill a teacher—and one with powerful connections at that.

Surely, the heavens themselves would change now.