"Isn't it just because she has a recommendation letter? What's there to be so proud about?"
"Exactly, exactly. Maybe she's not even that skilled and just showed up late on purpose, using the excuse that she missed the entrance competition to get in through a recommendation."
As soon as Chu Liuxiang stepped into the pavilion, she overheard a few female classmates gossiping sourly about someone. Curious, she asked, "Li Shulan, who are you talking about?"
"What, you don't know about the transfer student Ye Lanshan who just joined the Crimson Class?" Shen Bingying, sitting by the edge of the pavilion, sneered. "And here I thought you were an important member of the Ghost Gang. Can't believe you don't even know this."
"Ye Lanshan?" Chu Liuxiang exclaimed in shock. "How did she end up here?"
"What, you know her?" The other girls in the pavilion noticed her losing her composure at the name and immediately crowded around. "What? Do you know her?"
"Yeah, she's a friend of mine."
Shen Bingying laughed. "Birds of a feather flock together. If she's friends with someone like you, that Ye Lanshan can't be anything good either."
"Shen Bingying, I really didn't mean to hurt you that time, and I already gave you all the pills I had on me. What more do you want from me?" Chu Liuxiang wiped her tears pitifully.
"Shen Bingying, if Chu Liuxiang hadn't risked her life to save you back then, would you even be alive today?" Li Shulan immediately scolded Shen Bingying. "Besides, you were facing two third-tier mystical beasts at the time. It was Chu Liuxiang's first time in such a situation too. She got nervous and accidentally hurt you—it wasn't intentional. Why do you have to keep holding a grudge?"
Shen Bingying snorted coldly. "If she hadn't wounded me at that critical moment, those two mystical beasts wouldn't have stood a chance against me."
Chu Liuxiang's eyes flickered, and she said softly, "Even if you resent me, don't talk about my friend like that. I'm telling you, if you dare to hurt her, don't blame me for being rude."
Shen Bingying sneered, ignored her, and walked straight out of the pavilion.
After a long pause, Shen Bingying's voice drifted from afar: "I'd like to see what you can do to me."
At that moment, Ye Lanshan was sitting in class, attentively listening to the teacher. Suddenly, she felt a chill down her back. She shivered slightly but didn't pay it much mind, continuing to focus on the lesson.
Little did she know, Chu Liuxiang—the one who had caused the original owner's death—was busy making enemies for her.
"Ye Lanshan, get out here! I challenge you!" One of Shen Bingying's lackeys shouted outside.
Ye Lanshan was sound asleep in her room when the noise woke her up, making her furious.
If her friends from her past life had seen someone daring to wake Ye Lanshan, they would have mourned for that person—after all, her temper when woken up was no joke.
She threw on her clothes, pushed open the courtyard door, and looked at the hostile group. "A challenge, huh? Fine, let's start now."
Shen Bingying sneered. "You'll pay for your ignorance."
Ye Lanshan replied angrily, "If you're going to fight, then fight. Stop wasting time with all this talk."
The onlookers gasped. This newbie really didn't know her place. Shen Bingying was a third-tier Grand Mystic, ruthless and merciless—none of the new students dared to provoke her.
"Blade of Ten Thousand Edges!" Countless light blades shot toward her.
Ye Lanshan watched the blades about to pierce her body and let out a cold laugh. "Shield of Fire Origin!" A shield of flames erupted around her.
Shen Bingying smirked triumphantly as the blades closed in on Ye Lanshan. *Chu Liuxiang, I'll make you taste what it's like to lose a friend.*
But to her shock, Ye Lanshan's fire shield instantly devoured all the light blades.
Shen Bingying's smug expression froze. *How is this possible? How could she block my attack?*
"Since you're done attacking, it's my turn." Ye Lanshan curled her lips, channeling her mystical energy. Soon, a pair of wings formed from fire sprouted from her back. "Wings of Carnage."
"Light Barrier!" Shen Bingying quickly shielded herself, but the "Wings of Carnage" proved too powerful, shattering her barrier.
"Pfft!" Shen Bingying couldn't withstand Ye Lanshan's assault and collapsed, spitting blood.
"This can't be!" Shen Bingying cried hysterically. "Your mystical energy is so weak—how could you beat me?"
Her words made everyone realize they couldn't discern Ye Lanshan's rank. There were only two reasons for that: either she was a waste with no mystical energy, or her rank was higher than theirs, making it impossible to gauge.
But Ye Lanshan clearly wasn't the first type. Yet if she were the second, her mystical energy fluctuations were too weak to suggest a higher rank.
In truth, Ye Lanshan and Shen Bingying were at the same rank. The confusion about her level was all thanks to the Chaos Pearl, which could mask her rank, making it unreadable.
The Chaos Pearl could fully conceal her mystical energy, but since its seal hadn't been lifted, it could only hide her rank for now.
Ye Lanshan continued beating Shen Bingying as she taunted, "Hmph, anyone else want to challenge me? Come on, all at once."
*Yeah, right.* With her being this brutal, even Shen Bingying was reduced to this state—who would dare to challenge her? The onlookers, seeing her fierce gaze, immediately scattered. In an instant, only Shen Bingying's lackeys remained, trembling in the wind, unsure whether to stay or flee.
"You lot, drag her away." Ye Lanshan tossed the unconscious Shen Bingying to her lackeys and went back to her room to sleep.
Still fast asleep, she had no idea her reputation had spread across the entire academy.
When Ye Lanshan finally woke up and strolled around the campus, she was astonished to find that everyone she encountered gave her a wide berth, as if she were some kind of monster.
*What's wrong with them?* she muttered to herself. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn't have guessed it was all thanks to her morning rampage.
"Hey, you're that Ye Lanshan?" Shen Changwen stared coldly at her as she walked. "You're the one who seriously injured my sister?"
Ye Lanshan gave him a puzzled look. "Who's your sister? I don't know her, so why would I hit her?"
A passerby timidly reminded her, "His sister is the girl you fought today." After all, he couldn't afford to offend either of them.
Shen Changwen said icily, "You'll pay for hurting my sister. If you cripple your own hands and swear never to enter the Mystic Spirit Academy again, I'll let you off."
"Oh, and if I refuse?" Ye Lanshan played with her nails, completely unfazed by his threat.
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Shen Changwen flew into a rage. "Then don't blame me for being rude."
Chapter 33: Punishment
Just as the two were about to clash, on the verge of a fight.
Just as everyone lamented that a genius was about to fall.
Qi Shuangxiao appeared, stopping the conflict. Amid the sympathetic gazes of the crowd, he took Ye Lanshan and Shen Changwen away.
"Explain yourselves. Why were you fighting on campus? Don't you know it's a serious violation of school rules?" Qi Shuangxiao brought them to the reflection room and scolded them sternly.
Shen Changwen opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it. He knew Qi Shuangxiao was notoriously impartial—among the three elders of the Judicial Hall, he was the most terrifying. Anyone caught by him suffered a grim fate.
But Ye Lanshan didn't know that. She defended herself, "I'm new here and didn't know fighting was against the rules. And he provoked me—was I supposed to just stand there and let him hit me?"
Qi Shuangxiao snorted coldly. "No matter the reason, breaking the rules is breaking the rules. No amount of excuses will save you."
"Private fighting is a serious offense. As punishment, you'll both reflect at Luocha Cliff for a month."
At the mention of Luocha Cliff, Shen Changwen's face turned pale. He immediately knelt. "Elder Qi, I don't want to go to Luocha Cliff."
Qi Shuangxiao said mercilessly, "Either drop out or go to Luocha Cliff. Your choice."
Shen Changwen looked ashen. Dropping out was humiliating, but it was better than Luocha Cliff. Besides, he had already learned everything he needed. After an internal struggle, he chose to withdraw.
Ye Lanshan grew curious about what was so terrifying about Luocha Cliff that it scared him that much.
Qi Shuangxiao didn't give her time to think and directly took her to Luocha Cliff. As soon as she entered, Ye Lanshan sensed something was wrong—she couldn't use her mystical energy.
*Hmph, I thought Luocha Cliff was something scary. Turns out it's just that I can't use my mystical energy.*
But was it really that simple? If it were just the loss of mystical energy, Shen Changwen wouldn't have been so scared as to drop out.
Sure enough, within moments, three sand wolves—first-tier mystical beasts—gathered in front of Ye Lanshan. While they were only first-tier, they were still a serious threat to someone without mystical energy.
Anyone else would have been thinking about how to escape, but she was Ye Lanshan, a person from another world. She had fought a fifth-tier White Flame Fire Tiger when she first arrived—why would she fear three little first-tier sand wolves?
She pulled a dagger from her spatial storage and charged straight at the three sand wolves.
*Is she trying to get herself killed?* The guards hidden near Luocha Cliff widened their eyes. They were the patrol team responsible for watching over punished students, ensuring they didn't die here.
In all their time here, they had never seen someone as reckless as Ye Lanshan. They watched the situation nervously, ready to pull her out at the last moment.
Ye Lanshan leaped onto the back of one sand wolf and stabbed its eye with her dagger.
"Ow!" The sand wolf howled in agony, thrashing wildly to throw her off. The other two wolves seized the opportunity and launched a coordinated attack.
Ye Lanshan twisted her body, grabbing another sand wolf at an impossible angle. Using its body as leverage, she jumped onto the third wolf.
But this one wasn't as lucky as the first—it lost more than just an eye; it lost its life.
She plunged the dagger into the wolf's skull and quickly retreated before it collapsed.
"Ow~" The remaining two wolves didn't charge at her as she expected. Instead, they stood still and howled.
Ye Lanshan's brow furrowed. *Not good—they're calling for reinforcements. There are people watching everywhere, so I can't use magic. What do I do?*
The sand wolves didn't give her time to think. In an instant, they surrounded her.
*Forget it, I'll just fight them head-on.*
She gripped her dagger tightly, picked a random spot, and charged. But just as she reached the wolves, she made a sharp turn toward the weakest point in the encirclement.
After taking down a few sand wolves, she sprinted into the distance.
"Phew, finally lost them. I'm exhausted." Ye Lanshan leaned against a tree, panting heavily. Before she could rest enough, another beast appeared.
In the days that followed, Ye Lanshan spent most of her time fighting and fleeing.
"Finally, a month is over." She collapsed outside Luocha Cliff, savoring the rare moment of peace.
Half an hour later, fully rested, she dusted off her clothes and returned to her courtyard.
"So comfortable." Lying in her bath, Ye Lanshan sighed. Still, since the start of school, she felt a bit frustrated—ever since arriving, it had been nothing but provocations and punishments.
*I've been keeping a low profile, so why do so many people keep picking fights with me?*
When Chu Liuxiang heard that Ye Lanshan had emerged from Luocha Cliff unscathed, she thought, *I can't believe Ye Lanshan has become this strong. Shen Bingying and Shen Changwen couldn't even kill her, and she came out of Luocha Cliff perfectly fine.*
*Now Shen Bingying won't act rashly. It looks like I'll have to do it myself.* Ye Lanshan had no idea about Chu Liuxiang's thoughts. After a relaxing bath, she lay down and fell asleep.
Though she hadn't had a full night's sleep in a month, her spiritual energy had grown significantly. She was just one suitable opportunity away from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage.
The next morning, as she walked to class, an orange-clad youth blocked her path.
The boy smiled brightly. "I heard you came out of Luocha Cliff without a scratch. Can you tell me how you did it?"
Ye Lanshan rolled her eyes. "Why should I tell you?"
The boy scratched his head. "Ye Lanshan, let's be friends. My name is Mu Yang."
Ye Lanshan wasn't in a hurry to get to class. She crossed her arms and asked with interest, "Why should I be friends with you? What's in it for me?"
"Well, being friends with me has plenty of perks. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me—I'll explain it all. If you're my friend, I guarantee you can walk around this school without any trouble."
Ye Lanshan looked into his clear eyes—he didn't seem to be lying. Whether or not he had the ability, just the fact that he seemed genuine made befriending him a no-brainer.
"Your silence means you agree! Ye Lanshan, now that we're friends, shouldn't you tell me how you managed to come out of Luocha Cliff unscathed?"