Su Fu’s voice sounded clear: “Yes, that’s the hand. He nearly skewered me with the Thunder God’s Spear.”
Over.
Karisto’s world went black as the terrifying presence behind him locked onto him.
The next moment, a sharp crack came from his right arm, agony flooding his body.
A string in his mind snapped, his shrill screams echoing through the plaza.
It was too fast!
He hadn’t even seen Tai Xuanzi’s movement before his right arm was twisted into an impossible angle, bone piercing the skin, white gleaming in the air.
Survival instinct drove Karisto to unleash his divine power wildly, summoning God of War Ares’s divine skill—”Wrath of the God of War”!
Countless blood-red energy arrows erupted from him, pouring toward Tai Xuanzi like a torrential rain.
Yet Tai Xuanzi didn’t even bother to dodge, letting the arrows strike her at will.
But the instant they hit, black scales appeared on her skin, blocking every attack.
Sorry, but scales tough enough to block the Thunder God’s Spear now covered her entire body.
Karisto was aghast, “Impossible! How can she be this powerful?!”
The next second, Su Fu’s voice sounded again: “He even called me a wretch.”
Karisto: “!!!”
‘Damn it! Tattling, tattling! All you do is tattle!’
No sooner had he thought this than a searing pain erupted in his jaw, shattering his lower mandible.
“Oh, right, he even wanted to shake hands and turn me into a puppet.”
Instantly, agony exploded in Karisto’s left wrist, blood spurting everywhere.
Each accusation, a blow to a vital point.
Just enough pain to make him wish for death, but never killing him.
Karisto desperately tried to hurl out artifact after artifact—
“Divine Chain,” “Poseidon’s Trident”… he unleashed one treasure after another, but alas, he was up against Tai Xuanzi.
Using these worthless bits of scrap against a dragon?
What a joke.
Tai Xuanzi crushed them all expressionlessly.
Karisto went mad, collapsing.
He simply couldn’t win, simply couldn’t!
He didn’t even dare manifest his dharma, for if he did, Tai Xuanzi would just assume her true dragon form and pulverize him.
His divine skills couldn’t break Tai Xuanzi’s defense at all; his artifacts were junk.
“Spare me… please…”
“I was wrong, I really was wrong…”
“Ah—! No!”
No matter how much he threatened, begged, or cursed, it was all useless.
Only his wails of agony echoed across the plaza, shrill as if straight from hell.
“Bang!” Another heavy strike sent Karisto flying dozens of meters, crashing through a stone pillar at the plaza’s edge, dust and rubble flying.
He spat a huge mouthful of blood, staining his chest scarlet.
Nearby examinees shivered on the spot—save us!
The entire plaza was dead silent.
All trembled, lying face down, not daring to make a sound.
Too fierce…
Before, they had been terrified of the dragon phantom.
Now they realized—the true body was thousands of times more terrifying!
‘Where had Su Fu found such a master?’
‘She was too scary!’
“Waaah!” Another anguished scream.
Many shut their eyes.
Heavens, why did they have to witness a high-and-mighty Central Inspector being pummeled by a dragon?
It would leave an indelible scar on their hearts…
They wanted to run, so badly, but who could tell them how to escape?
The scariest part was, Tai Xuanzi seemed to deliberately remove all of Karisto’s defensive artifacts, leaving only the healing and recovery one.
And that recovery artifact came from none other than the illustrious Olympus Family—its effect unmatched.
Which meant, as Karisto was beaten within an inch of his life, his injuries were healing before their very eyes.
He was being kept alive by force—
Broken bones rejoined, ruptured blood vessels reconnected, torn muscles knit back together…
Then, another round of beating, and another shattering.
On and on, a vicious cycle.
Terrifying… everyone shivered uncontrollably.
On the high platform, Lina and the others saw everything more clearly—and felt the chilling terror even more deeply.
They could stand if they wanted, but none dared to, for fear of standing out.
“Better to just stay down, it’s more comfortable…”
Just then, Karisto was flung again, another arm breaking.
“Heavens, save us…” Lina shut her eyes, unable to watch any longer.
They knew there’d be drama, but hadn’t expected it to be this dramatic!
‘Save us—would Dean Tai Xuanzi, in her rage, wipe out all the noble families?’
They desperately wanted to flee, but didn’t dare.
“Ah!”
Lina glanced sideways, just in time to see Murray’s utterly hopeless face, and she shuddered: “Damn, this one’s even more heavyweight. He’s probably next after Karisto.”
Zhou Yu, sitting close to Murray, shook his head and whispered, “It’ll be your turn soon, better think of something.”
Murray: “!!!”
He looked up to the sky and let out a silent wail, not daring to make a sound.
He frantically messaged his dean and father: “Save me! I’m about to get beaten to death!”
How had Tai Xuanzi gotten even more violent since the last time?
On the platform, the family representatives squirmed as if sitting on needles, wishing they could disappear, but not daring to make any sudden moves, terrified of drawing Tai Xuanzi’s attention.
Listening to Karisto’s howls, they felt as if Death’s scythe was pressed against their throats.
Life and death hung by a thread.
Those family heads who had once glared fiercely, eager to execute Su Fu on the spot, now dared not even look in her direction, for fear she’d remember their faces.
That little girl was truly an expert at making complaints.
Don’t think they hadn’t noticed—just now, she had deliberately provoked Patriarch Karisto into a violent outburst, so Tai Xuanzi would arrive at just the right moment to witness the scene.
Such a little girl, but her heart was so black.
Only the members of the Olympus Family retained some backbone, each one glaring at Tai Xuanzi with eyes almost bursting, wishing they could tear her to pieces.
Their own high-ranking, prestigious genius was being pinned down and beaten like a dog—who could tolerate that?
But that was as far as it could go.
No matter how furious they were, they didn’t dare say a word, because…
They really couldn’t win!
Just then, they suddenly felt a chill on their faces.
Everyone looked up in unison, only to find that the previously clear sky had become densely overcast with clouds at some point, thick and heavy.
The whole world suddenly dimmed.
“Drip.”
Rain fell to the ground, kicking up tiny splashes.
Then, more and more raindrops fell, growing larger and heavier, pelting the ground with a loud patter.
In the blink of an eye, a torrential downpour began, rain pouring down in sheets, merging together to block the view.
The rain washed the square, sweeping away the bloodstains and the stench of blood in the air.
Tai Xuanzi had already stopped.
She stood in the rain, her golden vertical pupils icy as they stared at Karisto.
The rain turned the ground to mud, but Karisto wasn’t ready to die.
He crawled on the ground with difficulty, his hands sinking deep into the mud, his heart left with nothing but terror.
He didn’t want to die, he really didn’t want to die!
“Why… why hasn’t anyone come yet…?”
“Where is the Principal of Tianqiong Path Academy? Where’s the Supervisor of the Star Ring? Why haven’t they come yet?”
“Is there really no one who can control Tai Xuanzi?”
Fear suffocated him, but hatred only grew more frantically.
If he survived, he would make everyone pay!
Especially Su Fu!
And Tang Yu, and everyone present today!
He would make them wish they were dead, to know true pain!
The cold rain made him shudder, but he didn’t dare stop, desperately crawling forward, leaving a winding trail of blood behind him.
The examinees remained silent, motionless in the rain, barely daring to breathe, each of them praying that Karisto wouldn’t crawl over to their side.
This was a battlefield between two S-rank Divine Proxies.
They wished they could stop breathing altogether, or just faint on the spot.
Unfortunately, the smell of blood and the fear kept their minds uncomfortably clear.
In the downpour, a flash of red suddenly blossomed.
It was a red umbrella, glaringly bright in the gray rain.
At some point, Su Fu had opened her umbrella and walked over to stand by Tai Xuanzi, shielding her from the pouring rain.
Water dripped down the handle, along Su Fu’s arm, soaking her sleeve through.
She knew—the rainstorm was Tai Xuanzi’s doing.
Yinglong could summon wind and rain; changing the weather was nothing.
But for a downpour to arrive like this clearly meant Tai Xuanzi was in a terrible mood.
Her golden vertical pupils remained fixed on the miserable, crawling Karisto, locking onto him like prey.
Tai Xuanzi thought that killing Karisto outright would be letting him off too easily, and letting the Olympus Family off too easily as well.
He should die slowly, drowned in fear and regret but truth be told, looking at Karisto now, Su Fu was certain he was ruined.
The once lofty Central Inspector, who’d once so casually wielded the Thunder God’s Spear, was now caked in mud, crawling forward, trembling and pitiful.
It was satisfying.
But there was a bit of regret—if only she could kill him.
But she knew—even if Karisto was detestable, as a Central Inspector, if Tai Xuanzi just killed him here, there would be even more trouble.
The best way would be to go through a proper trial and then execute him.
“I’m sorry, Master,” Su Fu said in a voice so low it was nearly drowned by the rain, “I couldn’t win.”
Only then did Tai Xuanzi seem to awaken, coming back to her senses.
She turned her head, and the killing intent in her golden eyes receded a little, along with her oppressive aura.
What’s more, though rain was still pouring down, as it reached the umbrella, it automatically parted, leaving the space beneath dry and separate from the storm.
“It’s alright,” Tai Xuanzi’s voice was icy but carried a hint of warmth, “If you can’t win, just call me.”
Su Fu hesitated, glancing at the barely breathing Karisto on the ground, and whispered, “Master, beating him up like this—is it really okay?”
She recalled Karisto’s words: it seemed his rank in the Ministry of Education was S-class, higher than her master, who was only an A-class Principal.
A higher official could crush a lower one—so would this brutal beating cause trouble for her master?
Tai Xuanzi didn’t reply.
The rain poured down harder.
Suddenly, she lifted her head and looked ahead.
Through the downpour, a beam of light suddenly appeared, growing brighter and brighter.
The rain parted around it, and finally a figure slowly emerged.
Su Fu followed her gaze.
It was a middle-aged man in a white robe, with golden hair and blue eyes, his handsome face almost unreal.
He was surrounded by golden light, turning the rain around him to a shimmering gold.
He was the head of the Olympus Family, Zeus’ Proxy, Zhou Lian.
It was only a projection, yet it felt like he had taken in the whole scene at a glance, his face turning ashen.
And when he saw the wretched Karisto on the ground, his rage peaked.
Zhou Lian pressed his lips together, suppressing his overwhelming fury, his gaze locked onto Tai Xuanzi, wishing he could kill her a thousand times with his eyes.
But Tai Xuanzi didn’t look at him, because another figure arrived.
A dazzling beam of light pierced the rain, descending from the sky.
As the golden light faded, a man in uniform hurriedly appeared.
The Supervisor of the Second Star Ring—directly managing the Six Great Academies and reporting to the Central Education Department.
His position was the highest in the Second Star Ring, A-1.
A referred to the Star Ring level.
The Second Star Ring was A; the lower the number, the higher the rank.
The moment he saw the scene before him, his face turned black, especially when he caught sight of the tragic Karisto—he was utterly shocked.
Once, the golden boy Karisto was invincible, wielding wind and rain.
Now, he was like a drowned dog, crawling through mud, battered and bloody.
He struggled to get up, but fell weakly back into the mud, splashing it everywhere.
Su Fu understood: the Olympus Family Patriarch and the Second Star Ring Supervisor had both arrived.