A storm, carrying shattered stones and dust, exploded all around.
Amid the thunderous roar, Su Fu remained utterly calm.
The moment everything collapsed, the dragon tail swept her up instantly, carrying her away from the epicenter of destruction.
All the debris and shockwaves were kept at bay, leaving only the Dean standing protectively before her.
Su Fu’s heart pounded violently in her chest.
For the first time ever, her heart skipped a fierce beat.
So cool, indescribably cool!
This was the might of Kunlun, the awe of the Kunlun Dean!
She gazed at Taixuanzi, watching as a jade-colored dragon horn spiraled gracefully from her forehead, smooth and lustrous as jade.
And that Jade Dragon Scale Hairpin, slanted in her hair, glowed with a gentle blue-green light amid the storm, making her frosty face appear almost divine.
The roar numbed Su Fu’s eardrums, and her heart tingled as well.
Perhaps she was too close—her nostrils were suddenly filled with a subtle fragrance, like rain-washed pine, fresh and piercing.
So fragrant.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away at all, only to meet Taixuanzi’s lowered gaze.
“Scared silly?” Taixuanzi raised an eyebrow, her vertical pupils narrowing slightly, while the dragon tail drew Su Fu another half inch closer to her side.
Su Fu: “!!!”
That’s cheating—her heart was about to race out of her chest!
This was Kunlun, just as she’d always imagined it—no, a hundred times more powerful than she’d ever dreamed!
And most importantly, the dragon!
A dragon with an incredibly strong and beautiful tail!
It was this very tail that, just moments ago, had casually swatted the mighty Zongzheng Clan Leader away like a fly!
The instant Zongzheng Mingde lost consciousness, the Susheng Cicada on his body whirred madly.
It was the Zongzheng family’s top-tier life-saving artifact, capable of forcibly reversing death at the brink.
With the tremor of cicada wings, all that was broken swiftly healed as if time itself had reversed.
“Cough… cough, cough!” He suddenly spat out a mouthful of foul blood, his unfocused pupils finally regaining their clarity.
His life had been snatched back from the jaws of death.
He opened his eyes with a shudder, only to see that terrifying figure.
Black hair cascading like a waterfall, jade horns proud and sharp, dragon eyes burning with suffocating murderous intent.
She stood atop the ruins, dragon tail lazily drooping, yet the tip still loosely encircled Su Fu’s waist.
The air was still thick with an oppressive dragon’s might, so overwhelming he could barely breathe.
This… this can’t be!
“It… it’s not Kong Ying?” he muttered in disbelief.
He’d thought the person standing behind Su Fu was Minister Kong Ying from the Ministry of Education—only she could elevate Su Fu’s clearance to the highest level, making her information inaccessible to anyone.
But this person before him…
‘Kunlun? What Kunlun?’
Zongzheng Mingde forced himself up, trembling as his fingers groped for the communicator hidden in his sleeve.
He had to record everything—he’d report this to Central!
This person had brazenly attacked him and nearly killed him.
No matter where he went, he’d be the victim.
Forget Kunlun—even if it was Kong Ying, anyone who dared treat Zongzheng Mingde like this would pay the price and face the Interstellar Tribunal!
Taixuanzi noticed his movements and clicked her tongue lightly.
She snapped her fingers carelessly.
In that instant, the dragon’s might surged out in tangible waves.
All the Starnet terminals and surveillance devices instantly sparked and fizzled out with a series of crackles, then fell utterly silent.
She flicked her fingertip, a wisp of blue-green flame dancing there, making her aloof expression all the more chilling.
“Move again,” she said lazily, but her words sent chills down the spine, “and what gets scrapped won’t just be these.”
Zongzheng Mingde’s pupils shrank to pinpoints, a bone-deep chill shooting up his spine.
His hand, still reaching for the communicator, trembled uncontrollably—fear from the depths of his soul kept him from even blinking, cold sweat pouring down.
He could feel it clearly—this person could erase him, body and soul, with a single thought.
“Dean Taixuanzi.”
Dean Zhang hurried forward, bowing respectfully, “Welcome, Dean.”
He Lian Yue wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and also stepped up to bow, “On behalf of all of Tianqi Academy, we welcome the Kunlun Dean.”
Taixuanzi responded with only a faint “Mm,” her gaze still locked on Zongzheng Mingde.
He Lian Yue immediately understood, speaking in a low, stern voice, “Zongzheng Mingde openly threatened a student, attempted to interfere with the fairness of the exam, and disrupted educational order. He also spoke disrespectfully to you… violating at least seven major laws.”
“According to the rules, he must be severely punished. Please allow me to take him back for trial.”
The ruins fell into silence—He Lian Yue feared that the Kunlun Dean might just kill Zongzheng Mingde with a wave of her hand.
A death wasn’t the issue—the real problem was how his enormous clan would handle the aftermath.
Just as she fretted, Taixuanzi finally nodded slightly, “You may.”
Just two simple words, but He Lian Yue felt as if a great burden had been lifted.
She immediately moved to take away the ashen-faced Zongzheng Mingde.
At that moment, Taixuanzi’s indifferent voice sounded from behind.
“His wounds—no treatment allowed.”
“Understood,” He Lian Yue replied without hesitation.
She locked down the Susheng Cicada’s fluctuations with a flash of golden light from her fingertips.
Zongzheng Mingde was taken away in the most miserable state imaginable.
As she left, He Lian Yue glanced up at Su Fu, a complicated look in her eyes and a trace of regret flickering there.
Still a step too late…
Just then, Taixuanzi turned, her dragon eyes glinting with a half-smile as she looked at Su Fu, “Kong Ying?”
Su Fu’s eyes went black at those words: !!!
She was doomed!
Here comes the reckoning!
She was finished!
In the end, everyone changed locations to talk—after all, it wasn’t suitable for a noble and powerful Kunlun Dean to have a conversation amid the devastation of the ruins.
The room provided by Tianqi was spacious and bright, the chairs so soft they seemed to swallow you up.
Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the room in golden light, and outside was the most beautiful view of all Northern Polaris.
The only thing that made Su Fu’s scalp tingle was that she and Taixuanzi were the only ones in the room.
She felt she might die of embarrassment right then and there.
The sky had fallen!
She’d been caught sneaking around by the Dean herself!
And the Dean was not only strong and handsome, but every word Su Fu liked could be used to describe her.
Dominant, unruly, contemptuous of all rules.
A beautiful lunatic—and a dragon at that!
The more Su Fu thought about it, the more she regretted it.
She wished she could go back ten minutes and cover her mouth so she wouldn’t say anything stupid.
Kong Ying, who? Forget her!
The Dean was the best—so domineering and protective, she’d smacked Zongzheng Mingde flying with a single move.
How could she not love such a super boss?
This was her one and only teacher!
Steeling herself, Su Fu decided to start with some praise: “Dean, you were truly amazing just now! Your dragon’s might was overwhelming, defeating the enemy in a single move and saving me from danger.”
Her eyes sparkled, “I knew Kunlun was the strongest and boldest, always standing up for its students! What other academy could compare?”
Taixuanzi, noble and cold, nodded slightly: “Mm.”
Her vertical pupils still fixed on Su Fu.
Su Fu:”…..”
Her scalp tingled even more.
She was doomed, the Dean was really angry!
Just as Su Fu thought she was done for, Taixuanzi suddenly raised her hand, and a streak of light shot toward her.
Su Fu instinctively caught it—a smooth, warm sensation in her palm.
She looked down and froze.
It was a piece of dragon scale, dark as ink.
About the size of her palm, it shone with a gentle luster and felt warm and soft to the touch.
“This is a Dragon Scale,” Taixuanzi said flatly, “a meeting gift. It can protect you from a fatal blow, and I will sense it. Whenever the scale breaks, I will come.”
Su Fu: “!!!”
‘Teacher! You’re the only teacher I’ll ever have in this life!’
For a moment, she almost couldn’t stop herself from rushing up to hug the Dean.
Su Fu was moved to tears, “Dean, you’re simply the best Dean in the world!”
Taixuanzi secretly felt proud—of course she was.
But she maintained her cold and aloof demeanor: “Mm. You are my Kunlun student, so Kunlun will back you up.”
“Not only that, Kunlun is located in the Heavenly Palace’s Saint Land, filled with divine power. With your current level—”
“Your cultivation speed will soar,” she paused, “unlike here in the Fourth Arm.”
“And the Book Pavilion has countless classics and all the Inheritance of past generations…”
“Unlike some places, where you can’t even find a single complete text.”
Su Fu listened, full of longing, but something felt off.
Wait, why did it feel like the Dean was comparing everything to the Fourth Arm?
Finally, Taixuanzi changed the subject: “But what Kunlun values most is our unbroken line of Inheritance.”
Su Fu understood.
So that’s it—the Dean had been drawing this big picture all along, still brooding over her wanting to apprentice under Kong Ying before.
She wouldn’t say it, but she clearly cared.
Just then, Su Fu noticed a wound on Taixuanzi’s arm, dark red blood seeping faintly through her sleeve—it seemed to have reopened during the battle.
She suddenly asked, “Dean, your wound… may I help treat it?”
Following her gaze, Taixuanzi looked down and only then realized that Zhuge’s patchwork had split open again.
She was about to say, “No need,” but Su Fu had already taken her hand.
The girl’s movements were gentle and cautious, as the warm healing light of [Nirvana Light] slowly blossomed, waves of divine power rippling out.
Warm and soothing.
“Sorry, Dean, my skill level is still too low,” Su Fu said seriously, “but I can at least stop the bleeding. Please remember to take proper care of it when you get back.”
Taixuanzi was taken aback.
She looked down at the earnest little head treating her, forgetting to pull her hand back, standing still as the gentle divine power wrapped around her arm.
This was the first time—apart from Zhuge—that someone cared about her injuries.
‘But… it was just a little wound…’ Taixuanzi thought, nothing to fuss about…
Before she could say anything, Su Fu frowned slightly, “Dean, you just came from the battlefield, didn’t you?”
“There’s a scent of blood, and the skin here is discolored—obviously freshly healed tissue.”
Su Fu looked up, her expression earnest, eyes burning, “Dean, thank you.”
Taixuanzi saw her clear, sincere gaze.
“Thank you for rushing here to protect me,” Su Fu said, “Actually, my ideal, my favorite teacher, is someone just like you—strong and always there to protect me.”
Taixuanzi’s eyes widened slightly.
‘This girl! How could she say something so straightforward?! That’s cheating!’
Her favorite teacher?
She felt her ears grow hot.
She was about to cough and deny it, but remembered Zhuge Yan’s parting words: “Keep playing hard to get, and you’ll lose your disciple~”
Taixuanzi instantly swallowed her words.