Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Qin Kang’s previously pale face flushed bright red. His venomous eyes locked onto Ling Xiao as he pointed and stammered, "You... You—you have no noble bearing!"

"Hahahaha!"

The crowd of onlookers erupted into unrestrained laughter, clearly enjoying themselves. Some were even doubled over, laughing without any care for their image. ’Who would’ve thought this Ling Xiao, who’s usually so unassuming, could be so infuriating when he spoke? But damn, it feels good, doesn’t it?’

The onlookers looked at Ling Xiao with complicated expressions, but the disgust they once felt had clearly diminished. Some even resolved that if Qin Kang dared to bully Ling Xiao here, they would not stand idly by. The Imperial Academy didn’t have a tradition of letting outsiders show up on their doorstep to bully its students, not even if the target was a laughingstock!

Yisha wasn’t the least bit upset that Qin Kang had been insulted. On her radiant and captivating face, a pair of long, limpid eyes gazed intently at Ling Xiao. She didn’t spare Qin Kang a single glance!

Qin Kang’s cold gaze swept over the surroundings. Seeing many people glaring at him with hostile expressions, he suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha, what a fine Imperial Academy! The supposed cradle of the Empire’s talent, reduced to ganging up on one person! I’ve truly witnessed the ’majesty’ of the Imperial Academy today! Hahaha!" As he spoke, his gaze, full of deep emotion, fell upon Yisha, and he said, enunciating each word.

"Yisha, I love you, and I will never give up on you! Your future husband can only have the surname Qin!" Qin Kang sneered at Ling Xiao, extending his pinky finger in a taunt. "Coward! If you’re a man, then fight me! Don’t just run off and assault your fiancée like some sissy!"

With those words, Qin Kang had thoroughly offended every student at the Imperial Academy. Even Xie Xiaoyan, who had been standing to the side, felt the color drain from her face in an instant. ’The setup... I can never speak of it, not even if it kills me. So, I have to bear this blow to my reputation. It’s all my own doing; I can’t blame anyone else!’ But the gaze she fixed on Qin Kang was utterly frigid. Xie Xiaoyan swore in her heart, ’Qin Kang, is it? I’ll remember you! The day will come when I settle this debt!’

A look of bitter anguish appeared on Xie Xiaoyan’s face. To the onlookers, it was as if an old wound had been torn open. Some couldn’t even bear to look into her beautiful, grief-stricken eyes.

Qin Kang didn’t recognize Xie Xiaoyan, but when he saw everyone turn to look at a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, he understood. ’That must be Xie Xiaoyan. What a gorgeous woman!’ He felt a pang of regret, but this was no time to back down.

He glared coldly at Ling Xiao and stated, word by word, "Do you dare fight me? The loser leaves Yisha forever!" The aura of a Sixth Level Sword Master erupted from him, and he stood there like a drawn sword, exuding an air of absolute dominance.

"Idiot." With that one word, Ling Xiao calmly shattered the powerful aura Qin Kang had struggled to build. Qin Kang’s chest heaved violently. With a SHING, he drew the precious sword from his waist. The crystalline blade flashed blindingly under the harsh sun. His cold, disdainful eyes locked on Ling Xiao as he pointed the longsword forward, his aura surging once more.

"Find a new pretext," Ling Xiao said, glancing at Yisha beside him before turning his calm gaze back to Qin Kang. "I won’t engage in a pointless brawl just because you’re jealous. First, Yisha is not an object; she has the right to choose for herself. So, you pig, find a better excuse. And second... you aren’t worthy of forcing my hand."

Yisha stared at Ling Xiao, utterly captivated. She never would have imagined that this man, who was usually as expressive as a block of wood, could say something so heartfelt. The line, "Yisha is not an object; she has the right to choose for herself," brought tears to her eyes. ’Even my grandfather, who spoils me rotten, has probably never said anything that moved me so much, has he?’

While the Lanyue Empire was not strictly patriarchal, very few men ever gave much consideration to a woman’s feelings.

Thus, when Ling Xiao spoke, the gazes of the many female students from the Imperial Academy in the crowd began to soften. His words had struck a chord deep within their hearts. Perhaps they themselves didn’t realize that an opinion of someone could be so thoroughly and rapidly reversed.

Many of the male students, however, watched Ling Xiao thoughtfully, mulling over his words. The more they thought, the more sense he made.

Most of them came from wealthy or noble backgrounds, and at their age, they were in their rebellious phase. Few, if any, were pleased with their families arranging marriages without any regard for their feelings. That was why so many of them acted like unruly profligates; it wasn’t their true nature, but rather an expression of their dissatisfaction with their reality.

Xie Xiaoyan’s lip twitched as she watched Ling Xiao with a complex expression. The unease in her heart grew more intense. ’The day I left his residence, I kept wondering what right this half-useless man had to be so arrogant.’

’When Ling Xiao dueled Wulan Tuo and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, I thought the same as everyone else: Ling Xiao was just incredibly lucky!’

’But today... this waste of a man in my eyes so easily suppressed a Tier Six Sword Master with his aura alone! A Tier Six Sword Master, the same rank as me! And he’s completely controlling the flow of events... This is... this is unbelievable!’

’If I’m not mistaken, Ling Xiao is still just a Tier Five Sword Attendant!’

Qin Kang was provoked to the brink of madness. In that moment, all thought of a nobleman’s code of conduct was gone. He had only one desire: to kill that damned Ling Xiao with a single strike!

"Qin Kang, you’d better consider the consequences. If you kill someone in public at the Imperial Academy, not even the Bauhinia Clan can protect you!" When Yisha faced others, her lovely face, though it might carry a hint of shyness, was dominated by a noble and intimidating aura. She had sworn to herself that her shyness was for Ling Xiao’s eyes only! To the rest of the world, she was the... future head of the Yisha Clan!

Her words seemed to be a warning for Qin Kang, but in reality, she was informing Ling Xiao of the origins of this equally handsome Tier Six Sword Master.

Sure enough, upon hearing the name "Bauhinia Clan," the faces of the onlookers filled with shock. It wasn’t feigned, either; it was genuine astonishment.

If General Ling Tianxiao held the western gate of the Empire, ensuring peace on the border with the Zichuan Empire, then the Bauhinia Clan in the north was an even more fearsome presence.

They had guarded the Empire’s northern front for generations. But that wasn’t the most important detail. The most important detail was that the north was the territory of the Beastmen.

Qin Kang’s surging aura faltered. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white. He hesitated. Ling Xiao’s status was in no way inferior to his own. Killing a commoner was one thing, but killing a General’s son in the street would invite endless trouble.

But if he couldn’t teach him a lesson, how could the fire raging in his heart possibly be quenched?

At that moment, Ling Xiao shook his head with a helpless expression. "Forget it. I call you a pig, and you insist on proving me right. Since you’re so happy to be a pig, then fine. I won’t even use a sword..."

"ARGH!" Qin Kang’s eyes turned bloodshot. The sword in his hand became a streak of white light, slashing viciously toward Ling Xiao’s arm.

"I might not kill you, but I will cripple you!"