Zhi Xi.

Who would have thought that the person deemed a calamity star could say such a thing in front of everyone? It was truly a moment of silence for the men and tears for the women.

“Damn it, stop spreading your wicked words!”

Jiang Baiyu seized the opportunity and boldly declared, “Please, senior, calm your anger. Once this matter is resolved, I will definitely honor you as the Guardian Heavenly Sovereign, positioned at the right side of the king!”

He spoke with utmost sincerity and enthusiasm, “If you become rich and powerful, don’t forget us! The treatment will be exceptional. You’ll receive twenty thousand spirit stones each month, and during festivals, we’ll distribute rice, flour, and oil. We’ll also send friendly greetings to your door, with plenty of benefits to look forward to!”

His words made a certain senior, who was only heard but not seen, so furious that his voice trembled, “You’re outrageous!”

The dean couldn’t help but chuckle, “Old Chongxiao, this is the calamity star you personally identified. With such sincerity, don’t be shy or put on airs. If you overplay your hand, the duck you had in your mouth might just fly away, and you’ll regret it!”

The Grand Elder chimed in, “With us as witnesses, are you still afraid that he’ll deny you the rice, flour, and oil during the festivals in the future?”

The Second Elder added sternly, “After all, he is a student of our Ascending Immortal Academy. If he truly behaves like this in the future, I will definitely scold him harshly on your behalf.”

This round of mockery and pressure nearly made Chongxiao explode on the spot.

“You young brat, you’re looking for death!”

Jiang Baiyu immediately felt a powerful force squeezing him, as if he were about to be crushed to death.

But then, that force vanished, and the dean’s smile faded as he coldly said, “Chongxiao, don’t think I don’t know your intentions. You old rascal, you’ve been coveting the Immortal Pool of our Ascending Immortal Academy for a long time. Today, you’re just using this as an excuse! The arrival of a calamity star is no small matter. To avoid repeating past mistakes that could lead to turmoil in the dynasty, the Emperor will definitely come personally to confirm this, rather than sending an old fool like you to barge into our Ascending Immortal Academy and flaunt your power!”

“Do you really think that just because you’ve gathered a bunch of rabble, you can act recklessly in our Ascending Immortal Academy and leave unscathed? When did you become so naive, thinking that numbers could create an advantage?”

“No matter how many ants gather, they are still just ants!”

As soon as he finished speaking, an invisible aura enveloped the entire area, and all the flying devices in the sky were controlled, shaking violently as if they were about to fall apart, their surfaces rising with defensive barriers.

These things were merely toys in front of true powerhouses and were utterly useless.

With a single move from the dean, he cleared out the minions first.

The first wave of flying devices that resisted the clearing was on the verge of collapse, and soon their barriers shattered, plummeting down. In mid-air, only a few small cats remained, one of which was Chongxiao, who had led the group into the Ascending Immortal Academy, while the others were heavy flying magical treasures from various families and sects, barely holding on against the dean’s pressure.

There was a reason why only the dean and a group of elders emerged to face so many intruders at the Ascending Immortal Academy.

The only purpose of the countless flying devices was to create an imposing atmosphere. At a glance, they looked overwhelming, and anyone with slightly weaker mental fortitude would be shaken, feeling immense pressure. Chongxiao even brought up the Emperor, making it easy for people to think it was the Emperor’s command, further intensifying the psychological pressure.

Once the momentum was lost, half the battle was already lost.

The dean was completely unfazed by this tactic, even when Chongxiao mentioned the Emperor, he remained firm.

“Changhua, are you really going to defy the Emperor’s orders?” Chongxiao shouted.

The dean scoffed, “The Emperor’s orders aren’t something that just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can represent! With my strength as Changhua Yuanzun, if a calamity star truly descends upon the Ascending Immortal Academy, it’s still worthy of the Emperor coming personally to explain! How could you sycophants understand?”

“Don’t think that just because the academy focuses on educating people, it’s an easy target!”

After saying this, Changhua Yuanzun gathered light at his fingertips and slashed at the flying device that had Chongxiao, effortlessly splitting it in half.

An old orange-faced man flew out, looking uninjured but with disheveled hair and clothes, his eyes filled with malice and anger.

The moment Changhua Yuanzun saw him, her expression turned meaningful, “Old Chongxiao, you’ve aged quite a bit.”

Chongxiao clenched his fists, humiliation written all over his face, and angrily retorted, “Changhua, you wretched maid, the Emperor has tolerated you for long enough. One day, you will meet a terrible end!”

Slap!

Changhua Yuanzun smiled and slapped Chongxiao across the face from a distance, the loud sound leaving him dazed. Once he regained his senses, he looked at her with anger, humiliation, and disbelief.

However, Changhua Yuanzun didn’t care about his reaction at all, her tone indifferent, “Since you’ve done such a thing today, don’t blame me for being heartless.”

“Back when I first met you, you were a handsome young man, but now you’ve fallen to this state. It’s clear your foundation is damaged, and your time is running out. No wonder you’re desperate, trying to imitate past events, creating distractions to seize the Immortal Pool.”

“With the lessons of the past, the return of the calamity star is enough to make people anxious. It’s a pity that the student you chose as the calamity star is too unexpected, and it has reminded me.”

Changhua Yuanzun paused, and under Chongxiao’s furious glare, she raised her hand, “You should be on your way.”

A beam of spiritual light shot out, crashing into the old orange-faced man, whose foundation was damaged and cultivation plummeted. He couldn’t even withstand Changhua Yuanzun’s direct confrontation, barely holding on for ten seconds before spitting out blood, weakly flying backward, crashing heavily into a mountain wall, breaking through the rock and stopping only after several mountains, deeply embedded within.

Changhua Yuanzun’s figure flashed, appearing in front of Chongxiao.

The old orange-faced man was already on the brink of death, but the resentment in his eyes was about to overflow. He coughed heavily, spitting out blood, and weakly said, “Do you think the return of the calamity star is a lie I made up? Hehe, you’re mistaken.”

In a tone almost like a curse, he said, “The High Priest observed the stars and found that a celestial star has intruded, disrupting fate. The future chaos is already a foregone conclusion; it’s just that we can’t yet find where this chaotic star is. The Ascending Immortal Academy loves to take in all sorts of chaotic people as students; perhaps this chaotic star has entered your academy!”

“Changhua, you wretched maid, you will eventually come down to accompany me!”

Changhua Yuanzun lifted her foot and pressed it against Chongxiao’s face, crushing him, “No need for you to worry.”

It seemed she intended to crush him to death right there.

Although he knew he couldn’t escape this calamity, and his bluff had been seen through, making this scheme a complete failure, the final blow was something Chongxiao found hard to accept.

He would rather be kicked to death than die in such a humiliating manner.

Chongxiao struggled to speak, “Changhua, you…”

And then he was truly crushed to death. Changhua Yuanzun intended to humiliate him but didn’t have a hobby of humiliating someone to death, leaving him with a shred of dignity.

The other elders were engaged in fierce battles with the other invaders. Chongxiao dared to invade the Ascending Immortal Academy, so he must have some confidence; his bluster couldn’t be entirely baseless.

These people fought fiercely with the elders, but both sides knew that defeat was only a matter of time. Changhua Yuanzun was incredibly powerful, and the Ascending Immortal Academy had maintained neutrality, never forming factions, while also possessing treasures like the Immortal Pool, for which she was indispensable.

They had thought that the Emperor would make her cautious, and with the threat of the calamity star, at least it would make Changhua Yuanzun lower her stance and clearly state the rights and wrongs before the Emperor.

They had some confidence in persuading the Emperor.

But unexpectedly, one wrong move led to a complete loss.

Self-inflicted traps were the most harmful; the student chosen as the calamity star directly admitted to being the calamity star, breaking the situation in an absurd and bizarre way.

Thinking of that perfunctory scam declaration, these people felt like they were about to vomit blood.

The boomerang had come back to hit them!

What a stirring stick!

The beam of light surrounding Jiang Baiyu gradually faded, and he slowly descended, looking up at the invaders and the elders battling fiercely, with great fervor.

It seemed evenly matched, but in reality, the invaders were eager to shake off their opponents and escape.

Jiang Baiyu sensed something and turned to see the spiritual light youth.

The other party looked very off, their aura was extremely oppressive, making one tremble in fear. Without needing to ask, he knew that they were definitely in a “great disaster” state right now.

Jiang Baiyu quickly racked his brain, thinking about how to get past this.

In short, one thing was clear: it was still impossible to return!

Who would have thought that the other party would suddenly say something completely unrelated: “Aren’t you afraid?”

Jiang Baiyu was confused, not understanding what was being asked.

The spiritual light youth said, “The calamity star has descended, and it will surely stir up a bloody storm, causing suffering for all living beings. They’ve come in such numbers to the Ascending Immortal Academy, tearing apart the barriers of the Immortal Pool to capture you and label you as the calamity star. Aren’t you afraid?”

Jiang Baiyu replied curiously, “If I really were the calamity star, wouldn’t they be the ones who should be afraid? What’s the difference between this and saying I’m the chosen one?”

The spiritual light youth fell into a strange silence, and after a long while, he said, “Don’t you care at all about the impending bloody storm and the suffering of all living beings?”

Jiang Baiyu was even more puzzled, “Why would the bloody storm and suffering of all living beings be my fault? Why can’t it be that there are too many bad people, provoking the wrath of heaven, and as the chosen one, I stand up to lead the rebels to overthrow the decaying and dark feudal society?”

Confident and composed, he wouldn’t accept any manipulation.

How could someone as righteous as me possibly be the villain?

Ha, don’t even think about shaking my resolve!

This time, the spiritual light youth fell silent for even longer, long enough to seem as if they were under a spell.

The oppressive aura surrounding them dissipated, replaced by a vast silence.

Something began to fall, drop by drop, hitting the snow and creating small holes before instantly vanishing into light points.

Realizing that those were the other party’s tears, Jiang Baiyu exploded, his eyes widening in terror as he took a sharp breath and stepped back two paces, adopting a defensive posture, strongly wary of the other party’s divine right hand slapping him again.

But the other party ignored him, lost in their own world, unable to return to reality, silent sorrow drowning them, biting their lip to keep from crying.

It is said that men don’t shed tears easily, but only when they reach a sorrowful point.

Seeing them so upset was a clear sign of deep sadness.

Jiang Baiyu scratched his head, unsure how to comfort them.

Perhaps at this moment, the other party didn’t need comfort at all, just a quiet outlet for their emotions.

Just as he thought this, Jiang Baiyu saw the spiritual light youth’s aura scattering, as if they were about to fall apart. He immediately understood that they were likely overwhelmed with sadness, their mindset collapsing, facing the brink of going mad.

Connecting it to their earlier conversation, Jiang Baiyu vaguely understood it had something to do with the “calamity star.”

He didn’t know how to help someone on the verge of going mad, but he knew how to divert someone’s attention.

He raised his hand and slapped the other party’s face, crisp and loud.

The slap made their face turn to the side.

Jiang Baiyu said seriously, “You might not believe it, but just now, there was a mosquito on your face!”