“Haha!” Seeing Irina’s uncontrollable excitement, Zhang Wen couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Irina’s lips twitched violently. Zhang Wen’s nonchalant smile once again deeply irritated her nerves.
“Zhang Wen… Originally, I was planning to give you a chance. If you had just lowered your head and earnestly begged me to help you, I would have forgiven you this time and pleaded with Professor Katerina on your behalf. But now, I’ve changed my mind!” Irina suddenly walked over and sat on the sofa, deliberately lifting her right foot to display her leather boot. “I want you to kneel down and kiss the soles of my shoes.”
Staring at Zhang Wen, Irina’s face had already flushed bright red from excessive excitement when she said those words.
“What? Not willing? Is it too much of a blow to your pride? Haha! Zhang Wen, I advise you to think carefully. Don’t destroy yourself over a fleeting impulse! Others might not know your background, but I know it inside and out! A year ago, you were just a petty thug on the streets of Casares, drowning in debts so deep that you were forced to sell even your underwear. Before you encountered the rare stroke of luck that saved Governor Temiso’s life, weren’t you even a male prostitute? You were born a lowly wretch, yet you insist on pretending to be a nobleman. Don’t make people laugh!”
In the absence of others, Irina completely let herself loose. She shamelessly humiliated Zhang Wen. With every insult and every dirty word she spat out, Irina felt as though an electric current surged through her body, making her tremble with uncontrollable excitement.
Her face, twisted and flushed with extreme excitement, wore an expression as if she had reached a climax. Her mature body quivered slightly, her ample bosom rising and falling violently with her heavy breathing. If an unsuspecting citizen of Almystos had seen this scene, they probably wouldn’t believe their eyes—how could Irina, colder than an iceberg, reveal such a passionate side?
Yet, at this moment, Irina’s lustful expression and seductive, mature body stirred not the slightest desire in Zhang Wen. Instead, they triggered an involuntary wave of nausea rising from the depths of his heart.
How similar Irina’s expression was now to Robert’s in the Sandra Forest!
“Irina, I just realized now—you’re actually a twisted pervert just like Robert! Unfortunately for you, though your psychological distortion rivals his, your intelligence is far inferior!” Zhang Wen curled his lips slightly and calmly replied.
As a senior psionic instructor at Almystos Academy and a direct disciple of Katerina, Irina naturally had ways of knowing about the events in Sandra Forest. She was well aware of what kind of person Robert, the escaped psionic instructor, had been.
Under normal circumstances, if Zhang Wen had compared her to Robert, Irina would have exploded in shame and fury. But now, so caught up in her excitement that she had lost all sense, Irina didn’t feel the slightest anger. In her mind, Zhang Wen’s current “resistance” was utterly futile. The more he resisted, the more pleasure she derived.
“Oh? So you’re the kind who won’t cry until you see the coffin? Even if I am psychologically twisted, what of it? Aren’t you still going to kneel down obediently and lick the soles of my shoes? Or do you plan to abandon Almystos Academy and return to the flea-infested slums to become a pitiful nobody? Oh! That’s right, if you go back to being a male prostitute, I’ll definitely be your customer. I wonder, will you still be able to say all this then?” Irina kept licking her lips, her crossed legs writhing back and forth.
“Irina, you’re really insane!” Zhang Wen said truthfully, shocked.
Honestly, although Irina had always been unfriendly toward male teachers at the academy, she had never gone beyond what a normal person might do. But her sudden, hysterical behavior now had practically reached the point of losing all reason.
“Ha! Men like you, the moment you stepped into Almystos Academy, you fawned around that slut Lynoya like a dog. What makes you think you have the right to talk about me?” Irina grew even more frenzied at Zhang Wen’s words, laughing bitterly and wildly. “You men treat Lynoya like a treasure. Haha! It’s laughable! You probably don’t even know, right? That little slut has slept with countless people at the academy. And don’t even get me started—Professor Ode, that old pervert, probably already had his way with that little slut…”
But just as Irina was hysterically venting, her voice suddenly cut off like a radio with its switch flipped. Because a longsword glowing with blue light had been pressed against her throat. The tip of the blade was nearly touching the skin on Irina’s neck—she could even feel the coldness emanating from it.
“I’ll give you one piece of advice, Irina: know when to advance and retreat. Insult me a little, I can pretend it’s just flatulence. Who told me I hate hitting women? I wouldn’t stoop to beating you up for revenge. However, there’s a limit to anyone’s patience. From this moment on, if even one more dirty word escapes from your foul mouth, I won’t hesitate to kill you. If you don’t believe me, feel free to try.” Zhang Wen said coldly, his arm holding the sword steady without the slightest tremble, his face devoid of any unnecessary expression.
Although Irina had nearly descended into a half-mad state, this did not mean she had completely lost her basic judgment. In her nearly thirty years of life, Irina had seen many vicious criminals. Even those truly ruthless killers who didn’t flinch at murder, she had encountered.
Yet, the murderous intent Zhang Wen displayed at this moment left Irina stunned.
Unlike those criminals who needed to shout loudly to bolster their courage, Zhang Wen’s murderous intent was not the kind of wild, bloodthirsty intensity. Quite the opposite—it was utterly calm and flat.
That icy, emotionless feeling made Irina’s body tremble with fear. She could feel that Zhang Wen truly didn’t care at all about killing her. To him, piercing her throat was as simple as snapping a pencil—utterly insignificant. Perhaps even days later, he might not even remember having done it.
“Guh… ahh…” Irina stared blankly in Zhang Wen’s direction like a statue, her eyes completely unfocused, her throat emitting meaningless sounds out of fear. Only after Zhang Wen withdrew the sword did she finally collapse weakly onto the sofa, her body and legs trembling slightly.
After a while, Irina seemed to recover from her fear. Suddenly lifting her flushed face, she glared at Zhang Wen with eyes that could devour him, her teeth clenched in helpless fury.
“Hmph! Stupid woman, you still don’t even understand why we came to Temis Academy in the first place! With your pitiful intelligence, you actually dared to imitate Robert in playing twisted games. Let me tell you this: the one who should be seeking help isn’t me—it’s you!” Zhang Wen sneered at Irina contemptuously.
“Originally, I was willing to overlook your actions yesterday when you brought people to the training hall to confront me… Although you kept trying to oppose me after arriving there, I was willing to let it slide. But you were foolish enough to report this matter to the principal. Do you really think Principal Jackfleet would side against me just because of Katerina? How ridiculous! From beginning to end, I’ve always been protecting Almystos Academy’s reputation, while you kept bringing shame to the academy time and again! And now you want to force me to bring shame to the academy with you!”
After Irina had hysterically insulted Lynoya, the last bit of courtesy Zhang Wen had for this woman vanished into thin air.
“That’s right! I did speak arrogantly in front of Temis Academy. But so what? At least I didn’t bring shame to Almystos Academy! But you and Katerina couldn’t wait to replace me even before the competition began. You must be delighted at the thought of Temis Academy witnessing Governor Temis’s humiliation, right? By informing Principal Jackfleet about this matter, you not only harmed yourselves but also dragged Principal Jackfleet down with you! I advise you to think carefully about how you’ll face Governor Temis’s wrath later. But unlike you, I’m not some pervert—I wouldn’t bother pleading for you even if you knelt down and licked my shoes.”
Zhang Wen finished coldly and crossed his arms, stepping aside.
Coincidentally, just at that moment, a furious roar suddenly erupted from the bathroom. Even though Katerina had shut the door, Governor Temis’s furious voice still came through the communicator.
The flush on Irina’s face immediately drained away. She tightly clenched her fists, her face turning pale. From the look in Irina’s eyes, it was clear she still clung to a faint hope—that Governor Temis’s anger was not directed at her, but at Zhang Wen.
Governor Temis’s furious shouting lasted for several minutes before finally subsiding. When Katerina emerged from the bathroom, Irina’s face had turned completely bloodless. Because Katerina, the esteemed chief psionic instructor of Almystos Academy and a saint-ranked psionic master, nearly stumbled upon exiting the bathroom.
“Irina!” Katerina, still unsteady on her feet, didn’t even glance at Zhang Wen again before angrily shouting at Irina and leading the way out of the room. From Katerina’s eyes, it was evident how furious and disappointed she was with Irina.
Frankly, if Irina had informed Katerina beforehand that the group of brats from Temis Academy had taken Zhang Wen’s student before playing pranks on him, Katerina wouldn’t have impulsively contacted Principal Jackfleet and demanded Zhang Wen’s replacement.
Irina, pale and dazed, followed Katerina out. As soon as the two walked out the door, Zhang Wen’s four apprentices rushed into the room. The entire time Zhang Wen and Irina had been speaking in hushed tones, and the four outside had listened intently for a long time but caught only a few words. Naturally, their curiosity was fully piqued.
“Teacher Zhang, what exactly happened? Why did Teacher Katerina and Teacher Irina come here?” Zack, clueless, rushed to ask loudly as soon as he entered.
“Yeah, yeah! What happened?” Xiaoxi, always eager to stir things up, joined in.
“Hey, did they find out about what we did last night?” Amyris cautiously crept close to Zhang Wen, whispering only loud enough for the two of them to hear.
“Hehe! This matter…” Zhang Wen smiled at the four gossip-hungry apprentices. However, before he could begin explaining, the communicator on his waist rang first.
“Shh!” Zhang Wen gestured for silence.
“Zhang Wen.” Governor Temis’s slightly hoarse voice immediately came through.
“Governor.”
“No need for formalities. You were there when I yelled at Chief Instructor Katerina just now, weren’t you?” There seemed to be a hint of mockery in Temis’s tone.
“Correct.”
“Good! Then I don’t need to waste words. In short, the support you wanted—I’ve given it. If you want to make a big scene at Temis Academy, I’m all for it. But you know the deal yourself. If you’re going to stir things up, do it right! Don’t make all of us lose face. Hey, I’m really looking forward to seeing the look on Karajan’s stupid face when he sees the physical combat division of Temis Academy utterly defeated! Make sure to take a picture and bring it back for me.”
“Sure thing, I’ll do my best.” Zhang Wen smiled and nodded, ending the communication with Temis.
Putting the communicator back into his waist pocket, Zhang Wen turned his head and smiled at the four apprentices beside him.
“Now you know why Chief Instructor Katerina and Instructor Irina came here, right?”
“Oh! I get it now! It’s because of what you said to Gelt last night at the training hall!” Amyris was the first to figure it out.
“Training hall? What training hall?” Zack and Claude were still confused.
“Last night, it went like this…” Amyris reluctantly explained everything that had happened at the training hall the previous night, emphasizing, “…When Teacher Zhang rescued us, he told Temis Academy’s chief physical combat instructor, Gelt, that he would bring us to crush Temis Academy.”
“Oh right! Of course! Those bastards from Temis even dared to kidnap girls! If we don’t defeat them all, how can we live up to the reputation of the Shinra Army?” Upon hearing how Zhang Wen had single-handedly rescued three girls, Zack was already boiling with excitement.
“Well… technically speaking, yes. But Teacher Zhang, with just our current strength, it’s already difficult to defeat Temis Academy’s physical combat division, let alone crush them completely.” Unlike Zack, Klaud wasn’t so single-minded.
“Hmph! What’s so great about defeating them? Just let me fight, and they’ll drop dead one by one!” Xiao Xi licked her lips viciously and confidently declared.
“Hehe! As the saying goes, the boat will find its way past the bridge eventually. I believe we’ll find a way,” Zhang Wen replied with a calm smile, patting the shoulders of a few students. “Come on, it’s almost time. If we don’t leave now, the morning will be gone!”
“Got it!”
Zack and the others shouted in agreement, beginning their official schedule for the day.
The group from Almace Academy was heading toward Training Hall No. 7 of Themis Academy. It was a newly built facility completed a year and a half ago, located closest to Themis Academy’s central teaching building.
Since its completion, Training Hall No. 7 had mostly been used by Themis Academy’s martial arts department, clearly indicating that Themis Academy considered Almace’s martial arts department as their primary focus in this competition.
Even after Zhang Wen’s pre-match declaration that he would “crush Themis Academy,” the entire Themis Academy treated it as a joke. Everyone eagerly anticipated the day of the match, hoping to witness how the arrogant Almace instructor would be brought down.
However, not everyone at Themis Academy dismissed Zhang Wen’s bold words. At the very least, Enklay, who had been publicly humiliated the previous night at Training Hall No. 2, had secretly vowed to take revenge on Zhang Wen. Thus, Enklay had arrived early at Training Hall No. 7 with several students from Themis’s physical arts department.
As soon as Zhang Wen and his four students entered, they saw many students wearing Themis physical arts training uniforms running laps around the hall. Deep within the training hall, a tall student was stretching alone.
Compared to the enviably handsome Zack and Cloud, this tall Themis student wasn’t particularly good-looking. However, the natural arrogance radiating from him made him more attention-grabbing than Zack and Cloud. In a training hall filled with over a dozen Themis students, he was the only one not joining the running laps. He seemed to disdain associating with anyone, keeping a distance from all. Even the nearby instructor Enklay, standing beside him, didn’t receive a single glance.
Meanwhile, several girls surrounded Enklay, earnestly talking to him.
“Tch! What a conceited guy!” Zack muttered unhappily.
“He’s Link.”
During Themis Academy’s visit to Almace Academy last year, Link had accompanied the delegation. Although this top Themis prodigy had never actually fought during that visit, Cloud immediately recognized him.
“I know,” Zhang Wen smiled slightly, glancing at Xiao Xi and Amyris.
As they had just entered Training Hall No. 7, Zhang Wen had already noticed something odd about Amyris. Normally, Amyris would have eagerly dragged Xiao Xi to comment on the Themis students upon entering the hall. But today, Amyris was surprisingly quiet. Even when Zack complained about Link, she seemed completely oblivious.
As for the other often-noisy red-haired girl by Zhang Wen’s side, she had somehow become serious. Her gaze remained fixed on Link, silently watching every move he made.
Not far away, Enklay, seemingly chatting with several girls, soon noticed Zhang Wen’s group entering the training hall. His gaze swept briefly over Zhang Wen and the four Almace students before he scoffed and turned away.
“That guy…” Zack clenched his fists again.
Unlike Cloud, who had participated in an inter-academy match before, this was Zack’s first time joining Almace’s physical arts team. Though Zack could sense that his abilities were somewhat inferior to the Themis students, the natural, condescending looks in their eyes still ignited a fire in this young man from the Shinra military.
“He’s really strong!” After watching Link for several seconds, Xiao Xi softly exhaled and shook her head at Zhang Wen. “I can’t beat him.”
“What?” At Xiao Xi’s words, the other three Almace students were stunned speechless. Only Zhang Wen maintained his calm smile.
They scrutinized Xiao Xi’s expression, hoping to find any sign that the fiery-haired girl was merely joking. But ultimately, they concluded that Xiao Xi was absolutely serious!
Yet, Xiao Xi was a genuine ninth-stage martial artist! For her to declare someone “unbeatable” meant that this guy must have broken through to the tenth-stage master level!
“Hey, come on! There’s no way someone not even graduated from an academy yet could become a master!” Zack clenched his fists, muttering to himself.
“Hmph! Narrow-minded! Agate broke through to master level at seventeen,” Xiao Xi shot Zack a glance. “But that arrogant guy isn’t even close to Agate. He’s probably just broken through to ninth-stage recently, still far from master level.”
“Just broken through to ninth-stage…?” Xiao Xi’s confident assertion left Zack and Cloud exchanging bitter smiles.
Normally, while they knew Xiao Xi was very strong, because she was a girl, Zack and Cloud hadn’t felt it deeply. But now, seeing Link before them, they suddenly remembered—they were both seventeen years old now too. Compared to Link, they were only a few months younger.
Seventeen-year-old Link had already broken through to ninth-stage, while they were still stuck at the pitiful fifth-stage. Both Zack and Cloud knew Xiao Xi wasn’t deliberately taunting them. But perhaps precisely because the red-haired girl spoke without thinking, it caused a sharp pain deep in their hearts.
“Ahh… Xiao Xi, if he’s only ninth-stage, aren’t you ninth-stage too? Plus, you’ve probably been ninth-stage longer than him, right? Why are you so sure you can’t beat him?” Amyris, sensing the heavy atmosphere around them, quickly tried to lighten the mood with a forced smile.
However, Amyris clearly hadn’t expected that as soon as she asked her question, Xiao Xi would be left speechless, glaring at her with wide eyes.
“I mean, long-legged girl, do you even have basic knowledge?!” The red-haired girl complained unhappily. “I’m a speed-type martial artist! My specialty is dealing with groups of lower-ranked fighters, not dueling martial artists of the same level! That means, if three eighth-stage fools gang up on me, I can handle them with one hand. But that guy would take some effort. If I’m not careful, I might even get injured or lose. However, if I were to fight that guy one-on-one, my chances of winning would be at most thirty percent. Do you understand now?”
“Fine, fine! I’m a martial arts student, who would listen carefully to the martial arts theory class,” Amyris muttered softly, turning her head away.
“Forget about that now. If Xiao Xi can’t beat that guy, what should we do about him? He’s genuinely ninth-stage,” Cloud quickly took a deep breath, regaining his composure and raising the biggest issue they currently faced.
“Who knows?” Amyris softly replied, her gaze hopefully landing on Zhang Wen’s face. Unfortunately, Zhang Wen didn’t offer her his usual confident encouragement.
“Anyway, since we’re already here, let’s not think too much about others. Go warm up first,” Zhang Wen merely smiled faintly, sending the four students off to run laps with the main group from Themis Academy.
The three disappointed students reluctantly started running around the training hall. Meanwhile, Zhang Wen, seemingly idle, leisurely strolled around the training hall with Xiao Xi, completely at ease!
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