82: Let's go see the abyss

He actually... lost!

Silence!

A deathly silence!

In the observation room, everyone was stunned.

The title of 'Invincible Sword Saint' was no longer secure.

Everyone in the observation room had experienced the protective power of the 'Sword Qi Body Protection' skill.

Yet it had shattered just like that; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it terrifying.

The crowd remained dazed for a second.

A second later, once they regained their senses, they immediately fled.

They had seen the big boss's embarrassing moment; with his temperament, wouldn't they be miserable if they were caught?

0.01 seconds later, only one person remained in the observation room.

Hong Yuantai called out 'holy cow' and was about to flee as well when a message flew in.

[Liu Rufeng: Take care of your student yourself, I have urgent matters to handle.]

[Hong Yuantai: Received.]

Only after replying did he realize—where was the stuff before the codename? Had he just discarded the codename prefix he talked about at every meeting?

"Hiss, should I go out and hide for a couple of days? Or should I give Xu Le a beating to help the boss vent his anger?"

0.001 seconds later, he chose the former.

After all, as a highly respected teacher, how could he possibly hit a student?

...The Principal's Office.

Liu Rufeng had lost, but he wasn't as angry as everyone imagined.

Losing to one's own student—wasn't that the most glorious achievement in an educational career?

The more he thought about it, the happier he became. Just as he was about to share his joy, he suddenly remembered Xu Le's codename.

Gong Fu Nao Dang Tian.

"If your Kung Fu is no good, you're a turtle."

"I just lost, so doesn't that make me..."

"Where is my sword?" (｀⌒´メ)

"Even if using my sword exposes my identity, I'm going to hack him to death!"

"No, I must stay calm!"

"I can't be the only one to suffer this loss."

"Who is easier to fool?"

As Liu Rufeng pondered, he pulled out his phone and started dialing: "Old Xing..."

...The battle ended.

Xu Le returned to his dormitory, faintly sensing that something was off.

This wasn't the dormitory; it was the Xiaoyao Realm!

Although it looked identical, upon careful observation, many differences could be seen.

There wasn't a single mark on the solid wood chair, and every joint was so masterfully crafted it seemed natural, which made it feel somewhat fake.

Thump, thump, thump... There was a sudden knock on the dormitory door. When he opened it, it turned out to be Hong Yuantai.

"Teacher, why are you here?"

Hearing Xu Le call him teacher, Hong Yuantai felt a sweetness in his heart.

Since the boy admitted to being his student, if he rounded it up, then he was the one who just blew the principal's head off.

Haha, how satisfying!

"This is the Xiaoyao Realm; it's exactly like the outside world, so finding you is naturally very simple!"

"However, the biggest difference from the outside world is that you can die as much as you want here. Even if you die too many times in a short period, you can recover after a day or two of rest."

Hong Yuantai grew more excited as he spoke, nearly jumping up.

If Professionals want to master their skills, they can't always be dancing on the line between life and death. If they mess up one day, they're just gone.

But it's different here. You can die at will and use your maximum power. It's simply the best place to improve combat strength.

After leading Xu Le around the campus for two laps, Hong Yuantai suddenly asked, "What are your thoughts?"

"The layout here is exactly the same as the school in reality. I assume other places are the same."

"Exactly! No wonder the principal values you so much and even personally... asked me to lead the way for you?"

The admiration in Hong Yuantai's eyes was palpable as he gave a thumbs up.

Xu Le: "???"

Isn't this something anyone with eyes could see?

Hong Yuantai smiled and said, "To see a single leaf and know... ahem, you're very good."

"Trying to scout the Abyss directly is as difficult as reaching the heavens, but there are no monsters in the Xiaoyao Realm, so one can easily reach the monsters' base."

As he spoke, he changed the subject. "Want to go have some fun in the Abyss?"

Xu Le knew this was part of understanding the Xiaoyao Realm and readily agreed, "Let's go!"

Hong Yuantai snapped his fingers, and a Teleportation Array appeared beneath their feet.

"As long as you silently chant 'Teleport' in your heart and state the coordinates, you can arrive directly. No matter where it is, it only costs one xiaoyao coin."

Xu Le stepped into the Teleportation Array. A second later, his vision went dark, and when he opened his eyes again, he was above a sea.

He hurriedly manifested his hidden demon moth wings and flapped them gently, preventing himself from falling into the sea.

Beside him, Hong Yuantai had a pair of cool, giant black wings behind him. A flash of disappointment vanished from his eyes, replaced by praise.

"I really didn't misjudge you. Once you understand one thing, you understand them all. As long as you call out in your heart and spend 1 xiaoyao coin, you can manifest the wings, flying machines, and so on that you want."

"In this world, xiaoyao coins are practically omnipotent."

"Though I have to mention, your wings are a bit ugly."

Xu Le curled his lip, knowing the other man wanted him to make a fool of himself to satisfy his twisted sense of humor.

However, he didn't want to spend a xiaoyao coin just to prove anything, so he said calmly, "These wings are equipment, they are indeed a bit ugly. I'll change them for better-looking ones when I have the chance."

Hong Yuantai: "..."

I've campaigned in the Abyss and destroyed the God Descent Cult's headquarters, fighting for over twenty years, yet I don't have wings?

Xu Le laughed inwardly as he looked at the bottomless black hole ahead.

It was generally an irregular oval shape, with a surface area about the size of four football fields.

In the pitch-black bottomless pit, a speck of white light flickered at the top layer.

"What is that?"

"A medal!" Hong Yuantai's tone was somewhat sentimental, his gaze distant as if he were reminiscing about something.

However, he didn't continue but said with a solemn face, "I'll ask you seriously once more: are you willing to join the Sharp Blade?"

"I am!" Xu Le did not hesitate.

"Why?"

"Uh..." Since he had to give a reason, Xu Le was affected by the atmosphere and answered after serious thought, "To drive out the monsters and reclaim our home."

If he had previously done it for leveling up, after seeing that not even a blade of grass was left in the Fallen Zone, he realized he had been protected too well before.

This world relied on people like the Guard Army and Sharp Blade to carry the heavy burden; the day they were crushed, this world would perhaps be finished.

"Good!"

Hong Yuantai applauded vigorously, a hint of reverence in his eyes.

He took out a map and held it with both hands. "Xu Le, I approve your formal entry into the Sharp Blade."

Xu Le took the map, which was marked with the secret bases of the Sharp Blade in the Fallen Zone, a completely different treatment than before.

In addition, he was handed a medal and added to the Sharp Blade group chat.

Including him, there were only 156 members in the group, not even a tenth of the Tang Family's population.

From now on, he was a formal member of the Sharp Blade.

Afterward, Hong Yuantai explained many more things about the Xiaoyao Realm and told him to visit at least one base.

"Finally, there's the competitive matches for earning academic credits and xiaoyao coins."

"There are casual matches and ranked matches here every day; you can research them yourself."

After Hong Yuantai finished speaking, he directly logged out of the Xiaoyao Realm.

Just as he was about to enjoy the previous screen recording, a black shadow fell over him.

"Te-te-te-teacher, why-why-why are you here?"