131: Reconciliation (Part 3)

As the battle between Chen Pingan and Lu Miaomiao concluded, the almost tangible Battle Intent on the arena slowly dispersed.

The next match was to determine the third-place winner of the Refining System.

However, after the god-like duel that preceded it, the subsequent battles between the students seemed much tamer.

There was no Martial Dao True Body, nor was there materialized Fist Intent.

It was simply a head-on clash of fists to flesh.

Ultimately, a robust young man named Wu Gang secured the third-place position, relying on his superior endurance and strength.

With this, the first day of the Immortal Cultivation Academy Grand Competition concluded.

"The competitions for the Sword Cultivator, Spell Cultivator, and Body Refining Departments are over!"

"Tomorrow, the grand finals for the Talisman Department and Formation System will take place!"

"That concludes today's events, dismissed!"

Following Li Heng's announcement, the bustling crowd on the Martial Arts Training Ground finally began to slowly disperse.

But everyone's faces still carried an unwaning excitement, gathering in small groups, passionately discussing each battle of the day.

"Too fierce! Those two from the Body Refining Department were practically inhuman!"

"You didn't see the Spell Cultivator match, lightning struck down as if it cost nothing, and the water dragon almost pierced the sky!"

"Still, Senior Brother Lin Xiao was the coolest, one sword! Just one sword!"

Li Qingyuan did not participate in her classmates' discussions; she walked through the noisy crowd and found her father, who was still dazed in place.

Li Jun maintained his upward gaze, staring blankly at the now empty arena, his entire being in a detached state.

"Dad?"

Li Qingyuan gently tugged his sleeve.

Li Jun's body stiffly turned around; he looked at his daughter, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Let's go, I'll show you around the Academy."

Li Qingyuan linked her arm through her father's, half-dragging, half-leading him away from the Martial Arts Training Ground.

Li Jun's steps were unsteady; he walked on the path paved with bluestone slabs, yet felt as if he were treading on clouds.

He passed a bamboo forest and saw students sitting cross-legged on bamboo leaves, faint glows circulating around them.

He passed a tall tower and saw students controlling Flying Swords, leaping from the top of the tower, tracing elegant arcs in the air.

He even saw a chubby male student, facing a huge iron ingot, conjuring flames from thin air in his hands, clanging away as he hammered it.

Everything he witnessed continuously challenged his already tottering worldview.

"Hello, Uncle Li!"

A yellow-haired youth, who was Liu Lian, walked over casually, and upon seeing Li Jun, immediately straightened his body, greeting him somewhat comically.

Li Jun shivered all over, forcing a smile uglier than a cry, and stiffly nodded.

"Dad, this is my classmate, Liu Lian."

Li Qingyuan introduced.

"Don't be nervous, Uncle, everyone here is pretty easy to get along with, it's just that their minds are occasionally a bit abnormal."

Liu Lian chuckled, then dashed off to catch up with Han Li and Fang Yuan ahead.

Li Jun watched the retreating figures of the young people, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He felt as if he hadn't come to visit a school, but had stumbled into the Celestial Court as a Mortal, where every person around him could be a celestial soldier or general.

Everything here made him feel uneasy.

"Dad, don't be nervous."

Li Qingyuan noticed her father's apprehension and gently comforted him.

"They are all my classmates, just like me, they are all ordinary people who got in through exams."

"Ordinary people?"

Li Jun muttered to himself, his expression extremely peculiar.

Those who can smash an arena with their fists, are they called ordinary people?

Those who can summon lightning, are they called ordinary people?

If he said that out loud, who would believe it?

"Anyway... just think of them as sports specialists, it's just that their sport is a bit special."

Li Qingyuan herself felt this analogy was a bit far-fetched, but couldn't think of a better way to put it at the moment.

She looked at her father's distracted appearance and suddenly remembered something, stopping in her tracks.

"Oh, Dad!"

"Have you told Mom you're safe?"

"She's alone at home, she must be going crazy with worry!"

This sentence was like a clap of thunder on a clear day, exploding in Li Jun's mind.

He trembled violently, the color instantly draining from his face.

"Oh no!"

He cried out, fumbling in his pocket for his phone.

Because he was too flustered, the phone almost fell to the ground several times as he pulled it out.

His trembling hand pressed several times before finally hitting the video call button... At the same time.

In Jinghai City, in her own living room.

Li Li sat restlessly on the sofa, occasionally standing up and pacing back and forth in the living room.

The clock on the wall ticked, each second feeling extraordinarily long.

It had been almost a day since her husband was taken away by the police officer named Zhang He.

The phone calls didn't connect.

There were no replies to messages.

She felt like she was going crazy.

Her daughter was out of contact, and now her husband was also out of contact.

All sorts of terrifying thoughts uncontrollably popped into her mind.

What kind of place was that Kunlun Cultivation Academy anyway?

Why were even the police so vague about it?

Could that Zhang He be a swindler? Did he also trick Old Li away?

The more she thought, the more scared she became, her heart clenching into a ball.

She even began to wonder if she shouldn't have let her husband call the police, shouldn't have made a big deal out of it.

Now look, her daughter wasn't found, and her husband was also gone.

Just as she was about to be consumed by fear, her phone suddenly rang.

Li Li jolted, practically pouncing to grab her phone.

Two words flickered on the screen.

Husband.

It was a video call!

Her fingers trembled as she pressed the answer button.

The screen flickered, and Li Jun's familiar face appeared.

Then, the camera shook, and Li Qingyuan's face also squeezed in, giving her an apologetic smile.

"Mom!"

Seeing both her daughter and husband appear safe and sound on the screen, Li Li's nerves, stretched to their breaking point, finally snapped at that moment.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but first let out a choked sob.

Immediately after, tears streamed down.

The next second, the fear, worry, and anger accumulated over several days erupted like a volcano.

"Li Jun! You bastard!"

A sharp cry exploded from the phone.

Li Jun flinched at the shout, almost dropping his phone.

"Wife, listen to me..."

"Listen to your ghost!"

Li Li's furious roar interrupted him, thick with sobs.

"Where did you run off to?!"

"Why couldn't I get through to you?! Do you know how scared I was?!"

"I thought both of you were dead! I thought both of you had your kidneys harvested and were sold abroad!"

She cried and cursed, giving Li Jun and Li Qingyuan no chance to interject.

"And you! Li Qingyuan!"

"You wretched girl! You still remember you have a mother, do you?!"

"Two months! A full two months! Do you know what I've been through?!"

"Now look! Your dad got dragged into it because of you too! Do you two want me to live out my days as a widow alone?!"

Li Li's words were incoherent, yet filled with the most genuine panic and lingering fear.

Beside the Martial Arts Training Ground, Li Jun held up his phone, being scolded mercilessly, yet couldn't say a single word.

His face was filled with guilt, his lips mumbling, but he couldn't offer any defense.

Li Qingyuan stood by, watching her mother crying her heart out on the screen, her own eyes reddening.